Chapter 7
A warm surge of something passed through Eric, making him sway ever so much before he regained his balance. Behind him, he felt Sookie shudder, and before him, Sophie-Anne looked from left to right as she visibly shivered.
Andre was at Sophie-Anne's side immediately. "My Queen, are you well?"
"Yes, of course," Sophie-Anne said, straightening her back as she looked around in confusion. "Northman?" Then she looked around some more. "Godric?" Finally she glanced at Andre again. "What is going on here?"
"My Queen, we came here because you decided to marry the Norseman."
"We did what?" Sophie-Anne said, obviously outraged, and Andre flinched away from her.
"But the Norseman and his maker refused," Andre said, in a much softer voice.
"Is this why Godric is silvered?" Sophie-Anne gestured at Godric impatiently. "Release him at once!"
The three vampires unwrapped the silver chains from Godric's neck, and with a quiet hiss Godric got to his feet and zipped to Eric's side at once.
"Thank you, your Majesty," Godric said with a little bow. Eric marvelled at his maker's control. If he were in Godric's shoes, he was sure he'd ripped Sophie-Anne to pieces by now. "I believe I can explain what happened."
"Get on with it, then," Sophie-Anne snapped.
"Ms Stackhouse ran into some problems with a witch," Godric said, and Eric briefly closed his eyes and hoped with all he was worth that Sookie would keep her mouth shut and not refute this version of events. "Eric and myself have worked tirelessly these past few days to find a way to break whatever magic the witch had cast, and I believe that finally, we have succeeded."
Sophie-Anne frowned. "Ms Stackhouse? Are you referring to Sookie Stackhouse, Compton's human? The telepath?"
"She is indeed a telepath," Godric explained patiently, but in a firm tone. "But she is no longer Compton's human. She is Eric's."
Compton growled, but Sophie-Anne shut him up with one single flick of her wrist. "Well, girl, show yourself."
Sookie peeked out from behind Eric's back, and Eric wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her close to his side.
"So, tell me, Ms Stackhouse," Sophie-Anne said as she narrowed her eyes. "Are you Bill's or are you Eric's."
"I'm Eric's," Sookie said softly, but with confidence, and Eric wanted to kiss her right there and then.
Compton growled again, but this time Sophie-Anne smacked him on the back of his head. Hard. "I will deal with you later, Bill."
"Sookie has agreed to work for me, your Majesty," Eric said with a charming smile, or as charming as he could make it given the circumstances. He still wasn't sure why the curse had suddenly been broken, but seeing as moments before Sookie and Godric had been in mortal peril and now they were not, he wasn't exactly complaining. "I will offer her a contract at our earliest convenience, and I'm sure that if you have need of her services, we can come to an agreement."
Sookie glared up at him, but for once kept her mouth shut. Eric wanted to kiss her again. All over. Perhaps there was hope for his human yet.
"Very well," Sophie-Anne said with a little huff. "I want her, at the very least, to listen to my human staff and our regular donors as soon as possible."
"I'm sure that won't be a problem, your Majesty," Eric replied and glanced down at Sookie with a significant look. Sookie nodded her head in agreement, and again Eric wanted to kiss her. He was beginning to detect a pattern here, one that involved Sookie and lots of kisses, but now was not the time to analyse it. "I will call you as soon as the contract is in order so we can set up a little trip to New Orleans."
"That is acceptable." Sophie-Anne turned to look at Andre. "Was there anything else that needed doing here?"
"No, my Queen," Andre said stiffly, and cast a quick glance in Sookie's direction, but didn't comment any further. Eric narrowed his eyes, and Andre looked away as he guided Sophie-Anne towards the limousine that stood waiting a little distance away.
"Your Majesty, what of this human?" one of the queen's vampires asked. Eric only now noticed he was holding on tightly to Harley, who was staring at Godric with a rather desperate look on his face.
"He works for me," Godric said at once. "He has helped us break the curse."
"Then release him," Sophie-Anne said dismissively, and continued her way towards the limo.
Harley was dropped rather unceremoniously to the ground, but he crawled to his feet as quick as he could and rushed to Godric's side. The four of them watched quietly as the queen and her entourage piled into the waiting cars.
Once the cars disappeared out of sight, both Godric and Eric looked at Harley.
"How was the curse broken?" Eric asked. "Sookie and I never got around to actually breaking it before the queen showed up."
Harley grinned and hopped in place in sheer excitement. "Sacrifice!"
"What?" Eric looked between Godric and Harley, his impatience growing.
"Sacrificial magic is some of the strongest magic there is," Harley explained, grinning even wider. "You were willing to sacrifice yourself for Sookie, and that kind of power was enough to break the curse."
"So why didn't you mention this was an option before now?" Eric demanded.
"Because that is not how sacrificial magic works. You cannot plan for it." Harley shrugged. "Also, you're a vampire. I hadn't expected you'd be willing to sacrifice yourself for anyone, let alone a human."
Eric really didn't have anything to say to that, so he ignored the annoying witch and glanced down at his human. Sookie looked up at him with a strange smile.
"You were willing to sacrifice yourself for me," she whispered, and Eric shrugged away the awkwardness he felt. He hadn't exactly planned to do so. He'd only tried to keep Sookie and Godric from being killed. "Thank you," Sookie said and stood up on her tiptoes and pressed a soft kiss to his lips.
"You're welcome," Eric replied with a grin, and promptly kissed her again, adding a little tongue this time.
"So does this mean I can go home now?" Sookie asked, as she finally pulled away from him. Eric frowned. He did not want to be separated from Sookie so soon. He wanted to keep her at his side, in his bed, under his naked body, for at least a few weeks. Maybe even longer.
"Yeah," Harley said, before Eric could respond. "It should be safe now that the curse is broken."
"Thank God!" Sookie said and gently pulled away from Eric. "Let me just get my things."
"I need to get my stuff as well," Harley said, and together they walked back into the house, leaving Eric alone with his maker.
"So, my child, are you still going to claim you have no feelings for Ms Stackhouse?" Godric asked with a most satisfied smile.
Eric glared at his maker for a moment, and then gave a careless shrug. "It doesn't matter now. Sookie is mine."
"Hmm," was all Godric said in response.
"So will you go back to Dallas soon?" Eric asked, already growing tired of Godric's knowing looks.
"Actually, I thought I'd stay here for a while longer," Godric said, and Eric blinked in surprise. "I've grown bored with all the vampire politics in Dallas."
"You are welcome to stay in my area, of course," Eric said, and then added in a softer voice, "As long as you quit your meddling."
"Meddling?" Godric replied, in faked outrage. "Since when do I meddle?"
"Since...always!"
"Hardly, Eric." Godric slapped Eric on the shoulder so hard it made Eric wince. "As your maker, I am merely looking out for you."
"Right," Eric said, unconvinced. "But the way you do it, it is meddling."
"Hmm." Godric grinned in a way that made him look like a mere boy. "You are imagining things."
Eric decided to change the subject. "How did you end up silvered, anyway? Those vampires holding you didn't look a day over two hundred."
"I wasn't about to slaughter the queens entourage or the queen herself just because you got yourself into trouble with a witch," Godric said with a stern look. "So I did not put up a fight."
"Ah," Eric said, and then wisely, he didn't say anything more on the subject.
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They drove together in Godric's car, since Eric and Sookie had flown to the house days ago and Sookie adamantly refused to fly with him again while there was a car available. Godric sat behind the wheel, Harley occupied the passenger seat, and Eric sat in the backseat with Sookie.
They didn't say much on their way to Bon Temps, but at some point Sookie did reach for Eric's hand and weaved their fingers together and held on for the rest of the ride. Eric found this small gesture surprisingly pleasant, though he didn't comment on it.
It only took half an hour to reach Sookie's farmhouse. Godric winced a few times (but he did so discreetly) as he drove his precious BMW as carefully as he could across Sookie's debilitated driveway. Eric made a mental note to get it fixed as soon as possible. He refused to subject his Corvette to such torture, and he planned on visiting Sookie many times in the future.
Eric got out of the car and accompanied Sookie onto the porch. Sookie clutched her own dirty clothes to her chest as she stared up at Eric.
"So," Sookie said, and briefly bit her bottom lip. "I want to thank you for getting us out of this mess, but then I remember that you got us into this mess in the first place."
"Sorry," Eric mumbled, before he could help himself.
Sookie grinned at him and playfully poked him in the side with her elbow. "You're forgiven. But only because you were willing to sacrifice yourself for me. I really appreciate that."
"Enough to invite me in right now, so we can finish what we started earlier?" Eric asked hopefully.
"No! Pervert!" Sookie managed an affronted look before she grinned again.
Eric sighed. It was worth a shot, but he understood well enough that Sookie had been through a lot these past few days and probably needed some time to herself. "I'll stop by tomorrow evening then."
"I might have to work tomorrow," Sookie said as her eyes grew wide. "Poor Sam! He's been stuck with a town full of crazy women all this time."
Eric suppressed a growl. "Sookie, you work for me now, remember?"
"But - "
"But nothing." Eric gave her a stern look. "I'll bring a contract over tomorrow."
Sighing, Sookie turned towards the door and fished her keys out of the shorts in her arms. "Yeah, all right. I'll see you tomorrow."
Eric grabbed her arm and spun her back around before he crushed his lips to hers in a heated kiss. "Sleep well, lover. " He winked at Sookie, and strolled down the porch steps back to the car.
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The next evening, Eric drove his Corvette across the newly gravelled driveway, pleased to note his car had no trouble navigating it.
Once he had his car parked, he zipped to Sookie's front door and knocked expectantly.
"Nice driveway," he said the moment Sookie opened the door.
"Eric!" Sookie glared at him. "You did not have to do that."
"No, I really did, lover," Eric said at once. "You didn't have to spend the rest of last night listening to Godric moan about the ruined paint job of his car just because he drove it across your potholed driveway."
That shut Sookie up, at least for a moment. "Aren't you going to invite me in?" Eric asked as he leaned against the doorway.
Sookie stepped to the side. "Please come in, Eric."
"Thank you." Eric stepped inside the house and looked Sookie over from top to bottom. She was wearing a yellow sundress that accented her breasts in a way that made Eric want to bury his face between them. Sookie seemed to notice where his gaze has landed and she blushed before she gestured him towards the couch.
"Please, have a seat."
Eric sat down on the couch and looked around the room curiously. Everything he saw was old yet serviceable.
"Can I get you something to drink?" Sookie asked politely.
"Sure," Eric replied with a smirk. "Do you prefer neck or thigh?"
"Eric!" Sookie sat down on the opposite couch at once, her arms crossed firmly over her chest while a blush spread across her cheeks.
"I brought the contract," Eric said, highly amused by Sookie's responses. She was such an innocent little thing, and that made her all the more attractive. He pulled the contract from his jacket and unfolded it. "Come sit with me so we can go over it."
"Only if you promise to behave," Sookie said suspiciously.
"I promise," Eric said as earnestly as he could. He did plan to behave, at last during the business part of their meeting. He wanted to get that over with as soon as possible, so they could move onto the more pleasurable parts of the evening.
Sookie sank down beside him on the couch, and together they read through the contract. Eric pointed out important things to her, some of which Sookie accepted without question, and some which needed further explanation.
"I'm getting a personal assistant?" Sookie asked, befuddled. "Why would I need one? And who would it be?"
"Godric," Eric said with a shrug. "And you need one to instruct you on all things supernatural. While you will be working with humans for the most part, you will be around other supernaturals quite a lot."
"Godric?" Sookie asked in shock. "As my personal assistant?"
"He wants to stay in my area, and this way he can make himself useful. He's already agreed to it," Eric explained patiently. What he didn't mention to Sookie was that Godric would be more of a personal bodyguard than a personal assistant, but Sookie didn't need to know that. After much discussion with his maker the previous night, Eric and Godric had both agreed that Sookie would need protection while she worked for Eric, and Godric was more than willing to fulfil that role since he liked Sookie well enough and enjoyed her company. Eric was glad of it, because his maker was strong enough to fight off just about any supernatural threat that might come Sookie's way.
"All right," Sookie said, though she still sounded a bit unsure. "If he agrees to it, then I won't object."
"Good." Eric was pleased that hurdle was out of the way, but only a moment later Sookie found something else to complain about.
"A hundred thousand dollars? Eric, that's insane!"
"No, that's a perfectly normal salary for a head of security with special talents."
"But - "
"No buts," Eric said with a stern look. "I'd pay you half a million a year if I thought for one minute you'd accept it."
Sookie stared at him with her mouth hanging open. "No! Okay. I'll take the hundred thousand. I still think you're insane, though."
Eric shrugged. "And I think you're worth a lot more, no matter what the humans around you have said about you your whole life."
That shut Sookie up, and she wiped at her eyes a few times before she was ready to continue.
"A company car? Eric, that's - "
"You'll be driving between my businesses all week, so yes, you get a company car. It's not up for discussion."
"Fine!"
And on it went for another half hour until finally Sookie got a pen and signed the document. Eric added his own signature, shoved the document away, and then grabbed Sookie and kissed her.
"Eric," Sookie said against his lips. Eric pushed his tongue inside her mouth, and Sookie responded for a moment before she pulled back.
"Listen." Sookie chewed on her lip and stared down at her lap. "I like you. I like the guy you've been these past few days."
Eric got a sinking feeling in his stomach that told him he wasn't going to get laid that evening.
"But so much has happened." Sookie sounded almost desperate. "Just a few days ago, I had a boyfriend I loved, and now I know he is a lying traitor. And just a few days ago, I thought you were the scariest vampire that ever existed, and then I met that stupid queen and now I know better."
"I still want you," Eric said, because he didn't really know what else to say in response to Sookie's comments.
"I know," Sookie said softly and placed her warm hand on his thigh. "I'm not saying no to you, Eric."
"But you're not saying yes, either," Eric pointed out.
"Yet."
"Yet?" Eric repeated, perking up a little.
"I just need a little time." Sookie offered him a smile that was almost apologetic. "Please give me a little time while I wrap my mind around everything that's happened."
Eric bit back a sigh and nodded. "I can do that, my Sookie. We'll hold off on the sex until you're ready. But I say we can still make out in the meantime."
"I'm not sure - "
But Eric shut her up by kissing her as if his life depended on it. Sookie moaned into his mouth and melted in his arms, and Eric spend a good long while enjoying the feeling of her lips and tongue against his own. He finished off by licking his way down her throat and sucking gently on a tender spot beneath her ear. Then he leaned back and admired the hickey. Not exactly the kind of mark he wanted to leave on her body, but it would have to do for now.
He could be patient, now that he knew Sookie was his and his alone.
Scooping up the contract, Eric got up from the couch and smiled down at Sookie. "I'll bring your new car over tomorrow evening, and then I'll give you a tour of my businesses."
"Sure," Sookie said, looking a little dazed and slightly ruffled.
Eric smirked and let himself out of the house. He was sure it wouldn't be too long until he'd finally make Sookie his completely.
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Eric found Godric and Pam in his office at Fangtasia. Godric sat on the couch, nursing a bottle of that vile blood substitute, and Pam was hanging onto his every word while Godric relayed the tale of Eric's recent adventures with magic.
"Master," Pam said with a deep nod as Eric sat down behind his desk. "I have very little recollection of what happened exactly, but I - "
"Pam, it's fine." Eric cut her off with a wave of his hand. "I know whatever you did was to blame on the curse.
Pam looked relieved, which was quite something for her, seeing as she usually refused to display any kind of emotion. "I'll just go and entertain the vermin." And with that, Pam let herself out of the office, leaving Eric alone with his maker, who took a sip of his blood as he regarded Eric carefully.
"You're back early," Godric said, finally, after a few moments of uncomfortable silence.
Eric shrugged and pretended to read something interesting on his computer.
"Was Ms Stackhouse not agreeable to your attentions?" Godric asked innocently.
"She signed the contract," Eric muttered, typing furiously on his keyboard.
"Hmm." Godric sniffed the air quite obviously and then stretched his legs out in front of him. "Well, if you're not going to fuck her, perhaps I should court her. She does smell delicious."
Eric shot up from his chair so quickly it fell backwards. "She is mine! You will not lay a hand on her!" he roared before he realized who was sitting across from him. He cleared his throat and shifted uncomfortably on his feet.
"My child, you have it bad," Godric said before he burst out into laughter.
"Sookie needs a little time after everything that's happened," Eric said uneasily, picking up his chair from the floor.
"Or you could simply tell her how you feel."
"Or you could stop your meddling," Eric said through clenched teeth.
"Hmm. I could," Godric said with a quirked eyebrow. "But I won't. You're too much fun to meddle with, my child."
Eric wondered why he'd ever agreed to let his maker stay in his area.