Hey guys,

how are you all doing? I'm doing great, had a very good week, been learning lots of really interesting things about embyology this week and had more hands on practicals with live animals :) Also, it was the MCR gig in london last saturday which was mind blowingly good and then yesterday i went to a comedy night in a local lounger bar type place and i met Jack Whitehall *sighs happily* he's pretty much my favourite comedian and it was a really intimate gig, only about 50 people there which was really good too. So, as i write this i'm eating parkin *you guys do know what that is right* so i'm getting crumbs in my keyboard lol. Also, sorry it's posted late but i've been playing cards for the past two hours across in another flat.

Anywho, Charlaine Harris owns the wonderful southern vampire mysteries, thank-you to my wonderful betas campyrs and trajedy99. Without them i couldn't do this and they cope with a lot :) so on with the chapter!

I was sitting alone in my bedroom, curled up with one of my favourite books reading by the bedside lamp since the sun had set hours ago, a gorgeous half moon was lighting up the sky. It was bright enough outside to see the clearing in which my little old home sat and the trees at the edge but not enough to make out too much detail or to really see anything in my room. My grandmother was tucked up sound asleep in her own room across the hall; I could hear the barest splattering of her mind that told me she was on the verge of a deep sleep that would finally allow me true relaxation. Well, it would have if I didn't have a shadow hanging over me about what was still to come this night.

A soft knocking on the front door, not enough to waken up a sleeping person but loud enough for my attuned and vampire blood strengthened ears to pick up on. My breathing immediately hitched, coming in short, sharp gasps and my heart began to thunder in my chest as I finally gave over to the panic that I'd been on the verge of since sunset. The book dropped to the floor with a clatter that didn't even register as I wrapped my dressing gown around my body tightly, it would be my security blanket for this since I had more guts and morals than to do this over the phone. Though now, I was seriously regretting that decision; it would have been easier, I couldn't be physically hurt and my grandmother definitely wouldn't be woken up by a telephone conversation.

As silently as possible I padded down the corridor to the front door, all the way willing my feet to stop shaking on the creaky floorboards. I didn't even dare look at my hands, instead they were shoved deep in my pockets and my fingers were fiddling furiously with the little bits of lint in there. All too soon I just couldn't put it off any further and I opened up the front door without bothering to check the peep hole. Bill stood before me in the gloom offered by the porch, his skin glowing more than I ever remembered so that it was almost bright enough to be a completely new light source.

"Sookie," he greeted me warmly, a bright smile lighting up his face and crinkling up the corners of his eyes.

"Bill," I said back quietly and took a tentative step outside and carefully closing the door behind me with barely a click. "We need to talk," I added as well. He didn't take the step back that I'd hoped which left us too close for my liking for this particular conversation; he wasn't going to like it and I thought the further away I was the better it would be.

"I know, you mentioned that earlier on the phone." I nodded in agreement, remembering the awful answer phone message that I'd been forced to leave since I'd called him around midday. I took a seat in the rocking chair in the corner of the deck that looked out down the drive toward Hummingbird Road. I didn't bother to turn it around, I simply sat down and took a few deep breaths to try and calm myself down. Of course it didn't work. "Is something wrong?"

I couldn't decide whether he was being honest or whether he was being purposefully naive; there had been problems between us for months now really when I looked back. It had taken the news that I'd got yesterday to finally tip me over the edge and pluck up the courage to make the decision that had been a long time coming.

"Yes," I started out, taking the blunt approach and hoping it was for the best.

"Tell me," he replied instantly and perched down on the wooden railing that wrapped around the house which meant he was once again too close to me for comfort but I couldn't very well move again now.

"I found some news out from Amelia yesterday," I began again but that was as far as I got before he interrupted me.

"What has she been telling you? She's never liked me; I'd wager that she's told you a lie."

"Bill, just let me talk; please don't interrupt. This is just the final straw, this would have happened eventually anyway but this was just the catalyst." Even given the circumstances I gave myself a pat on the back for using that science word in everyday conversation.

"Okay."

"We need to stop seeing each other." I held up my hand, stopping him from speaking as he'd already opened his mouth to interrupt me again. "We need to break up. There's no one else, so don't get jealous. But, Amelia told me about Selah and about Lorena. I have to admit I had my suspicions about Lorena but Selah! No, I'm not going down that route. I know you've cheated on me Bill and that just isn't forgivable. I'm sorry for causing you pain but you caused me so much pain while we've been together. I was never in a hospital before I met you, my heart never hurt before I met you. I can't take it anymore Bill. I can't see you anymore, not romantically, not as a friend." I nodded my head as I checked through everything I wanted to say. I couldn't physically say anything else without getting angry, without yelling and without cursing his name which I'd told myself I wouldn't do, I wouldn't stoop that low.

"That lying," he stopped himself before going any further and he stormed up, both of his hands running through his floppy fringe. "I can't believe she told you that, I didn't do anything Sookie!" He roared and the mere volume had me shrinking back into the wooden chair, my hands darted out of my pockets to fold over my chest protectively. "You believed her? Over me?"

"Bill," I whimpered out as he struck a supporting pole with his fist, sending splinters of woods showering out. I fell back as much as possible, sending the chair rocking back into the side of the house and I pulled my legs up into my chest.

"Sookie, how could you!" His hand drew back, hand open and I screamed out, my eyes closed in preparation for the pain.

It wasn't the blow that I was expecting it was a gentle tugging on my waist by a gentle hand and I pulled away from it, trying desperately to get up. "Bill, stop it."

"Sookie!"

I gasped into consciousness with my eyes springing open and chest heaving once more as I gasped for air to ground myself. The touch on my waist wasn't Bill, wasn't a slap that I knew came and really connected with my cheek and pushed my head to the side painfully. Eric was looming above me, hair a complete mess around his handsome face and true concern written across his features. There was no blow coming, only safety in this Vampires arms.

"Are you okay? What happened?"

"Bad dreams, worse memories," I replied quietly and shrunk back into the bed, letting the warmth comfort me along with the cool body beside me. My eyes fluttered shut and I listened intently to my own breathing, it was the only sound in the room. Eric's hand rested on my waist with his finger tips tracing lazy circles there and I could feel his face near mine, sharing my pillow but I couldn't hear him at all and there was only that one point of actual contact.

"Tell me," he whispered after a couple of minutes when my breathing had returned to a normal, deeper rhythm. My eyes sprang open and I searched for him in the darkness; it didn't take much since his skin held a faint pearlescent glow and he was so close to me. Even with barely any light I could make out the startling blue of his eyes and I could read the concern in them as he stared at me. Without any warning I was pulled against him, my back tucked into his chest and his arm wrapped around my front so that his hand could grip mine that were resting near my heart. His legs folded in as much as they were able to behind me so that as much of our naked bodies were touching as possible, he was cool but not unpleasantly so; the warmth we'd created in the bed had seeped into his skin, warming him up a little.

"I don't know if I can," I muttered quietly. It wasn't that I didn't know if I could trust him with the information, if there was anyone here who I could it would be Eric. It was more a question of how much I could tell him that would still let the entire story make sense, and whether I could get it all out without crying. I'd shed enough tears for Bill Compton. Also, the only other person that knew pretty much the entire story was Amelia who had helped me through with the saga from the very beginning, even then I'd never had to tell her everything in one go, she'd had firsthand experience of a lot of it.

He didn't say anything else, probably understanding that pushing me wasn't going to get me speaking any faster. He would make a good interrogator I thought irrationally; he knew when to wait people out, I'd seen that he would be able to stare people down and he had an air around him at times that said he knew he had the upper hand; it was just a matter of time. At the minute he wasn't anything like that, he was gentle and soft, keeping me close and giving me the comfort that I both wanted and needed. I could feel him breathing as well, something he really didn't need to do, it was slow and deep and I found myself trying to match my own breaths to his.

"I'm not sure where to start and I'm not sure how much you know." I started out, pushing my head back underneath his chin. I felt so safe wrapped up like that, he was so much larger than me, so much stronger he could literally snap me in half if he wanted yet I felt the safest I had in a very long time.

"I'll listen, just talk," he whispered back, keeping his voice free of anything but understanding and he even added a little kiss just underneath my ear.

"Well, it started about two and a half years ago now, though I'm definitely still feeling the repercussions of my decisions. I believe the saying that you should never regret the decisions you make, only regret the choices you didn't make. He makes it very difficult not to regret that whole period in my life. I'll just start at the very beginning.

"I met Bill on a very humid summer evening just as the bar, Merlotte's was closing."

"Hey!" I shouted out loudly after closing the lid on the skip bin behind the bar. There were two people crouched down near the tree line just to the side of Sam's trailer. They weren't exactly in plain view since that was the staff parking lot but they would be out of view from general patrons of the bar. With a sinking heart I recognised the stooped figures of Mack and Denise Rattray and I knew they were up to no good, I didn't have to use my telepathy to figure that one out. It's a shame I didn't have better control to hear them from all the way over there. "You okay over there?" I shouted again, hoping to just get a quick 'yeah' so that I could head back inside and leave them alone. I had no such luck, I was completely ignored and I just couldn't handle leaving someone in potential danger if I knew about it, even if the people involved were the Rattrays.

I walked toward them, treading as loudly as possible on the gravel to alert them to my presence. They didn't even glance upward although Denise did fall backward onto the grass with her arms above her head, a tourniquet still fastened around her upper arm. "Oh no," I muttered to myself as I took one more step and came to a stand-still. If they were doing drugs I was in way too far over my head. That was when Mack fell to the ground, landing on his right side a syringe still grasped in his grimy hand and just to cap off my run of bad luck his eyes landed straight on me.

"Well looky what we have here," he grinned manically, showing off all of his yellow teeth. I turned on my heel and ran as fast as possible but I hadn't gone more than three steps when powerful hands clamped down on my waist and picked me up with my legs still kicking into thin air.

"Where do you think you're going? We've had us some V darlin', you can join in the fun." His voice sounded close to me, much too loud to be that close to my ear, giving me my first dose of pain.

"No!" I screamed out as loudly as possible with all the air being squeezed out of me with an alarming strength. Panic began to set in, burning through my veins and I fought with all my strength to get away.

"Don't wad your panties," he leered and emphasised his words with an extra squeeze that sent me gasping. "You're not getting any of the good stuff, don't mean me and Denise can't have some fun though." At that moment a hand grabbed my hair, yanking my head back until I was looking into the aged face of Denise, a snarl on her ugly face. A harsh slap soon followed that left my head snapping around, making an instant splitting headache spark behind my eyes. Then I was on the ground, curled up into a tight ball, my eyes held shut tightly and the only thing I could feel was pain. Agony so over powering that I almost wished for death just so that I couldn't feel.

"Sookie, drink this if you want to live, it'll make the pain go away." I squinted out of slits that were left of my eyelids to see kind brown eyes gazing down at me from under a floppy chocolate fringe. I hadn't even been aware that the beating had ended, I had no idea how much time had passed; the pain had long since merged into one instead of different blows.

"Wha..." the word almost formed in my throat but I just couldn't get it out; my jaw wouldn't work properly.

"I'm Bill Compton," he replied clearly and somewhere deep in my mind I recognised the name as being my new vampiric neighbour. "Take my blood." His wrist, which was slick, was placed over my parched lips. Slightly metallic blood, almost sweet, trickled into my mouth and I just had enough strength to swallow, to take away the pain and seal my fate.

"He just fed you his blood? No explanation, no further warning?" Eric's tone was hard, icy, anger filling his voice yet it was still quiet. A shiver ran down my spine just hearing it, even though I knew it wasn't me he was enraged with. It was a good thing for Bill, even though he probably deserved it; that he was wasn't on the same continent, at least I hoped he wasn't over here. At my shiver I was pulled back into him, if that was at all possible; I could feel his hard muscles pressed snugly into my back and I relaxed again.

"Yeah, that was all he said, it was me that swallowed it. I didn't have to." It was a weak defence, I honestly did know that, but I felt like I was defending myself, not Bill.

"Technically yes, but no human I've ever met would have just waited for death over taking some blood. You deserved more than a name. If you were attempting to speak and you could see him, he had enough time." It was scary that he knew how close to death someone could be and still take in some explanation, that he knew the signs without even seeing the injured person.

"Would you have done anything differently?"

"If it was a human I didn't know, so had no feelings what so ever for, I wouldn't have done anything at all, perhaps call an ambulance maybe stopped the attack; but no blood. It was humans with humans." His brutal honesty was both scary and reassuring together; his words really drove home the extent of his vampire nature but the fact he didn't lie just to make me feel better helped.

I began to roll over, more like leaning considering how tight his grip on me was but he relaxed his arms, allowing my movement. My head rested against his shoulder so that I could breathe in the unique masculinity that was simply Eric and vampire; I'd only ever smelt anything like it on one other vampire. Strangely enough, Bill didn't have even a hint of it. Eric relaxed back into the mattress and pulled me with him so that I was half lying on him and half on the bed. My hand was relaxing on his chest, lazily tracing my finger tips over his well defined abs.

"What happened then?"

"Well, I got better obviously but I took a lot of blood that night; my telepathy was easier to control. I didn't really think about it at the time but I think that was why I was drawn to Bill so much. I also found out later, months later, that he'd given the Rattrays the blood; well provided them means to get it somehow, I never quite figured it out. He planted the idea in their heads to take it intravenously, knowing it would get in their system faster. He watched as they beat me so that he could save me, killing them when they'd done their job." That part still hurt me to admit, that a person, even a vampire, could sadistically set up someone to be beaten to death, watch and then save the person.

"Why?" He nuzzled his nose into my hair and he breathed deeply, my hand on his chest rose with the motion and I couldn't resist sighing.

"Which bit?"

"Why did he set everything up if he hadn't even met you?" His hand, the one that was still wrapped around me, began to trail up and down my side, going up so far that his thumb just grazed the underside of my breast.

"Well, that's complicated. He knew strange things ran in my family, having seen them firsthand when he was alive and he'd heard things about me when he came to Bon Temps to move back. He found out they were true and again, I don't know the details just the general stuff, I know he wanted me for something. The way he left me was worse."

"Sookie?" A gruff voice called for me in my favourite southern accent, the sort that could only be achieved after a couple of centuries.

"I'm in here," I replied back with a smile since he was already walking through the door and into my bedroom of the hotel suite we were staying in. "What's up?"

"Sophie Anne requests your presence." He wrapped his arms around my waist, resting his chin on my shoulder but it was too late, my spine had already stiffened as soon as he'd said 'your' instead of 'our'.

"What do you mean? We're supposed to have two more nights alone together before we speak to the Queen."

"She arrived earlier than expected and I can't disregard my Queen's orders, you must go to her now." He placed a gentle kiss to the side of my neck and I shrank away from him, slinking out of his arms so that his proximity wouldn't drain away my anger.

"Why only me? I can't do this alone!" The Queen scared me, petrified would have been a closer term for the feeling she evoked deep in my bones. I'd first been introduced to her about three months ago as Bills Date, she was interested in me since she'd learned that I had some intriguing quirks. Bill had always been by my side during our encounters, even when I'd been forced to start working for her. Blackmail is a really strong term, so is hate, but I truthfully wanted to use them here.

"You have to, she no longer wants me there with you. You need to show her that you're powerful enough to stand alone in this. I can't help you here anymore."

"But I'm your girl," I replied weakly as I sank down onto a corner of the very plush bed.

"I know."

"That was how he turned you over? He got you, involved you with the Queen and then left you, used you?" The angry tone was back; even icier than before.

"Yes."

"And you didn't just immediately dump his pathetic ass?" Even given the somewhat awful situation, well conversation topic, I smiled at his choice of words; he sounded so modern.

"No, I thought I was in love. Okay, I really was in love with him, or at least what I thought he was. My First." I didn't bother embellishing how many firsts that Bill had been to me; that was probably left quiet. "He talked his way out of it but things were never quite the same between us after that."

A deep growl reverberated in Eric's chest then, I could feel it rumbling underneath my head. It was another comforting moment; that even another vampire thought Bill was a pathetic lowlife.

"When did you finally leave him?"

"Urgh," I groaned, wrinkling up my nose in disgust at the mere thought. I'd already had a nightmare about that; it really wouldn't be pleasant to consciously think about it. I'd told him the rest; I might as well finish the tale. "Well." Then, right at that moment, there was a loud rapping on the door. "I'm really beginning to hate that." I muttered, remembering the other times I'd been disturbed by knocking and I earned a slight chuckle from Eric too.

"Go away, we don't wish to be disturbed," he called out, not too loudly but his voice carried with a crystal clear clarity.

"Let me in, you must obey your Queen." I had a feeling that Eric wanted to make his own disgusted noise yet he managed to refrain, I have to say that the same can't be said for me.

He leaned down, without even a glance toward the bedroom door, placing one hand underneath my chin and tilting my head up. He kissed me, his lips lingering just a little too long for it to be chaste and just long enough for me to kiss him back.

"Stay here, we haven't finished," he whispered, not explaining which bit exactly we hadn't finished, I knew what I was yearning for and it wasn't a conversation. He kissed me again cutting off all sensible thought. I was rolled over onto my back so that he was looming over me, the delicious length of his naked body pressed into mine. The next instant he was gone, leaving me wanting, needing more. Of course I got some satisfaction when I rolled over to search for him and saw him standing beside the bed, his boxer only pulled up to mid thigh. My prize was a glimpse of his glorious butt, the kind that made me instantly want to grab him, have him in my arms again like he'd been only an hour before. I was pretty sure sculptors would want to carve something so good, immortalising him, well if he wasn't already immortal anyway. Sadly, it really was only a glimpse and then he was walking toward the bedroom door which lead to the living room where the knocking had been coming from. That was a worthy sight all on its own.

"What do you want?" I heard him call out a couple of seconds later; the bedroom door had been shut after him but I could still hear his voice quite clearly. The Queen's response was unintelligible to me; I could hear a jumbled high pitched shrieking type reply but not her actual words.

Sighing I sat up on the bed, clutching the blanket around my chest, feeling the need to be covered up even though I was alone, and looked around the room in search of my clothes. From my position on the bed I could barely see anything, just Eric's jeans in a heap near the door. How they'd got there I couldn't recall. I got up, clambering, and gently padded toward the door with the blanket now wrapped around me. That's when I saw the clothes carnage; my bra was in two halves, one partially hidden under the bed and the other draped over the chair in the corner. My panties, at least that's what I thought it was, were just a mess of lace and cotton. My shirt was at least in one piece, though quite ragged. On a positive note my jeans and socks were in perfect condition.

"Sookie!" Eric called out and my head snapped up just in time to see Sophie Anne walk into the bedroom. It was lucky that I only had my jeans in hand and hadn't begun to get dressed yet, I had no desire for the Queen to see me in any more an uncompromising position.

"So this is where you've been hiding out." She giggled, an honest to God tinkling laugh that actually suited her teen-like appearance. "I should never have tried keeping him away from you; I should have kept you away from him." She walked further into the room, and perched down on the little chair in the corner after having flicked what remained of my bra off of the back. "Sookie, dear, dear Sookie. What have you done?"

"Sophie Anne, what do you want?" Eric asked before I could form a sentence and I recognised the same icy tone that he'd had when we were talking about Bill.

"I was looking for Miss Stackhouse here, by myself," she added as though it was a big deal to be doing something on her own. "I tried her room and the restaurant and couldn't find her. I was coming here to send you to find her. But what do I find; she's here. I could smell her, what you two have been doing before I even knocked on the door." She shook her head slightly, a mischievous glint in her eyes. "Tell me Sookie, is he really as good as people say?"

I paled at her words, not knowing how to answer such a ridiculous question; I wasn't going to think about his previous, ah, encounters, it was better to think of it as extended practice time which meant I got a phenomenally good time. Eric answered for me; well he didn't bother to even acknowledge the question actually.

"What do you want Sophie? Do you have a problem with me and Sookie being together?" I couldn't help the little flutter that my heart gave when I heard him say that, it would be truly spectacular to have him as my boyfriend and to really get to know him. I didn't say anything, even though I was desperate to clear up his intentions; he probably just meant together tonight.

"I wanted to speak to Sookie and in answer to your question, I just don't want you taking her away, she's too valuable to me and to the state." I felt the tension level rise tenfold instantly and my mind scanned back to the almost fight in the alleyway after the fire alarm had gone off, I couldn't let it escalate to that in here.

"What did you want to ask me?" I piped up, taking a seat on the bed so that I didn't have to grasp the blanket which was still my only protection quite so tightly. To get dressed I'd risk showing everything and although neither of them would mind, I would, or I'd have to leave the room which wouldn't be acceptable.

"Did you pick up on anything tonight?" She asked with a carefully blank face, showing absolutely no emotion like only a vampire can.

"No," I replied straight away, making sure I kept my face carefully schooled. "There were only vampires present, and the demon of course but he had too much supernatural blood for me to get anything."

"Okay then." She didn't sound like she believed me totally but it was the best answer she was going to get. I'd be dead before I could blink if she found out I'd read a vampire mind. "Did you pick up anything at the fair?"

"No, but I wasn't listening intently," my gaze slipped over to Eric, giving away exactly what my mind had been paying close attention to.

"Urgh!" She growled in a completely unfeminine manner. "This is one of the reasons you two were never supposed to meet. Do I have any chance of stopping you being together?" She aimed this question at Eric and I noticed it was the only smart thing that she'd said during our conversation. The question sounded more rhetorical as though she already knew the answer. Eric only shook his head slightly with a large smirk plastered across his face. "I thought not. Now, you," she turned her pretty little head towards me giving me a glare that sent a chill down my spine, "concentrate on your job or there will be consequences." I didn't want to know what the consequences would be; I just had a feeling that she wouldn't be bothered to sticking within the limits of the law. "You will do as Isay. You're lucky I don't need you for the rest of the night or this would have ended badly. Tomorrow night I don't require you until 11pm, there is a meeting that everyone is attending, we need you to be our ears." I nodded, unable to make my voice work. "As for you," she turned to Eric and even pointed a petite finger at him, which seemed a little ridiculous; I could barely contain my irrational giggles at the situation as I thought about what it must look like to an outsider. There was a giant of a man standing almost between the Queen and me; dressed only in boxer briefs with his muscular arms folded over his chest, long hair pale and wild around his gorgeous face. I was clad only in a blanket that was clutched desperately to my chest as though if either of the vampires attacked it would save me. The Queen was the best; she was wearing one of her beautiful cream sweeping gowns that trailed to the floor and she was sitting straight up in the arm chair, her finger pointed at the man across the room who was more than double her size and age.

"You should have known better, do not, I repeat do not do anything to endanger her or it's your head." A smile broke out across Eric's face at that and I had a feeling he was now suppressing his own laughter. "I will see both of you tomorrow, this place stinks." She crinkled up her nose in disgust before standing up swiftly and disappearing through the doorway into the living room. I heard a thud as the main door to the suite closed firmly behind her, leaving me alone with Eric which was a hell of a lot more comfortable.

"Why is she like that?" I asked, exasperated with the Queen's antics and finally relaxing my grip on the sheet a little, though I did make sure I was still sufficiently covered.

"She is crazy," he replied with a shrug of his shoulders. While running a hand through his hair he stepped towards me, taking a seat next to me on the bed. He didn't stay there long, almost instantly he flopped backward, well that wasn't an accurate description since he made absolutely no bump as he hit the mattress. The control that vampires had over their body was unbelievable at times, just not when any form of lust was upon them or if they were in the presence of fairies.

"Do," I stuttered over my words here, scared about the answer but knowing I needed to find out the answer to this question since I really wasn't going to ask him what he meant by 'together'. "Do I need to leave?" He turned his head slowly to stare at me, his eyebrows curved into a question of his own.

"Why would you need to leave?" He rolled over onto his side, head resting on one hand as he continued to stare up at me through surprisingly dark eyelashes for someone so blond.

"With the Queen," I started out but as soon as the last word was said I was cut off.

"Don't pay any attention to her, you have free will, I have free will and her threats are not worth considering. I am more powerful than her and we both know it. Only leave if you want to leave, I don't want you to." A grin spread out across his face, making him come alive and I couldn't help but smile back.

"I have one more question for you," he nodded his head here, telling me to continue. "Do you ever do anything that she tells you to?"

"Yes." It was my turn to raise my eyebrows at him, another smile already tugging at the corners of my lips. "When I was already planning on doing what she suggested." We both laughed, deep and heartily; it felt good to let go of all the tension and to not care about anything for a few seconds. My hands slipped away completely from the blanket and I suddenly found myself completely bare. The next thing I knew was that I was at the top of the bed, a giant of a man leaning over me with his eyes staring intently at my lips and his naked body pressed along mine.

"We never finished talking," I giggled, doing some of my own staring.

"Oh yes," he replied without looking up at my eyes at all, he also sounded completely distracted, I happened to know exactly where his thoughts were directed since his gracious plenty was digging into my thigh. "What happened next?" He bent his head then, his lips brushing ever so slightly over mine as he planted an open mouthed kiss just beside my mouth.

"He cheated, I dumped him." My hands began to wander down his body, feeling along the intricate lacing of muscles down his back and my voice was rather breathy already.

"Good for me," he whispered against my skin, his cool breath breezing over the sensitive flesh of my neck.

I forgot about everything else again, only bothered about me and him, wrapped up in each other. His lips kissed up and down my neck while his hands roamed over my body, even dipping inside me which made me moan loudly, arching up into him. I wrapped my legs around his waist, tugging him further into me, creating delicious friction between us that only left me begging for me. My hands worked back up until my fingers could wrap into his thick hair, a grip I used to pull his face up so that I could capture his lips with mine.

There were absolutely no pretences this time, even less warning than last time; just a complete hunger and need. I squeezed my legs around him tighter, trying to get what I desperately needed. He didn't give in. His tongue snuck into my mouth to dance with my own, exploring everything he possibly could. My tongue wound around his fangs, scraping just the less painful side of drawing blood until I could feel him groaning in my arms. I'd soon had enough of that, we weren't connected enough for my liking. I pricked the tip of my tongue on his right fang, enough to draw a droplet of blood that sent him into a small frenzy as soon as he tasted it.

"Sookie," he growled out, barely drawing back from my mouth, in fact he still had my bottom lip pulled between his teeth. "You asked for it," he added again, a few more inches further away so that we were staring at each other with lust filling our eyes. Then he thrust into me, filling me so completely that I screamed out an unintelligible garble.

"Bite me," I whispered to him between ragged breaths, needing another point of contact between us, another part of him inside me. I witnessed a brilliant grin spread across his features before he buried his face into the side of my neck, breathing deeply so he could take in my scent. His tongue licked my skin and his breathing stopped, his heart didn't beat but he was so alive with energy, he literally made my skin tingle. Then, just as I was about to start pulling him further down toward me, if that was at all possible, he struck. There was the moment that he struck that was full of pain, but it was so much intermingled with the pleasure that was searing through my body that it just didn't matter, it was just something else to feel.

A building of pressure at first and then it all released as my blood began to spill into his mouth, and was swallowed instantly. His tongue flickered over the small wounds as soon as he retracted his fangs from my neck, that's when he began to suck, deep and powerfully as he drew my essence into him. Then it went beyond, to a different sensation in another part of my body that added to the heaven that was about to rip me apart. I couldn't make out the exact sensation anymore; all I knew was that it was good.

I groaned out again, a strangled cry that only fuelled Eric on. There was a deep rumbling of appreciation coming from his chest that I could feel through my body. Then with one more thrust I went toppling over the edge into darkness again, taking Eric with me.

I finally regained full cognitive process about an hour after round two, well technically it would be round three but I wasn't counting. Too much. I was curled up on my side with Eric wrapped around me, perfectly still in his slumber. He'd stayed awake for about half an hour, nuzzling into my side a little more gentle than I'd imagined he was able to be but then sunrise had dragged him into a deep sleep. He was silent and unmoving yet I still felt completely safe tucked up into him. One of his arms was hugging my waist, making sure I was pressed as tightly into him as possible, while his other arm was underneath my pillow and his legs were folded just behind mine.

I couldn't sleep, even though the room was pitch black and silent, nothing happened when I closed my eyes. I was tired, mentally and physically, but I just couldn't switch my mind off enough to relax. It was a wonderful time of day for thinking, the sun was up so all the vampires were dead to the world, not that they made much noise, and the humans were all still asleep so their minds were silent to me. I could really think, with my shields at their most relaxed. It wasn't exactly helpful on the sleep aspect.

Thoughts were circling my mind. It took me a few minutes to recognise what I was feeling; worry. More so than the general sense of worry that I kept with me every day due to associating so much with vampires, this was above and beyond. I had everything about Caleb to think about; to add to my previous list I now had his reaction to me being with Eric to add to my list. It was no real secret that he really didn't like Eric, and I had a distinct feeling that the feeling was mutual.

But the worst thing I was worrying about was the most superficial thing, the one that really shouldn't have been occupying my mind at all; Eric. I didn't really know him. I didn't know his history or what his intentions were with me or what his apparent lack of trust in the Queen meant. I was also desperate to know what would happen to us now that we'd had sex. I wasn't delusional to think there was anything even close to love between us, yet. He did seem like the kind of man I could love given a bit of time. My other predominant thought was what would happen once we got back to America; we lived in neighbouring towns, yet we'd never met each other before. Sophie Anne would probably make attempts to put us together if she ever learned that we split up, or stopped sleeping together, she would make every endeavour to make us meet on a regular basis, just out of spite.

At some point during the early hours of morning I must have fallen asleep because the next thing I knew there was a severely annoying ringing sound that brought me back to consciousness. The arm that I knew, even in sleep, had been wrapped around my waist was gone and I felt surprisingly alone. The cool body of Eric was still lying beside me, well, more like curled around mine. The ringing stopped then and I barely had time to realise it had been a phone, my cell phone precisely, that was ringing and not some annoying alarm.

"Hello?" Eric's voice, rough with sleep, answered and I felt my stomach drop. Whoever it was on the other end of that phone wouldn't be pleased to hear an obviously sleepy man answering my phone.

So what did you think? Who is on the phone? Please don't kill me about the heavy Bill involvement, i tried to make up for it with the lemony goodness and this means he won't really be cropping up know i love feedback almost as much as i love a certain viking vampire.

This weeks title, The Secret's in the Telling, comes from a song by Dashboard Confessional of the same name.

Thanks to everyone who reviewed, i can't believe the amount of wonderful feedback i'm getting for this story, makes me very happy.

Have a great weekend guys

*hugs*