\EPOV
When I wake, I'm surprised to see that Sookie is curled up next to me with her arm and leg draped over me. I can tell by her heart rate and breathing that she's dozing, it wouldn't take much to wake her up. So instead of moving and getting started with my night as I normally do, I relax and enjoy the feel of her wrapped around me. After about a half hour she starts to stir.
"Good evening, Sookie."
"Mhmm morning, Eric." She mumbled.
"Sookie it won't be morning for quite a few hours. You didn't rest here all day did you?" I inhale her scent and smell the sun and suntan lotion on her. "No, you've enjoyed suntanning today."
She blushes prettily, "No I woke up around noon and ate lunch with gran, then we both read in the study for a while until I went outback to freshen up my tan. Then I… I missed you and decided to wait out the time until you woke up with you down here. Is that okay?"
"Yes, lover. You're welcome to come to my room whenever you want. Though it is a first for me."
"A first? I didn't think you had any of those left."
"It doesn't happen often. Though I've experienced a few since meeting you. It's refreshing."
"What other firsts did you have?"
"First monogamous relationship. The first pet that wasn't out of necessity. There are more but you get the point."
"Yeah, I do. So what's on the agenda tonight, master?"
I grow hard with her choice of words. My brain knows she's saying it in jest but apparently, my cock didn't get the message. I already know how she's going to react to my next statement, and I know Adele is much more amenable to logic in them staying here with me, so instead of answering her question, I offer one myself. "Should we not go to the study to involve Adele? She should have a say in our plans as well."
It's clear Sookie knows I'm up to something but she can't figure out what so she reluctantly agrees. "Sure, I don't want to leave Gran alone another night, it doesn't seem fair to her."
"I agree, how did she and Sonya get along?"
"Oh, they really like each other! I like her too, she's so nice and honest, her thoughts match her words. Not many people have that quality." That is good, I always thought she was an honest person, it's nice to see that I was correct. It's even better now that she's now telepath approved.
"Her grandchildren left for college this year and it has left her a bit adrift. I'm sure she'd like coming over here on nights we have things to do and I can have my underlings stand guard for them."
"She's lonely? I don't want to take her away from anything but if she's bored I don't see a problem with it."
"Good, let us go speak to Adele and see what she thinks. If she likes the plan I'll talk to Sonya."
She nods so we both get up and get dressed quickly. Though I do take the time to fondle her perky breasts and slip my hand between her legs once or twice. "That's not fair, you're getting me all hot and bothered with no payoff."
"Come now, Sookie, don't be impatient. It's okay, I'll take care of you, I can't leave my woman wanting."
Before she can respond, I vamp and pick her bridal style to speed over to the bed to lay her there. Before she can get indignant about the way I handle her, I spread her legs and make my way inside her. I spend the next half hour giving both of us pleasure. It's not nearly as long as I'd like but we have work to do and I'll be sure to have my way with her again before the sun takes me away for the day. Once we're done, I kiss her long and hard before getting off of her and getting dressed at vampire speed. When I'm done, I stare at her because she's still on the bed naked.
"Don't look at me like that, mister. You're the one that decided on the detour."
"No lover, your body's need was the one that made that decision for us. It was crying out for me."
"It was not!" She says, indignantly.
"It was, I smelled your need and heard the quickening of your pulse. Who was I to leave your body wanting?"
"I don't know how I feel about you being able to know those things about me by just sight, smell, and hearing."
"Ahh well, it's just something you must get used to. As the saying goes, 'you're stuck with me now.' Especially after we finish the bond." Fuck, I didn't mean to say that, we haven't talked about completing the bond. Double fuck, I didn't even know that's what I wanted until after I said it, but now that I did, I know that's exactly what I want.
"Yeah, I guess that's true." She said coyly. Wait, so she wants to complete the bond too? I have to think longer about this. So I stay silent while she gets dressed. I bestow her a long, languid kiss once she's ready, and once I pull away, we make our way out of the room and toward the study. I'm surprised to see Sonya in there with Adele. Usually, she'd be cleaning and waiting for me to find her. Though I'm glad they seem to enjoy each other's company.
"Good evening, Adele. How was your day?"
"It was great, Eric. I could really get used to living in a place like this. And Sonya here is amazing. I wish she came more often than once a week. I enjoy her company."
Her words made Sonya blush, she spoke in her thick Swedish accent. "Oh yes, Mrs. Adele and Ms. Sookie are great company. You know I love being your maid, Mr. Northman but it was even better having such great company today."
"Sonya, I've already told you, call me Adele."
"Yeah, and I told you to call me Sookie"
"Oh, I couldn't it isn't professional."
"It's okay, Sonya. Call them what they wish and I think I've told you a time or two to call me Eric too. You've been my maid for over a decade, I'd think we're on a first name basis by now, no?"
"If you're sure… Eric."
"I am."
"Okay, now that that's settled. Eric, now that everyone's here, what do we have planned for the night?" She asks pointedly.
"I must check my messages but hopefully, tonight we'll catch a murderer."
"Oh good! We'll be able to go home so we won't have to cramp your style anymore." Adele looks upset at the thought, good.
I grow angry at how badly it seems she wants to leave me. "Sookie, you cannot leave yet. I haven't even heard from the queen. If you go home, Bill might just try to force you to New Orleans."
"I thought you said he'd just try to seduce me? Obviously, that won't work, so I'm safe, right?"
"I assume that was his original plan but he introduced himself on the night that you were leaving with me for an unaccounted for ammount of time. He will now assume you are attached to me. He must know that he won't be able to steal you from me, so his next option will be taking you by force." That is probably not the complete truth, he is arrogant enough to think that he can take Sookie from me with just some smooth words. He probably assumes that I treat Sookie terribly and that I parade her around and then fuck other women in front of her. He doesn't know I hold any real affection for Sookie. However, once he learns that Sookie isn't one to be easily swayed, taking her by force would be the next choice.
"So what? Gran and I are just supposed to stay here indefinitely? That's not fair to you and I can't miss that much work."
"Sookie, stop being so extreme. Obviously, he's not trying to take us from our lives indefinitely. He's just doing what he can to help keep you safe and with us. We have a little in our savings account. We'll just use it to pay our bills for the next month. It'll be a hit to our trip to Rome but it's okay. Keeping you safe is more important." Thank the Gods for Adele, instead of Sookie getting angrier, like I assume would happen if I answered, she calmed down at Adele's words.
So they're saving up for a trip to Rome? That is good to know. It also makes a lot of sense for two history enthusiasts. "You don't have to worry about going into your savings, Adele. Your displacement is because of my kind. I'll pay for the the bills you cannot pay because you are here and not working."
"No way in hell I'm letting you pay my bills, Eric Northman! I'm no kept woman!"
"Sookie Adele Stackhouse you check that attitude at the door! I've raised you better than to take that tone with someone who is hosting us. You're not too old for me to send outside to pick a switch, don't tempt me."
Begrudgingly, she turned to Adele and said with clear attitude in her voice, "I'm sorry Gran, but you also raised me not to let myself become a kept woman. Letting him pay our bills is just that!"
"You better watch that tone with me, missy." She says harshly, and in a much softer tone, she continues, "This is a completely unique situation, Sookie. He's not trying to keep you, he's trying to help because we can't work our usual ways because a murderer and a crazy queen have taken a special interest in you. None of that is Eric's fault. So don't take it out on him."
"I know you're right, Gran." She sighs then turns to me, "I'm sorry, Eric. I know none of this is your fault, it's just a lot for me to handle. I'm sorry for taking it out on you. I don't feel comfortable at the handout though."
"Sookie…" I start to say but Adele cuts in.
"I don't feel comfortable with the handout either, Eric."
"Okay, I understand. How about you two look at it as a loan? I don't want you guys going into debt because of a situation completely out of your hands. I'll pay what is needed and you can pay me back as you can, interest-free."
"Yes, I think I'd be okay with that, what about you, Sookie?"
"Grudgingly." She answers with a pout. I can't help but walk over to her and kiss that pout off her lips. Nothing untoward, of course. Her grandmother is in the room, after all. What is she doing to me? I've never cared enough about another person's emotions enough to help make them feel better, let alone kiss them away. Thankfully, Adele speaks and takes me off that disconcerting train of thought.
"Good, now that that's settled, what is this about catching a murderer? I'd sleep much better knowing my grandson isn't going to go away for murders he didn't commit."
"Wait! I haven't had a chance to tell him about what happened today, Gran."
"What happened?" I ask.
"There was another murder. Her name is Suzy McPherson, I went to high school with her. Eric, she has a daughter. I guess she's been to your club a few times too, she has recent bites on her, just like the others."
"My condolences, Sookie. Was she a friend of yours?"
"No, she was one of those people in town that figured it was easier to think I'm crazy than believe the truth of what I am. That doesn't matter though, there's still a baby girl out there that will grow up without a mom because some biggot thought they had the right to decide who lives and dies." She says passionately. My Sookie's heart is so big. It's one of the things I love about her but it's bound to bring her pain. She cares about the child of a woman who made her life hell growing up, I'll never understand it… Wait, love? I internally scoff at the notion. I do not love her, I enjoy her company, her body, and her talent. I care for her, yes. But love? I don't love anyone, except maybe Pam and Karin.
"Yes, well, I shall check my voicemail from my private investigator and hopefully, we'll be able to stop him before he strikes again.
I have five messages. The first one is from my accountant who lets me know of my growth for the month. He usually doesn't call, he sends an email to update me but I figure he's still scared because of the money that went missing. He's trying to go above and beyond to make sure I forgive him. In reality, I'm not mad at him at all, this wasn't his fault and he brought it to my attention as soon as he knew but I won't tell him that. He's working harder to get on my good side. Telling him he's never left my good side isn't productive. I'd rather him keep working harder than he was before. So I don't plan to call him back and move on to the second message.
The second one is from my private investigator. He's done background on the five names I sent him from Sookie's list. He's found the inconsistency, it's someone named Rene Laughtlier. He also found a picture of Drue Marshal and surprise surprise, it matches Rene's driver's licence picture. It seems we've found our killer. I hope Sookie isn't close to him, I'm sure it would hurt her if she is. At least she'll have the peace that will come with keeping her brother out of jail.
The third one is from my Dayman, he's just letting me know that the objectives I've set out for the day are complete and that nothing new has happened that I should be made aware of other than the acquisition of the property I was looking to buy. Bobby is good at his job but he is a dick head. He isn't that way to me, of course. But I've been told he isn't a pleasant person to be around. I don't really care as long as he does the job he's paid for proficiently and timely. The fact that he's enamored with me while also terrified of me is a plus, he always does his absolute best for me.
The fourth call sends a shiver to go down my spine and dread through my whole body even though I knew this call was coming. It's the queen and she wants to speak of a recent acquisition that I've made. I'm sure she's speaking of Sookie. I might be able to put off the call for one night but, I must call her back soon. It's the downside of having a queen instead of taking a territory myself.
The final call is just a callback from my realtor that the sale went through and my new building's deed is ready to be signed. I put the phone down and sigh, It's not often I do such human motions but I feel like it's warranted tonight. Fuck, I knew Sophie Ann was going to call soon but I hoped I would have had a little more time. I'll wait to call her back until tomorrow and talk to Sookie about it. I've thought of some more details that might make her current plan impossible. Perhaps it would be best to do the second blood exchange tonight. Anything to further make it known that Sookie and I are linked and that I will not allow her to be taken from me.
I'm older than Sophie Ann. I know I can take her, that's not up for question. The problems come into play when her children do. The Burts are almost as old as her and are skilled fighters, that's pretty much all they're good for though. They are definitely not the brains of her operation. Andre is a little younger but still around four centuries old. Together they are almost 2100 years of vampire. The vampires in my area are loyal to me, not to the queen, so I have them to depend on if Sophie Ann doesn't back off.
Hopefully, it won't come to that though. Best case scenario, she'll accept that since I'm in her retinue, and Sookie is mine, she'll have access to Sookie if the need arises. No one's ever called Sophie Ann level-headed or logical though. She's greedy and once she finds something she wants, she'll usually stop at nothing to get it. I doubt she wants to go to war with me though, her potential for losses is too great. For one thing, I'm one of the main reasons another king or queen hasn't already killed her to take the territory for themselves.
Louisiana is a great state to have, New Orleans is known as one of the most welcoming to our kind and it's a great way to make money. Plus it has me, not only am I old and a skilled fighter, I'm great with money and because of that, make a lot of income from which my monarch taxes. So I make a lot of money for the state. I have the urge to sigh again but force it down and get back to work. Sookie and Adele are looking at me worriedly, they've never seen me show signs of stress before. Plus, Sookie can feel how much I dislike the current situation because of the queen.
I call back my realtor and let her know to have the papers sent to me by carrier, and I'll sign them immediately. I realize that the ladies are all staring at me questioningly, I feel through the fledgling bond that Sookie is worried. She's never seen me have such a human reaction to something before. I move over to my computer and open my email to the one that my investigator sent me.
"We know who the murderer is, do you know a Rene Laughtlier?"
"What? No, that doesn't make sense, he's Cajun, and the thoughts I heard were definitely different."
"Rene only became a person two years ago. Before that, he didn't exist. It was right around the time that Drew Marshal disappeared. Drew was born and raised in Northern Louisiana, not the south where the accent is most widely heard, the accent is most likely a fake to sell his character. Come, my Private Eye had gotten a few pictures of Mr. Marshal, he sent them to me through email and they're loading now."
Both Sookie and Adele make their way over to my side of the desk. When Adele finally ambles her way over, the picture finally loads. They both take a simultaneous sharp intake of breath. I remember seeing this man at the shifter's bar that night, he was the one that held the door open for me while I was carrying Sookie out when she had her panic attack because she heard the killer… heard him planning her murder. It looked just like him only a few years younger and with less facial hair.
"That's Rene alright. Oh, poor Arlene."
"Your coworker that is a believer in the Fellowship Of The Sun?"
Sookie cringes, "Yeah, you probably don't like her much but I feel bad for her. She's a single mom with two kids. Her exes didn't treat her well and she thought she finally found a good man. They got engaged a few months ago, they're planning on getting married next summer."
"Isn't Rene the one that got her involved with the Fellowship in the first place?" Adele asks.
"Yeah, she was scared when vampires came out of the coffin but she wasn't hateful, just distrustful. Then Rene came along and got her involved with them, then when the murders started, she went all in because she was terrified." She pauses for a second, then cringes, "So yeah, knowing what we know now, I guess it really was all because of him that she got involved and started going faithfully.
"So what are we going to do, Eric? How are we going to get Rene arrested?"
"It won't be hard. I'll send Pam to the sheriff's station tonight with the proof we have, proving that Drue and Rene are one and the same, and the proof I have of the murders that have been happening out of town, including the murder of Rene's own sister. It won't be long until Drew is in custody and it comes out that your brother is innocent." If need be I'll have Pam glamour them to accept the truth.
"Okay, that sounds good. That police station is kinda a joke though so keep copies of the evidence in case they don't do anything about it, okay?"
I turn to her and cup her cheek, "Of course, min stjärna." Then lean in to give her a chaste kiss.
Sookie blushes prettily, she's not still that shy, even after everything we shared last night, is she? Then, I realize it's because Adele is here and she's not used to showing affection to someone in front of her. I take mental note on that but I'm going to make sure she grows used to it. I pull away and take my phone back out to call Pam. I step away but don't leave the office, they already know why I'm calling her.
"What?" She answers snippily. I can tell from her bond that she's been upset since she rose tonight.
"Wow, someone rose on the wrong side of the coffin."
"Sorry, Master. What can I do for you, oh magnificent one?" She replies sarcastically.
"I have an errand for you to run."
She sighs, clearly annoyed. "And what is that, Eric?" She says my name with such contempt I'm honestly taken aback.
"Have I done something to anger you, Pamela?"
"No." She replies shortly and I can tell from the bond that she's lying. Whatever, if she wants to talk to me about it she can. I don't have time for this right now.
"Fine. I'll email you the proper paperwork to take with you. I need you to go to the police station in Bon Temps and give them the proof they need to arrest the murderer that's been targeting fang banger."
"You're making me go to bumfuck Luisiana? I have shit to do tonight, send someone else."
"Pamela," I say in a way that makes it clear she's playing with my last nerve. I don't care what she's upset about, she knows better than to speak to me that way.
"Fine, send me the email but if my clothes smell because of those backwater police that don't know how to clean themselves properly, I'm using your credit card to replace them."
"Fine," I say flatly and hang up. I vamp over to the computer and use my superspeed to send the message to Pam along with the proof, I tell her to glamour and do whatever else is necessary. I send it off before the humans can read it.
"What's wrong with Pam?" Sookie asks.
"Not sure, she didn't feel like sharing. It's fine, she gets like this every once in a while." I shrug off the concern.
"Do you think it's because you're spending all this time with us and not with her? And because you're leaving her with all the work at Fangtasia?"
"Possibly but she loves that bar. I'd have burned it down if it wasn't necessary for my sheiriff's work and she didn't enjoy it so much. She's probably happy that she gets to make all the financial decisions while I'm away."
"Oh, I wonder what's wrong then."
"She'll tell me when she's ready."
"Oh! If you had good news about finding the murderer, why were you so upset when you got off the phone from checking your voicemail earlier?"
I let out a deep unnecessary breath because I know this will wipe her good mood from clearing her brother's name away. I establish eye contact with her before continuing. "The queen called me wanting to speak of a recent acquisition I've made."
Her face pales and Adele's does too. They both know this isn't good, so I continue before they can really panic. "There's no need to panic, ladies. We were expecting this, remember?"
Sookie takes a deep breath before I feel her calming in the bond. "Okay, so what do we do?"
"For tonight? Nothing. I'll call her tomorrow, and I'm sure she'll ask about you. Although, I've found a hole in our plan."
"What's that?" Adele asks forcefully. I'm slightly taken aback, she's not usually like that with me. I forgive her though, she's worried for Sookie.
"Hadley. Hadley is the problem, along with the stories she must have told Sophie Ann. You said you hadn't yet created your shields while you were growing up, correct?" At her nod, I continue. So you must have had everyone's thoughts flooding your brain. And Hadley was there during that time., She most likely told Sophie Ann everything she saw during those days. I don't know if downplaying your talent will work."
"Cheese and rice, you're probably right. So what should we do?"
"There are two options as I see it. We can say that you've worked so hard at keeping the shields up to keep the thoughts out that you're no longer good at listening to many voices at once. That might slow her down but she'd expect me to slowly integrate you into the public so you can practice getting your mindreading more useable. So as I said, that might give us some time but not much. She might also see it for the lie it is so it might not be a great idea to start your professional relationship with her like that. Also, it wouldn't look good for me either. Although I don't particularly care what the queen thinks of me, I just don't want it to negatively impact you. The other option is to take your telepathy to the public and start making money off it. That way she might just be fine with buying your services. We can tell her that your telepathy is strong but you still get tired often and need quiet at the end of the night. Being in a palace with that many people wouldn't be good for you."
"It sounds like the first idea isn't really logical."
"It's not sustainable. It would only be useful if you wanted more time before you took your telepathy to the public."
"If it were an option, I'd never want to make my telepathy public."
"Unfortunately, because of your cousin, that's not an option. However, if you really go for it, take on clients, and help people with your telepathy, it won't be long until you won't have to worry about money anymore. Adele won't have to clean houses anymore to make ends meet. Although, that wouldn't be a problem if you'd just let me take care of you two like I want to." I couldn't help but add pointedly, looking between Sookie and Adele.
"You know darn well neither Sookie nor I will let that happen, Eric. So just get those thoughts out of your mind."
Fine, I won't say anything more about it but when Sookie goes all in with the telepathy business, it'd just make the most sense to have her stay here with me because most of her work will be out of Fangtasia or maybe I'll make her an office in that new building I just acquired. Either way, they're both in Shreveport so it's logical to stay in my home, with me. Of course, we'd have Adele here with us, we couldn't leave her in Bon Temps in the big house all by herself. With them here, I'll be able to take care of them as I want to.
"You're right, Eric. It sounds amazing to be able to work with my telepathy and to be able to take care of Gran. It's just, I'm scared…" She sounds so small, so unsure of herself. I can't help but take two steps over to her and pull her into my arms. I murmur comforting sounds into her hair until her heavy breathing and heart rate slow down.
"It's okay, min stjärna. You're not alone and you're safe. I won't let anything happen to you. Do not worry, we will start slow, I'll have you read a few of my business partners to make sure they are being honest and then I'll let my underlings bring in their pets for reading. I'm sure there's a few of them that will want to make sure their pets are trustworthy."
"Okay, thanks."
"I'll call the queen tomorrow and let her know about you but only after I set up the meetings for my associates and underlings. That way, even though she'll want you to come right away, I'll be able to tell her that we can't until these clients you already have scheduled are seen to."
I get on my computer and start to type out an email to send all my underlings
about Sookie, her ability, and how the vampires must bring either their pets or business associates to get them read. I'm about to write down the prices when I realize that we haven't discussed those yet.
"Sookie, we should discuss prices for your gift. I was thinking $1000 a reading for now. Once you're more well known we'll be able to choose a higher price. On top of that, we'll get vampires that want to keep you on retainer, so they'll be first in line in case an emergency happens to them. When the time comes we can choose final numbers but I'm thinking around 50,000."
"Eric, that's a lot of money, isn't it being too greedy?"
"Sookie, you are worth much more. The only reason I am starting so low is because no one knows you so they do not know how strong your ability is. After a few months of working with clients, you can easily double or triple the price. Most vampires won't even bat an eye at that price, we've been around a long time and have used that time to amass money."
"Are you sure?"
"I promise Sookie, I will not lead you wrong."
"Okay, let's do it. It stinks because you don't really have a choice in starting the business but now that it's happening, I'm actually getting excited about it. I think I can do a lot of good."
I give her a small smile and go back to writing my email about her. When I'm done, I call her over to have a look and make sure she likes how it looks. She nods at me and I send it to all my underlings. Within minutes I get responses from most of them. Everyone is intrigued and excited to bring their pets or business partners to make sure they're being honest. I don't understand how these younger vampires keep people around them that they don't fully trust. I know I just had a problem with Longshadow but I knew something was wrong with him and was in the process of fixing it before I even found out about the theft. If you want to stay alive for as long as I have, you have to be able to trust those around you.
I don't know how to tell her that most of the work she'll be doing is not going to be for the betterment of people. She's going to be helping vampires find out if their meals are lying to them. It won't be like me when I said I'd send the offender to the police once we find them. Her clientele won't agree to that. The only reason I did was that I wanted to make her happy and keep her close to me. Her clients won't care because she is already mine, they'll get nothing out of it, so they won't. That is something I must speak to her about, but I will do that later, once she is properly sated and calm.
"Okay, Sookie. You have your first client the day after tomorrow soon after I rise. Don't worry, you won't have to meet anyone without me, so you'll be safe. We can start by doing the meetings out of my office but I have just bought an office building about ten minutes from here so next week we can go there and pick out an office for you."
"Eric, I can't just use your office for free. You're already doing too much for us, I can't take anymore. I already feel terrible about it."
"Sookie, min stjärna, I am not doing anything I do not want to. It is no hardship for me to help you. As I already said, if you must, look at it as a loan. You can pay me back when you get your business up and running. You can pay me rent for the office if you must."
"Okay, that's what I'll do. Thanks, Eric."
She stood on her toes to offer me a kiss, it wasn't any hardship for me to accept. It isn't until after that I stop to think how strange it is that I'm so freely giving her affection like this. Never in my unlife have I ever been in a situation like this. It's another first. Sookie seems to be doing that to me a lot, I can't say I hate it. Until I met Sookie, I was stagnant, apathetic about everything, I was so very bored. It was the same thing day after day, rise for the night, go to work, feed, fuck, deal with sheriff's bullshit, go home, and do it all over again. Now, every night has been new and interesting again, and it's all because of her.