A/N: Well, it's been a year. Sorry 'bout that. But I did swear I would always finish and I'm a whatever of my word. Or something like that. Anyway, here's a chapter.

Chapter 9

Sookie opened the front door and had to stop and swallow before getting her greeting out. God, he was gorgeous.

"Hi, Eric. It's good to see you. Would you like to come in?"

"Yes. Very much."

He was very pleased at how easy it had been to secure an invitation.

His big smile made her knees weak. He was so insanely beautiful. She moved out of the way and he stepped inside, looking around to take everything in.

"I just need to grab my purse and I'll be ready to go."

Really, he wanted to take his time and look around but he already had an invitation. He could come back and do it at his leisure. And maybe he would have another chance to see at the end of the evening. He had every intention of getting invited in again later that night. To have her.

Her purse was next to her phone in the kitchen and he followed her in, making sure to capture everything into memory. She turned to him.

"I'm all ready to go."

"Excellent."

She locked the deadbolt on the way out and he took her hand after they stepped off the front porch. Her heart did a little pitter-pat. When they got to his Corvette, he opened the door for her and kissed her hand before helping her inside. He was in his seat beside her a few seconds later and they started up her long driveway.

"Where are we going?"

She was afraid that was a little rude — she definitely wasn't up-to-date on dating etiquette — but she wanted to know.

He smiled. "Dancing."

She was excited, even though it was a Sunday night and the place, wherever it was, would likely be dead. She loved to dance. And she was good at it. She smiled back and her stomach did that thing again.

She hoped he was a good dancer, too. He was wearing his hair down and she kind of wanted to run her fingers through it. She wondered if she'd have the chance on the dance floor.

And maybe while they were in bed.

She pushed that thought away. She was not going to lose her virginity to him later on that night, no matter how much her libido wanted her to.

He could smell a hint of arousal. He smiled wider and looked at her. He noticed her ears were flushed pink. She was blushing. He wondered what she was thinking about, although he was quite sure it was him. It was a very good sign.

When they got on the highway, he took her hand again. She smiled and closed her eyes, reveling in his silent mind. Not even really wondering what he was thinking about or what he was or why he'd been out in the woods that night, burning down a cabin. When she opened them again, he was looking at her. She blushed a little more.

"Sorry. I was in my own little world for a minute, there."

"Not at all."

Her scent filled the car and he wanted to close his eyes, too, and enjoy the smell.

He thought her name hard at her for the third time and she had no reaction. His smile was every bit as beatific as hers had been. He was very pleased she couldn't hear his thoughts. He wondered if Sam Merlotte was right and she really was a telepath. If she could read human minds. There was certainly something different about her.

The radio was on, playing a song she enjoyed. She made sure not to sing along, although she knew all the words. She wouldn't expose him to her terrible singing voice on their first date. She decided getting to know him a little more first was a better bet.

"So, I know you're an entrepreneur from Sweden who has a sister named Pam, and that's about it. How long have you all lived in Shreveport?"

"I've lived in Louisiana for almost five years. Pam joined me when she came of age."

It had been much much longer, but he couldn't tell her that. No more than he could tell her what he was.

He kissed her hand again. He smiled a little when he heard her heart beat a bit faster.

"What else should I know about Sookie Stackhouse?"

She shrugged. She couldn't very well tell him that she was a telepath. She definitely couldn't tell him she was apparently a wolf three days out of the month. She didn't want to talk about the dog attack; she was sick of hearing about it out loud or in other people's heads. And she didn't want to call attention to her scars.

"There isn't a whole lot to know. My parents died when I was a kid and I was raised by my grandparents. My grandfather died a few years ago, when I was in high school, and Gran died a couple of years back."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

She kicked herself a little for bringing the mood down with all of her talk about death.

She shrugged again.

"Thanks. Gran left me the house, since Jason lives in our parents' old place."

So, she lived alone. Even better.

She continued.

"I haven't really gotten a chance to travel or anything like that. I go to work and come home and read and watch TV. Pretty boring stuff."

They chatted for the rest of the drive and she was surprised when the lights of the city came into view. The time had flown by. He had to let go of her hand once they exited the highway and they both felt the loss.

It didn't take long to get to the nightclub. It was in a strange location, just outside the city proper, across the parking lot from a Toys R Us. There was a bouncer and a short line to get inside, even on a Sunday night.

She opened her door before he got there. He hated having to adhere to human abilities but he was used to it after a thousand years. A synthetic blood would be hitting the market soon and some vampires were planning on going public, outing all of them. Many were angry but those wanting to somehow mainstream were growing in number. He was on the fence himself. It was a big risk but it would be so freeing to be able to be more himself. To not have to skulk around and pretend to be human day after day.

He took her hand and she headed towards the end of the line. He squeezed it gently and led her to the door. The bouncer smiled at Eric and nodded deeply.

"Mr. Northman."

Eric nodded back and they passed the man as they went inside.

It was quite dark and very loud. The dance floor was filled with college students and most of the tables were occupied. Several people had noticed their entrance and had stopped to stare. She wasn't surprised; not only was he gorgeous, his skin was downright luminescent. You couldn't not look at him. He led them to a table that was marked reserved and then pulled out her chair. She sat down. He sat across from her.

"A drink first?"

She shrugged.

"I'm not much of a drinker, but sure. I wouldn't mind a wine spritzer."

A waitress was already headed in their direction.

Eric ordered for her. She wasn't sure if she liked that or not. She knew he was trying to be gentlemanly, and she appreciated it, but she could also speak for herself.

The barmaid was back in about a minute and a half with her drink.

"Wow. This place has some killer customer service."

He laughed.

"The bar is mine. One of the business ventures I mentioned last night."

She looked around a little more closely. It wasn't fancy, with grey cinder block walls and red accents, but it was definitely popular and everyone looked like they were having a really good time.

She drank her drink quickly because she was itching to get out on the dance floor. And if that meant she got to get up close and personal with Eric, all the better.

As soon as she put her empty glass on the table, he smiled and reached for her hand.

"Dance with me."

It wasn't a question, but neither was her answer. She put her hand in his and he pulled her up and onto the dance floor.

It felt so good, having his hard, cool body pressed against her. She hadn't really had much alcohol but the drink had made her a little giddy and her clit was throbbing in time to the music.

He buried his nose in her hair and inhaled. She smelled so very good. And he caught another hint of arousal in the air, bright and sweet. Her body was soft in all the right places. He loved her smile. He enjoyed her personality. This was not just a competition between him and Sam Merlotte. He would have wanted to make her his, regardless. The bet with Sam was just the icing on the cake.

She had known just by the way he moved that he would be a wonderful dancer, and he was. She bet he would be good in the sack, too.

She almost scolded herself. She would not jump right into Eric's bed. Or invite him into hers, either.

She thought about Sam telling her that Eric was a sketchy guy and it almost dampened the mood. But Sam had said that Eric wasn't involved in anything illegal. And Sam was really jealous. She pushed those thoughts away. She was just going to enjoy her night. She smiled up at Eric and he took the moment to give her a quick, soft kiss.

He reached up and touched her throat and kissed her again. He could feel the faint scars under his fingers. He'd noticed them the previous night at Merlotte's and had made the connection.

Everyone in the supernatural community had heard about it, of course. A young woman had survived a near- fatal dog attack just a few days before the full moon. Of course the Supes were going to talk. There had been much speculation, but she'd been poked and prodded and tested for days when she'd been in the hospital and, other than a slightly elevated temperature and the ability to heal quickly, she had shown no sign of having been turned into a monster. Not even a beautiful silver one, gracefully running through the forest on her hind legs.

The scars didn't bother him. It had only been a few weeks and they were already almost faded away. There was definitely something different about her but he couldn't make himself believe she was a turned Were. There was no way he would be so attracted to her if she was. There was no way she would smell as sweet. But then his mind wandered back to when his blue eyes had met the wolf's. The intelligence there. The beauty. Sookie looked up at him and he smiled back. He would put those thoughts aside, although he'd thought of little else since they'd spoken the night before. If the Weres had ruled it out, so would he.

Of course, the full moon would come soon enough. He decided he would make it a point to seek her out. Or, hell, ask her out one of those nights. Her answer would be very telling.

One song bled into another. She had a second drink and visited the ladies' room, but the rest of the night was spent on the dance floor. They didn't spend much time talking but the physical touch was making a connection on its own. They were very aware of each other's bodies.

Eric had his nose buried in her hair. They were pressed against each other, moving to the music, and she didn't seem to mind feeling his hard cock against her abdomen. He wished she would bite him and let him bite her, right there on the dance floor. Or, better yet, in her bedroom.

They were both surprised when the lights turned on at two. She had been having such a good time and she smiled up at him.

"It's that late already?"

"I'm afraid so. Shall we?"

He took her arm and led her outside to the Corvette. Her scent quickly filled the car and his nostrils flared now and again. She didn't notice.

He took her hand once they left the city. They chatted some but the silence was companionable when they weren't talking. No awkward pauses or ums or uhs, even though they hardly knew each other and despite the weight of their respective secrets.

Once they arrived back at the old farmhouse, he took her hand and walked her up to the front porch. Instead of pulling out her key, she turned and leaned back against the door. He didn't take it as a good sign. He smiled anyway.

"I had a really nice time, Eric."

"As did I. Will you see me again?"

"Yes."

She was afraid she'd been too eager. She had blurted out her answer almost before he'd finished getting his question out.

His smile widened.

"Excellent."

"I'm busy on Tuesday but I am pretty much free every other night. Sam is only putting me on the day shift."

Much to Eric's chagrin.

"Friday night at nine? We could go dancing again."

A few more hours of having his body pressed up against hers? She couldn't wait. She smiled.

"That sounds perfect. I guess I'll see you then."

It sounded like a dismissal. Eric wasn't ready to end the night. He wanted her and, by her scent, she wanted him, too. He would never glamour someone into his bed but he had no qualms about glamouring someone to let him into their home.

"Invite me in."

He already had an invitation, but he couldn't very well push his way past her.

Her eyebrows drew together and she closed her eyes for a moment. She shook her head a little to clear the tingling in her brain. It seemed to work and whatever it was was gone.

Even though she was tempted to open the door and pull him inside and down the hall to her bedroom and take off all their clothes, she shook her head again.

"I'm sorry. Not this time. Goodnight, Eric."

His eyebrows drew together, too.

He put his hand on her face and kissed her. Trying to let it make the argument for him, since the glamour hadn't worked. And what in the hell had that been about? He was hesitant to try again.

The kiss was soft for a few seconds until he deepened it. It felt so good, with his tongue stroking hers, and she buried her hands in his hair, just like she'd imagined.

They made out, standing on her porch, for several minutes. She finally broke away, almost panting. God, she was turned on. She hoped the smile on her face wasn't as goofy as it felt.

She put her hand on his chest, leaned up, and kissed him. A gentle kiss. She didn't let him deepen it again.

"I'll see you on Friday."

He tried one more time.

"Just a quick drink before I go back to Shreveport?"

Her eyebrows drew together again and he stopped trying to glamour her. Once again, it hadn't worked.

What are you?

He didn't get an answer.

Whatever that weird feeling had been, it had hurt her head a little bit that time. She wondered if Eric had had something to do with it, but she didn't know what. It left a bit of a sour taste in her mouth.

"Not tonight."

He didn't want to push it any longer. If she couldn't be glamoured, he would have a much harder time smoothing things over if he went too far. She was already irritated. He would have to redouble his efforts next time.

"Another evening, then."

She smiled and he was relieved. She was, too, that he wasn't going to push any further.

He kissed her again. It didn't get as hot as the make out session, but it wasn't chaste. One last silent plea, but she didn't take the bait. She did, however, kiss him back.

He pulled away after a couple of minutes.

"Goodnight, Sookie."

He kissed her hand and walked back to the Corvette. She watched his ass in those jeans by the porch light the whole way there. She was tempted to call him back, throw open the door, pull off her dress, and take him right there in the entryway. But that certainly wasn't how she wanted her first time to go. And she wasn't going to have sex with the first man to take her on a real date, no matter how charming and sexy he was.

She waved at him after he got in his car and then went inside. She leaned back against the door and sighed. Despite how the night had ended, she was excited to see him again. She wasn't quite so anxious for her date with Sam, though, just two nights away.

She couldn't help but touch herself when she got into bed, no matter how late it was. She was soaked. It didn't take her long to cum, thinking about Eric and his beautiful body pressed up against hers.