A/N: Hello, wonderful readers! I think you're swell.

Chapter 5

Sookie was finally able to blink and then look away from him. She closed her eyes again and had a blast of memory — a flashback, really — of that first night when everything had changed, including herself . For a moment, in her mind, she was that wolfgirl, frozen in the brush, looking at him. Studying him. It was incredibly vivid and she could even smell the foliage and his strange, dry scent in the wind and see the way his skin glowed in the moonlight. In her head, he had been clearly coded as other, but somehow that otherness just added to the appeal. A naughty taboo.

She was back in the bar in her own body again and opened her eyes. She didn't think that it had lasted much longer than a normal blink. He was still looking at her, unmoving until she saw his nostrils flare a little.

If he wasn't a human, what was he? Was he a wolfman, too? Something else? And if there were both werewolves and telepaths in the world, then what else was there?

Sam was out of the booth and walking towards him. She couldn't read Sam's snarly mind from this distance, especially with other people in the bar, but somehow she heard him anyway. With her ears. Even over the old Hank Williams song playing on the jukebox. She just had to focus. His voice was too gruff to be a whisper.

"My office. And my staff are off-limits, you hear?"

The blond man blinked for the first time since their eyes had met — as far as she'd seen, anyway — and then he looked at Sam. His eyes went from hot to cold, just like he'd flipped a switch, and he almost smirked.

"That almost sounded like an invitation."

Sookie was able to hear him, too. He wasn't trying to be quiet.

Sam growled at him again. "Yeah. An invitation to go straight to my office."

Since she'd come out of her coma, everything had seemed a little brighter. A little louder. Smells bothered her more than they had before. She'd thought that it was because of the brain injury. Now she wondered if, instead, it was related to the weird shit that had started happening after she'd been attacked by… something… behind the Grabbit Kwik. She'd hoped that the overstimulation would lessen over time, but now she wasn't so sure.

"Hey, Sook? We need another pitcher over here."

JB DuRone was sitting with a couple of his old football buddies. He was not quite as handsome as the guy walking back to Sam's office, but he'd definitely been the cutest guy in school all the way through. And he'd always been nice to her. He'd even taken her to the prom, just as friends. He didn't care what other people thought about her and he'd never been embarrassed of being seen with her. Unfortunately, he was… Well, he just wasn't very smart.

She looked over at their table.

"Oh, shoot. Sorry about that, JB. Coming right up."

When she brought over their beer a couple of minutes later, the other two guys with him were thinking about how weird and crazy and hot she was. Neither said anything out loud because they didn't want to deal with JB, who was perfectly sweet, just like always.

Arlene came back a few minutes later with smudged lipstick and a smile on her face and started cashing out. Last call had come and gone and everyone there had already settled their bill. The last couple of tables cleared out and Jane Bodehouse sat slumped on a bar stool with a hot cup of black coffee in front of her until her son came to pick her up.

Sookie filled up the salt and pepper shakers and the napkin holders and then started putting the chairs upside down on the tables. She was going to use the excuse that she should wait for Sam before she left. She didn't know if he needed to tell her anything else. It had nothing to do with the guy who was in there with him.

Arlene was putting on her coat when the office door opened and the blond man took a turn to the right, towards the bar, instead of left, towards the employee entrance in back, despite Sam's muttered protests.

"Ladies, it is lovely to see you tonight."

He grinned, barely glancing at Arlene and then locking eyes with Sookie again. She had never really seen the draw of the stereotypical bad boy; she knew how awful most of them really were inside. She had thought that she would have stayed far away, even if she could have gotten close to one in the first place. This guy oozed badness, though, and she finally got it. She had been right to be terrified of him but the danger only seemed to make her want him more. And his quiet mind made it so she didn't need to keep her distance.

Sam followed, and he was mad.

"Eric. Outside."

Eric ignored the request but his grin got a little bit wider.

"Sam, you didn't introduce me to your waitstaff!" He put his hand against his chest. "I am Eric. And you are…?"

His smile was dazzling, his presence was beyond commanding, and he was the most gorgeous man that either of them had ever seen. Arlene looked nearly awestruck. She stammered a little.

"I'm Arlene Fowler. Is there anything I can get for you tonight?"

Sam cut in.

"Arlene, we're closed."

"Oh. Right. Sorry."

Eric mostly ignored them both and then looked right at Sookie. She smiled back at him.

"Sookie Stackhouse. It's a pleasure."

"The pleasure is all mine, I assure you."

She put her hand out to shake his. He hesitated for a second or two before he took it and kissed it instead. His skin was cool and dry. His nostrils flared again and she still couldn't hear his thoughts, even when they were touching. Arlene stuck her hand out too, and he tried to hide a moue of distaste. He smiled again when he looked back at Sookie.

"Sorry, I'm afraid I must go, but Sam and I have entered into a… business arrangement together. Fortunately, you'll be seeing a lot of me."

His smile widened. Sam was seething.

"Eric. Outside, now."

Eric headed for the front door. Sam's eyes softened when he looked at Sookie.

"Can you hang on just a few minutes so I can check in and go over the schedule and things like that?"

"Sure."

"Thanks, Chère. Arlene, you're free to go."

There was that nickname again. It made her feel kind of warm and fuzzy inside and she smiled.

After the door closed behind them, Arlene grabbed her purse from on top of the bar and looked at Sookie.

"Holy smokes, is he gorgeous! Kind of rude, though."

He'd been anything but rude to Sookie, but she agreed anyway. Of course Arlene hadn't been oblivious and Sookie could hear how annoyed — and jealous — she was.

How in the world is he interested in crazy Sookie Stackhouse, of all people?

Arlene froze for a second and looked at Sookie, feeling both suspicion and shame that Sookie might have heard. Everyone in town was aware of the rumours about her, but nobody really thought that she actually could read minds. Except that a lot of people did; they just wouldn't admit it to themselves.

Sookie plastered a crazy smile on her face to try to hide the hurt and embarrassment.

Sam had been even more jealous than Arlene. By a lot. She didn't need to be a mind reader to see that, although she'd confirmed it in his thoughts, which had been extra red and snarly. Somehow, she had gone from a social pariah to being pursued by two very attractive men, all in just a few days. Since the full moon, actually. She wondered if that had somehow made her more… desirable. Of course, they hadn't known her all of their lives and hadn't stuffed her into the crazy/weird box yet. There was lots of time for that, though.

Arlene left through the employee entrance a couple of minutes later. Sookie sat down at the same table she was sitting at when… whatever he was… had walked through the door. She hoped that she would see him do it again soon.

…

Eric was already leaning against his Corvette when Sam walked through the front door. The shifter's fists were clenched and he was scowling. Sam stalked over to Eric and got in his face. He was a much smaller man and Eric looked down at him and smirked.

"Your barmaid is lovely. I can't wait to see if she tastes as good as she smells."

"Stay the fuck away from her, Northman. She's a nice girl. She doesn't need the likes of you sniffing around and dragging her down into your world."

Eric raised an eyebrow.

"Afraid of a little competition?"

"Yes, I am! You're a liar and a cheat. There's no way you'll fight fair. Hell, you're likely to just glamour her to sleep with you."

Eric's smile disappeared. He picked Sam up by his collar and slammed him against the side of the Corvette.

"You listen very carefully, shifter. I would never glamour someone into my bed. I do not tolerate rape. I am a man of honour. You need to watch your mouth and stop questioning my integrity. When she becomes mine, it will be because the better man won."

Shifters were much weaker than vampires at the best of times, but Eric was ancient and vampires strengthened with age. Sam looked almost tiny hanging from Eric's fist. He was terrified but made every effort not to show it.

It wasn't terribly effective. Eric was actually quite impressed by Sam's bravery. A few seconds later, he put the shifter down and pretended to straighten Sam's shirt and then dust off his shoulder. The smirk was back.

"Let the games begin."