Chapter 8

Sookie woke the way she did most afternoons, with a scream lodged in her throat. That day's dreams had been extra awful. She'd had to watch while they killed her brother over and over and over again. Or she'd had to do it herself. It had all felt so real, even with some added surreality from the opiates.

She shouldn't have to deal with this any longer. She should be dead and she was so fucking angry at Eric for saving her. She hated him for it. And, fool that she was, she was also afraid she was falling in love with him, too. Because he was the first person (or whatever) in ages who had been a little bit kind to her. Plus he was one hell of a good lay. And gorgeous. And he seemed to care about her, too, at least a little bit. He was even keeping her away from Victor as much as he could.

She supposed she might have gotten him in trouble if she'd been successful. She even felt a little bit bad about it. He was probably still worried he'd be punished if someone found out now. She knew better. Vampires were never disciplined for anything she did, no matter how careless they'd been. Even if that something was allowing herself to be beaten or bitten or raped by vampires, infinitely stronger than her. Even when she'd only tried to run because she was left alone with the door unlocked for more than a day and a half and she hadn't had anything to eat or drink except the water from the sink. Even after she'd taken all the drugs in the bag the last time, after some undead nobody had left it behind in her room for the day after getting her high. Unfortunately, it hadn't been refreshed or replaced in a while and she'd only wound up temporarily crazy, hypothermic, and strung out as hell, under the influence of so many substances with conflicting effects at the same time. Unfortunately, there hadn't been enough of any one thing to tip her over the edge into death. They'd found her at sunset, curled up in the fetal position in the tub with the water running, shivering from the cold but unable to get up and move or turn off the tap. The vampire hadn't even gotten a slap on the wrist. She, however… She had paid dearly. And so had her brother.

Victor would love it if Eric got into trouble, of course, and would have done everything in his power to facilitate it if they'd been caught. And usually, Victor would have the ear of the King and would be able to manipulate him into doing whatever Victor wanted, just like he always did. This time, she didn't think it would work. Felipe was no longer listening to him when it came to her. Eric was there despite Victor's many protests. He was angry that Felipe was giving her another chance in the first place. That he was giving her to Eric Northman for the duration, and all while Victor only got her for two partial nights a week, at most, had made him furious. It was almost a slap in the face. Felipe was a busy vampire and she'd been Victor's to do with as he pleased, pretty much, since almost the beginning. As long as she wasn't badly damaged in the process, at least. As far as Victor was concerned, she belonged to him. She knew exactly how upset he was that she would no longer be available for him to use and abuse most nights. He'd made sure to drive that point home again and again the night before.

It was late and she wanted a shower before Eric arrived. She wondered if he'd still want to have sex with her. She wondered if she'd consent, although she was quite sure what the answer to that would be. She went into the bathroom and started to get ready.

…

Shortly after Eric rose, he called Pam.

"You had a better night last night, I hope."

He laughed. "The evening went quite well, despite a few hangups. Better than quite well, actually. It wasn't until after dawn when the real trouble started."

There was a long pause.

"Well, you can't just leave me hanging like that."

He sighed and told her about meeting with Victor on the way out the door and then meeting with the King. He snorted partway through recounting their trip to the restaurant.

"What? What is so funny about a human eating pizza? It sounds disgusting."

He grinned, remembering how much she'd laughed at him. He had brought her joy more than once the night before. She had done the same for him.

"Nothing. However, the waitress spilling a tray full of Bloody Marys on my head was apparently hilarious."

He waited, surprised she didn't have a reply. He raised an eyebrow. Finally, she started to laugh, too.

"Oh, Eric… What I wouldn't have given…"

He pretended to be stern. "I believe, Pam, that you have seen me looking very much the same on more than one occasion."

"Well, true. But usually nobody laughed."

He did, again.

"Of course, I needed to wash and put on clean clothes. We went back to my room and then she joined me in the shower. She gave enthusiastic consent this time."

"Well, that's a relief. Was it still good without her spite?"

"Very much so. Better, even. She was very… enthusiastic. She took down all her walls. She even wept, while we made love and again when she ate pizza that reminded her of home."

Pam sounded surprised. "That was quite the turn around."

He didn't speak for over a minute.

"Eric?"

"I had to take her back to the club at one thirty. She spent the rest of the night being used, abused, and ogled by them."

He wanted to rip them all to shreds. He had been one of them only two nights before.

Pam said, "Well, I'm sure she's fine, Eric. It sounds like she's used to it. What did you do for the rest of the night?"

"I went for a walk into the desert. There was nothing I could do to stop it and I needed time to think. I almost went to ground there but I made it back to the hotel before sunrise."

And what would have happened to her then?

He continued, "I noticed after I got back to my room that the bag of drugs I'd been given had been moved. She had taken the heroin and paraphernalia and hidden them in her purse. That was why she'd been so open and free with me. She was planning on never seeing me again."

"Fuck a zombie. Did you get to her on time?"

"Not before she overdosed, no. But I was able to give her an injection to counteract the narcotic before she died."

"Thank fuck for that. Felipe would have likely finally killed you."

He sighed. "Yes, likely so. Of course, it was incredibly careless to leave her alone with the drugs in plain sight. I knew she was looking for a way out. I should have figured out the cause for such a drastic change in her personality."

"So, how much trouble will you be in with her alive?"

"None. The security guard didn't see. The recording has been deleted. Nobody else will know."

"Well, good. Unless, of course, your room is bugged."

He could hear the relief in her voice. And the humour. He laughed.

"I swept it before I called you. Just like I do every evening before sunset."

He dressed and headed out to the VIV Club, full of both dread and anticipation. He was surprised when it was nearly empty. The few donors there straightened up, hoping to be chosen. There were three vampires he didn't know talking in one of the sitting areas. He unlocked her door and stepped inside.

She was sitting on the edge of the bed, waiting for him. There was an awkward silence while they decided whether or not the other was angry. The answer was yes and no for both. She stood up and followed him out of the club. She'd known they wouldn't run into Victor tonight; Felipe had sent him to Louisiana for at least the next few days. She was sure it was because he'd tried to take her away from the job the King wanted her to perform, and then had the nerve to call Felipe to complain about it when Eric had pushed back. The King didn't punish the vampires for hurting her or letting bad things happen to her, but he certainly did for insubordination. And yet, Felipe had still thrown Victor a bone and let him have her the night before and then twice a week going forward besides.

Eric slowed so he could fall into step beside her. He debated whether or not to take her hand and decided he would. He was pleased when she didn't pull it away.

"Would you like to eat first?"

She looked up at him and he was smiling at her. She smiled back. Her anger had mostly evaporated and she was glad his had, too.

"No. I think you should."

His smile widened. "You know, I think that is an excellent idea."

She turned to face him when they got into the elevator and put her arms around his neck. She pulled his mouth down to hers. They didn't break apart until they got to his floor and then he pushed her against the door and kissed her hard as soon as they got inside. Somewhere between the lobby and his room, things had gone from playful to deadly serious.

The heat and intensity kept ratcheting up. She had her hands buried in his hair and was grinding against his thigh and panting in his ear. He was already scraping his fangs across her throat. He pulled her dress over her head and then picked her up and tossed her onto the mattress. He undressed and climbed in on top of her. He ripped off her panties and buried his head between her legs.

She pulled her breasts out of her bra cups and pinched her nipples and moaned, arching her back. He was licking her just right with a flat tongue while fucking her just hard enough with two fingers and he brought her to a hard and fast orgasm. He didn't let up, even when it was on the razor's edge of being too much, and she came again even harder just a couple of minutes later.

He moved his head up to hers. He didn't stop to pay her breasts any attention. He looked into her eyes and pushed hard into her. Neither of them was gentle. Neither broke eye contact for a long time. It was a silent discussion about the past twenty-four hours. It wouldn't do forever, but it would hold until they got to a place where they could talk about it out loud.

When she started getting close, she closed her eyes and bared her throat to him. He sucked hard on her neck and she started to cum. He redoubled his efforts, suddenly fucking her even harder and faster, and then bit. She screamed, raking deep grooves down his back when she immediately came again. He filled her with his seed while she filled him with her blood. When he finally pulled away, he found himself panting between her legs, even though he didn't need to breathe.

They were looking into each other's eyes again, but things were much lighter now. She smiled up at him a little and he smiled back. She reached up to kiss him softly and then pulled him down on top of her. She buried her face in his neck and held him there. He could feel the wetness on his skin and smell her tears. He lay on top of her, enveloping her and pressing down hard against her body. He hovered just enough to not restrict her breathing more than a little.

A few minutes later, she kissed his neck once, softly, and he rolled off her. She immediately rolled onto him and threw her leg over his and kissed his chest. He wrapped his arm around her and kissed her head.

A couple of minutes later, her stomach growled. He kissed her forehead and slid out of bed.

"Come, Sookie. You are very hungry. You must eat."

She sighed. "Yeah. And then I suppose I should actually try to do what I'm supposed to be doing. It just sucks because I'd much rather be doing you."

He laughed. "I feel the same."

She laughed, too, and their eyes locked. They smiled at each other for almost a minute. He climbed back into bed and kissed her and took her hard and fast again. After that, they made love. They finally left to seek food after she sucked his cock.