Hello my darlings! OMG do not worry people, I'm not nearly finished with you all yet :P and i'm not finished with Eric Northman (is it possible to even tire of the man? I think NOT :)!) First thank you all very very very very very much for the incredible reviews for last chapter :) I REALLY appreciated it :P
For those of you wondering, no, Eric did not think AT Sookie. He still is under the belief she can't read vampire minds. And the reason Sookie won't tell him just now is that she fears he accepted that state only because he was stuck with her. (Yeah, Sookie and her infamous doubts :P) But he loves her YIPPY! And he's not exactly ready to tell her he loves her now is he :P don't we just love our sexy Viking!
So here goes, enjoy! Chapter title form the song Isaac by Madonna (I just love it! I think it was my favourite of her Confessions of a Dancefloor album :P)
'So the Queen wants us to go down to New Orleans.' Eric whispered to me as we laid on his couch wrapped up in a big afghan he had produced from a drawer. He was drawing little patterns on my stomach, as I marvelled at the fact we were so close and how good it all felt.
'I'm afraid so…' I muttered, planting a small kiss on his lips. 'And there's the matter of Hadley.' I added, sighing. 'Could you please call Isabel and ask her if Hadley has joined them yet?'
'Anything you want, my love.' Eric hushed before sitting up, tucking me under the afghan to keep me warm. He grabbed his discarded jeans on the ground and pulled them on as I whined.
'Ah love!' He chuckled. I frowned.
'You shouldn't be allowed to ever wear clothes.' I muttered, playful.
'If you're willing to go bare I might think about it.' He said, winking at me. I giggled as he fished his cell phone out of the mess on the floor. Luckily for him, the phone hadn't been damaged like the computer. Which didn't look that good.
'Isabel, this is Eric. Yes, yes. No. What?' Eric said, alerting me. He listened for a while, grunting his approval every minute or so. I sat up, tucking the afghan under my arms. 'Alright. Thank you.' He clicked off and turned to me.
'She never made it there, Sookie. I'm sorry. Isabel's people found her car abandoned on the side of the road. There were no traces of a fight so they suspect it was one of us who took her…' Eric said, gloomily.
'The Queen.' I whispered. 'Do you think she would… kill her?' I asked, suddenly worried.
'No. Hadley is too valuable an asset if she wants to get to you…' Eric replied, sombrely. We were about to proceed with our conversation but there was a light knock at the door.
'What, Pam?' Eric said. The door opened a crack and Pam peeked in. I quickly wrapped myself in the blanket and blushed violently. She cocked an eyebrow at me and took in the sight of her jean clad maker with a smirk.
'I take it you two have made amends?' She snickered. She then saw the lack of objects on the desk and the over abundance of objects on the floor and ticked.
'Another computer, Eric? Really? Those things don't grow on trees!' she sneered. Eric looked at his feet, confused and saw his portable computer which now lay in two pieces (or more, I couldn't tell where the computer ended and the smashed telephone began…).
'Okay.' He simply shrugged. 'Get Ginger to come and clean this mess Pam.' He ordered her, a sly grin on his mouth. I whined and he turned to look at me. And then at the red piece of cloth that laid on the floor (the remains of my dress). The only thing of my clothing that had survived our mad encounter had been my bra and I could hardly go out wearing only that. He looked over his shoulder and chuckled. I stared at my ripped underwear that had latched on to the Fangtasia calendar Eric kept on his wall. I would have laughed had I not been so totally mortified that my underwear lay there for everyone to see. Eric snatched it and tucked it in his back pocket, winking at me.
'A little souvenir.' He whispered to me. I looked at Pam who was still standing there, waiting for him to let her speak. She looked quite amused by the whole situation, unlike me. I swore I surely was as red as my dress. Or what remained of it at least.
'What was it Pam?' Eric asked, sighing.
'Trouble, I think.' Pam replied. We looked at her curiously.
'Care to be more specific?'
'Let's just say the trash is in the place?' She replied, cocking a knowing eyebrow at Eric. Shit. She was talking about Bill, I could bet on it.
'Bill's here?' I snapped, clutching frantically at the blanket around my chest.
'Oh, you refer to him like that too?' Pam mused, a small grin on her perfectly painted lips.
'Cut it, Pam.' Eric snarled. 'What the fuck does he want?'
'Well, Eric, you kind of ordered him here…' Pam started. He rolled his eyes and nodded.
'Wait you can't let him in here… with me like this!' I yelped. Eric cocked an amused eyebrow at me.
'It's not like he hasn't seen it all before now is it…' He growled, not so amused at the idea Bill and I had had sex. Many times.
'Doesn't mean we have to rub it in his face that we… you know.' I whimpered, nervously. 'Let me dress at least!' I begged. Pam chuckled and walked out, returning with what looked like a red version of her leather getup. My eyes went wide like saucers at the sight.
'Couldn't you lend me something less…' I started to say. But she simply shoved the clothes in my hand and strolled out with Eric. He smirked slightly and blew me a kiss before closing the door. I pulled on the awful clothes. How she managed to wear underwear underneath that skin tight leather was beyond me but then it dawned on me she probably didn't even bother with it. Lucky me, the leather getup was brand new and surprisingly to my size. I growled. Pam had purchased that one just for me… The red corset made my boobs look as if they were going to spill out any second whilst the pants were way too tight fitted for my liking. Especially considering my lack of undergarments. I pulled the blanket back around my shoulders.
'I'm decent! Well anyways, more than before.' I muttered. Great thing about vamps is you don't need to shout. They have very acute hearing. Pam and Eric strolled back in and for some obscure reason, Eric had a stupid grin on his face. A grin that disappeared when he noticed I was tucked safely in the afghan.
'Are you cold?' He asked, frowning slightly.
'I should probably be considering the lack of coverage those hideous leather things provide.' I sneered at Pam, 'But no, I'm not. I'm rather toasty actually. I just don't want to look like a tramp, thank you very much, no offense to you, Pam.' I added, crossing my arms on my chest.
'None taken, honey bunch.' Pam replied, cool as a cucumber. 'I wouldn't mind a peek at your tramp-iness though.' She said, a feline grin on her face. Eric cleared his throat audibly.
'Yes?' Pam and I asked, turning our gaze to the very half dressed Viking.
'I wouldn't mind a peek either.' He replied, playful. And before I could say a thing more, he snatched the blanket away from me leaving me somewhat very… exposed. I yelped in surprise and tried to cover my chest as best as I could.
Eric's eyes turned to dangerous slits in an instant, taking in the sight of me. Pam simply smirked and cocked and appreciative eyebrow.
'Pretty.' She said, leaning back against the wall. Eric was on me in a second, eyeing me rather hungrily.
'Pam, the point of dressing her was to cover her. No gift wrap her.' Eric noted, a growl rippling through his chest. 'But I like gifts.' He pulled me up to my feet and twirled me around as if to showcase my assets. I groaned in frustration and tried to yank free from his grip. Useless of course…
'Would you please all get a grip and find me some very big sweater? The biggest the better? I feel naked in this!' I yapped, giving Eric my best puppy eyed look. He chuckled and pulled me close to him, one hand on my leather-clad butt, the other lost in my hair, looming down over me.
'Now, now, I rather like you like this. And sadly we don't have sweaters.' He added, smiling evilly. Oh yeah, right.
'A-hole.' I snapped at him, pulling out of his hold. He chuckled once more and gestured for Pam to allow Bill in. I tried to make myself very little in a corner but there isn't much you can do when you're dressed from tits to toes in very flashy flaming red leather. Bill almost toppled over at the sight and Pam snickered. Bill didn't say anything for a few long seconds, taking in the sight of the very empty desk, the mess on the floor and my leather getup attire. And my destroyed dress which I had forgotten to dispose of. I'd make a terrible murderer, I thought. I shoved it in a corner with my bare foot and stared pointedly at my feet. Oh, right. I already was a murderer….
'Soo…Sookie.' Bill tried, undecided as to whether he should enjoy the sight or be repulsed by it. I sighed.
'Bill. Sorry for the…attire. I…dropped a drink on my dress.' I tried, eyeing Eric meaningfully for him to back up my story. To no avail, alas. The room reeked of sex and Bill simply glared at Eric.
'What Sookie means is that she and Eric had wild, passionate sex on his desk and he tore her dress off her. And her panties.' Pam helpfully said, smiling like the cat that ate the cream. I blushed violently and grunted, trying to disappear through the floor. My fairy powers did not extend to that department, I noted, grimly.
Eric just smirked at Bill and even had the nerve to wink at the man. Bill looked about as emotional as a plank of wood and I swallowed nervously. He knew that me and Eric were… in a relationship, if I may put it like this, but he didn't need anyone to rub it in his face. Apparently, Pam wasn't on the same team as I on the matter.
'Jesus Christ, Pam!' I snapped, really annoyed. She put on a mask of pure innocence (yeah, my ass) and sat down on the couch. Eric was simply smirking like an idiot, no doubt thinking back at all the things we'd done there.
'So, Compton, what did you come here for?' Eric asked, forgetting that only Pam and I were aware he had no bloody idea what had happened in the previous days.
'You ordered me here…' Bill started, with a very icy tone. The edge in his voice could have chopped frozen meat.
'Yes I did!' Eric quickly recovered, sitting down on his desk, crossing his arms on his chest. 'So? Get on with it! Your report?'
'Hallow's body has been disposed of and her minions have been taken care of.' Bill muttered, clearly very angry. 'Taken care of' here having the sense of drained or Ginger-glamoured.
'Good. I have another mission for you, Compton.' Eric said, sombrely.
'Hadley?' I asked, softly.
Bill eyed me surprised and then turned back to Eric.
'Sookie's cousin Hadley, I'm sure you remember her, since you are the Queen's pet boy…' Eric started.
'I'm no more her pet boy than you were Russell's, Eric.' Bill warned. 'You know precisely why I'm still in her good graces.' He added, glancing at me briefly. I swallowed hard, biting my lip nervously.
Yes, of course we know, Compton. Won't he ever stop drooling over her, she's mine and she'll remain mine and there's just nothing he can do about it…Should have just snatched her from him from day one like this he wouldn't have hurt her…
I tried to not look surprised at that train of thoughts just as I'd had to hide my happiness earlier when he'd thought that he was in love with me. Why he wasn't able to say it was beyond me, but thinking it was already a good start, huh?
'Whatever. Just remember that if you cross us for her or try to harm Sookie, I'll have you eat your own balls before I stake you.' Eric said casually. I growled and he simply gave me his best smile which caused my insides to melt like hot butter. I smiled back softly. He was really too good to be true.
'What about Sookie's cousin?' Bill snapped, interrupting our gazing contest.
'Hadley has been misplaced. And we believe the Queen might me behind it all since last time we heard of the Stackhouse girl, Sophie-Anne was intent on turning her. Against her will.' Eric said.
'She's been misplaced, you say?' Bill questioned, serious.
'She was heading to Texas to be under the protection of Isabel, the new Sheriff of the Dallas Area. But she never got there. I believe Sophie-Anne has her.'
'And you want me to check it out. Alright. I'll be heading there right now.' Bill said, nodding officially before he stormed out.
Pam followed him and a minute later, Ginger walked in, looking at my outfit with a smile.
'Oh my, you are the new dancer aren't you? You looking regal, Miss, regal!' She chirped at me, kneeling on the ground to pick up the mess. I turned red and frowned at Eric who was chuckling. The woman really had been glamoured too much for her own good. She'd met me at least half a dozen times and still couldn't remember who I was. I glared at Eric, sighing.
He slid towards me and grabbed my hand, pulling me up to my tippy toes to kiss me. The man was awfully tall. And awfully good looking and yummy and all those other adjectives you can use to refer both to chocolate and extremely handsome men.
'Now come, I'll offer you a drink.' He said, pulling me towards the door.
'Huh, NO?' I said, holding on to the couch for dear life. 'No way I'm going out there dressed like a slut!' I whined, as he lifted me and placed me without arm's reach of anything solid enough for me to hold on to.
'Why not? You're looking quite yummy!' He commented, smirking as his eyes almost groped at my boobs. I slapped his hands away from my waist and frowned at him.
'Eric, come on! I'll look like one of those fangbangers…' I pleaded, pouting.
'Well, if my memory serves me well, you didn't mind banging my fangs earlier…' he teased, his voice a soft purr. I felt myself liquefy, literally. Oh sweet baby Jesus, that man could do things to me…
'Eric, please.' I breathed. Ginger was still busy with her cleaning but the fact she was there made me a bit nervous. Eric picked me up and next thing I knew, we were in the broom closet. Yes, the broom closet. It was dark as hell in there and I moaned when Eric's mouth found that very sensitive spot of mine just below my jaw.
'Eric, come on. Not here!' I begged, trying to yank his hands away from my waist where they were already busy releasing me of my top.
'I like it here.' He growled in my ear, causing me to actually moan. Oh man, what had he done to me?
'Why? Cause it's all dark and gloomy?' I breathed. His mouth latched of its own accord to my neck where he busied himself giving me some more hickeys. As if I wouldn't have plenty of them already! I dragged my nails down his back to the hem of his jeans, causing him to hiss loudly as I pressed his hips to mine. Northman Junior was up and ready to go and I almost minded myself to having sex in the broom closet but – thank God! – Pam yanked the door open, tapping her foot.
I pulled the leather corset down to cover myself and squinted in the light. Eric looked pointedly at my chest, his fangs drawn, not giving a husky's crap that Pam was like two centimetres away from him.
'Eric…' Pam said, her nose wrinkled.
'What, Pamela?' Eric growled, still eyeing my boobs and neck. God the man really was obsessed. But then again I wasn't one to miss and occasion to stare at his gorgeous butt.
I really screwed up in teaching her timing and convenience…
I almost laughed at that. He had screwed up. Or maybe Pam was doing it on purpose. That was most likely. Eric looked at my smirking face and I looked away. Right, I still hadn't told him I could read his thoughts once in a while.
'We have another visitor.' Pam said. 'And by the way, the two of you are really pathetic. The broom closet, really?'
'Eric's idea.' I exclaimed, defensive.
'Right.' Pam replied, a small grin on her lips. 'Eric, Sookie's a lady. And as a lady myself, I can tell you, we prefer more hygienic places to get our groove on than the broom closet. The mop and the paint cans somehow don't do it for me. What about you, Sookie?' Pam asked, playful. I stifled a giggle and eyed my surroundings since the light now permitted it. Yup, dusty and gross, exactly how I liked it - not. I made a grimace and noticed for the first time my hands were still groping outrageously at Eric's ass. He didn't seem to mind, bless me. In fact, he was still having a very private conversation with my boobs and I kind of had to snap him out of it.
'Eric, Pam mentioned a visitor?' I said, bowing my head to look him in the eyes. He sighed and gazed at me dreamily.
He let go of me to follow Pam out in the bar but then turned back to me, kissing me breathless. When he let go of my mouth, which hung half open, begging for more, I must admit, he bent down and pressed his mouth next to my ear.
'I'd fuck you right now if I could.' He whispered, his tongue darting out, causing me to actually whimper. And then I was alone in the broom closet and decided it was really not the proper place to be. I headed for the employee's room, hoping to find something more decent to wear than what I had on at the moment. Luckily for me, the room was empty and I found Yvetta's locker. I grabbed the first pair of jeans that I could find and was thankful that we were the same size (not height – have I mentioned she top model tall whilst I'm more on the average side of the female spectrum?). I hoped she wouldn't mind but seeing as she wasn't even here tonight (at least I hadn't noticed her out there when I'd arrived), I hoped I'd be able to wash them and return them to her first thing tomorrow.
I returned to Eric's office where everything seemed back to normal (apart from the computer which looked absolutely awful) and sat down, waiting for him to return. I was getting bored when I suddenly felt a lot of anger through the bond. Eric. The door finally opened and Pam strolled in. She looked downright disconcerted and I stood up, nervous.
'What is it?' I chirped, suddenly very anxious for Eric.
'Trouble. Eric wants you to return to your place as fast as you can. I can't accompany you sadly but he'll go there straight when he can get rid of them.' Pam said, dropping on my shoulders a vest I hadn't seen her bring in. I wrapped myself in it and grabbed my purse.
'Who is them, Pam?' I asked, making it obvious I wouldn't leave without an answer.
'King Felipe. And his pet-vamp Victor.' Pam simply hissed. My eyes went wide and I was about to ask some more questions but she ushered me out. 'He doesn't, want them to notice you. Please be careful Sookie and get yourself safely to Bon Temps. Call me when you're there.' She added before kissing me on the cheek and pushing me out the employee door. I shuddered in the cool air of the night and walked quickly to my car. The evening hadn't exactly turned how my hormones had hoped it would but I reminded myself Eric had other matters to attend to than my pleasure. I slid into my car and rolled off the lot, heading for the highway. When I pulled in my driveway, I knew immediately something was wrong. But in a good Sookie manner, I tried to dismiss my worries and walked to my door briskly. On my porch, sitting on the bench was a hooded figure. I jumped back in surprise and put my hand on my mouth to stifle my cry of surprise. I backed down the steps of my porch but the hooded figure pulled back her cloak. And I almost yelled in surprise.
'Hadley?' I exclaimed. It was rather dark, but I could make out her face. My gut feeling was yelling at me that something was off. I pushed aside my family manners and decided to listen to her thoughts.
Nothing. As in vampire-empty. I instinctively stepped back. Oh. My. God.
'Sookie.' She finally said, taking a careful step towards me. Her skin was awfully white and her teeth awfully pointy. Or should I say fangs? Yes, she definitely had those. She covered her mouth nervously, sniffing at the surroundings to make sure we were alone. Or that I was alone?
'Hadley. Oh my god. She did it…' I simply gasped, stepping towards her. She was my cousin after all. 'Are you alone?' I suddenly asked, alert.
'Yes.' She said. Her 'S' sounded a bit hissy as it did with most young vampires. Having fangs was something you needed to get used to, I realised. I walked up the steps of my porch, taking my keys out to go in.
'Hunter is safe.' I told her, gesturing for her to come in. I didn't exactly fear her. She was after all still very much Hadley, which is a frail blond headed sweet girl of Bon Temps. With a bite. She looked quite dishevelled and stayed right at the door. I then realised I'd forgotten to verbally invite her in.
'Sorry, come in, please.' I said. 'I'll need to get used to it.' I whispered, sombrely. 'Hadley, I'm so sorry…' I said, taking her hand. Her skin was death cool and it surprised me. I felt a lump in my throat. How unfair was it? Now Hadley sure as hell would never see her son again.
'It's not your fault, Sookie. Sophie-Anne always gets what she wants…' Hadley muttered darkly. 'You don't happen to have True Blood by any chance? I'm really hungry. And you smell really, really good.' She added with a tiny smile. I shuddered slightly and lead her to the kitchen where I popped her a bottle of O negative in the microwave. She drank it down in a gulp and wiped her bloody lips with the back of her hand. I noticed for the first time how bizarre her clothes were. She was wearing a thick velvety cape all in black with a huge hood that rested on her back at the moment. And she had black velvety bows in her pigtails. She wore a dark red lipstick that made her now very pale skin stand out. And she had on beautiful earrings. I'd seen them before, I was sure. And then it hit me: they were Sophie-Anne's, the exact ones she'd worn when I'd last seen her.
'Can I have another one?' Hadley asked, tugging at her pigtails.
'Sure.' I gave her a second bottle and amazed at how fast she drank it. I'd forgotten how much young vampires drank compared to old ones like Eric.
'How's Hunter?' She asked me, her voice soft.
'Last I heard he was doing great. He's safely home with Remy.' I said, my hands rubbing each other nervously. I had a really, really bad feeling about all this.
'I want to thank you, Sookie. And your Vampire too. I know you both did all you could to keep me and Hunter safe.' Hadley said, her eyes never leaving mine. 'I'm really sorry…' she whispered.
'Why? I'm the one who's sorry for…' And then my instincts kicked in. 'Wait a minute… Why are you here, Hadley?' I asked, backing away from the table, frantically looking for anything wooden or silver. I instinctively grabbed my cell phone which I'd left on the counter and shoved it in my pocket.
'Well to see you, cousin.' She beamed. She stood up slowly for a vampire but the next minute, she was in my face, a hand caressing my cheek.
'I'm really sorry, Sookie. I just have to obey. She's my maker.' She finished.
'I rescind my…' But she put her hand on my mouth. Hard. I tried to bite her but she was infinitely stronger than I, even though I'd always been the more strongly built of the two. She grabbed my flaying arms with her other hand and pulled me towards the door. Once we were outside, she let go of my mouth and used both her arms to drag me.
'Hadley, let me go! You don't have to do this!' I begged her, trying my best to get her to let me go. I hit her hard in the stomach and she winced before growling at me.
'Don't make this any harder than it is for me, please, cousin.' She hissed at me, a bloody tear at the corner of her eye.
'Please don't kill me, Hadley!' I whimpered, suddenly very afraid. She was still pulling me, inexorably towards her car which she'd parked in the back of the house so as to not arouse my suspicion. I yelled Jessica's name hoping she was at Bill's since Bill most probably wasn't there himself. No one came, of course.
'I'm not going to kill you, Sookie. I just have to bring you to her. Those were my orders.' Hadley sobbed. 'I'm sorry.' She said, opening the trunk of her car before she shoved me in. I slumped down disgracefully and started to panic. I wasn't going to be able to breath! But then, she punched through the trunk top. As in she literally punctured the metal and made a hole big enough for me to see outside and breath fresh air without being able to reach out and open the trunk.
'I'm really sorry, Sookie.' She whispered before I heard her walk to the driver's side and climb in. The car purred to life and I started hitting the trunk with my fists, helplessly trying to make some noise. I suddenly wished really hard for Eric to be here to save me. But God knew how long he'd be busy with Felipe something and that other vampire. We were probably on the highway because the car sped up a lot. I suddenly realised I still had my cell phone if not my purse which I'd left on a kitchen chair. I pulled it out and almost cried in disappointment. The battery was dying. I texted Eric because I knew if I tried to call, the phone would just die on me.
Hadleys been vamped. Took me. Taking me to SA's. Please come. Luv u.
I hit send and realised for the first time in the last frantic minutes that I was crying. I tried to calm down and closed my eyes since there wasn't much to see in the dark trunk anyways. Every time we'd hit a bump, I'd feel it very effectively in my back since there wasn't any sort of padding in here. I curled into a little ball and prayed that Eric would check his goddamned texts very soon.
'Please don't let that crazy bitch hurt me.' I whispered. 'I promise I'll go to Church more often.' I promised Him up there before I drifted off to sleep. The road to New Orleans was a long one…