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Eric placed himself in an inconspicuous part of the bar, where he leaned against the wall, sipped absently from a bottle of blood, and chatted easily with anyone who stood near him. Sookie didn't notice him when she entered, but she commanded his full attention in a pale gold dress that made the most of her mouth-watering body. He ran his eyes over her with the slow appreciation that one might give a work of art. Though one didn't usually want to fuck the Mona Lisa.
Considering that it was a full moon night, nothing remotely interesting happened until Sookie – who still had not noticed him – and her friend Tara, the one from the orgy, got up to dance. It was clearly a dance they had rehearsed and performed before, and it was sexy as hell. She moved her round hips and ass like a goddess, and her cheeks flushed with the blood he would never get tired of tasting.
The crowd dispersed after they applauded the dancers, and he finally caught Sookie's eye. Still flushed, she smiled broadly at him. She rarely greeted him with such genuine pleasure. The feeling he picked up most strongly from her was pride. He was too consumed with lust at the moment to return her smile, but she seemed to get the idea.
Things got quiet again, and he fell into conversation with a female Were who made no secret about her desire to bed him. Suddenly, from the direction of the bar, he heard Sookie's voice cry out in panic: "Stake!"
He spun around, almost knocking over the Were, and began pushing people out of his way. Why are you hurrying toward a stake, when it can't even hurt a human? his rational mind asked him. To hell with his rational mind. The crowd was scattering backwards, away from the fight, and he was pushed back with the tide of people in spite of his efforts to move forward. He cursed under his breath.
Sookie was holding on to the man's arm, refusing to release it, even as the attacker's companion beat at her. She was something else. The oaf seemed to realize that he could simply take the stake in his free hand. Sookie wobbled a bit on her tall black heels as the stake-wielder's companion ran for the door. Some of the crowd went after him, making it easier for Eric to push forward to Sookie.
But as he watched in horror and fury – and with maddening helplessness – the man slammed the stake into Sookie's side. The intoxicating scent of her blood wafted towards him, and he closed his eyes for a few seconds. Not now, he told himself. He returned his attention to the scene, where Edgington's second-in-command had killed the bastard, robbing Eric of that pleasure.
Both the dead man and Sookie collapsed to the floor. Eric roughly slung people out of his way until he was at the front of the small circle surrounding her. He couldn't give any sign that he knew her, or both of their lives would be further endangered. Russell Edgington was not stupid. And if he got too close to her and that sweet blood…
Tara screamed and dropped to her knees beside her friend. "Call 911!" she shouted.
The fool. As if a crowd of Weres and vampires would call 911 to a scene with dead humans. With a choked voice, Sookie explained this to her friend.
"The vampires are not gonna let you die," insisted Tara. "You just saved one of them!" She clearly knew nothing about vampires, despite the fact that she seemed to be dating one.
"Tara, you have to get out of here," she said weakly. "This is getting crazy, and if there's any chance the police are coming, you can't be here."
"I'm not going to leave you until you have help." Tara looked around at them, waiting for someone to step forward and do something. She didn't seem to recognize Eric, disguised as he was. Then again, she had been glamored after the massacre at the orgy.
If circumstances had been different, Sookie would have already been in Eric's arms and on her way to a trusted doctor. He tried to meet her eyes, to communicate with her silently. Her face was getting paler every minute.
"The tall blond will help me," she said, and she pointed at him.
No, no, no, he thought. Sookie, be careful. Thank the gods she hadn't said his name.
Tara looked at him. "Please help Sookie."
Her date looked at Eric with threats in his eyes. "This young man will be glad to help your friend."
Young man, indeed. "Of course," Eric replied smoothly. "I'm a good friend of Alcide's."
It was laughable, the idea of a vampire and a Were being good friends, but at this point, no one seemed to be paying attention to details. Hell, she might have shouted, "Eric Northman will help me because I'm Sookie Stackhouse, the invaluable telepath!" and no one would have blinked.
He knelt beside her, and the scent of her blood became overpowering. Oh, fuck. Fuck. He tried to focus on her face, tried to force his mind into control of every other instinct. He almost reached for her hand before he remembered himself. "You don't know how hard it is not to bend over and lick," he said quietly.
Sookie's eyes were full of pain and fear. "If you do, everyone else will. And they won't just lick, they'll bite."
"That's the only thing stopping me."
Russell Edgington had appeared by this time, and he leaned over Sookie. "Who are you?" he asked Eric.
Eric remained calm with the practice and skill of surviving centuries. "I'm a friend of Alcide's." Might as well leave out the "good" this time; it had to remain plausible. "He invited me here tonight to meet his new girlfriend. My name is Leif." Don't ask me why I didn't report to the local Sheriff. Don't ask me any questions.
Edgington narrowed his eyes. "Alcide doesn't hang with many vampires."
"I'm one of the few."
Fortunately for them both, Edgington seemed to be more interested in saving Sookie than poking holes through Eric's flimsy story. "We have to get this young lady out of here," he ordered.
"We have to be careful about moving her," Eric said, speaking loudly over the din of shifters going after the attacker's corpse. "Perhaps the stake didn't damage any of her organs, but we can't be sure. And she'll need a doctor. There's a chance that it maybe has nicked a kidney."
Russell nodded. "We'll take her to my place. The limo's on its way." He met Eric's eyes evenly. "I'm sure a familiar face would make her more comfortable. Don't you agree?"
What he meant was, I'm not done questioning you.
"I'll come to your house with her. It's the least I can do for Alcide." After this bit of bullshit, he turned his attention back to Sookie. "She's sweating very heavily." She also had a nasty cut on her arm, possibly from one of the glasses that got broken in the fight. He removed her heels and pulled her panty hose down her legs, bunched up the material, and pressed it to the cut. Come to think of it, he could have used something else, but that would have required leaving her side. And it would have meant he never got to see the sexy black garters that slid down with the hose. Focus.
"Speaking of your Were friend, where is he?" Edgington asked, looking around. "You'd think he wouldn't desert his girlfriend like this."
You wouldn't believe the men who desert this woman when she needs them. "Alcide turned into a wolf and chased after the assassin's companion," he explained.
"Leif…" Sookie murmured. She moved one of her bare legs slightly. "Leif… I guess my garters are showing. Does that mean…?"
She was incoherent. "Yes, Sookie?" he said in a soothing voice. But she had passed out.
"Let's go," Edgington said, snapping his cell phone shut. "My limo is just outside."
Eric slid an arm under Sookie's neck and raised her slightly, cradling her head against his chest. This would hurt like hell if she were conscious. Then he slid his other arm under her knees to lift her. He took care that his arm was under the back of her dress and not against her bare legs. Even passed out with a stake protruding from her side, Sookie would want to be a lady. And Eric didn't want dozens of shifters to see his future lover's assets before he himself did. He rose from his knees rather ungracefully in his effort to jostle her as little as possible, then followed Russell outside.
The limo driver opened the door for him, and he laid Sookie down on the seat of the car. He walked around to the other side of the limo while the king and two of his men took the seat facing Sookie. He lifted her head into his lap and used his fingertips to smooth the messy strands of hair away from her face. The blood was drying around the rough wood in her skin, and he forced himself not to look at it.
They rode quietly, though Eric knew that Edgington was watching him. He very carefully did not meet the stare.
"Lucky no one's out in downtown Jackson on a weekend night in December," one of the men said.
Eric gave a short laugh, as if he knew all too well about December nights in Jackson. There were beads of sweat on Sookie's forehead, but she was shivering, and her breaths were uneven. He made sure that her skirt covered her legs as she would want, and that the dipping neck of her dress still held in her breasts with whatever modesty was possible. Tonight he would give her his blood – a substantial amount this time. He would put more of himself into this fragile, stubborn human body. Why?
As they drove, Sookie opened her eyes a few times, only to close them again seconds later. Good. She shouldn't be feeling any of this.
"How did she know what he was going to do?" the talkative one wondered aloud.
It worried him that Edgington's man thought that Sookie knew what someone would do, instead of assuming the obvious: that she had seen the stake. Did they know full well that they were carrying Bill's telepath to their mansion? Eric lied quickly and easily. "She saw him pull the stake out, she said. She was going to the bar to get another drink."
"Lucky for Betty Joe," Russell replied. "I guess she's still hunting the one that got away."
They passed through security at the gate of the mansion and rode to a stop in front of the house itself. Sookie was conscious, and Eric raised one of her arms up around his neck as he lifted her from the car as gently as possible. She rested her head heavily against his shoulder as he carried her inside.
They were surrounded with residents and visitors of the mansion, almost all male, almost all very young, and almost all in various stages of undress. The injured woman in his arms was certainly a curiosity and a temptation, but Eric found most of the stares on himself. He was generous with smiles and winks. Leif had nothing to hide.
"This is one of the doctors I keep on staff," Edgington said, indicating an old human man. "He won't do the actual healing. I have a vampire healer upstairs for that."
Eric nodded. No doubt Edgington's healer had the same gift that his own did. It wasn't at all uncommon – rather like a human being double-jointed.
The doctor approached Sookie with a syringe, and Eric looked at him warily. "Pain-killer," the doctor said. He swabbed a small area on Sookie's upper arm and slid in the needle.
A minute later, Sookie opened her eyes, and Eric watched her as she took in her surroundings. "Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink," she murmured. He laughed heartily as she gave him a slow, drugged smile.
The doctor looked pleased. "Good, the shot's taking effect." He turned to Edgington. "Will you be needing me?"
As he made arrangements with the doctor, Russell motioned for Eric to go upstairs. Eric was only too glad to leave. If Sookie had been given drugs, there was no telling what she might let slip.
"Rhett and Scarlett," she mumbled.
She seemed to be incoherent again. Either that, or he was failing to see what Gone with the Wind had to do with their present situation. Granted, he was a charming rake in pursuit of a woman who stubbornly refused to return – or even accept – his affection. "I don't understand," he said as he followed Edgington's people upstairs.
"You haven't seen Gone with the Wind! You'll have to watch it on video." She frowned. "Why am I acting so stupid? Why am I not scared?"
He grinned. "That human doctor gave you a big dose of drugs. Now I am carrying you to a bedroom so you can be healed."
Carrying her to a bedroom… ah, that was the Gone with the Wind reference she was thinking of. Maybe she would come around to him sooner that he thought, if she associated him with such a romantic moment. He had been known to leave women smiling and humming with sexual fulfillment. He fought back a laugh.
"He's here," she said suddenly.
He gave her a warning look and hoped she wasn't too drugged to understand it. "Russell, yes. But I'm afraid that Alcide made less than a stellar choice, Sookie. He raced off into the night after the other attacker. He should have stayed with you." Just as Bill had deserted her after the Fellowship attack in Dallas.
"Screw him."
Eric smiled at her again. "He wishes, especially after seeing you dance." As do I.
"Giving me drugs maybe wasn't such a great idea," she said. Her eyelids were heavy.
"I agree," he told her frankly. With just as much honesty he added, "But I am glad you're out of pain."
They were shown into a large bedroom that reminded him of Pam's room in London, a long time ago. He laid Sookie down on the beautiful canopied bed and brought his mouth to her ear. "Be careful."
"—shouldn't be too bad," Edgington was saying to one of the morbidly fascinated onlookers. "He can glamour her, and that'll help. This is the bed we usually use for healings, since it's so nice and high." The king traced a finger down the young man's cheek.
"What's gonna happen?" Sookie asked in a fearful voice, drawing his attention back to her.
Before he could answer her, Edgington introduced a shirtless vampire with latex pants. "Miss Stackhouse, this is Ray Don."
"How de do," Sookie said groggily, ever polite.
"Pleased to meet you," Ray Don replied. "I'm not going to ask you how you're doing, cause I can see you got a great big hole in your side."
Sookie smiled a little. "Kind of ironic, isn't it, that it was the human that got staked?"
Ray Don didn't seem to know what to make of Sookie, so he looked up at Eric for help.
"I'll tell you what's going to happen, Sookie," he said in answer to her original question. He spoke slowly, as if he were explaining to a child. "You know when we start to feed and our fangs come out, they release a little anticoagulant?" She gave a sound that sounded like an affirmative. "And when we are ready to finish feeding, the fangs release a little coagulant and a little trace of the… the…" He fished for a word that she would understand.
"Stuff that helps you all heal so fast?" she offered.
"Yes, exactly."
"So Ray Don is going to what?"
"Ray Don, his nest mates say, has an extra supply of all these chemicals in his body. This is his talent. So he will start the process on a volunteer, and when he has fed, he will begin cleaning your wound and healing it."
"Okay, let's get the show on the road," she said with resolve.
He watched patiently as Ray Don sucked face with his volunteer, bit him, and pulled away with a respectable-enough erection straining his tight pants and – more importantly – a mouth ready with the fluids that Sookie needed.
Now to "glamour" Sookie so that no one would know she was special. He sat beside her and held down her shoulders. "Look at me," he said sternly. "Look at me, Sookie." If they were going to pull this off with any plausibility, she would have to keep her eyes on him, and she would have to be at least somewhat stoic about the excruciating pain she was about to feel. Even if he hadn't felt the fear coming off of her in waves, her eyes would have told him everything. Don't let any of them see it but me, he begged her silently.
Ray Don leaned towards her and tested the stake in her side, his grim face confirming what Eric already knew: it was lodged in deeply. Even this small movement made the blood drain from Sookie's already pale face, and he could feel panic rising up in her at an alarming rate.
"Don't, Sookie!" He stared down into her eyes with all the intensity he could muster, as if he could glamour her by sheer will. "Look at me!"
But she didn't. She looked at her side, where Ray Don was just pulling out the stake. She screamed, and the sound tore at him until he felt like the ragged flesh in her side. Ray Don was attending the wound now, and Eric kept his eyes locked on hers as she dug her nails into his hands until they bled. She was fighting against the pain as if she refused not to feel it.
"Let go," he told her softly. He felt the small wounds in his palms healing already as she eased the pressure of her nails. He smiled at her with all the affection he felt. "No, not of me. You can hold on to me as long as you want." To his surprise, he felt unmitigated trust coming from her, and it took him aback. "Let go of the pain, Sookie," he said in a soothing voice. "Let go. You need to drift away."
And she did.
"I'm almost done," Ray Don said, looking up from her side with a bloody mouth. Sookie's sweet blood, wasted on him. "I don't think it damaged any of her organs. Too bad she couldn't keep her eyes on you. Would've spared her some pain."
"Yes, a pity."
The other vampires, most of whom had left the room for the unpleasant part of the procedure, had been gradually returning. They stood around the bed in a semicircle of hunger and lust. Eric did not remove his hands from Sookie's.
"Best get that dress off her," said Edgington when Ray Don rose and signaled that he was finished. "It's filthy and blood-soaked."
"I'll take care of her." Eric spoke quickly, but not too enthusiastically to be undressing his "good friend" Alcide's girlfriend. "Does anyone here have clothes that might fit her?"
"Me," said one of the men who had ridden with them in the limo.
"Thank you. Maybe you could bring them by later, or just leave them outside the door?" He looked at Edgington. "I think she should rest now."
"Very well," said Edgington, who had never stopped watching him with suspicion. He tossed a pocketknife at the bed, and Eric caught it with one hand. "That'll work to cut off the dress. My way of helping." He motioned for everyone to leave.
Eric watched them all leave until the last one closed the door behind him. He left Sookie's side and locked the door, then returned to her. What a sad loss this dress was, he thought as he slit it straight up the front. He cut the sleeves to free her arms and carefully pulled all the material away from her. She didn't stir. The destroyed dress he rolled into a ball and threw aside.
And there was Sookie, laid out on the bed in only her small, lacy bra and panties. Water, water, everywhere, nor any drop to drink, he thought with a wry smile. He devoted a few minutes to taking her in, his eyes wandering slowly over each delectable inch; not to do so would have been like slapping nature in the face. She could belong to him now that Bill was dead. He had seen the trust in her eyes earlier as he watched over her, and before now he had felt her attraction to him. But even if it took a little more time, she would be his one day.
He touched her foot and slid his fingers up her calf to her knee, on to her thigh and up to her hip. Not enough. Impatiently he tossed aside the glasses and the elastic band that held his hair back in the intricate braid she had admired earlier in the evening. He shrugged off his suit jacket, rid himself of his shirt, toed off his shoes and yanked off his socks, and kicked away his pants.
All of this he did in haste, but he joined her in the bed slowly and carefully, trying not to wake her. Noticing the goosebumps on her skin, he pulled the covers up over both of them, then draped his leg over one of hers and moved as close to her as he could. With eyes closed, he touched his nose to her shoulder and inhaled. He smelled her blood most strongly, mixed with a not-unpleasant hint of sweat from her ordeal, and underneath it all a trace of the perfume she must have dabbed on before she left for the bar. He kissed her shoulder, touched her skin briefly with the tip of his tongue. Down her neck he traced his fingertips, across the span of her collarbone, down between her breasts, whose curves he then traced along the lacy edge of her bra. He laid his palm on her stomach, then wrapped his arm fully around her.
He didn't realize that he had fallen into "downtime" until Sookie pulled down the covers, and he opened his eyes. Sookie was looking down at her side, where his hand rested inches from her wound.
"It's much better," he assured her.
She gasped with surprise, then looked at him. "Thank you, Eric."
He slid his palm back over her stomach, rubbing in absent circles. "For what?"
"For standing by me in the club," she said. Her lower lip trembled. "For coming here with me. For not leaving me alone with all these people."
He shifted a little so he could look down at her directly. Her lips were only inches below his. When he remembered their kisses from the night of the orgy, it took all his restraint to hold back now. "How grateful are you?"
When she replied, her voice was soft and relaxed, though he could hear her heart pounding. "That kind of ruins it, when you say something like that. You shouldn't want me to have sex with you just because I owe you."
But that wouldn't be the only reason; she was fooling herself if she thought so. She would know it soon enough. "I don't really care why you have sex with me," he murmured, lowering his mouth to hers, "as long as you do it."
No, it wasn't gratitude that led her to meet his tongue with hers the way she did, or slide her hands up to hold onto his shoulders as he moved over her, or moan softly beneath him. She liked him, and right now she wanted him. He cupped her breast through the soft material of her bra, and his fangs extended as she arched up into his touch. His hands wanted to touch every inch of her body, and he sent them on their way. Her hands were no less busy as they explored his chest and his back. She had raised one of her legs to cradle his hip. He was glad he had stripped down to his boxers, because pants would not have been comfortable at this moment. He kissed her without sparing any of the passion and hunger he felt.
He noticed that she flinched slightly as his fingers caressed her side on their way down to her hips. He would not have her tonight, not in her weakened condition. But he would give her something to remember him by… something to make her anticipate the night when they did finally have sex. Most of his weight still lay beside her on the bed, so he supported himself on one elbow as he glided one hand down between them. The scrap of fabric between her legs was warm and damp, and he slid one finger through the side and into her softness. They didn't break their kiss, but she moaned with approval as he found her most sensitive spot and stroked it in rhythm with their tongues. Drawing this pleasure from her was almost as powerful as experiencing it himself. Almost. When he gave her his blood, it would be even better.
The sound of the window opening was like a dash of cold water. The sight of Bubba stumbling through the window into their room was even worse. Fuck fuck fuck fuck FUCK.
"Miss Sookie! Mr. Eric!" he exclaimed happily. "I tracked you down."
Eric separated his lips from Sookie's and swallowed his intense anger and disappointment. Even so, his voice came out sounding strained. "Oh, good for you, Bubba."
Sookie's hand closed on his wrist and guided his hand back up to her stomach. He could smell her fluids on his hand, and it made him even more frustrated.
"Bubba, have you been here the whole time?" Sookie asked shakily. "Here in Jackson?" Her whole body was flushed with desire, and tiny beads of sweat dotted her forehead. Fuck.
"Mr. Eric told me to stick with you." Bubba sat down in a chair across from the bed and seemed in no hurry to leave them be. "You get hurt bad at that club, Miss Sookie?"
"It's a lot better now."
"I'm sorry I didn't do my job," Bubba said sadly, "but that little critter guarding the door wouldn't let me in. He didn't seem to know who I was, if you can believe that. But I saw Mr. Eric carrying you out, so I followed you."
Sookie smiled, something Eric couldn't even begin to summon the goodwill to do. "Thank you, Bubba. That was real smart."
"Miss Sookie, what you doing in bed with Mr. Eric if Bill is your boyfriend?"
Well, this interlude is now fucked up one way and down the other.
"That's a real good question, Bubba," Sookie replied as she tried – and failed – to shift herself into a more upright position.
"Jävla idiot," he swore under his breath. "I am going to give her blood, Bubba. Let me tell you what I need you to do."
"Sure."
"Since you got over the wall and into the house without being caught, I need you to search this estate. We think Bill is here somewhere. They are keeping him prisoner." If he's alive, which I doubt. "Don't try to free him. This is an order. Come back here and tell us when you have found him. If they see you, don't run. Just don't say anything. Nothing. Not about me, or Sookie, or Bill. Nothing more than, 'Hi, my name is Bubba.'"
Bubba nodded along throughout these instructions and repeated, "Hi, my name is Bubba."
"Right."
"Hi, my name is Bubba," he said again.
"Yes, that's fine," Eric replied impatiently. "Now, you sneak, and you be quiet and invisible." It was like talking to a child. A stupid child, at that. But damn it all if Bubba wasn't faithful and good at his job.
"Yes, Mr. Eric. But after that, I gotta go find me some food. I'm mighty hungry."
"Okay, Bubba. Go search now." It was much easier to feel kindness for the great idiot when he had left them alone again. He cleared his head, which was difficult with the heavy scents of blood and sex – Sookie's blood and Sookie's….. Not now. "Sookie, we could have a long argument about you taking my blood, and I know everything you would say. But the fact is, dawn is coming. I don't know if you will be allowed to stay the day here or not. I will have to find shelter, here or elsewhere. I want you strong and able to defend yourself; at least able to move quickly."
She considered this and nodded. "I know Bill is here. And no matter what we almost just did – thank God for Bubba –" How can you arch your body into my hands one minute and slap me the next? "I need to find Bill. The best time to get him out of here would be while all you vampires are asleep. Can he move at all during the daytime?"
"If he knows he is in great danger, he may be able to stagger." If he's alive. "Now I am even more sure you will need my blood, because you need strength. He will need to be covered thoroughly. You will need to take the blanket off this bed; it's thick. How will you get him out of here?"
She seemed more and more sure of herself and her plan with each passing minute. "That's where you come in. After we do this blood thing, you need to go get me a car—a car with a great big trunk, like a Lincoln or a Caddy. And you need to get the keys to me. And you'll need to sleep somewhere else. You don't want to be here when they wake up and find their prisoner is gone."
He took all this in, impressed with her ability to think so clearly at such a moment. Could it be because her feelings were now detached from Bill, or was that wishful thinking? "Sookie, where will you take him?" he asked.
"An underground place." She thought for a moment. "Hey, maybe Alcide's parking garage! That's better than being out in the open."
Only one thing left to do, then. He pulled himself up and leaned against the thick wooden headboard, spreading his legs so that she could lean back against him. Apparently she saw more than she bargained for; her cheeks flushed bright red, and she closed her eyes. He couldn't help but laugh at her primness after what they had shared only minutes before.
"Sit up with your back against my chest, Sookie," he told her. "That will make you more comfortable." He helped her accomplish this and wrapped both arms around her. Then he brought his right wrist to his mouth and bit down hard with his fangs. He offered this to her and leaned his head back. "This will cure you of everything." Except your doubts about me.
What he hadn't expected was his reaction to her drinking his blood. This wasn't like sucking out a bullet. This was Sookie feeding on his blood, holding his wrist to her mouth and drinking freely. No one had done this unless he planned to turn that person into a vampire. What small blood connection they had shared before was now being woven even more tightly. That, too, fed his pleasure. He couldn't stop himself from moaning and moving against her body; his own demanded release. The smell of sex still hung around her, and the pressure of her body against his as she fed from him was too much. Though Sookie remained very still, he could feel her arousal, and that only increased his own through their strengthening bond. Whether intentionally or not, she had eased into a rhythm of sucking his blood in time with his movements. She was enjoying this.
Finally, there was no more containing it. He pressed up against her one last time and groaned as the orgasm ripped through him. Some of the wetness seeped through his boxers and onto Sookie's lower back, but instead of separating herself from him, she sucked hard on his wrist. She wanted him, he realized with another groan, and kissed his way down her neck.
But no, she still seemed stubbornly determined to resist him. She pushed his wrist away from her mouth and said in a ragged voice, "Don't bite me."
He allowed his fangs to graze the smooth skin of her shoulder and was about to slide his hand down to give her the release that had been interrupted earlier, but she leaped away from him with almost vampiric speed. Hell, she had just had his blood. It might have been vampiric speed.
Before he could stop her, she threw open the door of the room, and there was the vampire who had agreed to provide her with clothes. He raised an eyebrow and ran his eyes over Sookie's barely-clad body with appreciation. "Well, look at you."
Wisely remembering that she had a part to play, Sookie sagged against the door frame. Eric was pleased. "You needed to talk to me?" she asked.
"Yes," the other vampire replied. "After we cut your beautiful dress off, Russell figured you'd need some clothes. I happened to have these in my closet, and since we're the same height…"
"Oh, well, thank you so much. This is very kind of you.
"You seem better," he said, studying her.
"I am very shaky… I was up because I was on my way to the bathroom."
But the vampire was no longer listening to a word she said. His eyes had found Eric, and they were filled with lust. "Leif, would you like to share my coffin today?"
"I have to run an errand for Sookie. I am not sure I'll return before daybreak but if I do…" He filled his voice with promise and let sex drip from every word. "You can be sure I'll see you out."
The young vampire glanced at Sookie, who had put on a robe from the pile of clothes she'd been given. "Yum," he said, and Eric didn't know if the compliment was for himself or Sookie. Judging from the way her body filled out the robe, he would guess the latter.
"Again, thanks," Sookie said as she indicated the robe and the clothes in her arms. "Could you tell me where the nearest bathroom is?" The vampire pointed down the hall, and Sookie excused herself quietly.
"What a treat," the vampire grinned. "Looks like you had her. Smells like it, too."
The bastard would have been dead already if this had been any other occasion. As it was, Eric smiled lazily. "I couldn't do that with my friend's girl. Besides, I wanted to save my energy for someone more to my taste." He licked his lips.
"Bernard," the vampire stuttered. "Ask for Bernard."
Eric directed as much desire as he could into his smolder. "Believe me, I will."
When he was finally left alone, Eric set about the task of finding the clothes he had so carelessly discarded the night before. Within five minutes, he was once again Leif, complete with glasses and slicked-back hair. No time to re-do the braid, though. His boxers were uncomfortably wet, but no help for that.
There was a thump from the window, followed by Bubba's ungraceful return. "I've scoped out the territory, Mr. Eric," he said proudly.
"Very good, Bubba. Is…"
Before he could finish the question, Sookie returned. She smelled fresh and lovely after her shower, and the robe really was enticing on her. His blood was already affecting her, judging by the slight glow of her skin.
"Bubba has scoped out the territory, Sookie," he told her with a slight smile.
"Miss Sookie, I found Bill!" Bubba exclaimed. "He ain't in such good shape, but he's alive."
Eric watched as she sank directly into the chair behind her, her mouth falling slightly open. He tried to read her expression, but she was a blank. He himself felt like a blank. On one hand, this was a great relief. No need to grovel and beg for Sophie-Anne's unlikely forgiveness. On the other, Bill would be back in Sookie's life. In what capacity he couldn't know, but surely she would forgive her lover, especially since his desertion wasn't his fault. In any case, he felt that he had lost her for the time being.
"Where is he?" she asked after a silence that seemed interminable.
Bubba motioned with his hands as he explained the location. "There's a big building in back of here, like a four-car garage, but it's got apartments on top of it and a room to the side."
"Are there other buildings? Could I get confused?"
As Bubba explained more about the surrounding buildings, Eric used the few seconds to pull himself together. This was why they had come. He was first and foremost a Sheriff, not a lovesick puppy. There was a job to do, for fuck's sake, and he would see it done.
"What part of the garage is he being kept in?" he asked Bubba.
"The room to the right side. I think maybe the garage used to be stables, and the room is where they kept the saddles and stuff. It isn't too big."
Eric nodded with satisfaction. "How many are in there with him?"
"They got three in there right now, Mr. Eric, two men and one woman. All three are vamps. She's the one with the knife."
And she was no doubt Lorena.
"Knife," Sookie murmured.
"Yes'm," Bubba replied grimly. "She's cut him up pretty bad."
Sookie kept her head up and seemed to be willing confidence into herself. "He'd held out this long."
Eric nodded. "He has. Sookie, I will go to get a car. I'll try to park it back there by the stables." He already knew where he would get the car; a former resident of Area 5 – a loyal subject – now lived in Jackson and had a fleet of cars. Better yet, he owed Eric several favors.
"Do you think they'll let you back in?" she asked with a frown.
"If I take Bernard with me."
"Bernard?"
He smiled in spite of himself. "The little one."
"You mean…" Then realization came to her face, and she looked a little embarrassed. "Oh, if you take Curly with you, they'll let you back in because he lives here?"
"Yes. But I may have to stay here. With him." He wondered how she would take that.
"You couldn't… uh… get out of it?"
"Maybe, maybe not," he said with a shrug. "I don't want to be caught here, rising, when they discover Bill is gone, and you with him."
Bubba had been quiet for some time, listening to their exchange, but now he spoke up again. "Miss Sookie, they'll put werewolves to guarding him during the day. Those werewolves that have been on your trail? They'll be guarding Bill when the vamps go to sleep."
Shit.
"But tonight is the full moon," Sookie pointed out. "They'll be worn out when it's their turn to take over. If they show up at all."
She never failed to impress him. "You're right, Sookie," he said with approval. "This is the best opportunity we're going to get."
"Maybe I should pretend like I'm still very weak. That way I can stay here an extra day, and it would give enough time for someone from Shreveport to come and help me."
"When I go for the car, I'll call. I want to make sure I'm far away from the mansion when I do, just in case. But you know, maybe Alcide could lend a hand tomorrow morning."
Sookie considered this, then shook her head. "I don't think we can do that, Eric. He's done so much already, and he has to work with these people all the time. It would put him in a bad spot."
"True," Eric nodded grudgingly. "Enough talk. Dawn is almost upon us, and there's much to do. I'm going to find Bernard and take him with me to get a car. Bubba, you need to leave the property and find somewhere to sleep today. A safe distance away from here, understand?" Bubba nodded. "You're lucky it was a full moon tonight. It's probably the only reason you're alive. Sookie, you'll continue to seem weak and helpless until the vampires go to their coffins. Then… somehow, you'll rescue Bill and get him into the trunk of the car I obtain. No one suspects you of anything, and no one knows who you are, so they shouldn't care if you leave." He paused, smiled, and shook his head. "This is maybe the worst plan I have ever heard."
Sookie returned his half-hearted smile with one of her own. "You got that right, but it's all we have."
"You'll do great, Miss Sookie." Bubba had the advantage of all stupid people, in that he never fully comprehended the situation he was in.
"Thank you, Bubba," said Sookie. She looked too confident for her own good… which, of course, she was.
"Sookie," Eric added, "my blood is going to make you feel more and more empowered. Don't get too carried away. That happens a lot when people take our blood. They overestimate their abilities, and they can get themselves killed. You know the stories. And my blood is potent."
They were interrupted by a knock, and Bubba took only a split-second to disappear from the window he'd entered. Sookie jumped into the bed and looked sickly, while Eric sat down beside her in the manner of a caring nurse. "Come in," he said quietly.
And there was the vampire he'd be seducing. "How is she doing?" Bernard asked. "Her color is better."
Her color wasn't just better. She was glowing. Bernard seemed about as observant as a fencepost. "Still in pain," Eric said in his most sympathetic voice, "but healing, thanks to the generosity of your king."
"He was glad to do it, but he will be… uh… best pleased if she can leave on her own tomorrow morning. He is sure by then her boyfriend will be back at his apartment after he has enjoyed the moon tonight." Bernard looked genuinely concerned, but more because he didn't want to ruin his chances with Eric. "I hope this doesn't seem too brusque?"
"No, I can understand the concern." He gave Bernard a brilliant smile. "Then I'll go get her a car and park it in the area to the rear of the house, and she can drive herself out tomorrow. If you can arrange that she'll have safe passage through the front gates – I assume they are guarded during the day?" He paused, and Bernard nodded. "I will have fulfilled my obligation to my friend Alcide."
"That sounds very reasonable." Bernard looked at Sookie and smiled. "I'll leave word at the gate when we go. My car okay?" Perfect. The young vampire was volunteering to accompany him without being asked. "It's just a little old egg-beater, but it'll get us to… where did you want to go?"
"I'll tell you when we're on the road. It's close to the home of a friend of mine. He knows a man who'll loan me the car for a day or two." Total bullshit, but Bernard had no reason to doubt it.
Eric motioned to Sookie, whose eyes were closed, and Bernard nodded and backed away politely. His blood seemed to sing in his veins as he got closer to her, and he wondered if their bond was strong enough yet for her to feel it. He kissed her cheek.
"Sookie, can you hear me?" She gave a small nod. "Good. Listen, I am going to get you a car. I'll leave the keys up here by the bed when I get back. In the morning, you need to drive out of here and back to Alcide's. Do you understand?"
Again she nodded. "Bye. Thank you," she murmured.
"My pleasure." At least part of the ordeal had been pleasurable.
Hank Danos lived in the Jackson suburb of Pearl, which gave Eric more time than he wanted with Bernard. The younger vampire was boring and tedious, but flirting was easy and cost him nothing, so he played his part with casual aplomb. Bernard never doubted him for a second. He talked with Hank alone, lest his former subject call him "Eric" or "Sheriff" in Bernard's hearing. The car was secured in under ten minutes, and he was glad to be able to drive back to Edgington's mansion alone.
He parked the white Lincoln as near as possible to the set of buildings described by Bubba, then followed Bernard back to the house. It was time to give his unwitting accomplice something for his trouble. Before they opened the door, he pushed Bernard against one of the tall white columns and kissed him for all he was worth. He had kissed men before, and he was good at it. By the time they broke off the kiss, Bernard was hard in his hand, and Eric was fairly certain he had a hickey on his neck.
"My room," Bernard said raggedly.
"I'll just say good night to Sookie and make sure she's still okay." Eric gave his best smolder. "Then I'm all yours."
He let Bernard show him where the room was, then he returned to Sookie's room, which was dark and quiet as it should be. He set the keys to the Lincoln down on the bedside table, and Sookie gave a small gasp of surprise. Improved hearing and reflexes, all from his blood.
"I'm back." He kept his voice low, since many of the vampires were probably sleeping already. "It's a white Lincoln. I parked out by the garage; there wasn't room inside, which is a real pity. They wouldn't let me get any closer to confirm what Bubba said." She hadn't opened her eyes, but he knew she was awake. "Are you hearing me?" She gave only a nod. "Good luck." He stood there in silence, waiting for some reaction, but she seemed oddly detached. "If I can disentangle myself, I'll meet you in the parking garage at first dark tonight. If you aren't there, I'll go back to Shreveport." At last her eyes opened, and she looked up at him. With Bill's return – if they succeeded – came another question, and they both knew it. "We'll talk later."
"Thanks for the car." She seemed as if she wanted to say something else, but she decided against it.
Why should he care so much about what she did or didn't say?
"I don't like having feelings." It was more to himself than to her, voiced as he turned and left her alone in the dark. In a night of various disappointments, at least something now was going his way: the sunrise was too near for Bernard to expect a fuck.