Disclaimer: I own nothing related to True Blood.
Two years previous…
When Paige awoke the next morning she knew that it probably had to be daylight outside, but honestly couldn't be sure. Eric's bedroom was so unbelievably dark that she couldn't even see her hand when she held it in front of her face. She blinked her eyes rapidly, trying to force them to adjust to the room – when that failed Paige shifted around some, now trying to blindly grope for the cell phone that she'd left on his nightstand and check the time. She had to bite back a smile when she found that she couldn't move very far, though. Eric was still fast asleep behind her, but when she started fidgeting he tightened the heavy, muscular arm he had wrapped around her waist and pulled her even tighter to his chest.
After a few moments Paige finally admitted defeat and abandoned her mission to find her phone, dropping her arm back onto the bed. She lay there for a second or two before managing to turn under Eric's arm and face him, wishing the room wasn't so dark so that she could see his handsome features. Paige slowly trailed her hand up his arm and towards his face, then smiled to herself when her fingers finally encountered some of his long, silky hair. Feeling a little playful, Paige gently threaded her fingers though his hair, enjoying the softness sliding through her fingers and wondering how he would react to all of this if he were awake right now...
Without any warning or preamble, the vampire that she had thought was asleep during her explorations suddenly pressed his lips against hers. When she gasped in surprise he took advantage and deepened the kiss, groaning low in his chest as their tongues tangled together eagerly. Paige found herself pressing closer to him, wanting to feel the coolness of his skin and the firmness of his muscles against her now burning body – the move made him jerk his head back for a second and pant heavily for air before his lips were on hers with renewed fervor. She realized then that his fangs were pressing against her lips; Paige had to fight back an excited smile knowing that she wasn't the only one affected by what was happening between them.
Eric finally pulled his lips from hers completely, the both of them breathing equally as hard. "To what do I owe the pleasure of being awoken so early?" He asked in the darkness, his voice husky with sleep and desire – Paige felt his fingertips trail down the length of her spine and shivered in delight.
"I was trying to see what time it was, but I couldn't get your arm off of me." Paige told him breathlessly, smiling widely and knowing that his sharp, vampire eyesight enabled him to see it.
He made a sound of thoughtfulness but said nothing more, clearly not very interested in talking at the moment. She wasn't sure what his next move would be since she couldn't see him, but when he shifted until his body was over hers and his lips began slowly gliding over her throat, Paige sighed and let her eyes fall shut – it wasn't until she felt his sharp fangs pressing a little firmer against her skin that she stiffened, making him tense in return.
"Do my fangs frighten you?" Eric inquired curiously, his lips rising away from her neck and making her relax again.
"No…" Paige said with a shake of her head, reaching a hand toward where she thought his face was and searching blindly for his mouth, wanting to touch his fangs with her curious fingertips. His strong hand closed around hers and guided her until her fingers could gently caress the two sharp points. Paige sucked in a deep breath, the feel of his sharp fangs unnerving her only slightly, then let her thumb trail along his bottom lip instead – his lips pressed a quick kiss to her thumb, his teeth just barely nipping at the pad and making her breath catch in her throat. "I-I just need you to know that even though things have changed, I still don't want you to bite me."
Eric was silent for so long that she started to wonder if she'd upset or angered him with her request – or, even worse, that she might have been too presumptuous about where she thought all of this was headed and that she was now on the verge of getting kicked out of his bed and his life…for good. But finally, after what felt like an eternity, Eric said, "Very well." Paige let out a sigh of relief, her heart pounding so hard against her ribs that she was sure Eric could feel it. "If you do not want me to feed on you, I will respect – " He said the word pointedly, his way of letting her know he hadn't forgotten their conversation from the previous weekend. " – your wishes."
Paige grinned and felt his lips turn upwards against her fingers. "Thank you." She told him, wishing with all her heart that there was some light in the room so she could see the smile she was sure was adorning his handsome face.
As though he'd heard her thoughts (she was really starting to believe he was telepathic), a small lamp clicked on just above the bed and showered the two of them with soft light. When Paige caught sight of Eric her breath caught in her throat – he was propped up on an elbow and hovering over her, his hair hanging around his face like a curtain as he half-smiled, half-smirked down at her. He'd forgone wearing a top to bed and her eyes widened as she caught sight of his broad, impossibly muscular torso for the first time – she'd never seen anything or anyone more beautiful in her entire life.
When she met his gaze again he was looking at her with a hint of smugness lurking in his gaze, the vampire clearly relishing in Paige's appreciative ogling. Not even able to feel annoyed with him for being so cocky, she caressed the side of his face as she took a moment to admire his handsomeness – her heart fluttered when he leaned his face into her touch before swooping down to press a slow, leisurely kiss against her lips. Then he rolled over to lie on his back, wrapping an arm around her in the process and pulling her with him. Paige sighed and snuggled into his side, resting her head on his chest as she got comfortable.
"How old are you?" She asked after a couple beats of comfortable silence.
"Very." He answered, his voice rumbling underneath her ear in his otherwise silent chest. "I am over a thousand years old."
Paige lifted her head and looked at him in surprise, her eyebrows raised so high they nearly disappeared into her hairline. She'd just spent the night with a vampire that was over a thousand years old? The things he must have seen, the things he must have done! Paige's mind was positively brimming with questions – where had he lived? Had he been married? Had he had children? – but since she didn't particularly think it was her place to ask such personal questions yet, she decided to save them for another time.
"Wow…" She said before slowly laying her head on his chest again, still awe-struck. "That's incredible."
"Yes, I suppose." He agreed, though he didn't sound as enthusiastic about is as she did. Paige sighed as one of his hands started idly running through her hair. "Do you have family back in Houston?"
"Oh yes." Paige answered, drawing errant patterns on his chest with her forefinger – she thought she saw him shiver a little at the contact. "My mother, father, brother…hell, even the extended family." She then listed off. "We're all there."
Eric paused for a moment before hooking a finger under her chin and forcing her to meet his gaze again – he had an eyebrow quirked up and an almost mischievous look in his eyes. "And what will they say when they learn you're consorting with vampires?" He asked.
Paige sighed and then shrugged, just imaging what her parents would say if they knew she had not only spent the night in a vampire nightclub, but also in bed with a powerful, very old vampire. "Probably nothing good..." She admitted with a cringe. "My brother is a little more open-minded about vampires, but my parents? No way." He 'hmph'ed in response, the look on his face quite hard to decipher – he almost seemed annoyed with her parents' prejudice against his kind, but he didn't vocally express it. Paige decided to direct the conversation towards less controversial topics. "You said something to me last night when you came to bed." She suddenly remembered. He seemed surprised for a second, as though he hadn't thought her coherent enough at the time to be able to remember it now. "What was it?"
Eric smirked. "Min fireytema kvinna." He repeated, the foreign language sounding a bit odd but also rather intriguing. "It's Swedish."
With this new piece of information, Paige quickly put the facts together and did the math in her head. Over a thousand years old, speaks Swedish fluently, blonde, very large and intimidating… "Holy shit – are you a Viking?" She asked in amazement.
He seemed amused by her zealousness. "Smart girl." He answered, looking a little impressed as he let out a short chuckle – Paige felt her heart skip a beat at the sound. She had been the one to make this normally very serious, very intense vampire laugh.
Paige shook her head in astonishment, mind still reeling from this new revelation about Eric. It suddenly felt as though she'd fallen into some tacky Harlequin romance novel and was now the young maiden being swept off her feet by a strong, handsome, mysterious Viking warrior…only her Viking just so happened to be a vampire. "So what does...min firetema kavina..." She knew she had absolutely slaughtered the Swedish words when he quirked an amused eyebrow. "...mean?" Paige asked with a small smile, wiggling her eyebrows.
Eric placed one large hand on the side of her neck, pulling her closer like he was about to tell her a secret. But instead of translating the words, he said, "You'll find out…in due time."
Paige started to protest but couldn't say very much before he was closing the distance between them and pulling her lips to his for another kiss – she instantly didn't care what the hell the words meant, she was far more concerned with the lips moving against hers and the hand that had snuck underneath the back of her shirt. She shivered in pleasure as his fingertips traced patterns on her lower back, making heat spread throughout her body.
Eric finally pulled his lips from hers – Paige was so dazed she nearly didn't catch what he said next. "You should be leaving soon if you want to get back to Houston at a reasonable hour." He suggested, a note of regret lacing his husky words. "And unfortunately, I need more rest. Every night here is a busy one and I am not a joy to be around when sleep deprived – someone may end up injured."
Paige pursed her lips regretfully, wishing she could stay in bed with him all day but knowing he was right and that she should probably be on her way. "I guess you're right…" She conceded.
His arms reluctantly fell down to his sides as she pushed off his chest, releasing her so that she could sit up. Paige hopped out of the bed before she could change her mind and began moving about the room, rounding up a few possessions that she had left scattered around the night before. Eric was content to lie in bed and watch her as she repacked her things, his intense, unwavering gaze making blood rush to various parts of her anatomy – he certainly was very good at making her lose her train of thought. He looked so handsome and tempting lying in that bed that every time she looked at him, her mind would instantly wander to all the things she'd rather be doing with him right then. Paige had to go through her bag more than once just to find the outfit that she wanted, forgetting what she was looking for several times as her mind filled with inappropriate thoughts.
Finally, once she had her change of clothes and bag of basic toiletries, she went to dress in the bathroom and freshen up a little. When she rejoined him in the bedroom Eric had finally sat up and was sitting with his legs over the edge of the bed, looking breathtakingly handsome in nothing but a pair of silky pajama pants. Paige stopped to shove her things back into her bag then walked towards Eric.
He reached out to grab her by the hips as soon as she was within reach and pulled her close, making her stand between his legs. Paige sucked in a shaky breath when he looked up at her with darkened eyes. "When will you come to Shreveport next?" He asked in a low voice, his gaze unwavering and his touch making her feel a little tingly.
"I don't know." Paige said with a nonchalant shrug, running a hand through his long hair. "When do you want me to come back?" Eric smirked at her but didn't answer. Paige sighed before shaking her head in defeat. "Maybe I can come next weekend…we'll just have to see." She finally conceded.
Eric nodded, though he didn't look too pleased with her noncommittal response, and stood from the bed. Paige, who had always considered herself to be reasonably tall for a woman, had to cran her neck to be able to look him in the eye. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her in close, making her feel very small, but also very safe, in his embrace. She sighed as he brought his lips down to hers for a firm kiss – when she started to pull back he wrapped a hand into her hair to keep her in place, deepening the kiss. Paige melted into him then and eagerly returned his sensual kiss, wrapping her arms around his waist for balance and pawing at the cool skin of his back.
Finally, when she thought her heart body might catch on fire, he tore his lips from hers. "Goodbye, Paige." He told her, his voice thick with desire and his fangs glimmering in the dim light of the room.
When he released her she stumbled away on shaky legs to collect her bag, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she tried to catch her breath. Eric watched her head for the door with intense eyes, the look he was giving her right then doing absolutely nothing to calm that raging fire he'd created within her. They gazed at each other for one last second as she reached the door, then Paige breathlessly said, "Goodbye, Eric" before turning and hightailing it out of his bedroom before she did something rash…like throwing herself at him like a cat in heat.
She was blinded with sunlight once she was back in his office, but sighed in relief and leaned back against the door to catch her breath.
Lord, that vampire was going to be the death of her if he kept at it like that. Paige had been attracted to guys before, obviously, and she'd certainly had some encounters in the past that had left her feeling a little tingly…but this? This was something entirely different; she wanted Eric more than she had ever wanted anyone – or anything – in her entire life. And even though they didn't know very much about each other yet, the physical chemistry between them was impossible to ignore. Every touch sent fire through her body, every look made her weak in the knees. He made her feel things that no other man ever had and brought out a sexier, carefree side of her that even she hadn't known existed.
But Paige, as Eric already knew, was still a virgin, and the thought of actually going through with it and being intimate with Eric absolutely terrified her.
Now it hadn't exactly been her plan to be a virgin for so long and to this day people looked at her as though she were an escaped mental patient whenever she told them she still was, but – and call her naïve if you want – she had wanted to wait until she found someone that was special before taking that step, someone that she loved and that she wanted to have that connection with for the rest of her life. Unfortunately that 'special someone' had just never come along...until last weekend. There was just something about Eric, some sort of connection between the two of them that she couldn't explain because even she didn't understand it yet. And as terrifying and confusing as it was to admit this to herself, she already knew that she wanted to give herself to him, that she wanted Eric to be her first. This whole situation was such a heady whirlwind, but it felt…right.
Paige turned a laid a hand on his bedroom door, knowing she was going to think about him constantly while they were apart and hoping he would miss her in return. Then, with one last long sigh, she turned to finally leave Eric and Fangtasia.
That next Tuesday night, Paige could be found on her couch drinking a glass of wine, munching on popcorn, and catching up on one of her favorite television shows. She'd had the day off that day and had spent the majority of her time running errands and cleaning up around the house, which was her usual Tuesday routine. And now that her duties for the day were done and night had fallen outside, it was time to kick back and relax before she planned to bed early and get a good night of rest. Right as her show was about to get to the good part – would Dexter be able to save Deb from the Ice Truck Killer? – her cell phone suddenly began to ring. Paige groaned in frustration and quickly paused the show before reaching for the phone resting on her coffee table. She immediately answered when she saw who was calling.
"Hey, Jamie." Paige said, trying not to sound impatient with her for interrupting the season finale of Dexter.
"Hey! Whatcha doin'?" Jamie asked in response, her tone conversational and chipper.
"Watching Dexter – what are you doing?"
"Leaving work right now, actually." Jamie said. "Hey," She continued, sounding curious now. "I have a question for you."
"And I probably have an answer." Paige shot her, taking a sip of wine. "Shoot."
"Where were you this past weekend?" The question made Paige freeze. "The gang went to see that eighties cover band at Fox and Hound and I thought you'd have been there." She explained. "I tried calling, but you didn't answer. I was a little worried."
Paige cringed and bit her lip – she had neglected to tell her friends about Eric's request for her to come back to Shreveport that past weekend, knowing none of them would take the news well and smother her with worry. Paige wondered now if it would be a good or bad idea to tell her friend that she'd spent Saturday night in the company of Eric Northman, but at the same time, wasn't sure she'd be able to avoid it either way; Jamie had always had a knack for seeing through Paige's lies.
"I was actually out of town this weekend." Paige finally answered, deciding to just go with the truth and save herself the trouble…or some of the trouble, anyway. "Sorry for worrying you. I hope it didn't ruin your night." She continued. "Who all went, anyway?" She then asked, hoping the question would side-track Jamie and steer the conversation in another direction before she was forced to spill the beans about Eric.
"Oh, you know, just the usual suspects." Jamie answered nonchalantly. And to Paige's disappointment, it seemed her friend would not be easily deterred. "Where did you go out of town to?" She asked next, not dropping the subject.
Damnit, Paige thought to herself. She loved her friend to pieces, but by God that girl was too nosy for her own good. Paige sighed, turning her eyes up to the ceiling for a moment and mentally preparing herself for the lecture she was surely about to receive from her long time friend. "I was in Shreveport."
"What?" Jamie asked in confusion. "Why would you – " But she stopped short, as though she had already figured out the answer to her own question. "You went to see him, didn't you? You went to see that vampire!" Jamie accused, sounding very disappointed.
Paige heaved, annoyed with Jamie for her close-mindedness. "Yes, I went to see Eric." She confirmed hastily.
Jamie huffed on the other end. "Are you crazy? Why did you go see him again?"
"Listen, he asked me to come back just so I could go with him to talk to the owner of DiamondJacks, alright?" Paige explained snappily, not liking the condescending tone in her friend's voice. "I helped him get a business deal arranged, stayed the night in Shreveport, then left the next morning – it wasn't a big deal." Paige decided to leave out the part about sleeping with Eric in his bed at Fangtasia; she also chose not to divulge the details of what had happened between her and the Viking vampire.
"I just…wow. I can't even believe you right now." Jamie said, sounding both stunned and angry. "Why didn't you tell me? And why are you even helping him?"
"I didn't tell you because I knew you'd act like this." Paige shot her. "And I helped Eric because, well…"
There was a long stretch of silence where Paige couldn't seem to bring herself to say the words out loud and where Jamie took a moment to quickly put the pieces together – Jamie suddenly gasped on the other end of the line. "Are you having sex with him?" She hissed at her over the phone.
"No!" Paige said at once, only half-lying. Because truthfully she hadn't had sex with Eric…not yet, anyway.
"But you want to, don't you?" Jamie accused.
Paige was saved from answering the question when a knock sounded on her door. Though she frowned at the door in confusion because she hadn't been expecting anyone, this would be the perfect excuse to get off the phone with Jamie and save herself from further judgment. "Jamie, I'd love to discuss this more," That was a bold faced lie, "but someone's at my door, so I have to go."
Jamie heaved in irritation. "Don't think this is the end of this conversation. We will be discussing this at work tomorrow." She said in a no-nonsense voice before hanging up without saying goodbye. Paige stared at her phone for a moment then rolled her eyes at the way her friend was behaving – she'd just known that her friends, especially Jamie, wouldn't understand; it was still disappointing to discover that she had been right, though.
Paige tossed her phone onto the couch as three more firm knocks sounded on her front door. "I'm coming, I'm coming!" She called out impatiently, making a beeline for the door to answer it and stop the incessant knocking of whoever was on the other side. When she jerked the door open, though, her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Andrew?" She asked, instantly feeling as awkward as he currently looked. "What are you doing here this late?"
Andrew shrugged and reached a hand up to nervously rub the back of his neck. "I was having dinner with some friends nearby and I thought I'd stop in to check up on you." He told her in a bit of a timid voice, as though afraid he would anger her if he spoke to loud.
For a split second his wounded-puppy type behavior had Paige feeling willing to forget about their argument the week before and consider making amends, especially since he'd gone out of his way to come and see her…at least, she was feeling in a forgiving mood until he suddenly dropped blatantly searching eyes down to her neck, looking very much like he was inspecting her. Paige, knowing he was looking for bite marks and feeling irritated with him for it, crossed her arms and quirked an eyebrow at him. He sensed the shift in her demeanor and immediately turned his gaze back to hers, straightening up and feigning innocence.
"So what you're really saying is that you came to make sure I was still alive and that I hadn't been bitten?" Paige asked in an unnervingly calm voice.
Andrew instantly looked relieved. "So you haven't been bitten?" He asked hopefully.
Paige rolled her eyes and shook her head. "Not that it's any of your business in any way, shape, or form…but no. I have not been bitten." She told him pointedly, stressing the words to make sure he heard her loud and clear. "Happy now?" She asked him next before shooting him a dirty look. "Now if you'll excuse me…"
She started to shut the door on him, absolutely flabbergasted with the way both he and Jamie were reacting to her relationship (whatever it was) with Eric and wanting to just go and lock herself in her room before anyone else berated her. Before she could shut the door, however, Andrew threw a hand out to stop it and keep it open, a helpless look on his face – she knew that look. He'd used it on her plenty of times in the past whenever she was mad at him and he was seeking her forgiveness. "Andrew…"
"Just hear me out, alright?" He pleaded. "I really came to apologize." He said, then he paused, waiting for her to do or say something in response. When she didn't he sighed and took a step closer. "Can I at least come in? I'd rather not discuss this on your doorstep." He said, motioning to the tightly compacted townhouses around hers and reminding her of the lack of privacy.
Paige thought it over for a second before sighing and nodding, stepping aside so Andrew could step into her house. Once he was inside she shut the door behind him. She turned to face him and then raised her eyebrows, signaling for him to continue.
"Listen, I'm just worried about you, Paige." Andrew told her in a sincere voice. "Vampires are dangerous – they drink human blood to survive, for God's sake." He pointed out to her, as though she hadn't known that already. "I just don't wanna see you end up on the back of a milk carton because you decided to…I don't know...experiment."
"I'm a big girl, Andrew." She reminded him calmly. "And I can take care of myself." He pressed his lips together tightly, clearly unhappy with her rebuttal. "I know you're just being a good friend and looking out for me." Paige admitted with a sigh. "But I don't need you to coddle me. Trust me, I know what I'm doing." Kind of a lie seeing as she'd never been involved with a vampire before and therefore had no idea what she was doing, but that was her problem, not Andrew's.
"Do you?" Andrew countered, looking completely unconvinced as he crossed his arms over his chest and quirked an eyebrow at her. "How do you even know that you can trust this…vampire?"
Paige also crossed her arms, mimicking his pose, and shrugged a shoulder at him. "It's hard to explain…" She said slowly. When Andrew scoffed, she frowned at him in disapproval. "Listen, Eric has had ample opportunity to do something to me if he wanted to and he hasn't." She told him defensively. "Believe it or not, he actually seems interested in me for more than just my blood – he's already promised not to bite or feed on me simply because I asked him not to. I would assume a vampire wouldn't make a promise like that unless they had a good reason to."
Andrew's eyebrows shot up, though the expression on his face was more mocking than surprise. "And you actually believe him?"
"Yes." She answered at once.
"What do you even expect to get out of hanging around this…thing?" Andrew spat out, apparently forgoing his mission to apologize and choosing to argue now that his frustration was growing. "Do you want to be his pet, his play thing? Do you want to be a fucking vampire, too?" He shot at her, making her press her lips together in annoyance. "You have to realize something Paige – it won't work between the two of you. He's a vampire, you're a human. He drinks blood, you eat food. You will grow old and grey and eventually die while he will never change." Paige's frown deepened with each reminder of just how different she and Eric were. "He's here to stay, but you? You are temporary."
Paige shook her head, not liking what she was hearing despite the fact that it was all very much true. "You think I don't realize all of this?" She asked him incredulously. Then she heaved and threw a hand up in aggravation. "Jesus, Andrew, I just met him. It's not like we're talking about getting married and buying a fucking house together…and I'm certainly not thinking about becoming a vampire any time soon." She added quickly, shooting him a look that made him roll his eyes. "I don't even know what Eric and I are yet or if we even will become anything, so why don't you let me figure that out first before you come riding in to save me from the 'big, bad, evil vampire'?"
Andrew narrowed his eyes at her, looking thoroughly infuriated now. "He'll get bored with you once you aren't so young and beautiful anymore. Do you realize that?" He asked her harshly.
Paige opened her mouth to say something quite rude in response when another loud, firm knock sounded on her door. She let out a growl of frustration and turned to stare at her door in disbelief, wondering who it could possibly be this time around – with the way this night was going, she half expected it to be the rest of her friends coming to scold her for her 'poor decisions', as she was certain that Jamie had probably already informed the rest of their friends about Paige's weekend with Eric by now. Andrew let out a frustrated heave when she shot a look his way and leaned against the back of her couch, motioning for her to grab the door. She turned to do so, shooting him a look that said their conversation wasn't over yet in the process, before yanking the door open.
The instant she caught sight of who was on the other side, her eyes went wide and her jaw dropped in shock.
"Eric…" She said in surprise, caught completely off guard by his unexpected arrival. "I…I wasn't expecting you."
The tall vampire wasn't paying attention to what she was saying though, and his eyes were not on her. He was glaring directly at Andrew with his fists clenched at his sides and his teeth grinding together angrily. Paige briefly wondered just how long he'd been outside of her house and how much of her and Andrew's argument he'd heard, but judging by how angry he looked she presumed he'd heard quite a bit.
"Paige, you have to invite me in for me to be able to enter." He told her in a dangerously calm voice, still not sparing her a glance.
Paige glanced back at Andrew, who looked scared shitless as he stared at the massive vampire standing in her doorway with wide, alert eyes. Apparently he hadn't expected Eric to be so large or look so intimidating. She sighed and looked back up to Eric, placing a gentle hand on his forearm to catch his attention – he looked down at her swiftly, question in his eyes. "Eric, I'm not gonna let you in if you plan to hurt Andrew." She told him firmly.
He smirked quite evilly in response. "I have no intentions of hurting him…I move much too quickly for it to hurt." Eric said, sending another threatening glare in Andrew's direction. When Paige shook her head, remaining firm in her resolve, Eric turned a frown on her. "You choose him over me?" He asked slowly, his eyes searching her intently.
Paige immediately shook her head. "Of course not." She reassured him before stepping outside to join him on the doorstep. She motioned for Andrew to stay right where he was (he didn't look like he was in a hurry to go anywhere near Eric, anyway) and closed the door behind her so she and Eric could have a moment of privacy. "Andrew is my friend, Eric." She said quietly, grabbing Eric's hand with her own – he looked down at their joined hands for a moment before peering back into her eyes. "And even though he's being a total dickhead – " She said the word a little louder, hoping Andrew would hear it. " – I'm afraid I can't let you kill him."
"That human is filling your head with lies, Paige." Eric growled in response. "And I do not like it." He shot another angry look at the closed door before shifting his gaze back to hers. "Make him leave."
Even though Paige didn't like it when Eric bossed her around, she sensed that it would be in her best interest to not argue with him on this particular matter and just do as he had instructed – she nodded her head, which seemed to please him, and turned to open the door so she could reenter her house.
Andrew straightened up as she walked in, eyeing her for a second and clearly trying to determine her next course of action. "You may come inside, Eric." She said, watching as Andrew's eyes immediately widened with obvious fright – Eric slowly stepped into her house but lingered near the door, never taking his eyes off of Andrew as Paige went to the man's side. "You should leave." She suggested quietly.
"And leave you here with him when he's like this?" Andrew hissed back, his wide eyes taking in Eric's angry glare and rigid stance.
"I'm not the one he's mad at." Paige told him pointedly. "You'd better go while you still can." Paige added, making sure he understood the urgency of the situation.
Andrew nodded slowly and then made his way towards the door, keeping a careful eye on Eric the entire way. He was just about to pass Eric and walk through the open doorway, however, when the vampire suddenly reached out and grabbed Andrew by his neck. He had the dark-haired man pinned to the wall in the blink of an eye and Paige gaped at him in surprise, immediately bringing a hand up to cover her mouth as she gasped. Eric didn't make any move to hurt Andrew though, simply held him firmly in place and glared down at him with furious eyes.
"You better think twice about what you say to her from now on, human. I may not be so easy to calm again." He threatened before releasing Andrew and shoving him out of the house. Eric then slammed the door shut in his petrified face before turning back to Paige with a quirked eyebrow, as though daring her to say something about it.
"Very nice." She said sarcastically, shaking her head at him. "You must make friends everywhere you go."
Eric smirked, looking rather pleased with himself, and closed the distance between them until he was close enough to grab her by the waist and pull her into his chest. "I did not expect to come here tonight and find that human in your home." He told her, his gaze still intense though he looked a little less on edge now that Andrew was gone.
"Well, I didn't expect him to turn up here either…or you, for that matter." She added before shooting him a curious look. Her anger with Andrew and annoyance with Jamie were quickly fading away now that she unexpectedly found herself in Eric's arms. "Why did you come?"
"I was in the area..." Eric said with a noncommittal shrug. Paige lifted an unconvinced eyebrow, which immediately made him smirk. "Fine, I came because I did not want to wait until this weekend to see you." He finally just admitted, though the heavy sigh that accompanied the words made it seem as though it were a chore for him to say them – Paige still smiled up at him happily, glad he had missed her as much as she'd missed him. "I left Pam in charge for the night."
"Well…in that case, why don't you make yourself comfortable?" Paige suggested, starting to pull away from him so she could lead him to the couch. Before she could get far, however, he pulled her right back to him and leaned down to give her a long kiss, making her sigh against his lips and wrap her arms tightly around his neck.
It had only been three days since she'd last kissed him, but feeling his lips on hers again immediately had her own rejoicing and her nerves catch fire. What was this power he had over her? How could he make her feel desperate with longing and desire with only one kiss or look or touch? She was breathing heavily by the time he detached his lips from hers and he smiled in smug satisfaction before kissing her forehead, releasing her, and then moving away to gracefully deposit himself on her couch. It took a moment or two, but Paige managed to pull herself together and went to join him.
"I don't have any TruBlood." She said in a slightly breathless voice. "I can pick some up, though. You know, if you plan to make this a regular thing..." Paige offered as she sat down next to him and grabbed for her abandoned glass of wine.
"That won't be necessary." He said with a shake of her head, making her frown as she immediately took that to mean that he didn't plan to visit often. But then he said, "TruBlood tastes vile, therefore I have never been very fond of it."
Paige felt relief wash over her and nodded in understanding – she then briefly wondered in the back of her mind where, or who, he received his sustenance from, but then quickly dismissed the thought. Not only did she have no claim over Eric, but she had also denied him her own blood; he had to feed on someone if he wanted to survive and she would just have to deal with that.
"Your accommodations are actually quite pleasant." Eric commented as his eyes swept around the living room. The compliment caught her a little by surprise, as Eric didn't seem like the complimenting type. "It is very…you." He added, smirking down at her.
"Thanks." She said with a bashful smile. They stared at each other for a second until she turned her eyes away and took a sip of her wine, unsure what to do now that they were very much alone in her townhouse. She finally turned her attention back to Eric when he shifted in his seat, angling his body towards hers and looking as though there was something on his mind that he wanted to address.
Sure enough, Eric only waited for another second before speaking up. "Did the human's words bother you?" He asked, his eyes searching hers for the answers he wanted.
Paige sighed and took another sip of wine. "He didn't say anything that I didn't already know." She told him with a shrug, trying to ease some of the tension lingering behind in the aftermath of Andrew's visit. "It's not exactly a secret that you and I are very different from each other."
Eric nodded slowly, still searching her eyes. "But not all that he said was true." He countered, the expression on his face very serious.
Paige felt her heart skip a beat, wondering if he was referring to Andrew's prediction that Eric would someday grow bored with her. She smiled and could not resist reaching out to place a hand on his cheek. Eric's expression softened and turned to one that looked dangerously close to contentment. He relaxed a bit further into her couch, one of his hands moving over slowly to rest on her knee, and turned his head so he could kiss the inside of her wrist as he pulled her a little closer. Suddenly the question that had been circling her mind since Saturday night invaded her thoughts. And try as she might, she just couldn't hold herself back from asking it any longer.
"Eric?" Paige asked gently as she set her wine down, catching his attention. "Where is this going?"
Eric didn't seem very taken aback by the question, obviously having already expected that she would ask at one point or another. His brows furrowed thoughtfully as he considered his answer. "I have had human lovers before…" He admitted slowly. "But never have I had one as my companion." Her eyes fluttered for a moment when his fingers suddenly glided along her cheek. "To answer truthfully, I am unsure where this might go. But I do know that you are different, Paige Collins. You make me…feel different." Then he huffed, looking equal parts perplexed and amused. "You just make me feel in general, you bewitching mortal."
The admission looked hard for him and she reached up to place a hand over the one caressing her face, offering an encouraging smile. "You make me feel different, too." She told him earnestly, wanting him to know that he wasn't the only one trying to figure this whole situation out. "You're…hell, you're just something else." Paige admitted with a breathy laugh. "Something special."
Eric seemed a bit more at ease then and pulled her closer, effortlessly maneuvering her until she was sitting on his lap – she sighed as he placed possessive hands on her waist and trailed his nose along the column of her neck. "You wish to be mine?" He asked in a low voice, his eyes intent when they met hers again. Paige decided there was no use in lying to him – she gulped and then nodded her head. He seemed satisfied, happy even, with her answer. "Then you are mine…just as I am yours." Eric said with a firm nod.
Paige couldn't help it, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him with everything that he made her feel. Eric returned her kiss eagerly, pulling her tighter to his chest and tangling his tongue with hers as they kissed with unrestrained passion. Paige finally pulled away when she desperately needed to breathe, but found herself incapable of doing so when his lips moved to press kiss after kiss to the skin of her neck and shoulders.
"So what do I call you, then?" Paige asked while she still had coherent thought. "Do I say you're my…boyfriend? That seems a bit silly, seeing as you're over a thousand years old…"
Eric leaned back to look at her and made a thoughtful noise as he thought her question over. Then he smirked and just barely brushed his lips over hers. "You could refer to me as your lover." He suggested.
Though she blushed a little, Paige still smiled and ran her fingers through his hair, watching as his eyes slid closed at the affectionate touch. "Wouldn't we have to make love for me to say that you're my lover?" She asked in a thick, desire-filled tone that was foreign even to her.
Eric's eyes popped back open and he gave her a devilish, lop-sided grin, his fangs appearing in the blink of an eye before he leaned forward to flick his tongue against her throat – Paige's breath hitched at the contact and she was barely able to keep her head from dropping backwards in pleasure. "Indeed…and I have every intention of showing you all that there is to know about making love, Paige." He informed her in a gravelly, matter-of-fact tone. "Many, many, many times over."
The promise that laced his words nearly made her body catch on fire and she fought back a moan as his lips pressed against her neck hotly, his hands starting to toy with the hem of her shirt as though contemplating whether he should take it off or not. Her own fingers tightened on his hair as she unconsciously pushed her body closer to his, but when she felt the brush of his fingertips on the skin of her stomach, she quickly pulled back from him.
"I think we should call it a night." Paige said shakily, trying to calm herself down. Eric's frown was immediate, the look in his eyes one of disappointment. "I…I want you, Eric." She reassured him. "You know I do. But…this is all new for me and you're a vampire and…I just…"
"You're not ready." He finished for her, understanding her hesitance.
"No, not yet." Paige confirmed with a shake of her head. "But when I am, you'll be the first to know."
He raised his eyebrows at her. "I damn well better be."
Feeling relieved, Paige laughed and pressed a kiss to his forehead before climbing off of his lap and standing on her own two feet. Eric followed her lead and stood from the couch, towering over her now that he was at his full height. He paused for a moment to touch the side of her face then headed for the door. Paige followed just behind him, hating herself for making him leave but knowing that it was probably for the best, and smiled up at him regretfully as he opened the door.
"I'll be in Shreveport this weekend, I promise." She told him, making him pause.
She thought he might say something in response, but instead he turned so swiftly that she didn't even have a chance to see him moving before he was kissing her like a man starved. They both moaned at the intensity of the kiss, clinging to each other tightly and kissing like their lives depended on it, before he finally yanked his lips from hers – his eyes were dark with desire now and he looked like he might pounce on her again at any second.
"And I shall count the minutes until then, min fireytema kvinna." He told her in a low, husky voice. After placing one last (much gentler) kiss to her lips, he finally stepped out of her house. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight, Eric." She said breathlessly, now leaning against the doorframe for support.
And then, with one last smirk, he turned and left. Paige sighed and watched him go, even though she lost sight of him almost at once due to how fast he was moving, and brought a hand up to her lips as she tried to will her racing heart to slow down. Once she was positive that he was gone for good, she closed and locked the door before shutting down the living room and heading for bed in a dreamy, smitten daze.
After that departing kiss from Eric, she knew sleep was not going to come very easily. And one thing was for certain, her shower the next morning was most definitely going to be a cold one.
A/N: I used an online translator for the Swedish, so if it's not right or stupid…well, deal with it. A for effort, right?