Perfect Valentine Chapter 11
SPOV
When we pulled into the driveway Eric turned the key and immediately reached for my hand, "Sookie, I am very proud of you for the way you handled the situation tonight. I know it wasn't easy, but it is best that everyone know the truth about Bill." He leaned over and kissed my cheek before getting out of the car and coming around to open my door. "You go on to the porch while I get the bags out of the back. Don't go in until I get there."
"Eric, he's not coming back, not this soon anyway, probably never," I answered with a smirk, "don't treat me like some china doll." But I did as he said and waited to open the door until he joined me on the well-lit porch. I didn't want him to think I didn't appreciate his protectiveness of me, I just didn't want it to get weird. We dumped the purchases on the couch and I announced, "I'm grabbing a shower. You want to join me?"
Eric took my hand and pulled me to him for a deep kiss. Suddenly I wasn't feeling as tired as I had been. "You sure about that? You don't think you're too sore for a little fooling around?" he said, his eyebrow at his hairline, "I can't promise to be good."
"Well, I guess we'll just see, won't we?" I teased, practically scampering to the bedroom. Looking over my shoulder I continued, "By the way, lover, when it comes to fooling around, you're always good!"
We soaped each other up, and Eric washed my hair lovingly, but, after I'd flinched and winced a couple of times, he decided we should move to the bed for any further lovemaking. He worried about my slipping in the shower, since it hurt my bruised arms to grip on to anything too hard. I certainly didn't mind. He was gentle, but thorough, and in no time we were both sated and ready for sleep. I snuggled into his chest and whispered, "Always good."
EPOV
Sookie snored softly beside me. I reached over her and turned off the alarm. I was tempted to leave her sleeping in the bed, call Sophie Anne, and tell her Sookie was sick and couldn't make it in today. Sighing, I got up and put on the coffee instead. I knew Sookie didn't want to miss work, and, even more than that, she didn't want me to hover over her. Intellectually I knew she was a big girl, and not in constant or immediate danger, but emotionally, I was having a hard time thinking about her out there today, in the world without me to protect her. "Don't be smug, Northman. You're not some kind of superhero, coming to the rescue of a helpless damsel," I chastised myself. After pulling fruit out of the fridge and bowls out of the cupboard for oatmeal, I went in to wake Sookie. I sat on the bed next to her, kissed her forehead, and stroked her cheek, "Wake up, beautiful. Breakfast is almost ready."
"Mmm, what did you cook?" she asked without opening her eyes. Suddenly she sat upright in bed, her eyes wide, "You cooked?"
"Well, no, not cooked, technically. Not yet, anyway. I pulled out fruit and bowls. Want me to make you some oatmeal? The coffee's ready too," I answered, hoping she didn't think I was too pitiful.
"Sound great," she said, reaching up to pat my cheek, "I'll be right there." She got up and walked to the bathroom. I returned to the kitchen and put oatmeal and water in the bowls. This I could handle, anyway. I pulled a mug down from the cabinet and filled it for her. When I turned to put it on the bar, she was just walking into the room, "You are a prince, Eric, thanks." I watched her take her first few sips, eyes closed. My girl really likes her coffee.
"How you feeling today? Arms any better?" I asked quietly.
"They feel better, less sore, but the bruises are still dark. I'll be wearing long sleeves all week, looks like," she answered between sips. "What do you have going today?"
"Not much that I know of. I need to check to be sure everything is ready for Mom and Dad's return, as well as calling down to make sure everything is in place for this weekend. Other than that, should be a light day." As I talked I finished up the oatmeal, made some toast, and put everything in front of her where she sat at the bar. She smiled up at me appreciatively before digging in. "Need anything else?"
When she shook her head, indicating she didn't, I sat down next to her with my own bowl, and we ate our breakfast in silence. "I can drive you in if you like," I said finally.
"Okay, I'll let you today, but tomorrow I'll take my own car. I need to touch base with Tara and Amelia, so I'm going to contact them today about meeting at Starbucks in the morning. Alright?" she looked at me as she took a bite out of a huge strawberry. Uhn.
"Sure, actually that works great for me too. I need to get with Alcide about moving my furniture from the apartment to storage." I gathered the few dishes from the bar and placed them in the dishwasher. When I turned back to face Sookie, her grin was ear-to-ear. "What?"
"Oh, nothing, just you, you're so settled in, so domesticated. I guess I just didn't expect it so soon," she giggled the words instead of speaking them.
"Sookie, I've lived on my own for years. Did you think I just let dishes pile up, or ate every meal out?"
"Of course not. I've seen how neat your apartment was, and, yes, I know, you had a housekeeper, but she didn't come everyday. It's just you seem so at home here so quickly." Suddenly she was off the bar stool and in front of me, standing on tiptoes to reach my chin for a kiss, "I didn't mean that as a bad thing. I love it, I absolutely love it!"
"Well, I'm glad, because I don't plan on going anywhere, and I don't plan on letting you do all the work around here. You okay with that?" I pulled her to me and brushed her lips with mine.
"Perfectly," she said without pulling away. I deepened the kiss, but glancing at the wall clock, gave a deep sigh and retreated. "Nooo," she whined, "not yet." So I gave her one last smack and pushed her away.
"We have to get dressed," I said, my own disappointment coloring the words, "but keep my place. We'll pick up right there as soon as we get home." She ran her fingers over my lips, nodded her head, and walked off toward the bedroom to get dressed. I stood where I was for a few minutes, gathering my composure, as it were, before following.
SPOV
When Eric pulled up to let me out, he leaned over and kissed me lightly once, as he usually did when we parted each morning. Then he cupped my chin in his hand and kissed me again, harder and longer. "I'm going to miss you more than usual today," he said with his face close to mine, "can't wait to get home and back in your arms." He placed one more wet kiss on my lips before pulling back from me. "Don't forget to mention to Sophie Anne that you want to leave early Friday," his hand still held mine as he spoke, and he gave it a squeeze for emphasis. I was so turned on I couldn't speak. I just nodded and returned the squeeze. Oh, man, it was going to be hard to concentrate on work today.
I stood on the sidewalk and watched as he drove away. "Sookie, are you alright?" Sophie Anne asked from the door. I hadn't even seen her arrive. I had to mentally shake myself out of the daze.
"Perfect, Soph, how was your weekend?" I answered as if my mind weren't a thousand miles away. All the way up to the office in the elevator we made small talk about our days off. When I told her about the shopping trip, I decided this was as good a time as any to let her know about our plans. "By the way, Sophie, if it's okay I'd like to leave at noon on Friday. Eric is taking me to his parents' country house. We're going to tell them about the engagement."
"That will be fine, honey. You haven't told them yet that you're getting married?"
"They've been gone. Europe. They are coming in this week. We wanted to wait and tell them in person. I'm really excited about going to their place, but I'm a tad nervous, too," I admitted.
"Oh, it'll be fine. You'll see. Eric is too nice to have parents that aren't. They're going to love you as much as the rest of us do." She put her arm around my shoulder and gave me a quick squeeze just as the elevator stopped on our floor.
Despite the distractions of the morning, I somehow got through the day. I had talked to both Tara and Amelia about meeting for coffee tomorrow, answered a half dozen emails and texts from Eric, all with the same basic idea: booty call after work, and still managed to get some work done. Since I was taking off early Friday, I wanted to work hard while I was here. At five o'clock my phone buzzed with another text from you-know-who: IM HERE WHERE R U
I laughed, grabbed my purse, and said, "See ya tomorrow, guys!" Every girl still at her desk looked up and smiled. If they hadn't seen the blush on my cheeks all day, they had seen Eric, and knew exactly why I was in such a hurry to meet him. If I weren't so busy feeling horny, I might have been embarrassed.
As soon as I climbed into the passenger seat, Eric's hand was behind my head, pulling me in for a kiss. No quick hello peck, this one, but a long, languorous, full of promise smooch. God, I thought I was horny before! "Drive!" I commanded, and was answered by a hearty laugh and the roar of the Corvette's engine. As soon as Eric turned off the key, I opened the door and made for the porch. Before I could get the door open his hands were on my waist. I leaned against his chest and said, "Better let me get the door open. The neighbors might not like it if we did it right here on the porch." Reaching around me, he turned the knob and pushed on the door. One step inside he turned me to face him.
Bending to kiss me, he breathed, "I've been waiting all day for this. I can't wait any longer." Placing his hands under my hips, he lifted me. I wrapped my arms around his neck, my legs circled his waist, and he walked to the bedroom as I licked and sucked the sensitive skin of his neck. He groaned and set me down. Immediately his hands began working to free me of my clothing. At the same time, I began unbuttoning his shirt, unbuckling his belt, tugging at his waistband. In a matter of seconds our clothes formed a pile on the floor and our hands greedily explored the other's body. Gently he leaned me over the bed and I scooted to the middle. As he climbed over me his eyes burned with passion. I felt a tremor travel through my very being. "Oh, Sookie, so beautiful, so hot," he muttered as he nibbled at my lips and along my jawline.
I lifted my hips and ground against him. I moaned to convey my need. As perceptive as ever, he answered immediately, moving down my body, stopping to suckle my swollen nipples while addressing the problem at hand, with his hand. "Eric," I crooned, "ahh, oh." That was all I could get out. My back arched to receive his attentions, a fine mist of perspiration covered my skin, which burned with my desire. As his long fingers entered me, I uttered a rather unflattering grunt and my torso involuntarily rose from the bed. I couldn't hold back anymore. My walls clenched around his fingers. My juices flowed over his hand. Before I had a chance to recover, he withdrew his hand and replaced it with his swollen, throbbing penis. Our bodies moved and our voices moaned in perfect unison. Our eyes were open and locked in an intense stare. Finally, and at the same time, we reached our thunderous release. Collapsing on the bed, our hands caressed each other as we lay together silently, finding no need for words.
After a while, Eric kissed my forehead, said, "Don't move, lover, I'll be back," and slipped out of bed. I hugged myself to preserve the warm feeling that spread through me. I could hear him moving around in the kitchen, opening the fridge, a drawer, a cabinet, and then the pop of a cork being removed from a bottle of wine. He came striding back into the bedroom with a tray filled with cheese, thick slices of French bread, and fruit. In the other hand he carried the wine bottle and two glasses. A man with normal sized hands would never have been able to handle so much in one trip. For Eric, though, it was no problem at all. He set the tray, wine, and glasses down on the bedside table, "Let me fix your pillows, so you can sit up," he said, pulling me up to a seated position. When the pillows were in place, I scooted back and reclined against them. Eric sat down on the side of the bed and reached to the tray for a piece of bread and a slice of cheese. He held it to my mouth. I giggled at the thought of his feeding me, but took a bite all the same. He smiled broadly at me and asked, "Wine?"
"Yes, please," I answered, delighted at his pampering. After pouring each of us a glass, he climbed further into the bed and sat cross-legged in front of me. He placed the tray between us, and we ate, drank, talked, and laughed until the tray and bottle were both empty. When he moved to get up, I protested, "No, let me. You 'cooked,' so it's only fair that I should clean up." I placed the bottle and glasses on the tray and carried it back to the kitchen. I washed the tray and glasses, put them away, and returned to the bedroom. Eric had taken my place against the pillows, and had his laptop open. He hadn't heard me enter the room. When he realized I was there, he abruptly slammed the screen down. "What's up?" I asked, laughing at his look of surprise.
"Nothing. Just...nothing. Don't be nosy," he said, pulling me to him for a kiss.
"Fine," I answered, "be that way. I'm taking a shower."
"Good," he teased, wrinkling his nose and scrunching his lips, "I'll do the same when I've finished here." I slapped the air in his direction, echoing his playful mood. He went back to his computer. I couldn't quite read the expression on his face as he stared at the screen, but it didn't look like concern, so I decided not to worry about what he was doing.
After our showers, I reset the alarm to get up a little earlier. I was meeting Tara and Amelia in the morning, and lately it seemed we just weren't getting out of here as soon as I used to when I lived alone. I smiled thinking about the reason for that. We lay in bed reading for awhile before we snuggled in for sleep.
EPOV
I never thought I'd say it, but there were some disadvantages to living together. Sookie's curiosity and our constant togetherness made it damned difficult to take care of clandestine arrangements. Of course, I should have thought of these things while I was at work, but I just had the brilliant idea a few minutes ago. I didn't want to wait until tomorrow to let Russell and Emily, the caretakers, know what I had in mind, so they'd have plenty of time to arrange it. Being out in the country so far sometimes caused logistics problems. You just had to plan ahead a little more. No running to the mall or corner store to pick up last minute supplies. When Sookie came back into the room I was sending an email with the details. She surprised me, and I probably overreacted, which, of course, just served to spark her natural curiosity more. Luckily she decided to shower, so I was able to complete my mission, and give the appearance of nonchalance when she came back into the room. I was so stoked about this weekend, it was hard for me to keep my composure, but I managed to give her the quiet hour she preferred before turning out the light. I snuggled close to her, but didn't sleep until much later in the night. My mind still buzzed with the plans I had for making this trip a memorable one.
Sookie had set the alarm to go off early, so I really wasn't ready to get up when the radio began playing "Up, Up, and Away." Where the hell did she find this station, anyway? I groaned and rolled over. My perceptive partner got the message. She kissed the back of my neck, said, "Sorry, I'll try to be quiet so you can sleep another hour," and then got out of bed. The next thing I knew a fully-dressed, ready-to- leave-the-house Sookie gently shook my shoulder, kissed my cheek and whispered into my ear, "Eric, you need to get up now. I'm leaving in a few minutes, but I left some coffee and toast out for you."
I smiled before opening my eyes. "Thanks, lover," I said into the silky hair that fell across my face as she bent over me, "I miss you already." She stood beside the bed as I sat up and stretched. I reached for her to give her one more kiss before she left, "I love you."
"I love you too, Eric," she smiled down at me, "I'll text you when I get to work. Have a good day. Are you and Alcide moving the furniture today?"
"That's the plan," I answered, swinging my legs over the side of the bed, "unless he had something come up. He's calling me later."
"Okay, well, bye," she said, walking away, but looking back at me the whole way. For two cents, I'd get up from here and haul her ass back to this bed. She'd come willingly, too.
SPOV
God, I didn't know it would be so hard to leave Eric like I did this morning. Funny how I'd gotten so used to our riding in to work together in just a week. But I refused to be one of those women who abandoned her friends when she married. A girl needs girl friends, and I wasn't sacrificing my relationship with Tara and Ames to spend a few more minutes with Eric. Still, I was tempted to climb back into that bed. I know he would have welcomed me. I realized I was really looking forward to the weekend. Even though there was the thing about spending time with his parents, the two of us would be together, without the pressures of "real life" for a glorious couple of days. At least, I hope it was going to be as glorious as I thought. Well, just being with Eric for two and half days, without responsibilities or schedules would be glorious. The drive in seemed very short because my mind was so preoccupied with our trip, I guess. Anyway, I was soon pulling into the parking garage at work and walking down to the Starbucks on the corner. Amelia was just arriving from the opposite direction when I got to the door. "Hey, girl, how are you?" I asked, spreading my arms for a hug.
"Who cares about me? Tell me about you and Eric. What's it like having him underfoot all the time?" she smiled broadly, obviously teasing.
Before I could answer her, Tara walked up behind me, "Oh, no, you don't! You can't start dishing until I get some caffeine." We all three laughed, agreed, and pushed the door to go in.
After we'd gotten our orders, we sat at a table. After two sips, Tara was ready to listen, "Okay, Sook, spill. Tell us everything."
I told them how wonderful it was having Eric around all the time, how I'd hated leaving him this morning, and how great he'd been treating me. "'Bout time some guy treated you the way you deserve to be," Amelia threw in. I winced a little, being reminded of my recent contact with Bill. Of course, she picked up on it immediately, "What?"
"Well, when we were moving Eric's things, I was at home alone, and, stupid me, I forgot to lock the door. I thought Eric was right behind me, but Bill came in. He was being his usual asshole self, and, well, if Eric hadn't come in at just the right time, I don't know what would have happened," I spoke quickly and had to take in a huge gulp of air at the end of the speech because I hadn't taken the time to breathe between words.
"I hope he beat the bastard to a pulp!" Tara seethed, her hands balled into fists.
"Were you hurt?" Amelia asked, placing her hand on mine.
"Bruises, on my arms where he grabbed me," I answered Amelia first. Then turning to Tara, I said, "He didn't hit him, but he made his presence known. Bill ended up on the floor and bloody. He did a little more posturing, but Eric bested him in the end. He left, and I don't think he will be back."
Tara was still steaming, "Well, Eric showed a lot more mercy than I would have. If he ever comes near you again, I'm going after him with a shotgun. I swear, I'll do it!" Amelia, always less likely to resort to violence than Tara, nonetheless nodded in agreement.
"Great, then I can visit you in Gatesville Penitentiary," I smirked, "but I don't want to talk about Bill anymore. I want to tell you about this weekend. Eric and I are going to tell his parents about the engagement. We're going to their home in the country, and it sounds freaking great!" I proceeded to tell them what I knew of the Northman estate. I listed the amenities Eric had told me about, expressed how surprised I was to learn that the place was so large and well appointed, and shared my nervousness at spending so much time with my future in-laws. My girls, of course, were supportive.
Amelia tsked at my apprehension, "They'll love you, you know they will."
Tara was intrigued with my description of the property, "Take lots of pictures, Sook, this place sounds like Club Med, Texas, to me. You're going to have such a good time!"
Glancing at the clock, I knew it was time to go, "Gotta run, girls. I'm taking off early on Friday for the trip, so it would be bad form to come in late. I'm so glad we did this. One of these evenings we'll have a girls night out, like the old days. I need to catch up with both of you. I did all the talking today."
"You're the one with all the news," Tara said, "we're just dating the same old guys. No rings, no country estates, no bruises." She and Amelia both laughed and hugged me before I turned to walk back to the office. I felt really good about seeing them. I was going to make sure we did this more often.
EPOV
I hadn't been at my desk an hour when Alcide called. He would be available to help me move the furniture from my apartment to storage around two. I told him I'd meet him there, and sent a text to Sookie, so she'd know where I was this afternoon. She had, as promised, sent me one telling me what a great time she had with her girlfriends. Even though I would have loved to keep her with me in bed this morning, even though I was jealous of every minute she spent with anyone but me, I was glad she had such good friends to talk to and spend time with. I didn't want her to give that up, anymore than I wanted to give up seeing my friends occasionally. My buds and I didn't hang as much as we used to, obviously, but we still got together every now and then. Alc was on and off with the love of his life, Debbie, whom Sookie didn't really care for, although she'd never say so out loud, and Quinn dated any girl who'd say yes. Our lives had just taken different paths, but I guess that's the way it is. We'll always be friends, though.
I worked straight through until one thirty, so I could get everything done, then told everyone I'd be out the rest of the afternoon. I grabbed a burger on my way to the apartment to meet Alcide. He walked in sporting a big smile, so I assumed he and Deb were "on" this week. "Hey, bro, how goes it?" I asked as he entered.
"Couldn't be better. Business is picking up again, and Deb and I are back together. I think it's going to last this time," he beamed. I'd heard this more times than I could count, but didn't show my skepticism.
"Great! Glad to hear it. Sookie and I are fabulous too. Really love waking up next to her every day. I'm taking her to the place this weekend. We are telling Mom and Dad about the engagement."
"Oh, cool, hope she likes it. Is she the outdoorsy type?" he asked, looking around the almost empty apartment, appraising the amount of work we had ahead of us, I assumed.
"Eh, somewhat, I guess. She seems really excited. I took her to Cabela's Sunday and got her outfitted. She liked shopping, at least," I answered, cleaning up the trash from my lunch.
"What girl doesn't?" he replied, "so all this stuff going?"
"Pretty much. Lupita needs the dresser for her boy's room, and her husband's picking it up tomorrow, but we'll go ahead and store the rest of this for now. I'm hoping Sookie and I can get a bigger house before the wedding, so we'll need it then." We walked through the rooms planning the most efficient way to pack the furniture into the truck. We decided we could get it done in two trips, maybe three. Of course I could have hired a moving company or rented a U-Haul, but this was a chance to spend some time with Alc, as well as take care of business. I didn't mind physical labor, either. We worked together well, too, having done so much moving in our time. Alcide and Quinn had helped me move in here when I'd come back from college. I helped Alcide move into his apartment, out again when he briefly tried living with Debbie, and then back in when that went south. We'd both helped Quinn move about ninety-five times. It did take three trips, but we got it all done by six. As we'd worked Debbie had called Alc a couple of times. He asked if Sookie and I would have dinner with them. I hated to say no after he'd helped me out, and, as a matter of fact, I guess I owed him, so I called and asked Sookie to meet us at the restaurant at six thirty. As I knew she would, she said yes, and her annoyance that Debbie would be there would have gone unnoticed by anyone but me. A jewel, my Sookie, an absolute jewel. I'd have to think of some way to reward her. I ducked my head to hide my naughty grin. I'd thought of the perfect reward, one that would reward me as well.