40

There's No Rush

This chapter is posted much sooner than I thought it would be and it's because of Nachelle. She is a great help and I appreciate her so much. And with her help, I can possibly post chapters on a more consistent basis.

I want to thank each of you for reading, reviewing, alerting, and making this story and me one of your favorites. I hope that y'all enjoy and let me know what you think.

I've lived for over a thousand years; give or take a few years. I can never quite remember my age but that doesn't matter. What does matter is that my life has been an amazing one. I've travelled the world at least twenty times. I've been to some of the most beautiful countries. I've slept in some of the most beautiful cities in the world. I've dined with many kings, queens, princes, princesses, dukes, and duchesses. I've driven the finest cars and drank the finest blood. I've made love to the most beautiful men and women in this world, but none of them, not a single one of them, can compare to the woman that I'm holding in my arms right now. She's absolutely extraordinary. She's brave, intelligent, loyal, and stunningly gorgeous. She's funny, witty, charming, and quick on her feet. What makes her even more beautiful is that she doesn't seem to know how great she is. She's everything that I could ever want in a mate, and she is mine. She is actually mine … but not for long.

I can't keep her forever, and she's told me as much. She doesn't want to be a vampire. She wants to walk in the sun and eat the foods that she's always loved. She wants to spend her time in the sunlight while she can and spend her nights with me. She wants to continue being who and what she is, and I don't blame her for that. She should want to be Sookie Stackhouse. There's no one like her. She's an original, and that's rare in a world where everyone wants to be anyone but who they are. I snuggled her deeper into my arms as I gazed into her eyes. "You have ruined me," I said.

She kissed the tip of my nose. Trying to lighten the mood, she playfully asked, "Is that such a bad thing?" Her nervousness was more than apparent in her eyes.

I tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "It is not," I said as I pressed my lips to hers. "It's a wonderful thing, Sookie. It's an extraordinary gift you've given me and I don't mean your virginity. You've given me more than I deserve." There was more that I wanted to say, but I just couldn't say it. I couldn't tell her that if something happens to her, it would very well destroy me. I wanted her to bask in this glorious moment that we've shared, so I kept my feelings to myself. I filled the bond with joy and contentment. She was going to believe me, because she could feel it through the bond … or so I believed.

"You're such a liar," she said with a smile.

I even looked offended by her maliciously playful words. "Whatever do you mean?" I asked.

With her chin resting on the backs of her hands, she shook her head no. "Don't rush our time away with what could happen, because it may not happen. Maybe because I'm part fae, I'll have a longer life than most humans. My grandfather is over four hundred years old. Maybe your blood will keep me here longer than anyone would think," she explained.

She was right, but she could still die. She's part human, and I don't want her to die. I want to keep her with me and make her happy forever. "You're right," I agreed. "You're absolutely right."

She still didn't believe me. "Don't downplay what you're feeling. It's okay, Eric, that you feel this way. For as long as I'm able, I'm not going anywhere. I like where I am." She shrugged her shoulders and said, "I don't know what's happening between us, but I like it and want it. I don't know if it's love, but it's something like it. I know that I want to be here for you no matter what you need from me. Hugs, kisses … great sex," she playfully added. "I want you to know that I'm always here … even when I'm not."

She rested her head on my chest as she continued. "Since the moment we met, I knew that we belonged together. There's no doubt in my mind that you belong with me. I can make you happy and make all of your dreams come true, because I am, after all, Sookie Stackhouse." I could feel her smile as she wrapped her arms around me. "You don't have to fear what will happen because it may never happen. Even if it does, I'm here." She squeezed her arms around me as best she could and said, "I'm right here."

I closed my eyes and exhaled. It was the safest and happiest I've ever felt in my entire existence. "There's nothing that I wouldn't do for you, Sookie," I whispered as I stared into the most beautiful blue eyes I'd ever seen and smiled.

"I know," she answered as she stared into my eyes.

"We can do so many things together," I promised her. "I will show you the world. If you let me, I will give it to you."

"I'll let you," she promised. She passionately kissed me. She began to move up and down on my cock. It was the most sensuous feeling I've ever known. She kissed from my lips to my ear. "Don't rush our time away. Don't be afraid." She gazed into my eyes as she made love to me. She was soon sitting up with her hands resting on my chest. She closed her eyes and thrust her chest forward as she took me deeper inside of her. When I took her pink buds into my mouth, her movements became more frantic. She moved at a pace that would have made an average man cum within seconds. I didn't cum, but it was more than I could take. I couldn't lie on my back too much longer. I had my lover lying on her back and was giving her a proper claiming seconds later. She lifted her hips to meet my thrusts as she threw her legs on my shoulders. "Oh, God!" She cried out. She exposed her neck to me and passionately moaned out, "Do it!"

I gave my lover what she wanted. Her orgasm travelled through me, and it was exquisite. The feel of her muscles tightening around me was more than I could handle. Seconds later, I was cumming with her. I pumped in and out of her until I had nothing left. I rolled off her and rested at her side. Staring up at the ceiling, I repeated, "You have ruined me."

She laughed as she turned to look at me.

For the next few minutes, we talked about nothing and everything. It was beautiful. She laughed, I laughed, she talked, and I talked. I wanted to do this all night, but alas, we could not. "I'm going to shower," she announced. "I'm going to shower, and then we have to go and speak with that tattoo artist. Deal?"

"Deal," I agreed.

"I should be done in, like, twenty minutes?"

"That's good for me."

She kissed me before jumping up from the floor. "Don't miss me too much," she jested.

I watched her as she ran to my personal bathroom. She wasn't gone thirty seconds before there was a knock at my office door. "Come," I answered as I stood from the floor.

Thalia and her child, Kendra, came in together. A sly smile was prominently placed on Thalia's face. She briefly closed her eyes and inhaled. "I see that you have properly taken claim of your woman," she said as she sauntered over to the couch, sat down, and let her hands lightly brush across the leather cushions. "She smells absolutely divine," she uttered. She glanced at me and asked, "Was she as good as she smells?"

Kendra stood in the doorway. She, too, was basking in the scent that is my woman. "She had to be," she whispered.

I ignored the comments of the vampires as I pulled on my jeans. I asked, "Why are you here?"

Thalia pointed to Kendra as she continued to stroke the couch. "We may have found Maxwell Lee. Well, we have several places to look. We know where one of his humans live. From what I've learned, she's his favorite. We can't approach her home, because he will catch our scents." She pulled a folder from inside her jacket and handed it to me. I went to my desk and began reading it while she talked. "There's just basic info in there about the girl … pictures, address, job … basic. From what I've learned, she works long hours. She's home by six and in bed by ten." She folded her arms over her chest as she continued. "The catch is that Maxwell hasn't been there in a couple of weeks. From speaking to the woman's neighbors, she's sad about it. One guy said that he's noticed a strange car outside of her home. He said that it's a black guy, but he couldn't say for sure if it's Maxwell."

Thalia chuckled, "If she's Maxwell's favorite, it's him. He's keeping an eye on her from afar." She had that look in her eye, and I knew what she was thinking and planning.

I gave her a slight nod to let her know to do what's necessary. "Don't kill her. If she's innocent, we won't kill her."

"Done," she said.

"Here's the kicker," Kendra said. "Alcide knows the girl. She's his sister Janice's CPA. She has also done accounting work for the pack."

That surprised me. Alcide has not mentioned knowing a woman that belongs to Maxwell Lee, but why would he. Alcide and I are not what I'd call friends or even associates. He's one of the Colonel's best Weres. He's always been loyal to his pack. He's not always been loyal to me, though. Alcide has a history of wanting what's mine. However, he has only ever acted on his impulses once. The punishment was handed down by the Colonel. I can't say that I agreed with the punishment, but there was nothing that I could do about it. I had no rights to him, but if he's had anything to do with my child being taken, his life will be mine. "Has he been made aware of what you know? Does anyone in his pack know what's been discovered?" I demanded.

Kendra shook her head no. She almost looked offended by my questions. Her tone let me know exactly how she felt. "My maker has raised me to be discreet, not foolish," she stated firmly.

The disgust on Thalia's face was more than clear. She glared at Kendra as she slowly approached her. "Apologize to him," Thalia commanded.

In a meek voice, Kendra did as her maker ordered. "Forgive me, Sheriff."

"Go back to the hotel and stay there until I return," Thalia ordered.

Kendra bowed her head. "Yes, Mistress."

Thalia watched as the vampiress sailed from the room. She returned to the couch before speaking again. "Alcide. What do we do about him? Follow him or take him?"

"Follow him," I commanded. "Track his every move. Trace his calls. Do whatever is necessary to get what we need. I want Maxwell Lee."

"You will have him." Thalia said as she removed a slip of paper from her pocket, flicking it at me. "This might help," she added.

I opened the paper, and there was a list of addresses. I looked at her and waited.

"I trust my children, but some things are better left between masters." She was leaning forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "I think that I've found where Maxwell could possibly be hiding Pam." She pointed at the paper. "After doing away with that annoying human, something dawned on me. I wanted to let you know about it, but I had to be sure. Now, I'm sure. I went through some old documents that I had. Those three addresses are warehouses that his maker owned before her untimely demise. I knew of her for many, many centuries.

"She was a lovely woman; before and after her turn. She used to be the human lover of Count Von-Halmstad. She was a very private person and vampire. She was also very suspicious of anyone that wasn't her maker and that includes her children. That's why Maxwell was the last of her bloodline." She shook her head and continued, "I never understood why she turned them only to kill them. It surprised me that she kept Maxwell with her." She then waved her hand. "Never mind all of that. She had three safehouses in this area. She has them all over the world, but those three addresses, one of them must be where we find Pam. Is your bond with her clear, or does it seem far away?"

"Clear," I answered. "I know that she's close to me. I can feel her every emotion, as if she's with me."

"Good," she said as she nodded. She leaned back and crossed her legs. "My children and I are going to the safehouses to investigate and whatever we find, you will be made aware."

My heart swelled with gratefulness. I could have my child back with me as soon as tomorrow. "Thank you," I replied.

"No thanks needed, old friend," she said. "Pam is a wonderfully, irritating vampire, and I miss her dearly." Thalia suddenly had a curious look on her face. "To have a child taken must be a heartbreaking and murderous feeling. I would never want to be in your shoes. You have always been a friend to me, Eric, and I will do whatever I can to get Pam back with you." She then brushed a long strand of black hair over her shoulder. "Why did you never tell me that she's your sister? Did you not trust me with your secret?"

I rested my elbows on the desk. "I've always trusted you, Thalia. You are a vampire of great honor. I have never doubted you. I never told anyone because I was protecting her. I have many enemies. Though I've never been one to look for trouble, it has always found me. If it had been discovered, I feared a much worse fate than a kidnapping." Staring into her eyes, "It had nothing to do with trusting you," I answered with all seriousness.

"I know," she replied.

"How did you know?" I asked.

"I'm no fool, Eric," she said as she laughed. "I've never seen you look at Pam in a lover's way. You showed her great affection, but to me, it wasn't as one would treat a lover. A slight peck on her lips or a gentle hand on her back, but you two never held hands. As we all know, affection is not something that's shown in our world, so it wasn't that big of a deal."

She shrugged her shoulders. "Some vampires chalked it up to keeping your relationship hidden, and I went along with that. They would make comments, and I would tell them how smart you were to keep your relationship with Pam under wraps. I've known for many years that she's not your lover, but your secret was not mine to tell. If she'd never been kidnapped, I would have taken your secret to the grave. I would have never revealed to you that I know. I would have continued to keep it secret from others. As I've always said, your secrets are safe with me." Her eyes were suddenly deadly, vacant of any emotion. "If I'd known that your secret had been discovered, I would have killed all that knew. She would still be here with you."

I believed her.

"Oh," she added as she rolled her eyes. "You're going to be getting a call from that dullard king of yours soon. He's going to invite you and the divine Ms. Stackhouse to a party."

My body stiffened and anger rolled through me. "How do you know this?" I demanded.

She cocked her head to the side and smiled. "I'm Thalia, Eric. I've tapped his phones. I'd hoped that he was involved in some way, but he's not. The fucker is innocent. Go figure." She shook her head in disappointment. "Anyway, my contact with the FBI called me tonight. She forwarded me a recording of Victor calling the king, and guess what? He called to see if anyone has heard from the were-tiger."

I slammed my fist onto my desk. "I fucking knew it! He was questioning me about Pam and Sookie." I told Thalia about the visit from Victor the night that Sookie was attacked. I shouldn't have let him leave. Something told me to kill him. I should've listened.

"Victor has always been a coward," she said. "Everyone knows that he's never fought his own battles. He's never been too bright, either. I think that we know for certain that he didn't come up with this plan."

"No, he did not," I agreed.

"Back to the phone call and the upcoming party," she suggested. "Bill was speaking with Salome on the call. They discussed the atrocities that Sookie faced. He plans on killing Victor at the party. I think that it's to try and win over the affections of Ms. Stackhouse, but he claims that it's because Victor has committed a blood offense. He knows that Victor is aware that Sookie is yours, and because Quinn was under his employment, he will be held responsible. He wants those under his rule to know that blood offenses of any kind will not be tolerated."

"Bullshit," I proclaimed as I leaned back in my seat. "It's just as you said. He wants what is mine. He wants to be Sookie's hero. He tried to glamor her the first night he met her. He killed Hebert for doing something he'd done."

Thalia laughed, "That's what Salome said to him on the call. He completely ignored her."

I shook my head as I chuckled, "Bill is full of shit."

"Don't I know it. So, what do we do?" Thalia asked. "Do we take Victor and kill him ourselves, or do we let the king have his moment in the spotlight?"

"Let him have it," I replied. "This is what we need. It appears that Victor and Maxwell are working together. If Bill's spectacle goes as planned, maybe we'll get what we need from him. Why this was done. Who their employer is. As you said earlier, neither of those morons have the common sense to do this on their own."

Thalia laughed, "Right?" A look of pure disgust was on her face. "They've left behind too many witnesses." Her phone began to buzz in her purse. She smiled as she looked at the screen. "Bill will be calling you … now." She pointed at my phone just as it began to ring, and Sookie emerged from the bathroom dressed in my robe.

My fangs dropped when I saw her. She looked tantalizing and absolutely stunning. Her skin was glowing. "You look gorgeous," I softly told her.

A blush crept from underneath the robe and to her face. "Answer your phone, Eric," she ordered. She looked at Thalia and smiled. "Hello, Thalia."

Thalia waved her fingers at her. "Hello, Sookie. I hope that you are well this evening."

Again, she blushed. "I am."

Thalia was very professional with Sookie. Her fangs didn't descend. Her nostrils didn't flare. She smiled and returned her focus to me and the phone call.

"This is Eric."

"And this is your king," Bill replied. "I hope that you are doing well this evening."

I glanced at Sookie before answering him. "I am doing very well this evening, Your Majesty. I hope that you're doing well. I also hope that you've called to tell me that you've learned something about my child."

Thalia winked at me and gave me the thumbs up.

Sookie looked from me to Thalia; wonder filled her eyes.

Bill chuckled, "I may have a little something for you." There was a slight pause. I knew what was coming. "Is Ms. Stackhouse with you?" he asked.

"She is," I answered.

"Hello, Ms. Stackhouse."

She rolled her eyes before answering him. "Hello, Your Majesty."

"The joy in your voice is quite contagious, my dear," he said. "Are you still going to stay with the Sheriff?" He hurriedly added, "I only ask because I'm concerned for you safety. If more people find out about what you can do and who you are …"

She walked over to stand next to me and quickly replied, "I have no intentions of leaving Eric. I'm quite positive that he can take very good care of me and keep me safe. I have no doubts when it comes to him."

Those words caused lust to fill the bond. So much so that Sookie closed her eyes and moaned. "Yes," I growled as my arm went around her waist pulling her close to me. "She is mine."

Thalia lost just a bit of her professionalism when Sookie's lust filled the air. Her nostrils flared and her fangs dropped. She closed her eyes before apologizing. "Forgive me," she breathily said.

"Hmmm," was Bill's reply. "Have things moved forward with your relationship?"

I slid my chair from underneath my desk and made room for my lover to take a seat. She draped her arm over my shoulder as she sat down. "You know that I can't answer that question, Your Majesty. My Sookie is a lady, and she would be extremely unhappy if I divulged such personal information."

She sweetly kissed my cheek before hugging me. "Thank you," she whispered in my ear.

I rested my head against hers and closed my eyes. I've never known such contentment in all my thousand years. I've never felt so needed or wanted by another person. I've never felt as protected and cherished. No one's ever made me feel valuable or special before Sookie. She doesn't see a monster or a killer when she looks at me. She accepts my flaws. She forgives my mistakes. I don't feel the need to apologize for being who and what I am. What could I have done in this life to deserve such a treasure?

"You're not smitten. You're in love," Thalia whispered so softly that only I could hear.

I opened my eyes and glared at her. I removed my head from Sookie's and straightened my back. I didn't respond to her comment, but Sookie noticed the change in me. She stared at the side of my face but said nothing. Instead, I returned to my call. "No need to divulge any personal information, Sheriff. I'll be able to see for myself this weekend," Bill stated.

Sookie looked at the phone before asking, "What do you mean?"

"I'm glad you asked," Bill answered. "I'm throwing a party Saturday evening. You and your Viking will be receiving your invitations by carrier tomorrow evening. This will be an important gathering, so you and Eric must be here. I won't take no for an answer either. This part affects both of you. So," he said. "Will you be RSVP'ing now, or should I wait for the carrier to arrive with your reply?"

"We will be there," I answered.

I could hear Bill clap his hands. "Wonderful," he announced. "Absolutely wonderful. Oh, and Eric?"

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

"I hear that Thalia is in town. Will she be attending?" He asked.

Thalia answered for herself. "Most definitely, My Liege. I was coming to check in with you tomorrow night, but you can wait until Saturday, right?"

"Yes," he replied. "I can't wait to see you. It's been quite a while."

Thalia agreed, "Not quite long enough."

"That sense of humor," Bill mumbled. "I forgot how fucking dry it is." I could almost see him rolling his eyes. "So, RSVP'ing?"

She gave a slight nod. "I will be there with bells on," she replied dryly.

"Good," he said. "I will see you all Saturday night. I can't wait to see you, Ms. Stackhouse." He ended the call with nothing else.

Sookie sighed as she looked at the phone. "Great! Another long, boring night with Bill." She stood from my lap and shook her head in disappointment. She went to the couch and grabbed her clothes. "I'm going to get dressed, and I'll meet you in the bar. Good evening, Thalia."

Thalia laughed at Sookie's reaction at having to meet Bill again. "I know how you feel, Sookie. It is never a pleasure to spend time with that blowhard."

She was shaking her head no as she walked back to the bathroom. "No, it's not."

Once the door closed behind her, Thalia said, "My words weren't meant to upset you. Your actions, your behavior surprised me. You've never been affectionate like that, not even with Pam." She crossed her legs and began kicking her leg back and forth. "I've never seen you so vulnerable, so content. It's nice to see you like that. I like seeing you happy, Eric. You deserve that."

I glared at her as I coldly stated, "You didn't see what you think you saw."

She shrugged her shoulders as she stood from the couch. "Okay. We've been friends for centuries, Eric. I know you almost as well as I know myself. Don't take these next words as anything more than a warning from a friend. Be careful Saturday night. Don't be so obvious with her around the others. You'll be putting her at risk," she said as she smiled at me. "I'm going to sit out there with Sookie while you get yourself together." She left without saying another word.

There was absolutely no reason for me to be upset with Thalia. She did nothing wrong. It was her words. They scared me to my very core, because they're true. I am in love with Sookie and it fucking terrifies me.