Felipe walked in first and Luis followed him. I followed behind him. This was like a follow the leader sort of night. Tables were scattered around the main floor with a VIP section roped off on the far wall away from the door. Vampires were placed here and there like dangerous party favors. A long bar stretched almost from the door all the way to the other side of the club. It faced the stage and DJ booth. Tonight the DJ was spinning and the crazy fangbangers were writhing to the music. It was a mix of Top 40 hits. I caught myself wanted to rock to the music.
It was strange that I didn't see him earlier, but my eyes caught sight of pinpoint of light in the darkened club. He stood up from the VIP table and my heart skipped several beats. He was well over six feet tall with a trail of straight blonde hair that hung loose and luminous around his head. His ice blue eyes were burning with such intensity I had to drop my gaze and pray I wasn't on fire.
I took a few breaths and looked up and he was standing right in front of me. It took all my self control not to rock back on my heels and faint. His eyes locked on to mine and my heart was trying to break free from my chest.
"Are you going to tell me your name?" It was a command, and I was going to obey.
"Ember," I mouthed.
He took my hand and had to stoop to bring it up to his lips. He almost pulled me straight up out of my heels I was so short and he was so tall. I kept still as his cool lips brushed my hand. I felt the little graze of his teeth and I snatched my hand back barely containing the little yelp. I was glad the music was blaring. "I see Felipe likes to collect beautiful things." he said winking at me. Why did everyone just assume I was a party favor or just a blood bag of the king's? It was getting a tad annoying.
Felipe was done looking around the club and making nice with everyone and his arm wound around my waist, "Oh she is more than just beautiful." He leaned over and kissed my cheek. I felt my face flush at the contact. "Good evening Eric. I see you have met Ember already." There was an edge to his voice and I couldn't understand why.
Eric's eyes slid from mine to Felipe's, "Forgive me sir. I couldn't help myself when she walked in looking good enough to eat." he bowed deep once again to show how trite he was as his breach of protocol at speaking to me before Felipe. Were they serious?
Felipe waited a second longer, I guess to keep Eric wondering in. "No matter." he waved his hand and Eric straightened back up to his impressive height. "So Eric Northman this is my associate Ember. Ember this is the Sheriff of Area 5, Eric." I gave Eric a tight smile and he smiled back.
He swept his hand back and gestured toward the VIP area. "I have a table ready for you sir." Felipe kept his arm around my waist and steered me through the crowd. All eyes were on us, vampire and human. The drunken brains were simply buzzing about our arrival and the prospect of the new vampires. Some of the woman wondered what I had done to receive such attention, and some of the men were thinking of the vile things I had done or were going to do with the vampires. It was enough to turn my stomach but I kept that smile on my face.
I slid into the velvet booth and was taken aback when someone else was already sitting there. Again another blonde. Were they growing them on trees down here or something?
She was as blessed in the boob department as I was though she had a huskier frame than I did. So her breasts just added to the totally roundness of the rest of her. She wasn't fat by a long shot, but she could stand to push back from the table once and awhile.
She was wearing a tight smile that didn't reach her eyes. She seemed nervous about something, and a quick dip into her head told me all I needed to know. I would have to tell Felipe about all of that later.
I waited for everyone to seat themselves before I spoke to her. It seemed there was an order to things and I didn't want to overstep myself again. Everyone got settled and my attention was drawn back to the door as the vampire Felipe had called Pam walked into the bar. She seemed to be glowing a bit and I wondered why that was.
So it took me awhile to feel the tickle of someone intruding into my head. I knew it was Sookie, but she was stronger than Barry and more aggressive with her invasion. For a minute we did a mental run around the table. I had a leg up on her as she didn't know about me but I knew about her. She thought I was just a donor for Felipe, but she was still giving me a good once over to report back to Eric. I was able to screen things from her and keep her out of my most private thoughts.
But I was highly pissed that she was flipping through my head and I caught the tail of her consciousness and pressed down hard and sharp. Harder than I had pinched Barry. These two were highly intrusive and invasive. And it pissed me off. I knew I was wrong as soon as I did, but still it was a good lesson for her to learn.
She flinched, and her eyes rolled back into her head and she slumped against Eric. "Sookie," He was visible concerned about her and I felt the first ever twang of jealousy. The feeling made my cheeks burn. He gave Sookie a gentle shake and her eyes fluttered open. It took her a minute to reorient herself and come around.
Eric looked from me to Felipe and back to me, I shrugged. She shook herself and resumed her seat, "Forgive me Felipe. Keeping vamp hours is taking some getting used to," her southern accent was thick as hell. It was like Jello pudding, and I hated that stuff. But her tight smile was back. Everyone waited a few more minutes before resuming the conversation. Eric and Felipe went into more pleasantries and Sookie excused herself to go freshen up.
The boys were talking vampire stuff in some language I had never heard before, and it was boring me. No one was paying me any attention and Snotty was at the bar charming some fangbanger who thought she was good for a one night stand. I snorted at his assumption, because Snotty was a total clinger and he had no idea what he was in for. This was boring and he said this was a social call so I didn't have to sit here and act like a expensive piece of furniture.
I turned on my smile and looked at Felipe, "Would it be alright if I danced sir," I made sure I was showing the proper respect to Felipe. I was the new underling even though I ranked higher up than Snotty. He gave me a nod and I slithered out of the booth and onto the dance floor. People parted around me like they were scared the vamps would tear them apart if anyone bumped against me. The DJ turned on a Ciara song and I wanted to squeal with delight. Ciara was great for dancing the night away and that's what I intended to do.
I had barely gone two paces when I felt her hand on my hips. I knew who it was, and I felt something below my navel pull. "Did you ask if you could touch me?" I asked softly. I knew she could hear me over the beat of the music.
She twirled me around and pulled me close to her. I could feel the lust level in the room rise and patrons turned to get a good view of the show. She leaned down. "I figured that little smile you gave me at the door was an invitation enough." She said sliding her hands down the length of my short body to the top of my thighs. "I'm Pam." She was leading us and I was content to follow.
"Ember," I told her. Pam was putting my body through the paces and she was dancing with me like no one else was watching, and I could feel the eyes of everyone in the bar on us. I had only ever danced with a girl once and let's just say me and Pam were wearing more clothes. The lights and the music were making me dizzy but Pam had a strong hand on me and she wasn't going to let me fall.
The music changed. It sounded like one of those songs they play for the Tango on Dancing with The Stars. Only the beat sounded Old World. Like before the Constitution Old World. Pam's grip on my hips didn't let up, and she moved, twisted and spun me around with expert ease. The song was laced with sexual undertones, though me and Pam were being very overt. She had my heart racing and I had to admit I was turned on as well.
The driving beat of the music was building and swelling and Pam dipped me just as the song rose to a thundering crescendo. The light in her eyes was almost red and before I could stop her she dipped her head and her fangs sank into the soft flesh of my neck. I yelped and my body went slack, but not from the pain simply from the shock of being bite. It hurt like hell, and she was clamped down hard.
"Pam!" a voice barked and her body went taunt and if she hadn't held onto me I would have sank to the floor. Surprisingly there wasn't any blood on my dress. Pam hadn't wasted a drop. Her face was pinker and there was a trace of blood on her lips.
I wasn't sure I could stand on my own, but Pam righted me and turned around to face Eric. Her cheeks were rosy and her face looked flushed under the dim bar light. "Ember is a guest of our king." he stated. I could see everyone at our table looking at both of us. I couldn't read Felipe's face, but he was broadcasting clear as a bell. He wasn't pleased that Pam had bitten me without his permission and he was giddy over how Eric would punish her, but he was glad that I had managed to entice Pam. Who as it turned out was Eric's second in command. He thought he could use that to his advantage. Well I would just tell him that wasn't going to happen. "You have embarrassed me. Go to my office and wait. That is an order." She let go of me and I swayed from the blood lose. I was a tiny thing. Luis was instantly at my side to help me over to the table. He climbed in and he let me perch at the end of the booth.
Eric finally sat down once I was settled, "Please forgive my child. She sometimes forgets her place." he gave me a curtsey head bow and I smiled weakly at him. I wasn't sure I was supposed to speak. I was just a snack for the King after all.
Felipe however wasn't satisfied at the missed chance to see punishment dealt out. "Eric your child has touched one I've claimed as mine what do you offer to placate me?" Eric looked at Felipe his brain was racing with suggestions. "Why I think it is only fair that I be offered something from someone you have claimed." He said it innocently enough that it was almost hard to believe that he had just thought of that.
Almost.
Eric looked from Felipe to Sookie and I saw Sookie chest filling up with air to balk at the suggestion, "My king, Sookie is my wife." The air whooshed right out of Sookie and Felipe. "It would be unbecoming of a king to take from another's wife," he said smoothly.
That was a bombshell, and my mouth did drop open a few notches. That wasn't hard seeing as I was three sheets to the wind with dizziness already. Felipe looked at Eric as if trying to sense some subterfuge. "Why was I not informed?" His smile was back, but if another it made him seem more sinister and I could feel Sookie shivering with fear, though I was too woozy to make out anything she was actually thinking.
Eric shrugged, "Victor was present. He witnessed the presentation. Was it not his place to inform you?" he asked.
Felipe nodded, "Yes it was." and that's all he said about it.
And I was going to call it a night. All this back and forth vampire stuff was enough to drive someone crazy and my head felt like a balloon and it was about to detach from my body and float away. I stood up, "Is it alright if Pam takes me back to the hotel?" I asked. I didn't want her to get in trouble for something that had been partly my fault for winding her up. Eric and Felipe both looked at me. Felipe had forgotten all about punishing Pam and Eric was grateful for me distracting Felipe from his bloodlust for Pam.
"Is it alright if your child accompanies Ember back to the hotel. I can guarantee her a place if she can not make it back before the sun rises." Eric nodded, and then Felipe nodded toward me.
"Thank you Mr. Northman It was a pleasure meeting you. Likewise Ms. Stackhouse." Felipe wanted me to play the role of a simple human toy and not reveal myself to either of them what I really was. So I thought the goodbye was harmless enough. I gave them both a smile and I turned head...where? "Where is Pam?" I asked and Eric pointed toward a door marked Private. I nodded once again and slowly made my way across the dance floor. The bar was thinning out and it didn't take me long to make it to the other side. Though I was trying to keep the whole place from tilting and my falling. It was hard work.
I opened the door and found myself in a short hallway with another door at the end marked Private. I assumed that was the office Eric had told Pam to go wait in. It was easier to walk now without my vision swimming and I made short work of that hallway. I found Pam sitting on one of the couches against the wall. Her eyes were open but it didn't look like she was looking at anything. She was just sitting there, like someone had pulled the plug on her. It was disconcerting and I almost backed out of the room.
Once she realized I was there she seemed to snap out of the trance she was in and she looked at me. "I am sorry." she seemed to have a hard time saying those words.
I smiled at her and leaned against the door jam for support. "Its alright. Eric said you could take me back to the hotel." she was on me in a flash. One minute she had been on the couch. The next minute I was in her arms and she was nuzzling my neck. "Hold on there." I said trying to push against her. It was like pushing against a brick wall. "We have all the time in the world for this." I whispered in her ear.
She pulled back from me, picked me up, and swung me into her arms. "What are you?" she asked. I didn't know what she meant and Felipe told me not to talk about myself to any of them. I leaned against her, grateful for the support. I didn't realize how much blood Pam had taken in that quick little bit. She took us outside and slid me into the backseat of a midnight black Nissan. I would have thought vampires drove flashy cars or hearses. I giggled slightly as Pam pulled out of the parking lot and maneuvered through the neighborhood and jumped onto the highway.
I laid back and didn't say anything. I guess she knew where she was going, because I didn't have a clue where the hotel was and frankly I was dubious of any hotel around this place. I pulled my heels off and tucked them into my purse and tried to remember where we were going. I must have passed out because the next thing I remember was Pam pulling me out of the car and walking me up to the door. "We're with the de Castro party," she announced. I hoped I didn't look drugged or anything. I hated drug addicts. "This is Ember."
The desk clerk nodded and handed Pam a key. "She's in room 512." he told her softly. I closed my eyes and just waited to be in my room. It was a short trip and Pam never let me down once. Well she did to lay me in the bed.
She crawled into the bed with me and draped an arm across my stomach. "It was not my place to bite you." I think she was trying to apologize to me. Since her first one was just an automatic response and not heartfelt.
I turned over with great effort and looked at her. "I've never been bitten before." I confessed. Her hand was slowly moving up my thigh. Her fangs ran out and I shrank back from her. I couldn't help it.
She leaned down and kissed my cheek. "Do not fear me," her tongue snaked out and licked my earlobe.
"Are you going to drain me?" my voice quivered. She had pushed up the hem of my dress up to my hips. Her fingers were playing with the string of my bikini cut panties.
She shook her head and her hair fell across my face, "Nothing of the sort." and then she really kissed me. Dots of light burst in front of my eyes as we kissed. When we broke apart I was panting, Pam of course wasn't. "Do you want this?" she asked and I thought it was sweet that she would ask for something she could have easily taken. Like some many in my life.
I looked at her and thought about it what she was asking. I knew what she was asking and I wanted it, but I was touched that she was asking. More than touched as the tears slid down my face. If a vampire could look startled Pam did, but I nodded my head and pulled her down on top of me kissing her the whole time.