I felt the blood drain out of my face and I sat perfectly still and tried to collect myself. Before I realized it there was a few tears streaming out of my eyes and I thought I might hyperventilate.

"Lover what are you so upset about? I didn't mean to distress you." He took my face in his strong hands and kissed where my tears had run.

"Oh Eric, I didn't want to do it but she was sitting here waiting for us when we came home and she fired her gun, but you stepped in front of me and took the bullet and then I grabbed my gun while she was shocked at the sight of you and I…I pulled the trigger." It all came out in a jumble of words and I didn't know if I was even making sense. "I was so scared, I didn't know what kind of bullets she had and I thought you might be dead, well really dead.." before I could continue my spill of the horrible story Eric put his hand to my mouth and whispered "sshhh."

"Sookie you have nothing to feel sorry about. That treacherous bitch tried to kill you more than once and if I wouldn't have been with you she would have succeeded. She wouldn't have thought twice about killing you and she wouldn't have shed a tear for doing so. You were spared the bullet by me and then you fired back and defended the both of us effectively. You are brave and I am proud you are mine." I knew he was telling the truth because his blood was telling me so.

"Well thank you for saying that Eric, but I don't feel very brave. I feel like I did something wrong, but then again I didn't want to stand there and get slaughtered either. When the bullet hit you and I thought for a split second she might have taken you away from me, it was too much…I wanted her dead.

"There is absolutely nothing wrong with you. Of course you shouldn't have let yourself get murdered because she was jealous of your friendship with that wolf. Not only did you protect yourself like you should have, you protected me as well. She could have staked me while I was healing, but your quick actions saved us both. As to you not being a good person, I think you are a wonderful person. I don't think your God would want you to sit back and let yourself be murdered." Eric was still calm and feeling a wash of pride.

I relaxed into his arms and let his words sink in. Maybe he was right; maybe it didn't make me a bad person because I fought back. Of course I wouldn't go out and try to murder someone, but she had broken into my house to do just that to me. I was no theologian but I didn't think God would want me to sit there and take it either. In fact if I was being truly honest with myself, I wasn't really torn up about killing her, just worried that maybe my life of trying to be a fairly good Christian was ruined. The more I thought about it though, I realized that defending myself and the man I love did not erase all the good things I had done in my life.

"Thank you Eric" I nuzzled my face into his neck and felt nothing but happiness and acceptance.

"Thank you for what lover?"

"For accepting me and telling me that I am a good person, for helping me not doubt myself all the time, for showing me hours of pleasure and joy." I practically purred the last part of my statement.

"You never have to thank me for those things Sookie. You are all of those things and more. I should be thanking you for showing me that I can feel things again and for bringing joy and pleasure back into my life. When you are as old as me sometimes you forget to live and simply exist. You have made me feel alive again. I would be proud to call you mine, if you will have me." He was being so sincere I could hardly contain my tears or my happiness.

"Of course I will be yours Eric, there's nothing I want more." I wrapped my arms around his broad back and pulled him as close to me as possible. I took a few seconds to savor the feel of him against me again and then pulled him in for a long kiss. "I've missed you" I breathed in between kisses.

Eric lifted off the couch with me still wrapped around his waist, our lips never separating. He laid us down gently beside the fireplace as he threw a large chenille blanket underneath us. Slowly he started to unbutton my top and took in the sight of my body. He looked at me as though he was trying to remember if his memories matched the reality. I felt lust and adoration flowing through our bond and he quickly undressed himself. He kissed my neck, shoulders, collarbones, and breasts as he untied the strings on my pants. He slid them off and ran his hands all the way down my legs, around my feet and back up the inside of my legs. My thighs were shaking at his touch and I was painfully aware of how much I had missed him. He kissed up my thighs until he reached the center of me. He gently inserted two fingers and started moving with a beautiful rhythm.

"Oh Eric" I moaned and threw my head back. I felt another sensation as he began using his tongue in perfect rhythm with his hand. I gripped his hair with both my hands and gently pulled. He picked up his pace until I was just on the edge of losing my senses. "Please don't stop" I moaned though I could barely breathe. Right before I could fall over the edge, he turned his head and bit into my thigh. I saw stars. It was the most heart pounding, explosive orgasm I ever felt. My back was arched and I had to catch my breath when it was over.

Before I had time to even think of anything else, Eric was back at my face kissing me furiously and rubbing every inch of my body. I wanted him so bad I thought I might spontaneously combust if he didn't enter me.

"Eric please, I need it now" Before I got the last word out he entered me so deeply and completely that I thought I could feel it in my stomach. I yelled out in pleasure and it drove his lust even higher. We were giving it everything we had and I could feel him getting closer to his own pleasure.

"Jag har väntat i tusen år för dig min kärlek" he was crying out in his native language when he exploded in me. I was so turned on by him and speaking to me in his ancient beautiful tongue, I had another release of my own. We both collapsed and intertwined our bodies. I was so content and happy I could have stayed wrapped up in him forever.

"What did you say to me earlier, right before you came?" I looked up knowing my dirty talk would pull him out of the post coital coziness. I really did want to know what he said though.

"I said I have waited a thousand years for you my love" He lightly kissed my face. I couldn't remember a time in the past few weeks since he had been gone that I felt this happy. It was perfect.