You guys totally rock! I can't believe how kind you've all been towards this little story. Hope you enjoy this installment!

As always, I only wish I owned these characters. That right belongs to Charlaine Harris.

Her hand flailed around in the dark, knocking the alarm clock to the floor before locating the ringing telephone. Leaning over the bed, she picked up the clock, noting it's green numerals reading 3:41.

"Hello?"

"Is tonight my lucky night?"

"Eric?"

"Ahh," he replied in a satisfied tone. "You do know my voice."

"Who else is crazy enough to call me in the middle of the night?" As before, her voice was husky with sleep.

"Doesn't Bill ever call to whisper sweet nothings?" Silence met his question and he laughed softly.

"Bill has been busy, just so you know," she answered as he laughed.

"I would never be too busy for you."

"He makes plenty of time for me," she told him, even as she chastised herself for lying. Truth was, he really hadn't been making much time for her. With his head buried in whatever project it was he was involved with, Sookie had barely seen her vampire boyfriend lately. She tried not to mind too much, but having a gorgeous giant of a man rubbing it in didn't help.

"When are you going to stop pretending? You're not in love with him. Stringing him along like this is not going to help."

"How do you know I don't love him? What makes you an expert on me?"

"A woman in love would never look at me the way you do."

"Are we back to this again?" His sensitive vampire hearing detected the faint rustling of the blankets, accompanied by the slight squeak of the bed as she readjusted her position. She was far more alert this time and still showed no signs of anger towards him, even as he ripped apart her relationship. "You're reading way too much into a look, Eric. However I looked at you doesn't matter. I'm with Bill."

"But you don't love him," he repeated his claim. "And I've been around far too long to ignore what I see and I know what I saw on your face."

"So, I was curious about you. Is that so strange to you? Even without knowing you're a vampire, you'd still be interesting. I'm sure plenty of folks are curious about you."

"What do you find so interesting, if not my enormous appeal?" This was why he couldn't shake her from his thoughts. It was him she found interesting, not necessarily the vampire he was. He'd been around long enough to know the difference.

"Oh, come on! You sit up on that stage in your throne, for cripes sake, all handsome and mysterious, portraying this brooding, I don't give a damn attitude! Bill told me you were the oldest vampire there and even said…," her words trailed off. "You get the picture. Of course you're interesting."

"What did Bill say?"

"Nothing. It doesn't matter. Point is, you're reading way too much into it. I'm with Bill"

"You keep saying that, but I don't hear you saying you're his."

"Jesus! We're dating. It's not like he owns me." Her distaste was clear in her otherwise sleepy voice. "No matter what y'all think, you can't own a human."

"Don't humans take ownership of their relationships and significant others? Don't you refer to Bill as 'your boyfriend'? People say it all the time - my husband, my girlfriend."

"First of all, that's how language works. We're not trying to literally own one another and somehow I suspect that in your world, that's precisely what it means."

"Sometimes it does," he agreed easily. "But I don't want to own you, sweet Sookie. What would be the fun in that?"

"What do you want, Eric? You can't just keep callin' me like this."

"Why not?" The corners of his mouth turned upward as he teased her. It had been a very long time since he'd met anyone with her fire.

"Because I've got a boyfriend, remember?" Her tone evidenced her exasperation, but all he noted was the lack of annoyance. "Now tell me what you want."

"I want for you not to have a boyfriend," he told her with a chuckle.

"Eric?"

"Yes, Sookie?"

"Goodnight."

"Goodnight, my future lover."

"In your dreams, buster."

He laughed as he hung up the phone, knowing full well he'd be starring in whatever dreams came her way tonight.

It was a satisfying feeling.

So? What do you all think?