A/N: Sorry this took longer than normal, it took a little while to get into Eric's POV and then the chapter just got away from me. it's about 1k longer than normal so I hope you enjoy!

This is my first ever EPOV so please let me know how I did, I think I'll do it again, maybe switch between every chapter if you guys liked it

Fuck, now Sophie Ann wants Sookie, I should just fly her over to New Orleans with a bow on her head as a present. Sophie Ann loves getting her ass kissed, that'd probably give me a decade or two free of having to deal with her bullshit. That would be the smart thing to do, I did pledge my allegiance to her and my contract as sheriff lasts another six years, so I'm stuck here for the short term.

Knowing how quickly the queen tires of her pets and knowing Hadly from the few times I've been to the palace, it wouldn't surprise me if Hadley gave up Sookie to keep the queen's interest on her for a little bit longer. Humans rely too heavily on the fact that they're family with someone so that when they inevitably get fucked over by them, they're blindsided and hurt.

That's why I only have Pam close to me, and even though she's my progeny, and I can tell if she's lying to me, it took me decades before I trusted her with anything important. I don't even have the same level of trust for my other Childe, Karin. We have not seen each other for over two centuries, she has made a life for herself as an assassin for hire and is doing quite well from what she tells me. The time apart though, affects my level of trust in her.

Now, what to do with Sookie, there's no fucking reason for it but I've become attached to her. There's just something about her, it's not her smell, even though it's magnifacent. It's not her looks, she's beautiful yes, but I've been with supermodels and princesses. It's not her wits, even though she keeps me guessing and laughing, or her smarts, she might not have a lot of schooling but it's clear she's well-read and intelligent. And it's not her telepathy, even though it's clear she doesn't know her worth. She could be living in much better conditions than she is now. Hell, I could make millions just being her handler. No, it's none of those things, there's just something about her. There's one thing that's absolutely clear to me, whether she knows it yet or not. She's mine and I'm not giving her up. It's not even just about her, I've come to enjoy Adele's company as well. It'd hurt her if anything happened to Sookie too.

So that leaves me with one blaring problem. How do I keep her from the queen? There are a few options, each more drastic than the last. I can offer her a work contract, I'll be her handler and she'll pretty much be a telepath for hire. I can already think of a few things I can use her talents for. That will only slow Sophie Ann down though. I can claim her as my pet but as my queen, she can simply order me to give Sookie to her as tidings for the state. She wouldn't do that out in the open though because that would make me an enemy and I'm one of the only reasons she's keeping a hold of her state right now.

Being over two hundred years older than the queen, I am by far the strongest vampire in the state. The only reason that I don't have a kingdom myself is that I don't want one, so it's in her best interest to keep me happy. No, she won't outright demand I give Sookie to her, she'll be sneaky and try to take her another way. Be it using Hadley to play to Sookie's soft side and familial obligations or demand me out of state while simultaneously needing Sookie's unique abilities and using the time apart to try to lore her to Sophie Ann's side.

I couldn't help but scoff out loud, Sophie Ann doesn't know Sookie at all if she thinks she's going to draw her in by flashy presents and the extravagence of her compound. Still, none of those are permanent solutions, they'll just slow Sophie Ann down. The only way to make her fully back off is a complete blood bond and possibly even a pledging. That is sure to scare Sookie off though, and though I'm fond of her, I'm not sure I want to be tied to her permanently.

Best to start with me officially claiming her as mine and one exchange, on top of a contract with work. That will slow the queen down, even if it does piss her off. I'm not worried about that though, she's the one that got greedy and tried to work around me in my own territory. I can play innocent and she won't be able to prove otherwise. Now, I just have to convince Sookie. It will be no easy feat considering how stubborn she is. Adele seems to have a more level head on her shoulders, if necessary, I'll bring her into the equation to talk some sense into her.

Speaking of Sookie, I hear her walking toward my study now. Hopefully, she's grasped how much danger she's in right now, so it won't take too much time to convince her I'm just trying to keep her safe and with me… I mean here, with her family. I roll my eyes at the blatant lies I'm telling myself then get mad at Pam for bringing such a childish action into my nonverbal vocabulary. She knocks on my door quietly.

"Enter."

"Hey, Eric. You said you wanted to talk to me?"

"Yes, we need to discuss what to do now that you're wanted by more than just a sadistic bigoted human. My queen is strong, rich, resourceful, and very determined. She won't give up once she gets something into her head and apparently, acquiring you has become something she has decided is important enough to send her best procurer to fetch. You need to take this seriously, she wants to possess you. Lock you up in an ivory tower and take you out whenever she wants to exploit your talent, show you off, drink your blood, or have you fuck her."

"Are you just trying to terrify me or do you have a solution to my problem?"

"I'm not trying to terrify you at all, I'm just telling you the facts. It is good that you're properly fearful though, because it's not a life someone like you would enjoy. Someone like your cousin is perfectly happy living the life of a pet of the queen. I do have a way to help, a few actually, and only one of them is permanent. Although I enjoy your company, Miss Stackhouse, I am not willing to permanently tie myself to you yet. So that option will have to wait."

She gasps, "Permanently? Like marriage?"

I scoff, "Hardly, marriage is a human notion that is easily undone with a few signatures. What I speak of is a blood bond and that is unbreakable. We'd be tied together forever, I'd be able to perminantly feel your emotions as you'd be able to feel mine."

"Okay, wow, that sounds… intense."

"It is, I've never blood bonded with anyone. I have a similar connection with my maker and progeny, though it's different, less intense, and with a blood bond, it's more equal. With a maker and Childe, there's always one that has the power over the other."

"Okay, since neither of us wants something like that, what is your suggestion?"

"It'll be a few things, one, I'll claim you as my pet, it'll show that you are already able to heel and if it comes down to you meeting the queen, you'll be sure to make it known that you're happy that I'm your master." I stop talking when I see the anger bubbling up in her. I have to force myself not to chuckle when I actually see her ears turning red. I quickly speak to shut down her fears before she gets too mad to listen to me and storms off. "Calm down, you and I both know it will all be a farce, it's not as if I can control you through glamour, it'll all be for show. I assure you, I do not see you as a pet and I have no misunderstanding about what you'll be to me."

I see her forcefully calm herself by taking a few deep breaths. "Okay, then what will I be to you, in your words?"

"My companion, my telepath, my lover, an equal of sorts."

"And what makes you think I want to be your lover?"

I smirk and I'm around the desk and in front of her before she has a chance to blink. "Well, lover, maybe it's the way your heart races every time I'm close to you, or the way your smell gets even more delectable when I kiss you" I prove my point by placing light kisses from the base of her neck up to her jaw then inhale the scent of her arousal, the scent that's starting to consume my thoughts. "Or maybe it's the way your body responds to mine, always making sure to get as close to me as possible. Your body knows you're mine, even if your mind hasn't accepted it yet." I emphasise my point by looking at her arms that have wrapped themselves around my neck and her legs which have opened to allow me to get closer to her. So close that if we weren't both dressed, my already hard cock would be making its way inside her right now. My lust for her intensifies at the thought, I didn't think it was possible with how much I already want her but she's found another way to surprise me, I suppose.

Once she realises everything I'm saying is true, she blushes and pushes me away, which I allow, there's no way she'd be able to move me if I didn't want her to. "Ugh, slow down there, buddy. I don't think we're done talking yet, you said that's only step one of your plan to help me stay safe."

I quirk my brow, I don't think I've ever been called buddy in all my long years. No one would have the audacity to try because they know they wouldn't survive it. I'm not sure what it says about her that I find it cute and not disrespectful, I don't know what it says about me for that matter.

"Yes, I suppose you're correct, min stjärna. The ravishing will have to wait until we're done with the business portion of the night. Another option there is, we can set up a business contract which would make you my telepath. In the contract, we can state specifically that you will travel but will not move, and that I must be with you during any travel. Hopefully, that along with me claiming you as mine, will be enough to make Sophie Ann happy. She'll know that she can hire you if need be. The hope is that it'll be enough that you're still part of her retinue even if you're not actually hers. She's selfish, full of herself, and cocky but she's pragmatic. We'll have to wait and see if that's enough, if not, we'll have to look into a more permanent solution."

What I haven't told her yet is that she'll have to stay here with me until we know if the queen will be happy with the situation or if she'll be greedy and try to take her forcefully. I'll wait a few nights to tell her that though, she'll balk if she thinks she's getting forced into anything and she has to stay here for the time being because of the human that's after her anyway.

She's quiet for such a long time I find myself wishing that we'd already done an exchange so I could know what she's feeling. I know she's still turned on, her heart rate and scent give that away, and I know she's unhappy about the problem with Sophie Ann but I don't know why. If I could feel her emotions, I'd be able to feel what made her the most upset when I said it.

So now, all I can do is wait for her to work through her emotions and talk to me. I'm normally a very patient man, you have to be if you want to survive as long as I have, but when it comes to Sookie, I find my patience only goes so far. For instance, if I don't fuck her soon, I'm going to have to go to Fangtasia and find the least vile fang banger of the night to take my frustrations out on. Although for some reason, that option sounds even more distasteful than it usually does.

"Eric, I don't want to be a telepath for hire, I want to keep it a secret. It's been a burden to me my whole life, it's made every part of my life harder. I'd get rid of it if I could, I just want to go back to my life, in my small town with Gran, my friends, and my job. I was handling that just fine and I was happy enough."

"Unfortunately, that's no longer an option. You can thank your cousin for that. Sophie Ann won't just back off if you tell her you're not interested. She sent Bill Compton to collect you, by the way he greeted you, his plans were to make nice with you and sweet talk you into coming, if I had to guess, I'd say he was going to try to use seduction. He'd get you to fall for him and once you were thoroughly devoted to him, be it by love or blood, tell you he had to go back to New Orlenes and get you to go with him. If for some reason you didn't fall for his charms, she would go with something a little more forceful, maybe kidnap you or threaten your family to get you to comply. Now that she knows about you and wants you, it's only a matter of time before you're known to the whole supernatural world. It's better to get ahead of it and protect yourself as best you can."

I see her eyes get glassy and her bottom lip wobble a little like she's about to cry but she bites it and looks away, obviously trying to stop herself from getting emotional. I have an almost undeniable urge to comfort her which is a foreign feeling for me so I ball my hands into fists to stop myself. She doesn't look like she wants comfort anyway. She takes a few deep breaths to get herself together then stands up straight and looks me in the eye, "Okay, I choose being yours then. But you listen here 'Mr. I'm the boss so you have to listen to me Northman', I'm not some pet, you don't get to tell me what to do and expect me to listen. You said it earlier, we'll be equals. I'll work as a telepath when need be but I'm keeping my job and once this killer is caught, I'm going back to my life to live as normally as possible until I'm needed."

I can't help but be impressed with her spunk, there are a few things she has to know going into this though, "When it's just us you can talk to me however you wish, and we'll be the partners that I promised. I won't make decisions for you or force you into anything. When we're in front of other vampires though, there's some pagentry you'll have to do. In the eyes of other vampires, you're nothing but a pet. A pet with an interesting and helpful talent, but a pet nonetheless.

"You'll have to act the part, there's no getting around it. You'll have to do what I tell you, you'll have to ask permission, and you'll have to only speak when spoken to. I know that goes against your sensibilities but that's just the way it is within the vampire hierarchy. If you disobey me the queen will look at it as a reason to think that I can not control you and use that as an excuse to take you from me to keep for herself.

"She'll be looking for any reason she can to keep you in New Orleans Sookie, I'll try to keep you away from court as long as I'm able but I doubt that will be possible for long because Bill already knows you left with me. You can bet he's already called the queen to let her know and she's already coming up with new plans. I wouldn't be surprised if I got a call from her tonight or tomorrow as a way for her to fish for information. She's not one to quit."

"Okay, I guess that makes sense." She responds begrudgingly, "So then since we have a plan, what do we do next?"

"I'll have a working contract typed up and we'll both sign it once you go over it. After that's complete I'll make an announcement to my vampires and let them know I have a telepath. There are a few ways we can go about it with the queen, if you want to make a living off of your telepathy, you'll start working and making a name for yourself. If you want to stay as low key as possible, I'll downplay your powers to the queen, say that you tire easily and you can't hear everyone. I'll tell her I haven't found much use for you other than sometimes reading my bar for underage drinkers and the like. Maybe that will be enough to make her less interested in you. In the meantime, we must have at least one blood exchange to start the bond so we can prove to others that you're mine."

"Can we start with you downplaying it to the queen? I'll have to think about if I want to make a living off of it, how much money can you really make reading minds?"

"Yes, it's probably better to start that way anyway. The only downfall is that she might want us to come to New Orleans so she can test you for herself. Again, you'll have to downplay your talent and get tired quickly. You'd be surprised what vampires would pay to make sure the humans around them are trustworthy. I haven't really seen you work yet other than at the shifter's bar, so I'd like to test your talents more before I give you a number. You'd definatly be making much more than you're making now though. Now, are we done talking business? I think I was promised that chance to ravish you when we're done."

Her blush came back with a vengeance, "I promised you no such thing, Eric. And no, we're not done. I thought you said it was too early and too permanent to bond."

"To have a full perminant blood bond you need to exchange three times. We just have to do it once to start a connection."

"How will that affect me?"

"You'll be stronger and have better senses for a while. Your libido will also get a boost and you might dream about me, if that isn't already happening. I'll be able to sense your emotions and be able to find you if you are in trouble. Normally, I'd be able to control your emotions to an extent but one, I wouldn't do that to you, and two, I don't think I'd even be able to since you cannot be glamoured."

"Wow, okay. That's a lot. Will it hurt?" I don't need the bond to be able to tell how nervous the concept makes her.

"A slight pinch. If you weren't so against the ravishing I was promised, I could make it feel good. In fact, I bet I can make it feel good without pushing your delicate sensibilities at all."

"I don't have delecate sensibilities, I just don't have one night stands. I need more than just lust to sleep with someone."

"Sookie, this wouldn't be a one-night stand, we're going to be staying with each other and working together for the forseeable future. I do not see why we cannot enjoy the pleasures that we both want while we're together."

"Eric, I already told you, I'm not going to be the one of many. If you want me, it's only me. If you can't agree to that then I'm yours in name only and we'll keep it professional between us. It's as simple as that.

My first inclination is to scoff at the absurdity of fucking only one person. Why would anyone do that? It's only sex, it's not like it's a declaration of everlasting love and devotion. There's no way I'm going to stop fucking whomever I want just because my pet wants fidelity. I've never done that in my 1000 years, not even when I was human and married, it wasn't expected of the men back then. My wife knew when I was out raiding I took my pleasures where I wanted and she never batted an eye. I'm just about to tell her that when I look at her face, it's sad but determined and accepting. She doesn't expect me to agree.

Fuck, it doesn't make me want her any less and I don't want to hurt her. Since when did that happen? I haven't cared about another person's feelings in centuries, maybe ever. Well, other than Pam and Karin but they're my progeny, that's different. Maybe I can give it a chance. What's the worst that can happen, I get bored and end it? It's something I've never done before and that's rare for someone my age. Sookie keeps surprising me and I didn't think that was possible anymore. I don't think I've ever wanted anyone as much as I want her and I don't see myself getting bored of her anytime soon, which is not normal for me either. Fuck, am I really considering this?

"Forget I said anything, Eric. Let's just do the blood exchange, I'm tired and Gran is going crazy waiting for us to finish talking so she can get a look at this library."

"I'd hardly call it a library, it's just part of my personal collection. All my very rare things are kept elsewhere. Although, I'm sure she'll find a few things of interest to read. But Sookie, I was just thinking, I wasn't saying no. I've been asked many times before to enter into an exclusive relationship and I've never actually considered it before. This is all new to me, but okay, I agree to your terms."

"You-you agree?" She sounds just as surprised as I feel.

"Yes, so why don't we take this to my bedroom so we can leave the study free for Adele? I'm sure it's a much more comfortable place to do a blood exchange." I get up, put my hands on her hips, turn her around, and start leading us to my room. It's not where I rest for the day but the entrance for my daylight safe chamber's entrance is there. She seems like she's in shock, because she hasn't said anything yet, and it seems like she's following me on autopilot. As soon as I shut the bedroom door, she snaps out of it.

"Wait! I'm not sleeping with you tonight!"

Now I'm just confused. Isn't that what the whole conversation was about? "You're not?"

"No! I'm not just going to open my legs for you because you say so. Plus…." She mumbles something that not even my vampire-enhanced hearing can pick up.

"Plus what?" She mumbles a response again and turns her back to me, though before she does, I see her cheeks heat up in embarrassment again. I walk up to her and spin her back around to face me, "Sookie, I can't hear you, that's saying something for a vampire. So just tell me what you're trying to. No more games, I grow tired of them.

"I'm a virgin!" She finally says, angrily.

She's a virgin? I did not foresee that. I have to work hard not to let my mouth gape. In this day and age, a virgin in their twenties is almost unheard of. Finally, after so long trying to wrap my head around it, I let out an unintelligent, "Oh."