A/N: Thank you all for the lovely reviews. Thanks again KCP for the beta work. You rock!
I wanted to address one review, just in case other people were similarly confused:
"So they have a blood bond and the King knows about this. What am I missing? Wouldn't Eric spend time with his bonded? Why would he ignore her? I understand he might not want the King to know the depth of his feeling toward Sookie but no contact? Doesn't make sense. What am I missing?"
It's one thing to have a blood bond, another to have feelings. At Rhodes, Andre wanted to bond Sookie, he had no feelings for her. The bond should cause the human to "heel nicely" but Sookie does not heel. Not all blood bonds involve feelings (as would have been the case with Andre). Feelings are something that can be exploited and Eric knows this well. He wouldn't want to be around Sookie unless he "needed" her for her telepathic talents because, if someone were watching, they would know there was more going on.
I hope that clarifies it.
Chapter 5
I chuckled then. She really was the most naive person I had ever met. I held her face with my hand, and pulled her to me. I placed a whisper light kiss on her lips, barely brushing them with mine, and then pulled her to my chest. I bent my face to the top of her head and just took in her scent, enjoying the feel of her against me.
"Did he hurt you so badly that you cannot tell when someone is in love with you?" I asked her. I pulled away and used two fingers under her chin to tilt her face up.
"You love me? You? Eric Northman, Sheriff of Area 5? You're not cursed or anything are you?"
"Yes, me, and no, I'm not cursed" I answered simply.
Silent tears began to run down her face, and I wiped them with my thumb before bending to kiss her once again. She smelled of soap and Obsession and that unique scent that was just Sookie. She was intoxicating.
...[EDITED]
SEE CHAPTER 1 NOTE