THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH FOR THE REVIEWS! They make me so happy I feel like writing more and more :)! I'm inspired these days so I'll try to update as much as I can. I just started university and can't bring myself to concentrate in class. Instead, I write this loll hopefully you enjoy this chapter. Btw, I know there is lots of flirting and stuff and eventually there will be more, but I strongly believe in building up tension, sexual and non. Hopefully you don't find this boring! Enjoy ;) Review, review, review :) I love reviews!

I must have looked really sick or pale because Eric grabbed me roughly, shaking me back to reality.

'Sookie...Sookie, don't panic. Please calm down.' He growled in my ear, holding me to his (firm and muscular) chest. His words had the effect of a cool bucket of water on me. I tensed in his hold and he felt it. He was gentleman enough to let me go. I was furious and terrified at the same time. I couldn't believe he had just said that. Because you'll need to be strong when Russell drinks from you...What the hell did the man hope to achieve by giving a sip of me to the madman?

'Get out.' I said, my voice raspy, clinging at my shirt, his shirt, trying to close it.

'Hardly, my love.' He whispered, sitting back down on the concrete floor, at my feet, his long legs stretched out in front of him.

'Get out.' I croaked again, letting myself slide down, my back on the column. I cradled my legs with my arms, putting my forehead to my knees. My hair cascaded on my cheeks, hiding my face from him.

'Listen to me, Sookie. I need you to drink from me. I know you don't want to, and I know damn well I'd rather you liked the experience, but it is important that you be strong. Russell will not drain you. Nor will I. I would not allow it and you know it. But he needs to drink from you. It's imperative that he does.' Eric said, his voice a calm thunder roll. He was mad, but not at me, the bond told me. He was mad at himself for scaring me.

'Why?' I replied, tears now rolling freely on my cheeks. I lifted my head to look at him, my vision blurred by the tears.

'I cannot tell you. Otherwise it might not work.' He responded, wiping my right cheek with his callused thumb. He then did something rather strange and unsettling. Bringing his wet thumb to his lips, he proceeded to lick it dry of my salty tears. I must have looked puzzled because he simply grinned and said:

'I love your flavour. It's like having grapes when you crave some wine.'

I looked at him, disgusted. Why the hell did he believe he had a right over me? To order me to do a dreadful thing, willingly allowing the monstrous Russell to drink from me? Whilst he would watch, if not participate?

I was about to ask him a question when he just stood up and slowly backed away from me, his nostrils flaring. He was smelling something he disliked very much.

'There's a bitch in the place.' He growled. 'I've smelt her before. She was recently injured too I believe.'

'What?' I whispered, puzzled, suddenly scared by his demeanour.

'A were. Non friendly' He specified, crouching next to me. 'I'll be right back lover.' He whispered to me before he left me, strolling up the steps, ready to pounce. I heard some sort of commotion upstairs, people fighting obviously, and tried to make myself as small as possible. It obviously wasn't vamps, and I had a faint idea of who the injured bitch was and kind of liked Eric referring to her as that: Debbie Pelt, Alcide's ex-girlfriend who had attacked me mere days ago. How she had found me, I couldn't tell but I damn well knew that Eric wouldn't let her get at me, now that I was just back to being a good blood bag for his business. The door suddenly opened with a kick. Eric, no doubt. I could feel his smugness through our bond and when he descended on the stairs, I understood why. An unconscious Debbie was slouched over his shoulder and he roughly dropped her at my feet, swiftly binding her from head to toe with strong ropes he had on his other shoulder.

'I believe she wanted you dead.' Eric snarled, kicking her bloodied torso with disgust. How surprising, I thought. I took a good look for the first time at the gash I had done on her perky face with the scissors when she had attacked me at my home: it went from her left eyebrow to the corner of her mouth and even though she cured much faster than a regular human, I could see the gash would leave a scar. Too bad for her, I thought. She kind of had deserved it.

'I also believe you gave her that little souvenir.' Eric muttered, pointing at her cheek. 'I like a combative woman.' He said, looking at me, proud. Grabbing one of the collars hanging at the wheel, he wrapped it around Debbie's neck and clinked it shut. He then proceeded to lock it with a padlock. At least she wasn't getting anywhere. 'What do you want me to do with her? Kill her?' He asked, as if he was offering me water. Thinking about water made me realised I really badly needed to pee. And change. I wanted out of his clothes.

'No. I'm no murderer, Eric. Maybe it's alright with your kind to kill people without cause, but it isn't in my world.' I muttered, looking with disgust at Debbie's sausaged figure.

'I do think she came here in the firm intention of killing you. I think she tracked your smell all the way from Bon Temps. That seems cause enough for me.' He said, sitting back in front of me.

'Can't you put her somewhere else?' I whimpered, not wanting to endure the confrontation that would surely ensue when the mad girl regained consciousness.

'I can do whatever you want. But you'll have to drink from me. Very soon. And I from you. If she's here' he said with disdain 'Russell can't be far. If he comes tonight, we need to be prepared.' Eric finished, approaching me to softly caress my hair.

'First, I need to go to the bathroom. And I need fresh clothes and a shower.' I replied, crossing my arms on my chest, in hopes of keeping the shirt in place, covering my chest completely. I tried to put on my stubborn chest, at lost with my emotions. Anger, frustration, stress and incomprehension were flooding my brain to the point where I was almost drowning in contradictory emotions.

'Anything you like.' Eric replied, grabbing my hand to pull me to my feet. He then pulled me upstairs with him and into the dark and empty bar. Wherever Debbie had breached, the doors were back in place and apart from droplets of blood, hers, staining a few tables, there weren't any traces of the earlier fight. I thought about making a run for it for the door, but it was surely locked and Eric would get in my way in less time than it took to say Ta-da. Eric took me to a part of the bar I had never visited. It looked like the employees' room and was quite the decadent sight. The entire room felt like the inside of a jewellery bow: dark velvet covered the walls and modern furniture was sprawled all around. Damn. If I could have an employee room like that at Merlotte's, I'd probably move in! Eric strolled through the room and went straight to Yvetta's locker. Her name was scrawled on a fancy sticker on the front. He yanked the door open and went through her clothes, throwing them to the floor. Most of her things we tiny pieces of lace or fishnet that she wore for her dances at night, but she also had some regular jeans in there. Eric took a pair, sized me up and then threw them at me.

'They might be a bit long, but the size should be good.' He said simply. Meaning I'm shorter than the sexy European he loved to take for a six hour ride in his basement, but not too fat to fit in her jeans.

'Geez, thanks.' I mockingly told him, looking at the jeans. They were actually quite beautiful and the cut seemed very fitted, almost skin-like. Damn. He then continued searching for something in the locker. Did the girl carry all her wardrobe in there? I wondered, somewhat annoyed.

Eric then found what he had been looking for: a tiny lacy pair of panties and a matching bra, all in a warm cream colour that would look quite nice against my tan. He turned to look at me and gave them to me without more ceremony. He simply grinned, no doubt imagining me in those and then proceeded to look for a top.

'You want me to wear those?' I whimpered, holding the lace panties in front of my puzzled face.

'I don't have much more to offer, I'm afraid, unless you wish to go commando? I usually do that.' He replied, his grin smug and suggestive. The man was unsettling. His mere offer and his grin were sending waves of heat down to my pelvis. My skin felt flushed and my breath caught in my throat. In answer to my arousal, he simply licked his lip in a deliberately slow manner.

'Find me a shirt.' I then checked the bra size to distract myself from his presence and moaned in disappointment. The bra would be a tight, tight fit. I however felt a surge of pride at the idea that I had more bosom than Miss Yvetta.

'What's wrong?' He said to me, approaching me with a thin piece of white fabric that surely couldn't be a top.

'Too small.' I replied, jutting my chin at the bra that dangled from my clammy fingers.

'Oh.' Was all he muttered, his lids half closing, sizing me once more.

'True, you are more bosomy than Yvetta. She's skinnier whilst you are more curvy. I like a curvy woman.' He drawled. I almost felt like smacking his face. But I refrained, remembering my hurt fists from my earlier attempts at escaping from his hold.

'You are so freaking smug. Now I want my shower.' I replied, swallowing my pride to look up at his dazzling eyes.

'Care if I join you?' He suggested, cocking his eyebrow, very aware of the answer he sure would get from me.

'Ew.' I simply shrugged, pushing him out of my way. I spotted the bathroom and was relieved to find soap, shampoo and all the necessary things for a long awaited shower. The stall was big and new. Not a cheap brand either. I locked the door behind me and undressed, keeping Eric's shirt on over my bra and panties as I searched for a towel. A knock on the door made me jump. I opened the door a crack and frowned at Eric. He was taking in my lack of clothes with an apparent delight for someone who was facing death.

'You forget the towel.' He said, handing me a plush white one. 'You sure you don't need my help in there?' he asked again.

'Nop. All good. Now let me be?' I replied, looking with fascination as a drop of blood slid down his nose towards his lips. I swiftly passed my thumb on his upper lip, cleaning the blood away. This move surprised me and I was then at lost as to what to do with the blood. Grinning wickedly, I smeared it on his black tank and closed back the door before he could say or do anything else.

The shower felt amazing and apart from wondering if Eric had installed cameras in here to spy on his dancers, I almost enjoyed it, even though my predicament wasn't all that alluring. I just had to wait for the sun to set and soon enough Bill would be here to make everything alright. Once I was done, I wrapped myself in the thick towel and passed a comb through my wet hair. I then dressed and was surprised to find a bit of makeup in a little bag on the shelf under the sink mirror. I could very well borrow a bit, after all I wouldn't be around much longer for people to resent me for taking their stuff, I thought, a pang of sadness hitting me hard. I was most probably going to die drained tonight and now all I wished for was to be cradled in Bill's arms. I dabbed on some makeup and tousled my wet hair before putting on the tiny panties. They were very, very tiny. And the bra indeed was too small, making my breasts stand out in a very suggestive way. No wonder Eric liked Yvetta, she was such a major slut, I thought grimly. I pulled on the jeans and rolled them at the leg, slightly pissed at her 5'9'' frame whilst I stood my 5'6''. I then looked at the top. It that could be called that. It was a transparent sleeveless top that left very little to the imagination. No wonder Eric had picked it. He was a major pain in the ass. When I finally emerged from the bathroom, he was sitting on the couch, lost in his thoughts. When he saw me, his eyes almost glazed over with lust, sending tremors of the same feeling down my spine and straight to my core. I crossed my arms on my chest, a vain attempt at hiding modestly my chest. He swiftly stood up and pushed my wrists away gently.

'I definitely should dress you more often' he muttered, appreciatively eyeing my figure. 'And the bra is perfect.' He purred. Did the man's libido ever quiet down? I wondered, smugly raising my eyebrows.

'Now what?' I snickered.

'Now you take my blood and I yours.' He simply said.

'No.' I replied, my voice strong.

'Don't make me force you Sookie.' He whispered, caressing my cheek in an almost romantic manner, had it been anyone but him.

'Tell me why it's necessary. Convince me.' I replied, challenging him. I suddenly wasn't so afraid of him anymore. I felt almost trusting towards him. I knew he had plans and goals of his own, and I didn't like one bit behind dragged into them, but if he really cared about me, I was pretty sure he'd ensure I came out of this alive and sane. He had already saved my life many times, even though my life had been endangered in the first place by his vampire politics, but then again I had made a deal with him.

'You are special, I told you before. I believe your blood can do wonders for my kind. If I can trick Russell into drinking a bit of it, I might get the moment I need to take him out.' He replied, simply.

'That's it? That's your grand plan?' I replied, almost giggling. I was totally dead. So totally dead. That was the worst plan I'd ever heard.

'No, that is not it' he replied, almost bored by the discussion at hand. 'But if I tell you the rest, it won't work. Now, have I ever given you reasons to not trust me?' he asked, his voice a deep growl.

'Time and time again, yes.' I reminded him, cocky. Was he amnesiac or something? Just the previous night he had kidnapped me. Was still keeping me prisoner!

'Well I wish you had a better opinion of me. I will have to work hard on changing that. Just know that I never do something without cause or reason.' Eric said, twisting one of my wet locks around his index finger.

'Oh. That sounds promising' I replied, my voice dripping with sarcasm. I couldn't help but enjoy his caresses. I was strained and stiff from my night on the concrete floor of his dirty basement and I felt like I really needed a massage. Almost reading my thoughts, he spun me around and moved my hair out of the way, brushing his fingers on the skin of my neck, leaving trails of fire behind him.

'Trust me, Sookie.' He sighed in my ear before he placed his strong hands on my shoulders, pushing me down on the couch. Sitting behind me, he then proceeded to massaging my shoulders, removing all the stress and tension from my muscles. I must have moaned because I heard an almost animalistic growl ripple through his chest.

'Where does it hurt?' he asked, his voice deep and low.

'Everywhere.' I answered, truthfully. My entire body ached both from my recent fight with Debbie and my general tired state. His hands slipped under the transparent shirt and he yanked it over my head without leaving me time to even protest. His hands were way too skilled for me to complain. He massaged and rubbed my back muscles and even went lower than my comfort allowed, caressing the soft skin near the low-cut jeans' band. I felt the fire under my skin spread all over me. The man was teasing me into a frenzy I did not share with no one but Bill. Suddenly, he removed his right hand and pressed me to his crotch and chest, wrapping his left arm around me. He then shoved his bloodied right wrist close to my mouth and swiftly brought his mouth down on the side of my neck which was exposed.

'Drink.' He simply growled. And I did. And I hated myself for it, but I trusted him, decided to give his plan a chance. After all, I did not have a better one to remove myself from Russell's unwanted attention. And I could hardly picture my world without the Viking in it, whether he annoyed me or not.

I closed my lips on his wrist and started sucking at his blood, tasting it really for the first time. It tasted very different from Bill's, like drinking champagne after a lifetime of cheap beer. We were far from our experience in Dallas where I had been tricked into sucking the silver out of his chest, against my will.

This exchange was almost erotic, my libido flying off the hook. His left hand was stroking my chest and the moment I swallowed the first mouthful of his blood, I heard him whimper and felt his member jerk in his jeans. Sweet Jesus, Shepherd of Judea, I thought, the man was big. In every way possible. He started planting wet kisses down the length of my neck and I couldn't help but moan right into his wrist, sending shudders through his entire body.

And then he bit me. And I thought I would die.