Chapter 16

When Eric rose the next evening, he could feel Sookie's pain. He swept the room and then got ready for a meeting with the King. He was anxious for Pam to rise so they could go down to the Club. He was glad when she did so he could stop pacing the floor.

"Can you give her more of the drug? She is hurting."

She considered giving a snarky comeback, but decided not to, even though it would have been said as she was getting up and ready to leave. She was worried, too, for her maker's sake. And she was looking forward to meeting Sookie, who had taken her punishment the night before like a vampire. It had been impressive. She was. But she would have to be to have Eric looking and acting like this. Pam had never seen him so taken with anyone before. Even herself. But their bond — literal and figurative — was much different than how he felt about Sookie. With Pam, he was often… paternal, despite the frequent and excellent sex they'd had several decades before. They loved each other very much, of course, but it had never been a romantic love, on either side.

As a human, Pam had just been a pretty face in her mother's garden, sneaking back home after meeting with a boy. She was lovely and he had been lonely and she had risen Vampire before they'd said two words to each other. He had been very protective, especially in the early years, but he had also been hard on her when he needed to be. He still was. And he'd let her get into a fair number of scrapes while he stood back, ready to intervene if necessary, but expecting her to handle whatever it was herself. And he'd taught her to be one hell of a fighter, one he was proud to have stand beside him in battle. Pam respected him greatly, as her Master, but also as a man, although she almost never hesitated to call him out on his shit.

And Sookie had been on her knees sucking Victor Madden's cock when he'd first seen her. Eric had been angry and bitter and horny, and she had made one hell of an impression. And another one the next night, and another the night after that. It had paved the way for the U-turn on night four. Pam wondered if he would have been this invested if their early interactions hadn't been so tumultuous. And then the overdose and kidnapping and Felipe's little spectacle the night before had turned things up to an eleven.

And the allegedly incredible sex couldn't hurt.

Pam quickly dressed and headed to the VIV Club with Eric, the black bag tucked under her arm.

The Club was mostly empty, except for a few eager donors. They all stared at Eric and Pam as they walked by, hoping to be picked, but the vampires went straight to Sookie's room without even glancing their way. Ever since coming to Vegas, Eric had completely ignored them and had spent most of his nights with Sookie, outside the VIV Club. She was hoarding a very valuable resource and they were pissed. They used to like her, on the rare occasion she'd been allowed to hang out with them. Pitied her, even, almost as much as they wanted to take her place. But now they were just plain jealous.

None of them had been there the night before. It had been a strictly no-humans-allowed event, except for Sookie.

Eric sat on the side of the bed and smoothed her hair away from her face. She was moaning and soaked in sweat and almost writhing in pain. Pam prepared the heroin and gave her significantly less than the night before. Sookie needed to be miserable in front of Felipe, but she didn't have to be in agony. It didn't take long before her muscles relaxed, just a bit, as her pain eased. Eric turned on the shower and got undressed and carefully picked her up bridal style.

"Are you able to stand?"

She nodded, but she didn't look convinced. Neither was he. She had many deep purple bruises all over and the swelling had worsened considerably overday. The whip marks and lacerations were healing quite well, though. He didn't think Felipe would begrudge him coating them in his blood; the King wouldn't want her scarred, either. In fact, he was quite sure he'd been expected to heal them.

She was able to stand in the shower but kept her hand on the tile wall to help keep her balance. She felt really wobbly and didn't trust herself not to fall. Eric shampooed her hair and soaped up a washcloth to wash her all over. He was very gentle. When he stood back up after cleaning her feet and legs, she leaned forward and began to sob into his chest. He held her until the crying finally tailed off several minutes later. She looked up at him, her eyes still leaking a little, and he kissed her forehead before lifting her out of the tub and wrapping her in a towel.

Pam, waiting in the doorway, blinked, but didn't say anything.

It was her turn to take over, and she did Sookie's hair and helped her to dress for a meeting with the King. She did the best she could, but Sookie looked every bit as bad as she obviously felt. Makeup was pointless under the circumstances, and would likely hurt, so she didn't bother. She was quite impressed by the clothes in Sookie's closet, though. They were very expensive, very exclusive, and she wouldn't mind borrowing a few things herself.

At just past eight, someone opened the door and Sookie seemed to shrink in on herself. She clung to Eric's arm, for comfort as well as support, and he led her out into the VIV Club. The King was waiting for them in one corner, in the sitting area reserved for him. She was injured enough to attract attention in public, so they couldn't have the meeting upstairs in Felipe's office. He had come to her instead.

The King gestured to the chair across from him for Eric and patted the seat next to him for Sookie. She very gingerly sat down.

"Sookie, you're looking well today."

He was grinning and his eyes were hard, but he wasn't radiating menace tonight. Sookie relaxed a little bit beside him. Felipe might hurt her some, but the worst was definitely over. Still, her voice was barely more than a whisper.

"Thank you, your Majesty."

The King stroked her hair away from her face and softly kissed her lips. She didn't show her surprise, although Eric felt it. It wasn't something Felipe had ever done before, even on the few occasions they'd actually had intercourse. This kiss was for Eric, not for her or Felipe.

The King pulled away and looked at her, and his eyes hadn't softened despite the gentleness of the kiss.

"Sookie, I have decided that you and Eric will be bonded. This way, he will be able to find you if you try to run from me again. Do you understand?"

Her heartbeat sped up. Both vampires heard it. Eric was glad Felipe couldn't feel the excitement mixed in with her fear, although he surely suspected.

She nodded. "Yes, your Majesty."

Felipe looked at Eric and raised an eyebrow.

"I will keep her safe, your Majesty."

The King smiled benevolently.

"Good. And Felipe is fine, Eric. You and I are friends, are we not?"

"Yes, of course. Thank you, Felipe."

Eric knew very well this was a trap; calling him Felipe was fine, except when it wasn't, and Eric was supposed to know the difference. Without fail. Friend, indeed.

The King clapped his hands once.

"Very well! Now, both of you, undress. I must ensure the second exchange has been successfully completed."

Eric had planned to have her feed from his wrist and then take some of hers while they made love up in his room, after his blood had healed her. He should have known the King would never let them off that easily.

Felipe had her straddle Eric's lap, right in front of him, so he would have a clear view of their coupling. It hurt her and Eric once again regretted not being able to heal her first. He was hesitant to kiss her in front of Felipe, so he didn't. She slid down on his cock and started to fuck him.

"Grab her ass, Eric, and squeeze. Pull her down hard. Make her fuck you like she means it. Yes. Very nice… I see you applied blood to the wounds."

They looked much better than they had the night before, but the whip marks still stood out starkly from her shoulders to the backs of her thighs.

"Yes, Felipe."

"Good. We wouldn't want that beautiful skin scarred."

Sookie picked up the pace to make Felipe happy. Absolutely everything hurt and she hoped it would be over quickly. She tried to just concentrate on her and Eric, but her thighs and butt were screaming at her. They had taken a lot of abuse the night before and Eric was holding on tight with two big handfuls of ass and he was using them to pound her hard against him. And, no matter how much it hurt, she was damned glad he was doing what he was told.

Felipe was leaning forward for a better look.

"Excellent. Now, do it, Sookie. Lean down and bite his neck and drink his blood. Make sure to break the skin. Then suck."

She had never bitten a vampire before and she didn't know what to expect, but human teeth were much different from fangs, and she knew it would hurt like hell.

She whispered in his ear.

"Sorry."

He almost laughed but then she bit him and he immediately started to cum instead.

"Now, bite her, Eric."

He did and her delicious blood filled his mouth. She took another pull from the wound on his neck and he couldn't help but pull her down harder against him and moan into her throat.

She came too, and it went on and on and on. Nothing had ever felt that good. When it finally stopped, she fell forward against his chest to catch her breath. She could feel her body begin to mend itself. The wounds on her back side itched terribly for a few seconds until they healed. The pain lessened. Her muscles loosened. She could feel how powerful it was. She was able to open her eye as the swelling went down. She leaned back to look at Eric and nearly smiled.

Felipe sounded pleased.

"Excellent. Just excellent. Now come to me, Sookie. Kneel before your King."

She climbed off Eric's lap and got on her knees in front of Felipe. He stood and opened his belt and then his fly. He was rough when he took her mouth but her split lip had already healed and, as usual, he finished quickly.

"Good girl. Now go and kiss your new Master."

She stood between Eric's legs and he didn't hesitate to kiss her back, although part of him seethed. She had already swallowed, at least. The meaning was clear, and exactly as he had already guessed; she now belonged to Eric, but they both belonged to the King.

Felipe buttoned his pants and smiled at them both. It looked genuine. Friendly, even. Eric didn't trust it one bit but, apparently, they had been forgiven.

"Complete the bond tomorrow. She may stay in the room with you after that, if you like. She won't be able to run. And you may feed from her, of course. I will inform Victor she is now yours."

Eric stood and nodded deeply. Sookie's heart was pounding in her chest. Eric's likely would have been, too, were it possible. He felt not nearly enough trepidation for his liking.

They both said, "Thank you, your Majesty,"

And they meant it. Eric hadn't expected the King to make Sookie his so explicitly, or to grant her a complete reprieve from Victor and the horrors of the VIV Club. More than forgiven, they were now being rewarded, for playing their parts and doing it well. And it seemed that Victor was still being punished. Eric knew it was a gift Felipe could take away at a moment's notice. He hated being grateful to someone he so desperately wanted to finally kill. He swore to himself that he would, and sooner than later.

Felipe adjusted his cape.

"You can always put her up in her room if you need some space. We know how Sookie can be. And Sookie?"

"Yes, your Majesty?"

"Keep looking for information. Obey your new Master. And if you use this newfound freedom to try to run from me again, last night will feel like a picnic."

"Yes, your Majesty."

"Good. And try to behave yourself."

Felipe smiled and Sookie almost smiled back. The King who didn't mind if she talked a little shit was back, and she was in his good graces again. She wasn't stupid enough to get too mouthy tonight, or to not take him at his word, or to expect him not to change his mind tomorrow but, for now, she had been granted a reprieve.

More than that, at least for a little while, she got to have Eric and choices and entertainment and fun and even a little bit of privacy. Normalcy. Autonomy. Freedom, even if it was all only an illusion. She felt like pinching herself, but she'd earned this. The King had gotten it out of his system, at least for the time being, and he was very pleased with her performance. And she was going to enjoy herself for as long as it lasted, no matter how much it was going to hurt when it was time to let it go.

"I'll do my best, your Majesty."

"See that you do. I'll let you know if I have any use of her, Northman."

Before Eric could reply, the King turned and left.

After the door closed behind him, Sookie wrapped her arms around Eric's waist and cried softly into his chest again, overcome by a dozen different emotions. Right in the forefront was relief. She hated how vulnerable he made her. How she couldn't keep her feelings in when she was with him. And she hated how much she liked being able to be vulnerable. It was so so dangerous. He was.

He leaned down and kissed the top of her head again.

"Come, Sookie. You need to eat and then I want to have you again. And again and again."

She smiled and didn't have to hold onto his arm when they walked towards the door and out to the casino. She held his hand instead.