A/N: I hate it when I do all the wrong things and don't know the right things to say.

Chapter 18

Sookie woke up in Eric's arms late the next afternoon, just a couple of hours before sunset. The room was dark and the bed was comfortable and she was all wrapped up in the man she loved. Dead or not. She could really get used to this. He was the same temperature she was where they touched and he smelled like vampire, but also like him. It was masculine and sexy and comforting. She snuggled in a little closer and her nose tickled when she buried her face in the sparse hair between his nipples. She didn't mind. She kissed the skin that was right against her mouth. For the first time since meeting her first vampire, some part of her got a bit of a pang knowing the nights were getting shorter. Then she shook her head. She figured she must have it very bad for that thought to have even crossed her mind. Especially since she had no idea how long this lovely little interlude would last, and who she'd be spending those nights with. Summer was usually her favourite time of year, even without lying on her chaise lounge in the sunshine.

She kissed his chest again and let her mind drift for a little while until she dozed back off. She woke up again a bit later with a very large and hungry vampire kissing and sucking on her throat. His hard cock was leaking all over the inside of her thigh and his hand gripped her breast, squeezing gently. She moaned and buried her hands in his hair.

He kissed down to her breasts and sucked a nipple into his mouth. He switched to the other a few moments later and dragged his hand down her body and between her legs. She was already very wet and ready for him. He kissed his way back up to her mouth and they made out a little longer before he entered her. They both sighed when he bottomed out inside. She smiled up at him and he smiled back. She touched his face and reached up to kiss him again. He kissed her back and started slowly moving his hips. She had made herself learn to love a good fuck, and she absolutely still did, but making love was a whole 'nother animal. A dangerous one.

She closed her eyes and immersed herself in their emotions. His and her lust and pleasure and need and desire, all mixed up together. And, surprisingly, love. She reveled in the warm and fuzzy — and hot — feeling she'd had ever since they had completed the bond. Just being with him made her feel that way now. And she liked knowing where she stood with him, without having to hear his thoughts.

She thought that, at one time, she would have resented the hell out of a lopsided connection like this to a man. She would have hated not knowing her own mind and having her feelings influenced by his, back when she'd been a (mostly) independent woman, living with her Gran and paying most of the bills. She envied that Sookie. After the past three years, however, pretty much anything that made her feel better was welcome. And she knew he'd keep her safe. He would go to war to protect what was his.

And she liked feeling connected to him.

He was kissing her neck with her hands buried in his hair again, holding his head in place. She expected the bite any second but it never came. He kissed across her throat to the other side and licked up the length of her carotid and then scraped it with his human teeth. She breathed in a small gasp of air in anticipation, but he went right back to kissing it again.

Soon, his hips began to slowly move a little bit faster and he sucked on her throat a little bit harder. She was teetering on the edge and it felt amazing but she needed him to give her that one final push to get her there. It was going to be a doozy. He sped up some more and she could tell he was getting close, too. She moaned when he kissed his way up to her ear and darted his tongue inside. She loved having her ears played with and it was driving her crazy. All of it was. He used his tongue to trace the shell and then sucked hard on her earlobe before nibbling a little. She bit her lip and sped up her hips, trying to make him go faster. She whispered hoarsely into his ear.

"Do it, Eric. Bite me. Mark me, so everyone knows I'm yours."

He made a noise that was more growl than moan and bit, right in the middle of the pale bruise he'd left on her neck when he'd been kissing her awake. She came so hard she saw stars. His orgasm came on the heels of hers and he yelled something in a language she didn't understand.

After, he stayed on top of her for a minute or two and looked into her eyes. His hair hung in a curtain around them, somehow making it feel even more intimate. She smiled up at him and he smiled back and leaned down to kiss her again. He was always touching her, as much as he could, and she had been starved for physical affection her entire life. She loved how tactile he was.

He put his forehead against hers for a moment and then gave her one more soft, quick kiss and rolled onto his back. She followed and snuggled up against him with her head cradled on his shoulder and her leg thrown over his. He wrapped his arm around her and kissed her head, enjoying the scent of her hair.

She sighed, perfectly content. She looked up at him and his eyes were closed and he was smiling a soft smile again. She could feel he was perfectly content, too. She knew they had to go downstairs and do some work soon, but they needed to do a little bit more of this first. And then maybe a shower. And she thought she might be able to talk him into fucking her stupid while they were in there.

They headed downstairs an hour and a half later, a little cleaner and a lot more well-fucked. She looked in the mirror wall in the back of the elevator on the way down and shook her head.

"I feel like I'm in high school again. Here I am, twenty-eight years old, and I have my very first hickey."

He laughed.

"I am afraid I got a little carried away, my lover, but it does frame the bite quite well."

He was grinning and she caught his eyes in the mirror and snorted.

"You're incorrigible."

His grin got a little wider.

"Well, I've had a thousand years of practice."

Sookie rolled her eyes but then laughed. He took her hand when the elevator doors opened and kissed it before threading his fingers through hers.

They passed a handful of vampires on the way to the restaurant she'd chosen for dinner — The Stakehouse — and Eric noticed she walked a little closer and held her head a little higher each time. She'd worn her hair up and his fang marks were very much on display, and every single one of them noticed. And wanted her. Eric didn't have to rub it in that she belonged to him; she was doing it for him. They both wanted it made very clear that she was off limits.

He was rubbing his thumb back and forth against her palm and she was getting wetter by the second. She was enjoying the jealous looks from the human women almost as much as the ones from the vampires.

Just like the times before, they were able to walk right in without a reservation. They were seated in a corner booth and Eric slid in beside her rather than across the table. Sookie took a few minutes to read the minds of the people around them after reading the menu. She didn't hear anything incriminating.

When the server arrived a few minutes later, Sookie ordered steak and a glass of red wine. Eric specified a brand and vintage of Cabernet Sauvignon, and told the waitress to bring the bottle. It was one of the most expensive ones on the wine list, but Felipe was paying. He ordered another imported blood for himself, even though he'd had plenty of Sookie's already.

Eric poured the wine when it arrived and she took a sip and closed her eyes in pleasure. He smiled.

"Good?"

"So good."

"It will get even better as it breathes."

She smiled and looked up at him and raised her eyebrows. "For someone who doesn't drink wine, you sure seem to know what you're talking about."

He laughed. "Well, I've certainly ordered my fair share to blend in. Vampires have used it as the decoy of choice, in drinking establishments across the world, for centuries."

Hearing his laugh made her throb between her legs. God, he turned her on. She couldn't help but tease.

She ran her finger slowly around the rim of her glass and looked up at him through her lashes.

"You must have learned so many things over the course of a thousand years.

He grinned. "Oh, a few."

"And you put that knowledge to good use. I know from experience. You've had plenty of time to practice, and it shows."

She bit her lip before picking up her wine glass. He leaned down and buried his nose in her hair so he could whisper in her ear.

"Practice makes perfect. And there is much more perfect to come."

She took a sip and her smile got a little wider behind the glass. She set it down and put her hand on his.

"Good. I'm counting on a whole lot of coming."

He laughed and picked up her hand and kissed it.

"As am I. And we should continue the demonstration later tonight."

"Well, just as long as it's interactive."

He kissed her hand and laughed again.

Sookie took another few minutes to listen to the people at the tables nearby, but came up empty again. A different waitress brought out her salad and a bread basket and hardly glanced at Sookie when she dropped them on the table. She was too busy giving Eric fuck-me eyes and not quite subtly offering her throat to him.

"Can I get you anything else, Master?"

Eric turned to look at the waitress and he was visibly irritated by the interruption. He had already looked away when he replied, "No."

Sookie managed to rein in her amusement and feigned innocence and surprise.

"Oh, are you bonded to him, too?"

She scurried away. Sookie snorted and he looked at her and grinned.

"Master… It does have a nice ring to it."

She laughed and then had another sip of her wine.

"You know, a few years ago, I would have been horrified at the thought of having to call someone master. At this point, I don't really give a shit. I mean, it would be annoying, but I've been made to do much worse by the vampires who've owned me. It would hardly be a blip."

She shrugged.

"I would, however, lose any respect I ever had for you."

He smiled and topped up her glass.

"And that is just one of the reasons I'm glad you're mine."

She grinned.

"One of the reasons you're glad you're my master, you mean."

He laughed.

"I suppose that I do."

She looked down at his lap and saw exactly how glad he was that she was his and licked her lips.

"So I see."

She listened to their neighbours again, but she didn't get very far. He put his hand on the inside of her thigh, under her dress, and gently squeezed. He leaned over and spoke into her ear, his nose buried in her hair.

"I want you again."

She gave him a long, slow smile and widened her legs a little in invitation. His hand slid up, taking its time, until he reached the juncture between her thighs. She wasn't wearing panties. She leaned over to reply and he put his ear next to her mouth.

"I'm supposed to be working."

His fingers started doing their magic and her ears turned pink. She hadn't realized she could still pull off bashful, but she was both exhilarated and horrified at the thought of getting caught.

The waitress brought Sookie's food and hardly glanced at Eric this time. Sookie dropped her napkin on her lap, covering his hand, and he laughed. She was having a lot of fun too, but she managed to come to her senses, even though a lot of her was still on board. Plus she had a T-bone and a loaded baked potato to eat. He would just have to wait. She took his hand from between her legs, kissed it, and set it down on the table.

"Be good. I don't bother you while you're trying to eat."

He grinned. "No, you certainly don't. Quite the opposite, actually."

He had been right; the wine did get better as the night wore on. After she finished cleaning her plate, he poured the last of the bottle into her glass. He leaned over and started whispering exactly what he wanted to do to her later that night in her ear. His fangs had run down and his cock was hard under the table and his hand was gripping her thigh under her dress again.

She had passed tipsy half a glass ago and she hoped the big price tag came with a no headache clause. She wondered if there was any Tylenol in the little black bag of tricks. She didn't remember seeing any and thought heroin was likely overkill.

He gave her neck a sucking kiss and she laughed and then shivered. She was afraid she was going to leave a wet spot on the back of her dress. Everyone was staring, and she was once again surprised that she cared, but it also turned her on. A lot. He went back to his husky voice making promises in her ear.

The hostess sat a vampire and his human date nearby and Eric kissed Sookie's neck again and sat back upright. The new vampire was very conspicuously not looking their way. Sookie was sure the guy had overheard Eric's dirty talk and she saw his nostrils flaring. The woman sitting across from him was very beautiful — certainly prettier than Sookie — but her date wasn't really paying attention to her. He only had eyes (and a nose) for Sookie. Eric looked downright smug. She rolled her eyes.

"You look like the cat who ate the canary."

He grinned.

"Well, my lover, you certainly aren't a canary. I heard you singing in the shower the other night."

She tried to look angry but she couldn't hold it in for long and she laughed.

"Well, you've got me there."

He leaned down and whispered in her ear again.

"But he is definitely jealous he doesn't get to eat you and I do."

"And thank God for that."

She was having one hell of a good time, but she really did have to work. She dipped into the heads of the people around them, but nobody was really thinking about anything other than her and Eric. His behaviour wasn't terribly helpful, even if it was terribly hot. Sookie drained her glass and was about to suggest moving to the next mind-reading location when she heard a snippet of a thought from the woman sitting with the vampire.

Felipe DeCastro will pay.