Previously…
"Come my love, let me tuck you in." He said kissing my forehead as he carried my bridal style up the stairs.
He laid me down on the bed and took off his shoes and shirt. He came to lie down next to me cradling me in his arms.
"This mattress is too hard." He complained. Those were my thoughts exactly. I know he felt guilty about ruining my home, and I honestly did forgive him, but the mattress made his guilt rise just a little more.
"Yes it is." I murmured.
"I will remedy that immediately." He said as he nibbled on my earlobe.
"Why don't we go mattress shopping tomorrow?" I suggested.
He growled playfully in my ear. "You realize tempting a thousand year old vampire in a furniture store is a very serious game." I laughed at his insinuation. The thought of having sex with him in public both horrified and excited me at the same time.
"Will you stay with me until I fall asleep?" I asked full of hope.
"Of course my beautify fairy. I actually made this room light tight." He said reaching across me to open the drawer to the side table. In it was a remote control that closed the shutters to the window. He set the timer and continued to cuddle me.
Who knew that he was a thousand year old cuddler. I loved this side of him, and I hoped to be able to see more of it.
I fell asleep in his arms and I actually slept more peacefully than I had in Faery, and that is saying something.
Chapter 19- SPOV
I awoke in the dreamlike state of consciousness, you know the place where you're not quite asleep and you're definitely not fully awake. I felt a heavy arm draped over my stomach, and it all started coming back to me. Last night, Eric and I seemed to come to some kind of unspoken understanding. He called me his beautiful fairy and we spent the night kissing and cuddling.
As I lay unmoving, I began to worry that I had made a mistake in allowing myself to be so intimate with Eric. After allowing myself to fall so hard for Bill and to have it turn out so devastatingly bad, I had to question the wisdom of letting Eric into my life so completely.
If I allowed myself to fall for him and it turn out badly, I didn't know if I could recover from it. Being with Eric would prove to be a very big risk to me, after all, he had women chomping at the bit to spend just one night with him. How could I, small town waitress, be enough for Eric?
In fact, how could I be certain that he could be faithful to me. We never spoke about it, in fact, we never really talked about what we were. Not that I needed a label for what we were, but I guess I just needed some reassurances that we were on the same page.
Was I even ready to be in a relationship with Eric? Is that even what he wanted? I had only ever been intimate with Bill and now Eric, certainly I didn't have the kind of sexual prowess that Eric would expect from his lovers. Maybe I just wasn't good enough for him. Ugh, self-doubt is such an infection, and maybe I was being ridiculous, but maybe, just maybe I had some valid concerns.
Before I could ponder my self-worth or lack thereof too much, I heard my doorbell ring. I quickly pulled on a robe and went to answer my caller.
It was Eric's day-man and he still had a horrendous attitude. He was here to deliver my personal belongings, just as Eric said he would.
"Hello." I said politely, even though his thoughts were perpetually mean. I remembered the last time he graced my stoop, he thought I was a white trash floozy. He still thought that. Normally, I wouldn't give any credence to the thoughts of the people around me, but today, I was already feeling inadequate and Bobby was just re-affirming my ever-growing belief that perhaps I wasn't good enough for Eric.
"Master said to deliver your belongings, so here they are." He said as he unceremoniously plopped box after box on my porch. Asshole. The least he could do was place them in my house.
Normally I would just let his rudeness go, but today, I just didn't feel like putting up with his garbage.
"Look, I realize that you think that I am a no-class floozy, but I can promise you, if any of my belongings are broken you can rest assured that you will be leaving my house with one less ball than you showed up with." I said exasperated by his hateful thoughts.
The look on his face was priceless, but his thoughts became even more hate-filled. He was thinking that I had just re-affirmed his belief that I was classless. He thought that my belongings were as worthless as I was.
"I apologize ma'am, I didn't mean to offend you." He said quickly to try and save face, but he didn't mean a word of what he said.
I was done with him. I left him on the porch, while I went back inside to shower and get ready for the day. In fact, I had quite a lot to do today. First on the list was contacting Mr. Cataliades. I needed some money to buy a new car, install some security, and to buy some new furnishings that were more to my liking.
Throughout my shower, I counted up my inadequacies. I was uneducated, I was not worldly, I was not traveled, my tastes were simple, and I had very little sexual experience. Maybe I was just too simple and inexperienced for Eric. My thoughts had really started spiraling into a dark self-deprecating place.
I decided to call Mr. C, before I had a chance to start racking up more of my flaws.
"Mr. Cataliades, please." I said to the person at the other end of the phone.
"Speaking. Is this Miss Stackhouse?" he said. He had a deep, husky southern accent.
"Yes, I am calling you because my great grandfather recently left me some assets and I was wondering how to go about setting up some accounts that I can access." I explained unsure of myself of what to say. I had only been on my own for a little while, and I had very little experience dealing with lawyers, and bank accounts, and taxes etc.
"Of course Miss Stackhouse, I received the paperwork from your great-grandfather yesterday and I have all the paperwork filled out. A messenger will be by your home shortly with the account information you need." He said succinctly.
"Thank you Mr. C. to be honest with you, I really don't know what I am doing. I've never had that kind of money and I certainly don't know the first thing about investments." I admitted sadly.
"No need to worry, I have taken care of everything. You will have several accounts; the credit card I am sending you will have no limit. You can pretty much spend whatever you want. Your great-grandfather was an extremely wealthy man and he has given you all his wealth. If you wish to purchase anything feel free to do so. If you have any questions about your investments, just give me a call and I would be happy to answer any question you have." He explained with a gentle tone that wasn't condescending at all even though I probably sounded completely ignorant to him.
"Thank you so much."
"Anytime Miss Stackhouse, goodbye." He said as we hung up.
No sooner did I hang up with Mr. C, did my doorbell ring again, this time I couldn't register any thoughts from my caller. What I did get, however, was more like static. I had no idea what kind of being would have that kind of brain pattern.
"Hello." I said politely but cautiously, not stepping outside of the house.
"Howyadoing. AreyouSookie?" The woman said. I could barely understand what she was saying. She happened to be the most bizarre looking person I'd ever met, not that she was ugly or anything, she was just different. Her hair was really long and she had it pulled into pigtails. She wore a really short black pleated skirt with neon colored striped leggings and a mesh black top over a neon green tank top.
"I'm Sookie." I said politely.
"Diantha. Howareya?" She said at a superfast speed, but I think she was asking how I was.
"Um. Good. Yourself?" I asked in return.
"Super. Ihaveapackageforya." She said and handed me a manila envelope.
"GottagoSookie!" she said and she left at a supernatural speed. I wondered if she was related to Mr. C, if so that would mean that she some kind of demon. That would explain her brain signature at least.
I sat at the kitchen table and reviewed the contents of the folder. If I was going to have this kind of money, I was at least going to try to figure out the investments, or at least make myself aware of what I was invested in.
I fixed myself some breakfast and spent the next 5 hours going through the documents.
After it was all said and done, I figured that I had about 500 million dollars in liquid assets, but I still didn't know my net worth. The documents were really confusing and the terminology was even more so.
I felt dejected trying to interpret the information. I hung my head in frustration and anger. I don't know why I woke up feeling so dejected and inadequate, but everything that happened today seemed to just re-affirm my own feelings.
I don't know how long I sat at the table feeling so bad, but before I could get a grip on my inner musings, I felt a cold hand on my shoulder. I looked up and the sky had darkened. I didn't realize that I spent the whole day downing myself.
"What has you so down lover?" Eric asked gently and full of concern as he lovingly kissed the top of my head.
I looked up and couldn't bring myself to admit the horrible feelings I had been having.
"Oh it's nothing." I said, trying to cover the dejection in my tone.
"No lies, remember Sookie." He reminded me. He reached down and picked up the folder that had so seemingly put me in a funk.
I sighed, knowing that I did promise total honesty. "I don't know Eric, I just feel so…so. Why do you care about me?" I asked hanging my head. The sadness was evident in my voice.
"Where is this coming from?" He asked pulling the chair next to me as he took my hand in his own.
"I don't know Eric, I mean, I'm not smart, I'm not especially pretty, I'm not worldly. You're going to get bored with me. I'm just some uneducated waitress from Podunk Louisiana. There is no way I can compete with the kind of women you have been with." I admitted pathetically as tears started brimming my eyes.
Eric took an unnecessary breath. I'm sure this was the last thing he thought he would be dealing with tonight, and that only made me feel worse. Eric deserved someone whose life was less dramatic than mine.
"Listen to me Sookie. You may not be formally educated, but you are not unintelligent. You are smart, brave, loyal, kind, loving and do not kid yourself, you are extremely beautiful. You may not have traveled the world, but we can remedy that together. And as for the caliber of women I have been with, trust me when I say there is no comparison to you." Eric said. His voice was firm and I could tell that he meant what he said. He wasn't just placating me and that made me feel a lot better about myself.
I reached over and hugged Eric tightly to which he responded by pulling me into his lap and kissing me.
"I will never tire of you Sookie." He whispered in my ear as he nibbled on my earlobe effectively making my panties wet.
I turned to straddle him in the chair, which may not have been the best idea seeing as how I had on a cute but short sundress.
Eric growled feeling the wetness of my panties. He reached down and pulled my skirt up to my waist, caressing my thighs increasing my arousal exponentially.
His other hand snaked behind me and unzipped my dress. Eric had no shirt on, so I placed soft kisses all over his chest. There was nothing urgent about our movements; we were simply savoring the feel of each other. I found myself slowly and very very deeply grinding my wetness into his pelvis.
"Mmm. Lover, I want you." He moaned into my ear, causing me to moan in return.
I parted my lips and massaged my tongue with his, silently letting him know that I too wanted him.
Eric pulled my dress over my head, interrupting our make out session, but the interruption wouldn't last long. He ran his finger along the elastic of my soaking panties, teasing me with the promise of his attentions where I most desired them.
Reaching down, I unbuttoned and unzipped his jeans, he was going commando, so I took the opportunity to massage his very large manhood. Having had sex with Eric once before, I wasn't shocked by his size, but being with him this time, somehow seemed like it was more meaningful.
Eric had a thing for eye contact, so I made sure to never take my eyes off of him, well as much as I possibly could anyways.
Suddenly Eric lifted me off of him and carried me up the stairs up to my room where he quickly but seductively divested me of my underthings.
Still not taking my eyes off him, he stripped himself of his jeans and I couldn't have been more anxious.
He slowly made his way to my bed, where I waited in anticipation of his next move. Eric hovered over me, drinking in the emotions splayed across my face before he began to kiss his way down the length of my body making pit stops at the most arousing places.
Pulling one of my breasts in his mouth, yet not leaving the other feeling neglected. Eric was thoroughly ravishing my entire body, it was as if this were the last time that we would ever be together.
I ran my fingers through his hair tugging slightly when he reached a particularly arousing spot.
Eric began to make his way further down my body, taking time to kiss and lick my belly button. I giggled slightly and he looked up at me and gave me the most seductive smile I had ever seen. God the things this vampire made me feel. It was as if someone had unleashed an entire terrarium in my stomach. I was aching for a release, but I could be as patient as he could be.
When he finally reached my aching core, I was dripping with anticipation and need, but he mercilessly did not put his tongue where I needed it the most, instead bypassing my aching core and kissing and squeezing my thighs. Okay, so maybe I couldn't be as patient as him, I needed him and I knew that if I didn't have him in that moment I would die.
"You are very cruel." I moaned as I decided that if he wouldn't touch me where I longed to be touched, then I would just do it myself.
I reached down and began to stroke myself, inserting two fingers into my aching core, massaging myself as I watched Eric take in my actions.
"My impatient little fairy." Eric teased as he finally placed his tongue in my aching core. I attempted to remove my hands, but Eric stopped me.
"No. Keep touching yourself lover while I make you come with my tongue." He demanded sexily. It was the single most erotic thing I have ever experienced.
I spread my legs apart as far as they would go, and I continued to stroke myself. Feeling Eric's tongue move in motion with my fingers brought me to the brink of climax. I arched my back and came onto Eric's tongue screaming his name.
"Mmmm Eric!" I panted and screamed as sweat poured over my body as I closed my eyes and rode out my very intense orgasm.
Before I could open my eyes, Eric had already moved up to where we were face to face and he entered me. The suddenness of his hardness inside of me made my eyes open wide and I gasped. Still panting from my previous orgasm, I was wholly unprepared for Eric, but it wasn't unwelcomed.
I found that I just couldn't stop convulsing as he met my hips thrust for thrust. It was like a continual orgasm.
Forget the eye contact; it was all I could do to keep my eyes from rolling in the back of my head. I called out his name as if it were an incantation of some powerful sexual spell I was casting.
"Fuck me Sookie, you feel so fucking good." Eric cursed out as he clenched my hips and pinched my nipples. His expletives only sought to increase my already insane arousal.
Eric ran one of his hands roughly through my hair and simultaneously kissed me incredibly passionately.
"Do it." I panted out as he turned my head slightly and sank his unbelievably sexy fangs into my neck.
As he bit, we both came, me screaming his name.
Knowing that I had a whole list of things to accomplish this evening, I still couldn't manage to disentangle myself from Eric. I found that I had neither the will nor the strength to do so, and it didn't seem that he was eager to unwrap his cool body from mine either.
"Lover, it seems that we won't be making it to the mattress store or the car dealership." Eric said as he lovingly caressed my hair.
"I'll do it tomorrow." I said nonchalantly. Really it was no big deal; I would gladly give up doing mundane chores in exchange for lying with Eric all night.
"I must at least go to Fangtasia though." He said, but I could tell that he really didn't want to. I glanced over at the clock. 10:30. Still time to see Godric and give him the letter. I also found that I really wanted to see Pam as well.
"Is Godric going to be there?"
"Yes lover. He is enthralling the vermin tonight." Ah yes, how I miss that silly throne. I mean really, why didn't the vampires see it as demeaning. Why put yourself on display like some sort of zoo animal. I honestly thought it was beneath both of them to perch themselves on a silly throne for all the fangbangers to drool over.
The thought of Eric sitting up on the platform, enticing scantily clad fangbangers with the promise of sex really pissed me off. I didn't want him up there, because I didn't like the prospect of him taking another woman to bed or feeding off him.
The mental image of Yvetta was enough to make me insane with jealousy. I had only been back for a day, and Eric and I had not talked about what we were to each other.
Certainly we both missed one another, and I knew that I cared for him. I assumed that he cared for me seeing as how he was here for me upon my return. But did that mean he wanted to be exclusive with me? Was I even within my rights to broach the topic?
I decided that I wouldn't speak to Eric about it; perhaps just playing it by ears would be the best way to handle it. If he really did want to be with other women, then I would just break off whatever we had going on. No harm no foul. It's not as if I loved him or anything.
Feeling slightly insecure, I disentangled myself from Eric and made a move towards the shower.
"Where do you think you are going my little fairy?" Eric asked waggling his eyebrows seductively. How I could get used to him in my bed all the time.
"Shower." I replied back in a sing song way.
"Without me?" he pouted feigning being wounded.
I giggled and crooked my finger at him, motioning him to join me.
Thirty minutes and a few orgasms later, we were both dressed and ready to go. I grabbed my purse and the letter from Claudette and we headed out the door.
"What is that letter lover?" Eric asked. I had debated on whether to conceal the letter so that Eric wouldn't even know I had it, but I ended up not doing so. I surely wasn't going to tell Eric about Claudette, it wasn't my story to tell, but I wouldn't lie to him either.
"This is for Godric." I said cryptically.
"Who is it from?" He inquired.
"An old friend of his." Again being cryptic. I felt sort of like Eric.
He raised an eyebrow at me, silently reminding me of our honestly proclamations.
"I know, I know, but it really isn't my story to tell. If you want to know more, ask Godric." I replied to his silent demand.
He nodded. The rest of the ride was quite silent, but in a peaceful comfortable way.
As we walked into Fangtasia, my insecurities began to flare again, and I suddenly started to feel out of place.
Pam immediately came to greet us, well me really.
"Hello Sookie. How was your journey to Fairyland?" She asked, but I could tell that she really wasn't interested.
"Wonderful Pam, thanks for asking." I replied politely.
I saw Godric on the stage sitting in the ridiculous throne. He noticed me as well and smiled brightly at me. I had forgotten just how beautiful he really was. I could see unequivocally how Claudette could fall in love with him.
Eric stiffened when he noticed me returning Godric's bright smile. I got the feeling that maybe he was a little worried that I was interested in his maker.
While I have to admit, the prospect of being with Godric certainly crossed my mind (and my fantasies) a few times, I honestly don't think I could handle more than my Viking.
I walked to the stage towards Godric. I could feel Eric's eyes boring into the back of my head, I proceeded undeterred. I really wanted to pass the message to Godric, I swore to Claudette that I would.
"I see my child is feeling possessive of you this evening." Godric said laughing a little at Eric's behavior.
I chuckled along with him. Glad someone else noticed it too.
"I missed you." I blurted out before I could sensor myself.
"And I you, Sookie." He responded. I could see in his eyes that there was some unspoken pain that he was yet unwilling to share with me.
"Can we go somewhere private to talk?" I asked not knowing if he was bound to the throne.
"Please, save me from this hell my child has inflicted upon me." He joked. I guess he also saw the throne as demeaning too.
He grabbed my hand and we walked back to Eric's office, closing the door behind us. I thought for a minute how this might look to someone who didn't really know me or Godric. Oh well. Eric would understand, hopefully.
"How was Faery?" Godric broke the silence first.
"Enlightening. I certainly learned a lot about myself and my family." I responded with a vague answer in the hopes that Godric would spill the beans.
"I see. And what did you learn?" Godric asked and he really was truly interested in my time in Faery.
"Well I met all of my family, and I sort of matured in the fairy sense. Although I haven't done any here in this plane, I learned how to do some magic and teleport and control my light. I also met the Prince, who is my great grandfather, but you knew that already. And I met my cousins who are triplets. Claudine is my fairy godmother and her brother Claude, who is an asshole and Claudette" I stopped rambling when I said her name. I looked him in the eye trying to read the emotions crossing him at the sound of her name.
Godric just looked at me with unadulterated pain. He knew that I knew about Claudette, but for the moment, he said nothing.
I decided to just get it over with and confess what I knew. I pulled out the letter from my bag and handed it to him.
"It's from her. She wanted me to tell you that she loved you then and that she loves you still." I spoke softly from the heart, just as she had spoken to me. I tried to channel her as best as I could.
Godric took the letter and smelled it, checking for her scent, which I imagine was still permeated the letter. His eyes brimmed with crimson tears and he smelled her on the letter. He hadn't even read it yet and he was already tearing up.
From hearing the story from Claudette, I knew that she loved him dearly, but seeing Godric's response was overwhelming to me. I began to tear up right along with him. It broke my heart that he could not be with my cousin.
Eric must have been feeling Godric's emotions because he came thrashing through the door like a maniac.
"What is wrong Godric?" Eric asked panic stricken. I guess I could understand his panic, seeing as how he almost lost Godric in Dallas.
"Leave us child." Godric commanded, stunning Eric into silence. Eric looked at me confusion and anger lacing his face. I couldn't tell who he was angry at, but I feared him for the first time in a long time.
Eric did as he was told and left his office closing the door behind him.
Godric looked back at me as if I held the key to his world. "How is she?" he asked completely heartbroken.
"She's as well as can be under the circumstances. She has many children who she lives for. She misses you."
"It has been so long since I've seen her, yet I still long for those few days we spent together."
"I know Godric. I'm so sorry." What do you say to someone who, for the better part of 300 years, has been mourning the loss of his love.
"She told you the story then." He replied, knowing that she had told me.
"She did." I said and grabbed his hand in a gesture of comfort.
"You remind me so much of her. She was brave and caring, just like you."
"She is brave and caring, and I will find a way for you two to be together again." I corrected him. He spoke of her as if she was dead. Maybe that is how he had to think of her in order to cope. I know enough about loss to know that each person mourns differently.
"Sookie, you would be fighting a losing battle. There is no way. Niall would never allow her to leave Faery, especially to be with me." He spoke full of dejection. He was a vampire without hope.
"That's what she said too, but as I told her, I refuse to believe that." I got up to leave the office. "I will leave you to your letter, I'm here if you want to talk some more." And I walked out of the office.
I happened to walk smack dab into the wall of Viking, also known as Eric and he was mightily pissed off.
"What was that about?" He demanded grabbing my arms in a domineering fashion which I thoroughly did not appreciate.
"Please calm down Eric. I just gave Godric the letter I told you about."
"What did you do to my maker?" He irately accused.
"Eric, please stop. You are jumping to conclusions without knowing the facts." I pleaded with him to calm down.
"Then tell me the facts!" He yelled. Just as he was about to start shaking me mercilessly, Godric popped out of the office and came to my defense.
"Eric. Stop. Let go of her now!" Godric firmly commanded. Eric immediately obeyed, dropping his hands from my person. He looked regretful as he realized just how much he was actually man-handling me.
"Sookie, did not do a thing to me. You are a fool for reacting this way." Godric chided him and he approached me lifting the sleeves of my shirt to reveal the beginnings of some serious bruises.
I wasn't angry at Eric, though. I understood fully well how protective he was of his maker, but I was saddened by and disappointed in his lack of trust in me.
"You are injured." Godric said gently, and it wasn't a question. The bruises would start to look really bad tomorrow, and since I hadn't had Eric's blood in a long time, they would take a while to heal properly.
Eric looked fully ashamed of his actions, but he did not speak a word to me. I would have left the club and gone home, had I not driven with Eric. It was clear that Eric didn't want to be around me at the moment, so I took the opportunity to walk away from the two of them.
Certainly I was feeling physically hurt, but I was more so emotionally hurt by Eric's actions.
I went back onto the main area of the bar and sat in Eric's booth. Ginger quickly came over and took my drink order, which I was highly tempted to make it a double, but I didn't.
I knew it was only a matter of time before Pam came sauntering over to give me hell about what I had done to her maker. Vampires.
"I know. And I don't want to hear it." I said preemptively answering the bitchy question I knew Pam was about to ask.
"Only one day back and already causing problems for my maker." She was deadly serious and mightily pissed off at me. She got up from the booth leaving me to sulk. How did I manage to get blamed by two vampires for screwing with their makers again? In that moment, I wanted to go home. I wanted to curl up in bed and never step foot in Fangtasia again, but a stray thought crossed my mind at it really got my attention.
Maledictus qui accipit quod meum est. fecit quod non est una.
It was bizarre, and I didn't understand the language, but the woman was staring right at me with murder in her eyes.
I panicked and looked around the room to find a friendly face. Eric, Godric, Pam, but I saw none of them. I wanted to run to them and tell them about the woman, but as soon as I thought to move from the booth, the woman was gone.
I needed to get out of there. I needed to get home. I grabbed my purse and swiftly made my way to the door. Running right passed Pam, I heard her give me some snarky goodbye which I ignored.
I hailed a cab and went home feeling as if I had done something wrong, but knowing that I didn't. Somehow though, Eric and Pam had made me feel like complete garbage and then my fears from earlier in the day crept back into my mind.
Maybe it was foolish to think that Eric and I stood a chance. We were so vastly different, and we were both fairly stubborn, okay we were both extremely stubborn.
I pulled off the outfit I was wearing in lieu of a comfortable nightshirt. Getting into my empty bed, which smelled like Eric, was extremely saddening. Just as I was about to fall asleep, I felt my cell phone buzz.
It was a text from Eric.
I am sorry. Pls forgive me.
Tears streamed down my face, and I didn't know how to respond. I subconsciously ran my hand over the sore spots on my arms and felt completely miserable.
Ok
I responded. OK? What the hell was I thinking? Did I just let him off the hook to that easily? Or was I to blame for being so secretive about Godric? These were the times that I longed for Gran's advice.
Come to Fangtasia tomorrow night?
Hmm. Let's see, did I want to deal with Pam and her snarkiness? Was Eric going to fly off the handle again?
No thanks…busy.
Okay that was a complete copout, but I just needed some time to think. Then a wicked thought went through my mind. I actually wanted Eric to see the bruises. I wanted him to see how his overreaction had affected me.
I Understand. Sleep well Sookie.
I felt guilty as hell for thinking of throwing my bruises in his face, but then again, he needed to see them. I didn't respond to his text, but I had decided that I would go see him tomorrow, despite the attitude from Pam.
If last night was the best night's sleep I had ever had, this night's was the worse.
Some mornings you wake up knowing that that day was going to be bad. It was one of those days that you could just feel in the depths of your bones would be terrible. The kind of day that you will always look back upon as a nightmare. I just knew that today was such day.
Bobby Burnham showed up at my house at 8:00 a.m. His thoughts were so disgusting that I could not even feign politeness.
Backwoods whore. Why does Eric want me to cart this cunt around all day. She is worthless.
His thoughts only seemed to go downhill from there once he found out that I was not prepared to venture off with him. Apparently Eric had asked him to take me car and mattress shopping.
I really didn't want to go with him, but I did need a ride into Shreveport, at least to the car dealership.
"Look here you smarmy fucker. You don't like me I get it. You think I'm white trash, I get it. But listen up, you will take me to the car dealership and you will keep your vile thoughts to yourself, or so help me god, Eric will have your fucking head. Do we understand each other?"
Okay so maybe that was a little over the top, but I had had enough of him, and I didn't need his shit especially today.
I went upstairs and took my sweet time showering and changing.
An hour later we pulled into the Ford dealership. I already knew what I wanted so I didn't need to dilly dally around the lot. But the hawk of a salesman tried to upsell me on every feature the car had. He thought I was a dumb blond that he could take advantage of.
Two hours and one pissed off salesman later, I drove out with a Kona Blue Mustang convertible and I didn't pay a penny over the dealer's invoice. Slimy bastard didn't even make a penny off of me, plus I got rid of the asshole Bobby Burnham.
I made my way over to the mattress place where I bought a comfortable new mattress that would be delivered tomorrow.
I spent the rest of the day hanging out over at Merlotte's, catching up with some old friends and listening to the town gossip.
Apparently Lafayette heard from Tara. She told Laf that she planned on staying in New Orleans for a little while longer because she met someone and was starting a new career…as a cagefighter. Apparently her new squeeze, Naomi, got her into the sport. Interesting.
That was a lot to take in. Not only was my best friend in the whole world a cagefighter, but she was also a lesbian? I must have gone to Faery and come back to an alternate universe. I never would have thought Tara would be interested in women, but then again who knows. Whatever floats her boat I guess.
The sun set, and I decided it was time to take my sweet ride home to get ready for Fangtasia.
I wanted to look extra special for Eric tonight, maybe it was because of my sexy new car, but I was feeling sort of like a seductress. Okay maybe not, I doubted I had the confidence or the wherewithal to pull that off, but still I wanted to look nice.
I put on a royal blue tight fitting dress that hit me above the knees. Paired the dress with some sexy heals and I was off.
An hour later I pulled up to Fangtasia, and the first thing I noticed was that the line to get in was composed exclusively of women. Okay, that wasn't too unexpected, I mean hey, with Eric and Godric enthralling, it was statistically more likely that there be a disproportionate amount of women to men, but this just seemed off.
I decided not to dwell on that particular observation, and I made my way to the door.
As usual, Pam was manning the entryway. She stopped me before I could get passed her.
"You shouldn't go in tonight." She said flatly. After last night, she would like nothing more than to see me never grace the club ever again. I ignored her and walked on in.
I didn't see Eric, but that wasn't unusual, after all, he was sheriff and owner of the club. That must take a lot of administrative work on his part.
The vibe in the club seemed completely off to me. I stopped in the middle and took a look around. Women. Almost every single person in the club tonight was a woman. I dropped my shields and quickly found out that not only were they all women, but they were all women who had slept with Eric.
Not only that, but they weren't all human either. There were two shifters, and 5 vampires. I couldn't read the vampires, and to be fair, I didn't know if they had slept with Eric, but literally, everyone else in the club had, except the Area 5 vampires.
Their thoughts were so graphic and they were all focused on their experiences with and memories of Eric. Most of them were one night stands, but there were a couple of human women who had spent more than a month with him. That disturbed me.
All the women were tremendously beautiful, and my inadequacies began to flare again. Why were all these women in the club tonight? I needed to see Eric.
I clamped down on my shields and went to Eric's office to find out what the hell was going on.
I knocked first to be polite, but when he didn't answer, I opened the door slightly. Eric was in deep conversation with a vampiress. She was begging him to take her back. To Eric's credit he refused her steadfastly.
I opened the door completely, so that they would know I was present. They immediately ceased their conversation and both looked at me expectantly.
"Umm… Hi Eric." I said timidly. The vamp woman scoffed at me as if I were a common fangbanger.
"Lover. I thought you wouldn't show up tonight?" he said glancing sorrowfully at my now visible bruises.
"Right, well I wanted to show you my new car and also to talk about last night." I replied.
"Lover this is Antonia. Antonia, this is my lover, Sookie." Eric introduced us. She leered at me and I could tell what she thought about me.
"Nice to meet you." I said politely.
"Antonia was just leaving." Eric said sternly while glaring at Antonia. She was gorgeous. She looked like a freaking model with her long legs, gorgeous silky black hair and green eyes. She looked almost like Megan Fox. To say I was intimidated was an understatement.
"pequeña perra de mala calidad." Antonia muttered as she hastily passed me leaving Eric's office.
Umm okay. I didn't understand what she said, but the context was similar to that of Bobby Burnham's thoughts, so I'm positive it was an insult.
As she left, Eric walked over and embraced me, he caressed his hands over the bruises on both my arms and made a sort of growling noise.
"Lover, let me heal those." He pleaded. Part of me wanted him to heal them so that I didn't look like an abused girlfriend, but another part of me was still pissed.
"First tell me why your club is exclusively filled with women that you have had relationships with?" Okay so maybe relationships was a bit of a stretch, most of them were meaningless sex, and I knew it, but some of them were more than that i.e Antonia.
"I have no idea. Probably a coincidence. And it wasn't a relationship, we just fucked that's all." He said making an excuse that I knew even he didn't believe.
"No, it's more than that Eric. You actually had relationships with some of them. Antonia for example, and some other lady out there named Joyce and another named Suzanne. What the hell is going on? Are you still sleeping with any of them?" It was like that damned Mambo number 5 song with all of Eric's women in the club.
"No! I haven't slept with the fangbangers since long before you returned." He admitted, and I believed him. The implications of what he just said, well, I would deal with them another time.
"I believe you. But that doesn't explain why the hell they are all out there! And they are all thinking about screwing you!" I was sounding a little bit like a shrew.
"Forget about them lover. We must talk about last night. First off, I am sorry for jumping to conclusions. Godric told me of your cousin. And second, please let me heal your bruises. I can't stand looking at them knowing that I was the one who marred your beautiful skin. " Eric said kissing my arms. He really was torn up about hurting me, but truth be told, I wasn't mad at him, just disappointed.
"Ok, I will take your blood, but please in the future, please trust me. I would never do anything to hurt you or Godric or Pam, you have to know that." I said firmly. And it was true, even though I sort of mad at Pam, I would still never do anything to hurt her.
"I know that, and in the future I will trust you." And with hat he bit into his wrist and offered me his blood.
I took his wrist in my mouth and my bruises began to fade almost immediately.
After the blood exchange, Eric took my hand and led me out to his booth. All the voices started infiltrating my head. On top of that, the women shamelessly started throwing themselves at Eric like they were cuts of steak and he was a lion. It was disgusting to watch.
What was worse was the Suzanne and Joyce came by and actually tried to sit in his lap and kiss him.
Even though Eric was fending them off and not even giving the slightest inkling that he was interested in them, I decided that I couldn't take it anymore. The thoughts, the actions, it was all too much for me to handle. Plus they were all way prettier than me. I started to think that maybe I just wasn't cut out to be with Eric Northman. He had more baggage than Samsonite, and I didn't think I could handle it.
"Eric, I am going home. I can't be here one more minute." I said. I couldn't fault Eric, but I also couldn't stay either.
"Lover, what more can I do? I don't want any of them." He pleaded with me.
"I know Eric, I just can't. Is it like this all the time?" I asked. I had been to his club a few times, but I couldn't recall the women being like this.
"No. Never." He responded.
"Then I will leave and come back when things start to become normal again." I said and got up from Eric's booth feeling completely confused about everything.
"Sookie, will you come by tomorrow night?" Eric asked with his puppy dog eyes that he knew I could not resist.
"Sure Eric." I said and left his side. I regretted leaving before I could give him a goodbye hug, but it seemed like his adoring fans all wanted a piece of him.
I got into my car and put the top down, deciding that I could use some fresh air. I pulled out of the parking lot onto the main stretch of the road leading to the highway. I happened to catch the red light at the intersection. I glanced in my rearview mirror and became slightly alarmed. There was a car barreling behind me that didn't appear to be slowing down. I had no choice but to brace for impact, seeing as how I couldn't exactly drive into the intersection.
The impact wasn't as bad as I thought it would be, though my neck hurt like the dickens. My airbag didn't deploy, so I knew that the impact was that bad.
I got out to assess the damage, and it seemed like there was just minor damage to my rear bumper. I was quite pissed seeing as how I hadn't even had the car for eight hours and I was already involved in an accident.
The guy that hit me was quite apologetic saying that he was texting someone and didn't notice that the light was red.
It wasn't bad enough to call the police, so we exchanged insurance information.
Before we parted he went to shake my hand. As soon as he touched me, I flinched. But before I could pull my hand away, the man, Mark, began chanting. The language sounded just like the language I heard in the woman's head last night at Fangtasia.
"Ut enim pereunte memoria tenetis ones carissimi. Cras quis rememer eos."
"Ut enim pereunte memoria tenetis ones carissimi. Cras quis rememer eos."
"Ut enim pereunte memoria tenetis ones carissimi. Cras quis rememer eos."
TBC
A/N: Translations are courtesy of Google Translate:
Maledictus qui accipit quod meum est. fecit quod non est una.=Curse the one who takes what is mine. make her see that she is not the only one.
pequeña perra de mala calidad.= Trashy Little bitch
Ut enim pereunte memoria tenetis ones carissimi. Cras quis rememer eos = Your memory will cease to exist for the ones you hold the dearest. Tomorrow you will rememer them not.