I drifted gently to wakefulness, and at first, the darkness confused me. Then I remembered where I was, and a blushing heat crept over my face. As I turned over, the lights kicked on, and I could see that Eric hadn't moved an inch. His face was an image of pure calm, and it amazed me how at times that same face could look completely vicious. I felt almost empowered, looking at him when he was so vulnerable, and I hated the thought of anyone ever hurting him while he was like this.
The phone rang upstairs, but I didn't move, and decided to let the answering machine pick it up. It stopped ringing just as my fingers started to dance across his chest, relearning the lines and curves of his body. I rubbed my fingers along the faint veins in his arms, marveling at the perfection of his skin, and I wondered at how few people had done this before me. My attention had just turned to his hair when the phone started to ring again, and with a sigh I left him in bed alone. But not before I noticed the bulge that had formed in the front of his pants, and I smiled as I went upstairs.
"Hello?" I answered it without even checking the caller ID.
"Where the hell are you Sook? You were supposed to be here an hour ago!" Sam's voice erupted from the phone, and I could hear the busy bar in the background. I looked over at the clock and was shocked to see that it was two in the afternoon.
"I'm so sorry, Sam, I forgot that I had to work today. I'll get dressed and be there as soon as I can."
"Please hurry, it's like a madhouse over here." He said, and hung up as someone called to him from the background.
Not even bothering to get a shower, I threw my uniform on, put my hair up and hurried back down the stairs. Making sure that the house was locked up; I left a note on the door to the cubby for Eric, and hurried out to the car.
Merlotte's was in chaos when I got there, with Arlene rushing between tables at a dangerous rate with her serving tray. Sam stood behind the bar, dispensing one order while he took another, and Lafayette rang his bell as he set four plates of food in the window. Putting my apron on, I hurried into action, and started to get as much done as possible.
Two hours later the customers slowed down, and we were finally able to get things under control. Things went smoothly until dinnertime rolled around and the rush started again, spurring us back into a breakneck pace. At six, Tarry came in and took on most of the work at the bar, giving Sam a well-deserved break. I immediately noticed when the sun started to set, and for the first time in weeks it was comforting to see. It meant Eric would soon be awake. That thought made me smile, and I found myself in a better mood.
Sam came back in from his break an hour later, and put me behind the bar while he and Terry started to wait on tables. My workload didn't lighten by much, but it was easier on my feet. Jason came in just after dark, and sat at the end of the bar, patiently waiting for me to get him his usual beer after work. I was just handing it to him when my hand knocked into another full glass, and it went crashing to the floor. The ice water spread everywhere, and I stepped around it cautiously. "I'll get it for you Sookie." Tarry said, coming up with a mop and wet floor sign. "Thank you." I told him, and rushed off to change a keg in the walk in cooler. I came back out, with a case of drinks in my hands, and walked quickly down the bar to put it in a tall refrigerator. Balancing the large box of cans in one hand, I reached for the heavy metal door, and expecting it to stick it immediately gave it a hard tug. I was surprised when the door flew open easily, and I lost my grip on the box. It went clattering to the floor just as I lost my balance, and started to fall backwards on the slick surface.
I gave a surprised yelp and closed my eyes in anticipation of the impact, and was surprised when I felt a strong set of arms catch me. As I heard the bar go silent, I looked above me to see Eric smiling just inches from my face. Giving him a quick peck on the lips I said, "Thank you." and he set me back on my feet. His smile got bigger and he opened his mouth to say something, but suddenly he frowned and looked at the door.
Turning my attention toward the door, I instantly saw what made him unhappy. There was Bill, with a large scowl on his face, and obvious anger radiating out from him. He huffed out a breath, and proceeded to take a seat at a table that had just been vacated. Glancing around the room, I wasn't surprised to see that everyone there had also noticed what was happening. I was glad that Sam had gone back to his office a few minutes prior to place orders for things we needed. It only took another few seconds before the whispers started, and every thought in the room started to pound against my shields. A few negative thoughts managed to slip through the cracks, and I couldn't help but cringe.
I can't believe she is with another vampire!
When will this girl learn?
Wow, he's hot. How did she manage to get him in bed?
He Gran would be so disappointed.
I wonder if she realizes just how dangerous those fangers are.
Eric noticed my change in demeanor, and took my hand, understanding what was happening. The negative thoughts disappeared and I took the moment to reinforce my shields. "I'm okay." I said reassuringly after a moment, and he released me to walk around the bar and take a seat next to Jason. "I'll be done in a couple of hours. You can leave if you want to." I told him as I went to get him a True Blood, but he just shook his head.
"I'll wait for you to get done." He vowed.
Jason seemed nervous for a second, and took several big gulps from his beer. I gave him a warning glance, before returning to my work, and hoped the time would pass quickly. After a few minutes, Eric turned toward him, and started to ask him about what kind of work he did. They ended up getting into a conversation about the local drug problem, and I knew Eric was pumping Jason for the names of potential V dealers, but I didn't interfere. He was being civil with my brother, and I felt proud of him for being so nice even though he didn't have to be. I was glad to see that he didn't just take the easy way out and glamour him.
Sam came out of his office, and was immediately unhappy when he noticed my vampire sitting at the bar, but he didn't say anything. Although he did look slightly angry a few minutes later when he realized that Eric was there for me, and went stalking back to his office instead of helping Tarry with the food orders.
I could feel Bill staring at me, but I didn't return his looks, and focused on the orders I was taking.
An hour and a half after he arrived, Jason came around the bar and gave me a quick hug. "I'll see you later sis." He said, and his gaze flicked to Eric for a second, "I'll be around if you need me." I nodded, and watched as he left to go to his truck.
Jessica came in for a moment not long after he'd left, and went straight to Bill's table. I assumed he had called her to him, and my suspicions were confirmed when he told her something, and she immediately came up to sit at the bar on the opposite end from Eric. "Hey Sookie, how have you been?"
"I'm fine, how about you?" I asked with a smile.
"I'm okay, I was just wondering if I could talk to you some. Like in private?"
I thought that over for a second, and felt Eric's eyes burning a hole in the side of my head as he watched like a hawk. "You can come see me later; I'll be with Eric at Fangtasia."
"Ok, I'll see you later." She hurried away, and went back to Bill.
I gave Eric a confused look, and he stared at me seriously.
My replacement for the night arrived just ten minutes before my shift ended, a new girl named Megan. I quietly listed off the things that I'd gotten done and the few things that still needed attending to. She absorbed everything I said, and quickly took my place behind the bar while I went to refill the condiments dispensers. I stayed as far from the tables of groups of men as possible out of habit, but I doubted that anyone would try anything while Eric was around and watching.
This was the first night in a long time when not a single drunken idiot had tried to grope by ass.
"Wait here while I get my purse, then we can go." I told Eric when I had finished filling the salt and pepper shakers. Taking my apron off, I threw it in the dirty laundry bin as I walked to Sam's office.
As soon as I walked in, I could tell that Sam wasn't happy with me.
"Sookie, sit down. We need to talk." He demanded, and I ignored him by going to my locker.
I grabbed my purse and turned to face him. "Sam, I know you don't like vampires, but you don't have any say in what I do. Now if you don't mind, I would like to go home."
"Now just hang on a second, Sookie. It's not that I want to upset you or anything, but how much do you know about Eric? From what I hear in the supernatural community, he's ruthless. He could kill you in a second and it wouldn't even bother him. Will you at least think twice before leaving with him?" I shook my head, refusing to get into an argument, and walked out of his office.
Eric was standing by the bar, waiting for me, and I didn't doubt that he'd heard what Sam said.
"Let's go." I urged, and he followed me out the door without a word of protest.
"Are you okay?" He asked as he drove us back to my house. My car sputtered slightly every time he touched the gas, and I hoped he wouldn't notice. The last thing I needed was a shiny new car to get everyone's attention.
"I'm fine. What do you want to do tonight?"
He accepted my change in subject, and thought for a second before responding. "I need to go to the bar and do some chair time for Pam's sake. Apparently the humans get discouraged if I'm gone for too long and aren't as likely to come back, which is bad for business." He shrugged, not caring. "So you could go home, and wait for me to get done."
I smiled as I realized that he thought I wouldn't want to go. "No, I'll go with you. Maybe I can get to know Pam a little better."
He stayed in the kitchen while I went to use the bathroom, but when I came back, he was on the phone.
"-what you have to do Pam, I want to know who sent him after her, and soon." He ended the call before she could respond, and I stepped into the room.
"What was that about?"
"I was just telling Pam to find out who sent that gunman after you, she's watching over him as we speak." He stated bluntly.
"Why do you think that he was after me? He just wanted to get me out of the way to get to you." There wasn't anyone in the world that would have a reason to send a murderer after me.
He shook his head, "Sookie, he didn't even look at me. His sole focus was on you, and any assassin worth his money would have been the same way."
"Assassin? Isn't that going a little too far? I'm a waitress from Bon Temps, why would someone want me killed?" I couldn't believe what I was hearing; he had to be crazy to think that someone send an assassin after me.
"You don't understand, you-" he started, but I cut him off.
"Why don't we go down to your little dungeon in Fangtasia and I'll listen to him?"
He seemed surprised by my casual reference to his torture chamber, and didn't say anything for a few seconds. "Alright, but I'm going to be right there with you the whole time." The way he said it made it seem like the guy was still dangerous, which I doubted was possible with Pam 'watching over' him.
"Fine." I muttered, and went upstairs to my room.
After getting a quick shower, I got myself dressed in a pair of black jeans, and sheer black shirt with a solid red undershirt. With my hair up in a ponytail, I put on just a hint of makeup, and a pair of red dress shoes. He stared at me with his mouth wide open as I came down the stairs, and finally just walked toward the front door. Assuming that he had already locked the house up, I followed him, and he drove us to Fangtasia. Pam eyed me up and down when we approached the door, and turned to Eric. "Are you sure you can't share her?"
He just glared, and she followed us as we made our way straight to the basement door. Eric asked if she'd learned anything, and she started, "Our 'guest' has been very unhelpful. I couldn't get him to say anything about who ordered the hit on our lovely blondie. I even half-drained him. He won't talk."
"We'll see about that." Eric said as he opened the door, and we descended the stairs.