A/N: I do not own True Blood or any of the characters.
I'd like to thank all of the readers and to everyone leaving reviews. I appreciate it. You get this chapter rather early. I wrote this one and the pervious chapter together but decided to split it up.
I'd like to give credit to my Beta, MyCrazyAmazingLife.
Chapter 6:
Masquerade
"Evelyn," Godric whispered as he kissed up and down her neck.
"Godric, I missed you," Eve moaned.
The vampire stopped placing kisses on her neck long enough to look at her face. He gently took one of his hands and stroked her face then her neck and then down through the middle of her chest. His hand didn't stop until he reached in between her thighs under her short dress. All he had to do was run a finger along her core and she gripped his shoulders tight with a moan of pleasure escaping her lips.
He leaned closer toward her ear, "I can tell, little one," his mouth lowered to her neck, "I have missed you too."
Eve felt another hand on her back as it traced her spine. She leaned back as arms wrapped around her. She looked up into the face of Eric. He smirked as he said, "Sharing is caring."
Eve woke up at home in her bed with a start. She grabbed her chest because her heart was beating so fast. She breathed a sigh of relief that she woke up in bed alone and fully clothed.
Sitting up and trying to calm her heart, she wondered why Eric was a special guest in one of her sex crazed dreams about Godric. Try as her might but she did not think about the blonde vampire the last two weeks while on vacation. Why start now?
She slowly gathered her thoughts; Eric was a part of Godric. They share a vampire sire bond that she would have no idea where to begin to understand it. She shares a human claim bond with Godric. She and Eric both have a part of Godric. Living in a world where vampires exist now; nothing makes sense anymore.
She looked over at her desk to read the time. It was a little after two in the afternoon. She would be returning to work that night.
Pulling the sheet back, she moved her legs until they were daggling off the side. She stretched and stretched until she looked oddly at a box that was up against her wall. Finally getting up, she bent down to retrieve it and glanced inside.
She quickly dropped the box on the bed and sighed, "Crap. That's tonight."
Inside the box was a beautiful white eye mask that she picked out weeks before when she and Isabel went shopping for a masquerade party. She turned to stand before her closet and slid open the door to reveal a protective dress bag.
Since Godric is the Sheriff of Dallas, it's almost required of him to have events at the mansion. All the important vampires in his area are invited. Isabel told her most of the vampires that come want to suck up to him and get into his good graces. This event was a masquerade and she was lucky enough Godric invited her personally. Not many humans attend this sort of thing. Only humans that have been claimed are welcome. Live blood sources are not required because there is not guarantee for their safety.
She didn't want to go but Godric had insisted and she couldn't turn him down (Damn the freaking bond). She decided to go. How bad could it be?
XXX
Guests wouldn't start to show up until midnight, so Isabel had plenty of time to get herself and Eve ready.
"I understand why Godric has to throw these kinds of things," Eve said as Isabel was brushing out her hair, "But, why a masquerade? Vampires would be able to tell who everyone else is. There's no mystery."
"If there wasn't a theme to these events, we would just be wearing the clothing of the period," Isabel explained, "This puts a twist on things. Living as long as we have, things can get boring."
"I don't know how you can do it," she said, "Living forever."
Isabel laughed, "It's not so bad. Right now I can only stand it because of Hugo."
"Will you make him into a vampire?"
Isabel seemed upset as she put the brush down, "That's something I wish not to think about until I have to."
"Sorry."
"No, no, it's perfectly alright," Isabel said as she started to pin up hair, "You know Eric is still here."
"Why is he still here?" she asked irritated.
"He had a lot to discuss with Godric," the vampire said, "And to my understanding, there wasn't a real need to get back to Louisiana."
"I'm guessing he's coming tonight?" Isabel nodded, "Great. Well, he can't be too hard to spot. He's as tall as a building. I'll just ignore him all night," she said.
Isabel laughed, "Why does he affect you so?"
"He just annoys me to no end," she explained, "First time I met him, he looked at me as I were food for the taking."
"Some women need to be taken as if they were food," the vampire said, locking eyes with Eve.
"Isabel!" Eve looked away embarrassed, "All vampires ever think about is blood and sex."
"What else is there to think about?" the vampire laughed, "Don't be a prude. You've been in relationships."
"Yeah but they were normal, human relations. Not always all about sex."
"It's been awhile since I was human," Isabel said, "But to me, those are the best ones."
"I had one like that in high school until I found out he was doing my best friend too. I wanted to kill her too because he was a real step up compared to my first boyfriend who turned out to be gay," she said.
"You've had really bad luck with guys," Isabel said, "One day you will be able to get it right."
"I really hope so because the best sex I've ever gotten was in a dream."
Eve was waiting for Isabel to finish getting ready when she stepped outside her bedroom. At the end of the hall was a full length mirror that she could help but to look at herself. She was wearing a knee length white dress with ruffles and white high heels. With her hair being long Isabel pinned up half of it and slightly curled the rest. She took in her white mask that only covered her eyes. She couldn't help herself as she slipped off the shoes to spin around in front of the mirror.
"The virgin."
"Shit," she cursed after hearing the voice. She didn't realize Eric had sneaked up behind her. Turning to face him, "What?"
"Your pretty little dress. All white and pure," he explained.
Eve took in his attire. Eric was wearing a black Italian tux and a black mask that covered his eyes.
"You look…nice," she commented.
"The same cannot be said about you. You look beautifully exquisite," he said. She smiled at him before looking away to retrieve her shoes, "Allow me," he offered as he approached her. He bent down on one knee before her as she placed one hand on the wall for support. He guided her right foot into the heel.
"How's Katie?" she asked.
"Who?" he asked looking up at her as he gently touched her left knee causing her to grip his right shoulder for more support.
With both heels on, she completely forgot what she asked about.
"From my understanding," Godric said as he appeared, "She won't be joining Eric tonight."
At the sound of his voice, Eve stepped away from Eric as he stood back up on two feet.
"Eve, you look rather beautiful," Godric commented, "How was your trip?"
Eve looked at him and noticed he was wearing something similar to Eric, "It was great. We had a lot of fun."
"I'm glad," Godric said.
"Everyone is here," Isabel said on the other end.
"Thank you," Godric said and then looked at Eve, "Care to join me?"
She smiled as she accepted his hand and took his arm. She glanced back at Eric, with the mask on she couldn't tell very well, but it seemed he had a look on his face.
Godric led her to apart of the mansion she'd only been to once or twice. It was a large ballroom on the South end of the mansion. One side of the room was made entire of glass with sliding doors positioned throughout. There were quite a bit of vampires and their human companions. All dressed nicely and wearing a mask.
Eve walked slightly behind Godric as he entered with Eric beside her. Everyone had their eye on the host but it felt like all eyes were on her.
"Sheriff," the crowd said as one.
"Thank you all for coming," Godric announced, "Now that the humans know of our existence, I'm very pleased that all vampires in my area has tried to keep the peace and not cause any major problems with the humans. Though, some seem they cannot, I'm glad that is only a small percentage of us. I'd like to raise a toast," he said as someone handed him a champagne glass, "To our area."
The vampires were given a glass with blood and the humans a glass with actual champagne. Everyone toasted and emptied their glasses.
"I hope you all enjoy yourselves this evening," Godric said at last.
Eve spotted Isabel and Hugo on the other side of the room before making her way over to them when Eric stepped in front of her, blocking her path. She didn't have to look up at him because they were the same height with her high heels on.
"Stay with Godric," he ordered which caused her to be confused, "He has claimed you and you are his guest. It's tradition."
Eve slowly glanced around the room, it was true. All humans were staying with the vampire that had claimed them. She could almost roll her eyes; vampires can be really territorial.
"If I must."
"You must," Eric said, leaving her with Godric.
So, for the entire duration of the party she stayed at Godric's side as he went around the room talking to every vampire. They mostly wanted to talk about vampire politics and get into bed with Godric (figuratively, of course). Godric seemed like he didn't have any interest in politics. He always seemed to change the subject or not answer the question flawlessly. He listened to what everyone had to say, but in the end, it seemed that he didn't care. She never had seen this side of him before.
She, of course, was bored out of her mind within the first hour, but it went on for hours. Most vampires refused to acknowledge her existence, and she couldn't have a small conversation with any of the other humans before moving on to the next. She was tired of being ignored.
While Godric was busy with yet another vampire, she glanced outside and watched vampire couples mingling in and out of the ballroom. They were just a few feet away from the doors. She saw her chance to escape from boredom and decided to go with it. With one more look at Godric, she quietly took a step to the right then another until she thought it was safe to turn to exit through one of the sliding doors.
She really thought she had made a clean getaway but Godric had noticed. He then proceeded to catch Eric's attention and nodded for him to follow.
Eve walked to the balcony wall that over looked the garden. She thought it was breathtaking how the flowers looked at night with the moonlight shining down on them. It was actually more beautiful scene compared to when the sun would be shining on them.
She felt a hand tickling her exposed back and she immediately thought about the dream that woke her up this morning. She turned to see Eric leaning on the wall beside her. He had gently glided his hand over her back to get her attention.
"Thinking of me?" he teased, "Our little escape artist, what am I going to do with you?"
"Let me go with a warning," she said, "Even you would have escaped from that." She turned around to prove her point.
"I would have to agree with you there," he said, watching Godric trying to get away.
"What was Godric like a thousand years ago? You would have known him best," she said.
"That I would," he said, turning to face the garden, "Why would you want to hear about such things?"
She faced the garden as well, "I want to know how someone like Godric could have sired a vampire that turned out to be like you. He's so caring and you're not."
Eric smirked, "He wasn't always the huggable vampire. He could be vicious and still can be if you do him wrong."
"Is this the part where you threaten me not to betray Godric in anyway?" she asked, leaning toward him slightly.
He leaned toward her too, "If I were to threaten you, I would have already the first night we met. As you know and saw, I was a bit preoccupied with my lunch." He then proceeded to run the back of his hand down her right shoulder, "In which, if I understand correctly, you picked out for me. I've been meaning to thank you. You really have good taste."
"You really are vile," she said, shaking off his hand.
He took a step back from her and removed his mask, "I've been called worse," he swung his legs over wall and jumped down the few feet distance.
She looked at him as if he were insane, "What are you doing?"
"Follow me," he demanded.
"Why would I want to do that?"
"Because no matter how vile you find me, you still find me intriguing," he said.
She crossed her arms like a child as she looked back down at him, "I'm not going to come with you."
"Well, that's too bad because we would have done a lot of that together," he said without a beat.
She rolled her eyes because he would have gone there, "You're just so sure of yourself, aren't you?"
"Please," he said.
She looked behind her, back into the ballroom and caught sight of Godric watching her. He nodded his head like he was giving her permission before disappearing. She turned to look back at the blonde vampire, "If you drop me," she hopped onto the wall and swung her legs over, "I swear, I will stake you."
"Are you threatening me?"
"No because I can't do anything against a vampire," she said.
Eve took off her mask and prepared herself to jump. As much as she could, she stood up in her heels on the bottom ledge before letting herself take that leap into his arms.
He gently caught her as if she were nothing before setting her down on the ground, "See that wasn't so hard," he said as he still had his hands under her arms.
"Next time I jump off a balcony, I will do it without heels," she said.
"I can take them off for you," he offered.
Stepping away from him, "Oh no, I got it this time Romeo," she said before proceeding to remove her heels.
She straightened back up with her heels dangling from her left hand.
"Here I'll take those," Eric said before bending down slightly to take her shoes from her.
She smiled up at him, since he was now significantly taller than her. Without saying anything, he extended his arm to her. The pair of them walked so far into the garden that the balcony was out of sight.
"I bet you do this with all the girls," Eve commented.
"Only the ones I want to fuck," he said boldly.
She let go of his arm before turning her back to him to examine a bush of flowers, "You probably think that I'm like these girls who with one bold remark like that and I'll drop my panties for you," she gathered a white flower in her hand to smell.
"I really don't regard women of this generation other than a source of food. Women today don't like to be chased and it ruins the fun," he said.
"Isn't it easier now?" she asked, turning around, "You announced your existence to the world last year. Women fall to your feet now to be devoured. You scream vampire and they all come running."
"If anything we have to be more careful with our actions or the human race will fight back," he said.
"But what can we do?" she reached for his hand to hold in hers, "You can kill us with a flick of the wrist. You don't have to put any thought into it."
He looked into her eyes, "It's a human thing to fight back. It's in your nature. Just like it's in our nature to kill and destroy."
"Then why come out of the coffin?" she asked, "Why risk it all?"
"I never cared for politics," he said, "And I'm not going to start now." He turned away from her as if to leave.
"Eric, I'm sorry," she said, taking a step forward. She stepped on something sharp, "Great," she groaned.
Suddenly, Eric picked her up bridal style from behind to walk her over to a bench. He sat her down and bent down at her knees to examine her foot by placing her leg on one of his knees. He extended his finger to slide up her foot causing her to flinch a little with pain.
"You're bleeding," he said, looking at the trail of blood on his finger.
She held her breath as she looked at him. Blood to a vampire can be intoxicating, no matter the source.
"Eric," she whispered.
With his free hand he retrieved the white cloth from his jacket to whip his finger and then press gently to her cut, "You are Godric's…And even untouchable to me."
"I know the rules but it's not like that," she explained.
"It doesn't matter," he said before smirking, "This would be the second time tonight in which I am at the mercy of a woman on my knees and it doesn't start something."
Eve looked down at their position. Her injured foot was long forgotten as he moved closer with his right knee finding a place in between her thighs. She didn't stop him as he slowly moved his right hand on the outside of her left legs; raising her dress high as he went.
With his other hand, he guided her chin to look at him. They held eye contact while she still felt him moving his right hand over her leg until it was on the inside of her thigh. He was still going higher, inches away from her panties when she got the courage to physically stop him with her hands.
"I thought you said I was untouchable even to you," she whispered.
Taking the hand that held her face in place, he began to gently rub her lips with his finger, "You are. Godric and I have shared many women in the past…Sharing is caring," he said as he slowly moved closer to his her lips.
She sucked in a tiny breath at the last thing he said before he leaned in the rest of the way to kiss her. He pulled away the hand that was creepy toward her core to wrap around her side to push her closer to him.
She didn't pull away from him as he deepened the kiss, which really surprised her. She actually wanted him to kiss her. Wanted him to do other things…
That last thought was what made her pull away and look into his hungry eyes, "We can't do this," she whispered, "And not just because of Godric."
"Why not?" he demanded.
"I don't know," she said.
He let go of her before stepping away, "You humans are so confusing," he said before vanishing.
He left her there in the garden alone.
A tear slide down her face and she whipped it away angrily. She didn't understand why that made her so upset. Why he upset her.
"Eve," someone spoke. She turned to see Godric with kind eyes, "I want to apologize for him."
"There's nothing to apologize for. He was just being Eric," she said, angrily.
"Yes because of me," he said, "Because how I taught him. I taught him to wear a mask to hide his emotions."
"That really doesn't matter," she said, getting up and fixing her dress, "I followed him here. I was the one to let him kiss me. It's my fault for letting him go that far."
"It's not, child. It's not your fault at all. He seduced you," he said.
She rolled her eyes as she turned away from Godric, "Yeah with his vampire ways," she sighed, "And I fell for it."
He appeared in front of her, "There's nothing to be ashamed of. Its human and vampire nature to go after forbidden fruit."
"Do you see me that way?" she asked.
"I do."
"Why don't you act on them?" she asked.
"When I gave you my blood to claim you, I did it to protect you not because I wanted you."
"You don't find me attractive?" she asked, sounding hurt.
He smiled, "I do find you attractive. A thousand years ago I would have taken you as mine. Eve, you're not the only one who has dreams."
She looked away feeling embarrassed.
"It's nothing to be embarrassed about, child," he said, "Do you want to talk about it more?"
"About you bedding me…No"
He laughed, "About Eric."
"I just want to go home, take a nice long hot shower and go to bed. I want to forget this night," she said.
Godric pulled her in for a hug and kissed her on the forehead, "He'll come around."
"I'm not too sure if I want him to," she said.
XXX
I don't know if it was Godric's blood that caused me to be attracted to Eric. And if it did…Why? Why Eric? Of all the thousands of vampires in the world, why him? And why me?
Why did I want him?
It scared me to no end because I did want him that night and all nights that followed. I wanted him to take me body and soul.
Every girl wants a love that consumes them. Few girls are lucky enough to find that.
Today, if you looked up the definition for 'vampire' in the dictionary it would tell you to see the definition for 'temptation'. Well, it would also tell you to see the definition for 'sin'…But that's not the point. Temptation and vampire goes together like cake and ice cream. There's nothing that can separate the two.
Temptation is just too much to say no to.