Another big thank you to everyone who has reviewed the first two chapters. It really is great motivation.
Of course, I don't own any of the characters. Hats off to Ms Harris for introducing them to the world.
Chapter 3 – Kiss and Make-up
Holding the front of her dress closed Sookie turned and ran, fighting tears. She got out the backdoor and leaned back against the wall. After a minute of catching her breath and calming down, she started to get herself back into the dress, which was difficult because her hands were shaking. She finally managed to get herself decent, at least as decent as the dress allowed. She crossed her arms in front of herself and gave an involuntary shudder. She could feel her forced calm cracking and tried to distract herself. She wished she had something to clean, that always helped to calm her down, she thought of the apartment she was staying at, it was obviously professionally maintained. What it did need was food, so she began to compile a shopping list to take her mind off of what happened. She was trying to decide if she was going to be here long enough for a full carton of eggs when the door burst open, she jumped, turning toward the door.
She let out a sigh of relief. "Eric, thank you for coming when you did." She went to move closer but he held up a hand. She saw that he had claw marks healing on his face. "Is Pam alright?"
He gave a curt nod. "She will be, I had to knock her out but she'll recover." He looked at her intently. "Is it she you desire, not me?"
Sookie stood there gaping at him, then laughed in disbelief. "She almost drained me and raped me in the hall of the bar!" It then occurred to her that after two other rape attempts and one successful rape by her ex-boyfriend, this one was novel in that it was the first time it was a female assailant. Experiencing new things all the time, that's me and she chuckled and that chuckle became hysterical laughter. Eric looked at her as if she were crazy, and that was suddenly very funny.
"Sookie, you're hysterical." he tried to reason with her.
That just made her laugh more. She would have loved to say 'Gee, you think?' but all that came out was more mad laughter.
He closed the space between them and grabbed her upper arms, looking like he was going to shake her, but was afraid he would hurt her. Then his fangs ran out and his nostrils flared. "You smell like a fairy." Her fear or some self-preservation instinct snapped her out of her hysteria.
"Eric! No! Let go!" she commanded trying to keep the fear out of her voice. He seemed to be fighting the influence better than Pam had. He let go and pointed behind him.
"Move downwind." He said through clenched teeth.
Sookie immediately moved about ten feet down the alley in the direction he had indicated and waited. She knew she needed to get out of here but had no idea how, her car wasn't here, her purse was inside and in it was her money and her keys.
"Have you been around Claudine today?" He asked, his voice taut with control, he hadn't turned around.
"No, I haven't seen her since the fire. Other than going in to tell Sam I needed some time off I didn't see anyone until Pam showed up to get me into this get-up. And she was fine, if a little touchy-feely, until we got to the club."
"I didn't react like this when we were together, correct?" He seemed to be relaxing a little.
"No."
He nodded, "I didn't think so, or you probably would not have survived." He chuckled and turned to face her but not move any nearer. She was relieved to see his fangs had retracted. "So what is different about you tonight, other than the amazing transformation Pam performed." He looked her up and down, it was a definite eye-fuck, but not a threatening one.
Sookie looked down at herself, "Yeah, she made me the perfect little fang-banger. Oh, I'm supposed to go by Desirée and bow and call you Master." she rolled her eyes at the whole masquerade.
"So Pam was fine earlier?" He still wasn't approaching her.
"Other than being overly thorough in applying the make-up, which she enjoyed, yeah." Suddenly she had an idea. "Eric, can you go back into the bar and bring me two napkins?" He looked at her quizzically. "Please, I just had a thought."
He nodded and reentered the bar, Sookie stacked a couple of relatively clean, empty boxes to form a table about midway between where they had been standing and hurried back to her former place. Eric came back out holding the napkins.
"Okay, set them down on the boxes, step back a little and turn around." He arched an eyebrow but complied. She approached the box and picked up one of the napkins, "No peeking." she ordered. Keeping an eye on him she ran the napkin across her neck then set it back on the box. She picked up the other napkin and tried to think of a place that didn't have make-up, finally reaching under her skirt and rubbing it across her thigh, right above the stocking. She then placed it a couple of inches away from the first and hurried back to her original place.
"Okay, you can turn around." He did, his curiosity was definitely piqued. "Go to the box and smell each napkin."
Looking intrigued, he walked up the the makeshift table and picked up the napkin she had rubbed on her thigh and inhaled deeply. He smiled, "It just smells of you, how you normally smell."
"Okay now the other one."
He went to repeat the process but before the napkin was even close to his face his eyes grew wide and he threw it in a foul-smelling puddle that she had been trying to avoid thinking about. She smiled in satisfaction. "It's in the make-up. But why would anyone put eau-de-fairy into make-up for fang-bangers?"
"Could it just smell that way on you? Since you are different somehow?"
"I don't know, would it be safe to test it on anyone else? You saw what it did to Pam."
"I think I could control myself, but probably not a younger vampire." He looked thoughtful, "Why didn't it affect her until you got to the club?"
She shook her head, "Maybe it has to be on a while to heat up." Then she blushed, "Or maybe it reacts to body chemistry. It only happened after I had a little...lust problem."
"I sensed that, for who, Pam?" He looked bitter, maybe even jealous.
"No, not for Pam, it wasn't even my lust." He gave her a skeptical look and she got defensive, "Look, I went in there, not blocking at all, so I could do you a favor and scan the crowd to look for the dealer. Well, I got hit by this wall of lust and my body reacted to it like it was mine. I only just got my shields back up when Pam attacked me." She glanced at the door to the bar. "You know it wouldn't take much to get an orgy started in there." She looked disgusted.
"I've thought something similar for quite sometime." he admitted.
"I'm sorry, I just can't scan the crowd. I can read the guy you caught with the 'V'. Can you get him to come here after closing?"
He shrugged, "I can go see if he is here now."
She took a step back. "No, I'm not going back in there like this. I want to go back and shower. I'll come back later and read him then. Can you go in and get my purse and call me a cab? Pam drove so I don't have a car."
"You can't take a cab." He stated flatly.
"Why not?"
"This time of night a lot of the cab drivers are young vamps." He took a few steps closer and took a deep breath. She tensed but he seemed alright, he approached her one step at a time, pausing to sample the air each time. It was only when he was right up next to her that his fangs ran out, but his eyes did not glaze over. "I know this violates our not being alone together agreement, but I think I can drive you back safely if I keep the top down. If that's alright."
She shrugged, then nodded. There really did not seem to be any other choice. He asked which locker and went back inside. She worked to remain calm, she didn't want any distracting thoughts of being alone with him to trigger the make-up again.
They rode in silence, Sookie could see the muscles flexing in Eric's jaw and knew he was concentrating on maintaining control. She stayed as far from him as the sporty, little convertible allowed. When he had parked in the lot she hurried out of the car. "Thank you Eric. I'll come back to the bar at closing."
He shook his head and surprised her by getting out of the car. "I'm going to walk you to the elevator, a few vampires live in this building."
She looked at the building warily, it suddenly seemed less inviting. She nodded, heading for the door, but Eric moved in front of her, whether to be upwind, or protect her she didn't know. They reached the elevator without encountering any other tenants. When the doors slid open Eric made sure it was empty and waved her inside.
"Are you coming up?" she asked softly, not wanting to be alone in the confines of an elevator with him but afraid of encountering an unknown vampire.
He nodded but added, "I don't think we should ride up together." He was still holding the door. "Once you put the key in it will go up to your floor without stopping so you should be good. I have a few phone calls to make so I will be up soon."
"Okay, um can you do me a favor?" she hated to impose but knew the apartment was sorely lacking in some basic things. "Can you go over to the fast food place over there and pick me up a salad and one of their yogurt things? There's no food in the apartment, and I don't know when I'll get a chance to pick something up."
"A salad and a yogurt thing?" He sounded dubious, she nodded realizing he probably didn't buy food very often.
"Thank you." She said as she put the key in its slot. "I'll see you upstairs." She turned the key and he removed his hand.
The elevator seemed to take forever and she kept expecting some fairy-crazed vampire to rip open the doors as she passed each floor, she let out a sigh when the doors finally opened into her apartment.
She went straight to the bedroom and started to unlace the dress. She had to open it quite a bit before she could turn it around to unzip it the rest of the way. She folded it over a hanger and stretched, happy to be out of the constricting outfit. She sat on the chair and undid the shoes. Her feet were not as sore as she expected. She moved to the shower and started it. It took a bit to figure out all the knobs and settings, but she finally managed to get all three banks of shower heads going on full when she stepped in and it felt marvelous. She was anxious to wash off all traces of the dangerous cosmetic and let the water pound on her. There was a bottle of shower gel, in a brand she recognized but never bought since it was so expensive, but she figured it was probably safe. She scrubbed down twice, then shampooed her hair, the black ends did come out as Pam had promised. Finally deciding that she had wasted enough water, she turned off the shower and wrapped herself in one of the luxurious towels. Quickly brushing the knots out of her hair, she went to her suitcase to get her bathrobe. This was a long and thick terry robe, not the thinner one that had come with a nightgown that she had worn during the make-up process, she decided not to wear that one again until it was washed. She felt more covered than she had in the dress and headed out to the livingroom.
As she opened the door from the hall she saw Eric wandering the room while he talked on the phone. She waited near the door for him to finish, but she noticed that the opaque window coverings were gone and she could see the lights of the city beyond, she made a mental note to ask him how to do that. Unable to keep from overhearing she realized he must be talking to Pam. "Yes, I'll tell her... No, I don't think so..." He saw her in his meandering and nodded at her, but continued his conversation. "No, she's not hurt, at least she does not appear to be." He looked at her questioningly.
"I'm fine Pam." She said loudly to be sure she could hear her.
"Goodnight Pam. Yes, I said I would tell her." He ended the call with a chuckle. "You are amazing Sookie."
"Me? Why?"
"You have managed to do something I didn't think was possible." At her quizzical look he chuckled again. "You managed to make Pam embarrassed." Sookie grinned a little.
"She is okay though?"
He nodded, "The effects have worn off and she has healed from her injuries. She had the same question for you, are you really okay?"
"Yeah, she didn't hurt me, scared the hell out of me, but no injuries."
"Will you feel safe around her?" he was watching her reaction.
She nodded, "As long as no make-up is involved, I think so." She walked a little closer to him. "Is it gone? Am I safe?" He gestured for her to keep approaching while he inhaled deeply. She watched him intently, no fangs, no tension, no glazing.
She stopped just inches from him. "Well?"
"Pam wanted me to tell you she's sorry."
"Tell her it's fine."
"And I'm sorry too..."
"You didn't do anything except save me." She looked confused.
"No, I apologize for this." And without warning he pulled her to him and his mouth was on hers. She felt a moment of panic that the scent was still on her, but she realized this was not like Pam's frenzied attack, this was a seduction. His lips and tongue were exploring her mouth and draining her will. She leaned against him, her hands came to his waist to steady herself. While his began moving over her, one trailed down her back to cover her butt, kneading it softly, the other moved to her breast and rubbed her nipple through the robe. She whimpered into his mouth at the passion rising within her. Her breathing already heavy. He released her mouth and began to trail kisses along her jaw and down her neck, she dug her nails into the small of his back, bracing for his bite. Then suddenly he straightened, a rueful look on his face.
She blinked at the abrupt change. "What...?" she began, looking at him, the muscle was working in his jaw again, and his fangs were still out, he was avoiding looking in her eyes. "Is the smell still there?"
He shook his head, "No, it's gone but I had to be sure it wouldn't flare up if..." he trailed off and looked at her warily.
"That was a test?" she asked indignantly. "You promised to be on your best behavior and then you kiss me like that, with no warning, as a test?"
"Would you have let me if I had told you what I was about to do?"
"No!"
"But I couldn't let you back into Fangtasia without it. What if you had to drop your shields? How many vampires do you think I can take down at once? How long do you think I could resist it myself? It was necessary, and I did apologize." He was being very reasonable and she knew he was right, but that just made her angrier.
"Fine! Since I passed the test, I'm going to go get dressed. She turned to storm out of the room.
"Do you want me to leave?" He asked tonelessly, she stopped midstride and realized she didn't.
She sighed, the wind going out of her sails."I'm sorry, no, please stay, there's True Blood in the fridge, really this time." She smiled.
Getting back to her bedroom she headed to the closet to find something to wear. All the dresses Pam had gotten her were hung up, but her own clothes were still in the suitcase. She scolded herself for not hanging them up sooner and did so quickly, setting aside a pair of jeans and a silk blouse, she grabbed her cosmetic bag and went into the bathroom.
She applied her make-up with a light touch then looked at what Pam had brought. It's packaging claimed it was "Irresistible to vampires" and "The closer you get, the closer they'll want to." She set it down with a snort. "It should have a warning label. Side effects may include vampire attack." she said to herself. Looking at the bag she realized it came from the store Claudine worked at which gave her an idea. She headed back out to the living room.
Eric was sitting on one of the couches, there was a True Blood on the table in front of him and he was typing into his phone. When he saw her he finished his text and closed the phone. "I put your food in the refrigerator," he gestured towards the kitchen. "I didn't know how long you'd be."
"Thanks." She headed into the kitchen and laughed when the opened the fridge door. "How hungry did you think I would be?" She asked over the door. There were four salads in addition to the yogurt.
"They had many kinds of salad and you didn't specify. Do they keep?" He had picked up the bottle and strolled to the bar that separated the kitchen from the rest of the room.
"For a day or two probably." She picked one at random. She started opening drawers to look for silverware, but other than a corkscrew they were empty. She huffed and went back to the refrigerator to dig a plastic fork out of one of the bags, thankfully there was one there.
"Is something wrong?" Eric could tell she was irritated.
"This place is lacking in some basics." she said with a shrug, not wanting to insult Eric's hospitality. "It isn't very human friendly. There are no dishes or pots and pans." She sat at the bar and started eating.
"I think you are the first human to stay here alone. I would be happy to pay for whatever it needs, would you be willing to shop for it tomorrow?" She had a mouthful of salad so she just nodded. He pulled a money clip from his pocket and peeled off several bills, handing them to her. She almost choked on her salad.
"Eric! This is five hundred dollars."
"Is it not enough?" he reached back into his pocket.
"No, this is way more than enough." She offered him some of the money back, but he shook his head.
"Buy whatever is needed, plus you'll need more make-up."
"If I didn't have any daytime leads on Thalia to follow I was going to the mall tomorrow anyway, to talk to Claudine." He raised an eyebrow. "I'll shower before I come into the bar. But she might be able to help figure out what's up with the stuff."
"Speaking of the make-up can I look at it?"
"Sure, it's in the bathroom off the big bedroom." She thought for a moment of walking him back but decided she really did not want to be with him in either the bedroom or the bathroom. So she picked through her salad, before tying it up in the plastic bag. Looking under the sink she realized a trashcan needed to be added to her shopping list. She went to refill her wineglass from the faucet.
"There's fairy blood in the make-up." he said as he came through the door.
"Are you sure?" The very thought gave her the creeps, she had had it all over herself, she wanted to shower again.
Eric was approaching languidly, "Oh yes." he said with a smile and she noticed he had a dreamy-look on his face and his fangs were out.
"Steady boy." she said half-wary, half-joking. She thought it was best to keep him talking calmly. "So someone is draining vampires and maybe the same person is draining fairies."
"He should try selling it to vampires, it would be easier and it would definitely sell."
"It doesn't seem to make any sense to go to all the trouble they must have gone through to make it into a make-up and market it as "Vamp Bait." She had hoped Eric would have stopped at the other side of the bar, but he was walking around it. She shifted uncomfortably, he was looking at her with lusty, half-open eyes. "Um, Eric, how much of that did you test?"
"Just a little." He said with a coy smile.
Maybe one of us should wait in the other room until you're feeling more yourself." She suggested. "Or maybe you should take a shower."
He was right in front of her now, his hand reaching out to run the back of one finger down her arm. "All by myself?" He actually pouted. Sookie immediately thought of their first shower together and shivered despite the heat rising within her.
His nostrils flared at her arousal and his eyes widened. He moved closer and she backed up against the sink. "A fantasy of yours Miss Stackhouse?" When her only reply was swallowing hard, he moved until there was but a hairsbreadth between them, his hand coming up to stroke her cheek. "Or is it one of those memories you are selfishly keeping to yourself?" Her breath caught.
"Eric, can we talk about this some time when you aren't high?"
"It always seems to be 'another time', you are becoming quite the tease." As he spoke she could feel his lips lightly brush hers, he was that close.
"I don't mean to be, really, but I don't think you're safe right now..."
"Don't ever think I am safe." He smiled wickedly and bent to kiss her. His lips just making contact with hers when he lifted his head and winked at her and snapped his fangs back to wherever it is they go.
She stared at him blankly for a moment then shoved him away. Relief mingling with anger. "My God!" She yelled at him, "Do you even have 'best behavior' in you anywhere? Cause if this is it, it sucks." She glared at him, and he did try to look contrite, but his eyes twinkled with mischief.
She smiled in spite of her self, "Oh for the love of...You must have been a handful when you were little, weren't you?"
"When I was little?" He had no idea what she was talking about.
"Yes, when you were a little boy. You weren't born a six foot four viking vampire were you?" Her tone seemed to imply he was a child now.
"No, but I don't understand what that has to do with anything."
"You must have driven your mother crazy getting into trouble and then looking all innocent, batting your eyelashes and flashing those blue eyes at her." She put her hands on her hips and her eyes dared him to deny it.
He grinned, an open honest smile, causing his eyes to twinkle. "Oh she caught on pretty quickly, my grandmother though I had wrapped around my little finger."
"I knew it." She said smugly. "I bet you were glamoring people before you were even turned."
He tried to look modest but she rolled her eyes. He opened his mouth to answer but his phone rang. He pulled it out and said apologetically. "It's Pam." She nodded and indicated he should go ahead. He put the phone to his ear and asked curtly "Yes Pam?" During the pause he got a rueful smile on his face, "Alas no." he said dramatically and winked at Sookie who figured she probably asked if she had interrupted anything. Another pause and his face instantly became serious. "Is she alright?...will she be?...Are you sure?...Alright we'll be right there." He ended the call and slid the phone back in his pocket as he started for the elevator. "We've got to go."