Sorry for not posting yesterday, FFnet wasn't allowing many of us to log in yesterday! Grumble, grumble. Because y'all had to wait a day, and I'd left you with a cliffy in ch7, here is another chapter today! Hope you all enjoy!
MissyDee was my beta for this chapter!
Disclaimer – Don't own them, wish I did. CH & AB, plus HBO do.
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"Let us go down to my chamber and we'll discuss options until I must die for the day," he said as he stood from the couch with me in his arms. He carried me bridal style as he went around securing the house, before bringing me down to his room.
I hadn't gotten a chance to take it all in earlier. His light-tight area was stunning! The area was very clean and spacious, but incredibly masculine. It was every bit a reflection of the man who owned it. I was instantly smitten with the place. He carried me through the downstairs, showing me the small kitchenette and then the bathroom, before leading me into his bedroom. The bed was big enough to sleep six of him, and looked comfortable enough to get lost in.
I might never want to leave!
"Don't say 'die for the day' please, Eric," I requested as he sat me down on the bed. "I know it's technically what happens, but I hate to think of someone as full of life as you are being dead. It skeeves me out a bit, to be honest."
"What would you prefer I call it, then?" he asked with no hint of teasing.
"How about 'going to rest for the day'? Or just say you're sleeping. Okay? I know it's silly, but it's kind of gross to think that I'll be sleeping next to a dead guy, ya know?" As I finished talking I realized I'd just assumed I'd be sleeping next to him.
"Whatever will make you feel comfortable lying next to me, my Sookie, is what we will call it," he assured me as he stroked my hair back from my face gently. "I look forward to having you next to me as I di – rest – for the day, as well as having you there when I rise. I'll say whatever will assure those outcomes," he winked at me, lightening the mood.
"Thank you, honey," I smiled at him gratefully.
"Anything for you, my lover," he stated as he began stripping off his clothes. "I do not expect we'll have time to make love again tonight…" my insides jumped at hearing him call it that. "… but I would like to feel your soft, warm skin against mine as we sort through the issues at hand. I find I am still quite out of sorts, and your scent and softness will calm me greatly."
Of course I wanted him to feel better, so I stood and began removing my clothes quickly. The fact that I ached to feel his cool flesh against mine didn't need to be spoken, however. I wanted the rest of the night to be only about Eric. He'd done so much for me since I met him, it was high time I started repaying that kindness.
He gathered me into a very sweet embrace, lifting me off my feet just slightly. I didn't feel us moving at all until he set me back down. We were now on the side of his bed, and he bent while still looking in my eyes to turn down the covers. He slid himself in between sheets that looked softer than anything I'd ever seen before reaching out his hand to me once he was settled. I gave it to him without question and smiled as he guided me next to him, pulling the covers over us as soon as my head hit his chest.
"This bed is amazing, Eric," I sighed as I rubbed my feet along the sheets, marveling at their texture.
"I've always liked this bed the best out of any I've owned. I fear, however, that you have ruined it for me, lover," he said wistfully.
"Me? How?" I gasped, appalled.
"It has never until this night been so comfortable, so welcoming," he answered very quietly. "It feels as if I've come home for the very first time." I had to strain to hear the last sentence.
My eyes pricked instantly. I was overwhelmed. "Maybe you could let me sleep over sometimes then?" I sniffled, trying not to cry.
"If you would let me, Sookie Stackhouse, I would move all of your belongings in this night," he said very seriously, his accent heavier than I'd ever heard it. "You may stay with me whenever you wish."
"I'd like that," I choked out as the first tear fell. "You make me very happy, Eric."
"Ditto, dear one," he replied as he hugged me closer.
"Okay," I took a deep breath. "What are we going to do?"
"When the king called earlier, he knew of you, Sookie. Apparently, Lorena has been working will Russell and that is how Bill ended up in Mississippi. Not only did she know about the database, but it would seem she knows a great deal about you as well," he paused, taking a moment to hold me closer. "There are things I must tell you, dear one, that I fear you will not like hearing. However, I must tell you them anyway."
"Hit me, I can take it," I joked. I just hoped I actually could take whatever he was about to say.
"That is one phrase you cannot say in my presence again, lover. I do not like that slang," he said seriously. He'd been aghast when I said it; I could feel his revulsion.
"Deal."
"It would seem you are not entirely human, Sookie," he said carefully.
He went on to explain that somehow Lorena had discovered that I was part Fae. Not like Tinkerbell, Eric clarified, but a separate race that was quite deadly and very magical. He told me of their appeal to vampires, and I asked quietly if that was why he was attracted to me.
"Never, my love," he promised, and I felt the sincerity of his words. "You smell sweeter, more appealing than most humans, but I have drained fairies in the past and your flavor and scent are distinctly different. I have been attracted to you since the moment I saw you, Sookie. And once you sassed me back the night we met, I was done for. I had to have you. It is you, Sookie, that I crave. Not your blood."
My heart melted before it began to beat double time.
He resumed telling me that he had a feeling the folder they'd found at Bill's was information on my Fae bloodline, and that Lorena learned my heritage from her child. The problem was that now the king of Mississippi wanted me for his own sippy cup. Apparently there was a rumor that if you drank from a fairy it would give you the ability to walk in the sun for a short time.
Fuckin' ducky.
It was almost dawn; I could tell by the way Eric slowed a bit in both speech speed and his movements. I asked him to come upstairs with me to test out the theory that my blood could allow him safety in the sun. We spoke on the subject for several minutes, but finally decided that it would be best to try it just as the sun was rising, that way he could still rush to the safety of the downstairs if it didn't work.
Eric and I got out of bed and I headed straight for the door. I paused when I heard a dresser drawer open and laughed quietly as he slid on boxer briefs. He explained that while he was willing to risk burns to his skin, there was no way he was going to flash fry his dick. I honestly couldn't blame him, even though it made me giggle.
We left the door to the basement wide open and quickly made our way to the sliding glass doors once again. The sky was just turning bright on the horizon and I guessed we had only minutes before he'd be in actual danger.
"It's almost here, Sookie. I can feel it," he fidgeted as he took me into his arms, my back pressed to his chest. "I will drink from your neck in just a moment, but you need to understand that if I begin to burn I will have to use every ounce of my speed to get me downstairs as quickly as possible. I will go up like kindling very quickly because of my age, so I will need you to secure the doors and make your way back inside without me."
"I understand. We can stop this, go back down now?"
"No. We must know if it's true and how long the effects will last if I am to have a hope of defeating the king," he sighed. He was jumpy as a cat on a hot tin roof inside, however.
"Do it, now," I begged as the sky lightened further.
He struck without pause. It was more painful than any time he'd bitten me previously, but not unbearable. He took several strong pulls and quickly licked the wounds closed, sealing them with drop of blood on his tongue, before raising his head to rest his chin atop my hair.
His emotions were all over the place as the sun broke over the horizon. He was terrified, for sure, but he was also excited and awestruck. "It's so beautiful, my Sookie. You honor me with your gift," he whispered into my hair.
Several tense moments passed for me. I wanted to enjoy being with him in the sun, it was his first time in a thousand years after all! But I was so scared for his safety that I couldn't relax. How I'd come to care this deeply for him in less than twenty-four hours, I'd never know. All I knew was that I could no longer imagine my world without him. It seemed ridiculous, yet felt so right.
"I am not burning yet," Eric began, his voice unsteady. "But I can feel the sun beginning to sting a bit on my skin."
"Should we go inside now?" I asked quickly, my stomach beginning to roll. Nothing could happen to him.
"No, I am still alright, my lover. I will tell you when I need to go." I couldn't speak, so I just nodded as best I could.
Several more minutes passed and I could see the skin on his arms that were wrapped around me begin to redden slightly. I could feel his fear, along with a discomfort that had me pushing backwards at him. We needed to get inside as soon as possible.
"Not yet," he groaned.
"Eric!" I begged.
"Not. Yet."
As soon as his skin began to smoke, I reached up and grabbed him by the hair, forcing his mouth to my neck. "Bite. NOW!" I hissed.
Thankfully, he listened.
Another quick pull from my vein, and the redness faded to nothing. I was over this little fucking experiment though, and told him as much. He didn't protest this time, he simply picked me up and brought me inside. He slid the doors closed and locked them, then did the same with the basement door, all while still holding me tight. He levitated us off the floor when we reached his room and deposited us into the bed effortlessly.
As the covers were pulled over us, his reverent voice broke the quiet. "There is no way for me to repay the gifts you have given me this night, dear one. Not only have you given me the means to avenge my family after all this time, but you have given me my first taste of daylight after lifetimes of darkness. I will love you, Sookie Stackhouse," he swore before claiming my lips in a dizzying kiss.
"Let me show you the depths of my feelings," he rasped as his hand began sliding over my hip.
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Only two more chapters of this story left after this. Thanks for sticking with me, even with the long absence, to the end of this story! You guys rock! You rock soooo hard! ;-)
Love and hugs to all – thanks for taking this journey with me!