Chapter 26
Sookie woke late in the afternoon. She sat up and stretched and smiled to herself. After they had told each other their feelings the night before, they had shown each other how they felt well into the morning. Since the bond, especially, just being near him made her feel better. Safer. Happy, almost. The night before, though, he'd made her feel so incredibly loved. Cherished. She knew he'd said she could feel what he felt, but that was crazy. Almost overwhelming. He'd pushed his passion right into her brain and her body the same way he'd pushed strength and courage when they were with the King. She wondered how much of her he'd been able to feel. She had never been an open book before. She was the one who had always been able to read others so easily. She knew he could control the bond and she wasn't used to being the one in the dark. She was surprised she didn't mind him knowing how she felt, though. Liked it, even. He knew for sure he could trust her and it felt like she could trust him. He knew when she was afraid. If something happened to her, he would know, and be able to find her again.
As awful as a lot of the past few days had been, right then, she was happy. Before Eric, she couldn't remember the last time she'd felt happiness. She hadn't even had any bad dreams for the first time in just about forever. Sometimes, he even made her forget where she was and why.
She called room service and ordered coffee and chocolate milk and orange juice and fresh fruit and clotted cream and a selection of pastries. It cost about what she'd made in a good week at Merlotte's, but she didn't have to worry about that. Or ruminate about how much she missed Sam and her customers and the bar, either.
The porter left her brunch outside their room twenty minutes or so later. She almost stuck her tongue out at the camera pointed directly at their door when she opened it to wheel in the room service trolley, but she didn't. She didn't want to tempt fate.
After she glutted herself on strong coffee and french pastries, she watched trashy daytime tv and gave herself a pedicure and nibbled on the fruit for the rest of the afternoon. She kept checking the clock on the bedside table, anxious for him to rise. When it was finally almost time, she straddled him and began to kiss his neck. It was two minutes earlier than he had risen the night before.
He didn't wake up slowly but went from dead to alive in an instant. She was suddenly on her back with him between her legs, grinding his hardening cock against her before she'd even realized he was awake. She squealed and then slapped his shoulder, laughing.
He grinned and then gave her a long kiss. Eventually, she pulled away.
"Don't do that! You scared me half to death."
"Don't do what? Kiss you? Well, alright. How about this instead?"
He moved down to her throat and licked and sucked and scraped his human teeth along its length. She moaned and shivered and the hair on her arms stood on end.
"Mmm… No fair. That's fighting dirty."
His laugh was husky and she found it sexy as hell. His very talented mouth moved back up to her lips and he kissed her hard again. He put every bit of his thousand years of practice into it. She felt like she was so hot for him, she was almost melting into a puddle of need. She mumbled against his mouth between kisses.
"Nevermind. I give up. You win."
He laughed huskily again.
"I knew you would see it my way."
He slid into her and an instant later, she was on top again. She narrowed her eyes at him once she'd regained her balance.
"Jeez. Slow down, will you?"
"That is an excellent idea."
He ran his hands down her thighs to her knees and then back up, over her tummy and ribs to her breasts. After a not-so-cursory feel, he moved them back down her sides to her hips and he started rocking her slowly. So slow it was almost like they weren't moving at all, except that his cock was very gently stroking her inside in a very delicious kind of way. She bit her bottom lip and moaned, cupping her breasts and pinching her nipples. Her eyes were closed and when she opened them, he was looking at her like he wanted to eat her alive. She wanted him to.
He reached up to stroke her cheek.
"You are so beautiful."
She took his hand and kissed his palm. He sat up and kissed her hard. Her hips sped up. So did his. Their kisses and rhythm were almost sloppy.
He lay back down and she followed, not wanting to let go of his mouth. She braced herself against the headboard with one hand so she could push against him harder. He grabbed her ass and helped.
He sat them both back up and pulled his mouth away so he could look into her eyes when she came. When it was his turn, he bit her neck and she came again.
He held her until she was able to hold herself up a minute or two later. They both lay back down and then she cuddled up against him and sighed.
"God, we're good at that."
He laughed. "We certainly are."
They enjoyed the quiet for a while. As far as they knew, they had no place they had to be for the rest of the night, although that could change at any given moment.
Eric kissed her temple.
"Well, I have eaten. It is your turn. What would you like to have tonight?"
"Does your cock count?"
He chuckled.
"As an appetizer, I suppose. Or maybe dessert."
"Or both?"
He grinned.
"Both sounds perfect. But you need to eat some real food in between."
She wanted to just stay in the hotel room for the night again, order something from room service, and fool around and fuck and make love until dawn, but she was under Felipe's microscope. She decided to at least keep up appearances and go downstairs for a little while, anyway. She hoped like hell she didn't hear anything.
"Seafood, maybe. Something fresh."
"Excellent. But first, a shower."
Sookie grinned.
"And an appetizer."
"Yes. Definitely an appetizer. And we can't forget about my dessert."
Sookie laughed and kissed him. Eventually, they stumbled into the bathroom, tangled together, and got their shower.
…
The restaurant was dim and very expensive. Romantic. Sookie wore another white sundress and Eric thought she looked especially beautiful in the flickering candlelight. He told her so.
He ordered a bottle of white wine and another expensive blood. She ordered the grilled halibut. She was hungry after her earlier workout, despite the big breakfast, and was looking forward to the fish.
This time, they didn't perform for the masses. They talked quietly. He behaved himself. She only remembered to read the minds of the people nearby a couple of times. She and Eric were too focused on each other. The food and wine were delicious and nobody thought anything untoward when she bothered to listen, although most were thinking about her, Eric, or both whenever she checked.
After they left the restaurant, they held hands and took a stroll around the casino complex. There were three vampires in the little garden so they kept walking. He led her to the vampires-only pool. It was dark and there was nobody else inside.
"I didn't bring a suit."
He laughed.
"Neither did I. Do you mind?"
She had been naked more than dressed in the past several months. As far as she knew, every vampire in the building had seen her in the nude. Most of them had had sex with her. Still, she didn't really want anyone to watch. But it was just the two of them and there was only a small window in the door out to the hallway. She slowly undressed, watching him watch her. When she was naked, she dove into the water, slicing through it like a porpoise before popping back up. He took two big steps and did a cannonball, landing just a few inches away. He was a very big man and he displaced a lot of water. It splashed her face and she sputtered a little before she could laugh. She splashed him back.
"You jerk!"
He laughed, too, and then kissed her. She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. Floating, her head was almost level with his in the deep water, but she wasn't able to touch the bottom. The weightlessness made her feel almost free. She wrapped her legs around his hips and he took the opportunity to slide into her. He loved monkey sex, even when it was slow and sensual. The water resistance made them take their time.
A few people walked past without noticing, but one vampire stopped to watch their silhouettes. He drew two more who were on their way by. Sookie and Eric were wrapped around each other, kissing and obviously fucking underwater. The three were disappointed they couldn't see more.
One of them said, "Lucky bastard. I hear she's one hell of a good lay."
His friend grinned. "Yeah, she is. And, I swear, she could suck a golf ball through a garden hose. It's like she was born to suck cock."
"Does she taste as good as she smells?"
He shrugged.
"I've never had the pleasure of tasting her blood, but her pussy tastes amazing."
The third vampire smiled. "Her blood tastes incredible. Sweet. She's a hybrid, you know. Part fairy. Just enough to make her extra delicious."
The two men seemed surprised. It wasn't common knowledge. They eventually continued on to the nightclub nearby. The other stayed until the end of the show before sneaking away.