FOREVER

Sarah stared at the inferno of the cottage, watching as it smoked and shuddered. She contained the flame before dousing it, careful to make it look like the fire had run its course, devouring the building before it turned to nothing. She turned, walking back to the other cloud of smoke that was rising in thick plumes, the main house in flames again.

She reached to her chest, hand over her heart as if she could stop the guilt. She'd killed tonight, was currently destroying the evidence of the torture enough that their tracks would be covered. Before she had set the main house ablaze again, she'd learned that Eric and Pam had altered the memories of all who had run, so no one would come back to say a word about the events that had taken place this night.

If they'd lived.

The bodies of the dead had been collected and thrown into the main house. Steve and Sarah Newlin were within that blaze as well, lying as if they had been trapped as the rest of the group was and the smoke had become too much. Once the skeleton of the house was found and the fire was ruled as arson – as it would be due to the presence of a serial arsonist who could never quite kick the habit – the Newlins and the church would be exposed for their plans against the vampires. There was no way to know how the world would react, how vampires would react, but she certainly hoped that this exposure would also mean the end of the violence against vampires. After all, it was the Fellowship of the Sun, finally exposed for what many believed they had been planning. Hopefully, the church would simply be kicked into the dirt and forgotten.

Hopefully, the world would move on.

But there was no way to know.

She couldn't have a clear conscience, no matter how she tried to justify her actions, but she also couldn't harbour regrets, not when the destruction of the Fellowship of the Sun meant safety for the ones she loved.

She nearly leapt from her skin when a hand grasped her shoulder, but as soon as she felt strong arms around her she relaxed, recognising the strength of his embrace and the broadness of his body as he wrapped his arms around her waist, his chin resting on her shoulder as they watched the inferno.

'I'm sorry,' he whispered, placing a soft kiss on her shoulder as she entwined her fingers with his, holding his arms tight around her. 'I never wanted you to get involved in something like this, to see me as I was.'

She turned to him, reaching up to trace his jaw with her fingers. His eyes closed and he leaned into her touch, reaching up to hold her hand against her cheek as she said, 'I chose to be in this world with you,' she said, 'I love you Eric, and that's all that matters to me. I can't regret this night, not when it makes me realise that I never want to let you go, despite the frightening twists and turns that can be associated with this life.'

'Why?' he asked. 'Why don't you just leave me, find someone normal, away from constant threats?

'Stupid man.'

His jaw dropped.

'I didn't get involved with you so I could seclude myself in a little cave and hide from the rest of the world. I got involved because I knew that I was meant to be with you, because I was meant to live this insane and sometimes dangerous life with you.' She smiled, unable to help herself as she gently tapped his chin, closing his hanging jaw. 'I'm never going to give you up, not when I know that you'll protect me just as much as I'll protect you.'

He pulled her into his arms, kissing her until her lungs strained for breath, her body moulded to every inch of his. He never wanted the moment to end; he wanted to hold her in his arms forever and stay as they were, so wrapped up in each other that the world simply fell away, but…

'The sun's coming up soon,' he whispered, leaning his forehead against hers as he listened to the sound of her heartbeat, strong as it thumped inside her chest. 'I need to get below ground.'

'We won't make it home? Not even if you fly?'

He shook his head, clinging to her. 'I need you.'

'I know,' she said, 'but I need you to get home safe. Go to ground, okay? I'll see you tonight as soon as the sun goes down.'

A little growl rumbled in his chest, but he could see the rapid change in the light of the sky. He had a moment, had time to show them that even apart they her still connected, so he held up his hand, showing her the ring that was once again on his finger.

'You found it.'

He nodded, smiling. 'It was on one of the men who ran. I dug in every single pocket and eventually found it. He must have helped the Newlins chain me down and spotted it.' He claimed her lips again before she could speak, needing to convey the warring emotions inside him, the ones that demanded he ignore the call to get out of the sunlight just to be with her for a moment longer. Somehow though, he pushed himself away, tucking a lock behind her ear before he called to Pam and disappeared into the night.

Sarah drove through the iron gates, still open from her hasty departure. After she'd dropped Alcide off she'd spent the drive home looking forward to a hot shower before she could tumble into bed and sleep, but she couldn't stop thinking about Eric. So much had happened and all she wanted was to be in his arms, to be wrapped up in an embrace that blocked out the world, an embrace that she never wanted to end.

Not for eternity.

She sat, her hand halfway to the ignition to take the key out. She looked in the rear view mirror, staring straight into her own eyes. Did she really mean…?

Yes.

She pulled the key out of the ignition, her movements somehow slowed as the full realisation hit her. She wanted to be with Eric, not just for the rest of her life, but for the rest of his.

Forever.

She felt a smile twitch over her lips. She'd thought about what it would be like to be a vampire, but it had never held a lot of interest for her. She already had powers, so why would she want any more? And yes, she'd considered the fact that she would age while Eric remained gorgeous for eternity, but she'd never really thought much about it, not when she figured she had a good few years before she'd have to consider wrinkles around the eyes. Besides, she'd never been that into vanity thanks to her mum who'd brought her up to believe that a few wrinkles could tell the life story of a person, that the laughter lines and frown lines were all a part of life.

Aging wasn't what she cared about though. She wanted to be with Eric without having him fear that something would hurt her, that one day he would hurt her. She wanted to be able to give herself completely to him without having him fear that he'd pull her in a too tight hug or hurt her in the heat of the moment when their passion flared.

She wanted to truly share his life.

The question was, how would she tell him?

She climbed out of the car, closing the door behind her while she went to the house, the key already in her hand as she raised it to the lock. As soon as the metal came in contact with the door she froze, watching as it swung open a few inches. She held her keys carefully so they wouldn't jingle before she stepped back slowly and quietly, keeping her eyes on the door as she made her way back to her car.

Burglars, or something else?

She kept creeping back to her car, glad that she hadn't locked it yet as she eased the door open, hoping like hell that whoever was inside wouldn't hear her, but a hand grabbed her wrist, wrenching her away from the car. She pushed the attacker back with a burst of air and she spun around, readying a ball of flame, but her eyes locked on the sour look that turned the features of the woman.

'What the hell do you think you're doing Sookie Stackhouse!' she yelled, hands planted on her hips as she glared at her. 'I could have toasted you.'

Brown eyes narrowed. 'Well I could have wrung your neck,' she said as she folded her arms over her chest. 'Why haven't you been answering my calls?'

'Don't get mad–'

Sookie quirked an eyebrow.

'Okay,' Sarah said, 'don't get madder, but I was going to tell you.'

'When?' Sookie asked, holding up the note that Sarah had left her. 'If you made it back?

'I did, didn't I?'

'That's not the point! You could have been dead right now, and there's nothing I could do about it because you didn't tell me what was happening.'

'Eric got kidnapped.'

'I don't–' She froze, the words registering. 'Wait? Eric? Is he okay?'

'Pam, Alcide and I went and got him. The werewolves were being controlled, Sook. They'd been promised land and protection by the Newlin's because the pack that Edgington had been using to do his dirty work was attacking them.'

'Who was controlling them?' Sookie asked, some of the bite out of her voice.

'The Fellowship of the Sun.'

'No way.'

'Way.'

Sookie grabbed her, pulling Sarah into her arms. 'I wish you'd told me,' she said, holding so tight that Sarah feared she'd soon choke. 'I would have helped.'

'I didn't want to put you in danger,' she said, nearly clinging to Sookie, realising just how glad she was to see her, 'and I didn't want you to see me like I was. I killed people tonight, Sook. I burned them alive and then I let Eric drain the Newlins dry before we got rid of the evidence.' She pulled away, feeling that sickness from earlier claw its way into her stomach.

'The Newlins are dead?'

Sarah nodded. 'There was no way I could have stopped Eric after all they've done, and a part of…a part of me didn't want to stop him.'

'I understand, Sarah,' Sookie said, pulling Sarah into her arms again, knowing just how much Sarah needed comfort. 'I just don't know what their deaths will mean for the world.'

'When they're found, all of their vampire killing supplies will be found with them,' Sarah said. 'They'll finally be exposed for their true purpose, and maybe there can be a truce of some form for at least a little while if the church is disbanded. Maybe there can be hope for relationships between humans and vampires when all of the secrets are out in the open, when people see that vampires are just as afraid for their safety as humans. It's common ground at least.'

'I hope you're right.'

Sarah pulled away again, reaching up to wipe away a few tears. 'Listen, I'm going to get some sleep. I'm so tired and all I can think about is Eric buried somewhere waiting for the sun to go back down,' she said, barely stopping tears as she glanced to the burning orb as it climbed higher and higher in the sky. 'You didn't tell Jake, did you?'

Sookie grinned. 'Only Bill and I know, and we won't breathe a word.'

Sarah breathed a mental sigh of relief before she said, 'will you come over tomorrow?'

'Of course,' Sookie said, handing Sarah the spare key. 'Call me if you need anything, okay?'

Sarah nodded, hugging Sookie again before she watched her best friend walk out to her car. Could she really have been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed her?

She needed more sleep than she'd thought.

She was anxious as she turned the shower taps. Inside, she didn't know whether it was dark yet or not, but by the time she thought it should be, yet Eric was no where to be seen.

She ducked under the hot water, washing her hair in an attempt to ease her worry, knowing that she was probably overreacting. He had to fly of course, and it would take time, but she didn't know how much longer she'd last before she'd be tempted to go back in search of him.

She washed the shampoo from her hair, taking a moment to force a few deep breaths into her body as she dipped her head back while the final bubbles washed down the drain.

She reached for the tap, starting when a hand covered hers, drawing it away from the tap as fingers linked with hers. She breathed a sigh of relief as familiar lips brushed her shoulder, a little shiver sprinting down her spine when his hand wrapped around her waist.

She turned, smiling. 'You're covered in dirt.'

'No kidding.'

She led him under the spray, reaching for the soap, lathering his body to clean away the dirt from his day underground. She started at his shoulders, moving across the broad expanse of his chest in easy strokes, his eyes transfixed on her as she made her way over every inch of his gorgeous body, down the hardened lines of his abdomen and to his hips. 'I was worried about you.'

'You didn't have to be.'

She leant into his touch, his fingers trailing down her cheek. She smiled, ignoring his growl as she ducked behind him, fingers trailing over his spine until a shiver wound its way down his body. She reached his lower back, unable to stop the grin on her lips as she gave the fine cheeks a squeeze, earning a gasp of surprise before he glanced over his shoulder, a brow quirked as she continued down his legs.

'Do you plan on scrubbing every inch of me?' he asked, voice sending delicious vibrations straight to her core.

She slid a hand over his hip, then down to his thigh in a feather light caress. 'Every inch.'

He issued a growl and she knew how impatient he was, but she continued with her ministrations, knowing that her actions soothed him as much as they excited him. She cleaned right down to his toes, feeling little shivers break over his skin when she brushed the inside of his thigh as she stood, still at his back.

'Please, Sarah,' he breathed, teeth clenched as her fingers trailed over his hip, back and forth but never quite reaching around.

Her lips pressed to his spine. 'I'm done.'

She was in his arms in an instant, her back pressed against the tiles as he claimed her lips. His body engulfed her, arms drawing her tight against him until she could feel every inch, every chiselled line. She wrapped her arms around his neck and he lifted her, her legs instantly sliding around his waist, skin like silk as shiver broke down her spine. She felt his need, as strong as her own, but he was still gentle in his kiss and touch, careful not to harm her even though he was being driven insane by the instincts that screamed at him to claim her.

She held his head in her hands, forcing his gaze to hers, the pale blue almost tortured. 'Don't hold back,' she said, knowing that he would feel no fear rolling off her or see any in her gaze. 'I want all of you, Eric, all of your strength. I can take it.'

His fangs seemed to sharpen before her gaze as he reached up to coil his fingers in her gorgeous hair, his lips claiming hers again. He stole her breath, but she couldn't find the thoughts to care, her mind scattered as the taps turned and she found her back against soft material she faintly recognised as the quilt on their bed. She gasped as he reached between their melded bodies, his finger sliding between her delicate folds to tease her clitoris, the rush of pleasure that she felt hitting him full force through their connection, his senses on over drive as the heady scent of her arousal filled him.

She arched against his hand and he couldn't hold back any longer. He entered her in a single thrust, a groan escaping his lips as he ground against her. She met each rock of his hips, her fingernails embedded in his sides as he supported his weight on straightened arms, needing to take the edge off the overpowering urge to take her quick. He could have lost her last night, and he needed more that anything to make this moment, this union, more special than any other, but his body had a mind of its own, desperate to stake its claim, that need echoing as his fangs ached.

He dropped lower, wrapping an arm tight around her waist, a growl of approval rumbling through him as her arms wrapped around his neck, her fingers digging into his neck as she clung to him with moans spilling from her lips in abandon.

He kissed her, hearing a gasp as he sliced her lip with his fangs, but he felt no pain radiate from her, only that endless pleasure. He carefully sucked the graze, feeling her sheathe tighten around his length as he drew on her sweet lip, a teasing taste of her exquisite blood rolling over his tongue. He claimed her lips for a moment but was drawn to her neck. He didn't fight the urge as he usually would, didn't wait for her to tilt her head in offering. His lips brushed over her jaw before slowly following the pale skin to the sensitive spot that could often tip her over the edge. He sucked the veins higher, could feel the racing pulse beneath his tongue, could feel it spike as he sank his fangs deep.

She moaned low in her throat, her body arching to his as he drew his first mouthful, his eyes rolling back in his head as her body tightened around him in promise. She was close, so very close.

He pulled back, licking his lips. As soon as she met his gaze, she nodded and he lowered his head back to her neck, a groan ripping through him as her teeth grazed his neck and bit down, breaking the skin to join them both completely, their emotions and bodies, their very essence seeming to combine as their climaxes rippled through them. Both cried out, clinging to the other, riding right through it to the very last second and beyond, wringing as much pleasure from the moment as possible.

Eric lapped at her skin before leaning back to watch the holes close, leaving only silky skin marred by a few drops of blood that he was yet to lick from her flesh. He dropped his head to her chest though, listening to her racing heartbeat as her fingers weaved through his still wet hair. This was where he belonged, wrapped in her embrace and cradled by her body in a connection that went far beyond physical.

He could have stayed there forever, but knew that his weight would soon become too much for her, so he wrapped his arms tight around her, rolling so that they were on their sides as he reached to brush the still soaking strands of her hair from her face, tucking them behind her ear. He smiled, claiming her lips in as soft kiss as she draped a leg over his hip, her fingers tracing patterns over his chest. 'I love you,' he whispered, 'I couldn't live without you.'

'You won't ever have to,' she said, meeting the pale blue of his gaze. She took a steadying breath, knowing that she would need it if she were to ask the words that tried to catch in her throat. 'I want you to change me Eric.'

He opened his mouth, but no words came out so he snapped his jaw shut, opting to listen as she continued, 'I know we haven't really talked about it, but I know what I want, and that's to be with you forever, not just for the rest of my life. I don't want you to have to watch me get old–'

'I'm not going to leave you, Sarah. I will still love and protect you, will still be with you even when you're–'

'I don't want to have to spend every day thinking about how much I had wished you'd changed me when it's too late, or to worry about me getting hurt. I'm not asking out of vanity or fear, Eric, I'm asking because I really do love you and I really do want to spend forever with you,' she said. 'You don't have to decide now, but I at least want you to think about it–'

'My answer is yes,' he said, cutting her off with a gentle finger to her lips, 'it was always going to be yes.'

She smiled, her hand cupping his cheek as she drew him in for a sweet kiss. 'Forever never sounded so good.'

'I think I can make it sound better,' he said, kissing her again before he leant back, rolling away for a moment as he reached to the bottom draw of his bedside table. He felt around for the object he sought, smiling as his finger brushed against it. He pulled it out of the draw, hanging over the edge of the bed for a moment longer before he turned to her, seeing a breath of anxiousness in her gaze as he brought the little box before her eyes, popping it open, revelling in the little gasp that escaped her lips as her hand shot up to cover her mouth. She tore her gaze away, meeting the pale blue of his gaze as he asked, 'will you marry me?'

She looked at the ring then to his eyes, capturing the pale blue this time as her hand slowly dropped. 'Yes.'

He took the ring from its cradle, discarding the box as he reached for her delicate hand, sliding the titanium band onto her finger and watching as the line of diamonds shone, sparkling almost as brightly as her eyes as he met her gaze.

He smiled. 'I'm looking forward to forever.'

THE END

I hope you enjoyed reading Bond Of Blood. I know I certainly enjoyed writing it and am so happy I could share it with you.

And so this fanfiction comes to an end, but as I found with In The Blood, the original story line of the first 14 chapters, it may not be concluded forever...

~ Ryuk In Person ~