Chapter 22 – That Pam

TONIGHT – you get the lemon I mentioned last night (and lemons are rare for this story so please enjoy it). 

You’ll also need your frying pans, griddles and silver glitter.

And UH OH – the CAR is mentioned again in this chapter (HORRORS!)

Chapter 22 – That Pam

The New Orleans quarterly meeting was as boring as ever: Each sheriff padding their information to present their area in the best possible light, trying to appear to be the number one for the queen, and fawning for her attentions. Not Eric. He stated the facts, presented his report, and returned to his seat. His area was the number one in terms of vampire population, tributes and positive human/vampire relations. He didn’t need to fawn or position himself. Nor did he even care.

His only reprieve was his nightly and morning calls to his fiancée and son. The updates from Sookie and Donald on the adoption were very positive. Donald had suggested working around the case worker, actually the entire foster system instead of with them and as a result, Sookie’s adoption AND Hoyt and Jessica’s adoption requests were already filed and home visits were scheduled. Neither home visit would be a problem as Sookie’s house would be complete by the scheduled date and Hoyt had already moved into the home Eric purchased. Most of it was already furnished too: The kitchen, den, master bedroom and Johanna’s rooms were done. Sookie offered her childhood bedroom suite and several other farmhouse pieces that were in storage. As a result, they had a sweet looking girl’s room ready for Johanna.

To assist with the adoption process, Eric had reached out to his contacts in Shreveport that could in any way help move things along. Since Hoyt and Jessica weren’t officially married, they needed to prevent any holdups. With the list of crimes against the case worker and the Rats growing, Eric needed to be sure Johanna wouldn’t be moved to another family due to timing. He was prepared to glamour and fight for the girl, but having the adoption complete would be best. Per a conversation with Donald, Eric had been informed that the adoption for Johanna would go more smoothly if Hoyt and Jessica were already married. Cautiously, he called Hoyt one night from New Orleans to suggest they marry legally and follow-up with the public ceremony and party after – he wasn’t sure how the information would be received. Hoyt understood the message and promised to speak to Jessica about it. While he had Hoyt on the phone he asked about the chat he and Jessica had with Sookie. “Do you have any questions on your discussion with Sookie?”

“Holy shit Eric. To say Jess and I were shocked is an understatement. Just so you know, Sookie made it perfectly clear that the information on Weres and ah . . . other supernatural beings is a secret. Since it’s all going to help my baby, we’ll never breathe a word of it.”

“I was sure about that, as was Ludwig. It was a conversation that was needed before you start working with her or even just going to her facility.”

“What are you planning to do with my Mama? Her head could explode and sometimes she CAN’T be quiet.”

“Sookie and I talked. I’ll share the information and glamour her to never discuss it outside Ludwig’s facility. It won’t be a heavy glamour but it’s the only way.”

“I get it. I get it. Thanks for the trust and yeah – I heard about Indira’s help too. You sure are some kind of guardian angel.”

Eric laughed. “I don’t think so Hoyt.” They had one scare with Johanna while Eric was away; the hospital was beginning to work on her discharge which would send her back to the Rats. Theresa had told Mustapha this news and he called Eric right away. It was resolved quickly with one phone call from Eric to Indira. Some glamour was used on the attending physician and the crisis was averted.

“Well, I thank you all the same. Have a good rest of your meeting Eric.”

Luckily, the New Orleans meetings held no surprises or last minute extensions so they concluded before dawn on Saturday morning. Since he needed to work at Fangtasia on Saturday night so he could be with Sookie all night Sunday, he traveled via coffin to Shreveport in a vampire secure van driven by Bobby and Tony, a Were guard. He rose at the bar; texted Sookie to tell her he arrived and began work in his office until the sun set. He had about a few hours before the bar opened and he busied himself with any tasks that had landed on his desk while he was away. Pam stopped in to check on him and he confirmed she had the night off from the bar but she was working the entire night Sunday. She was snarky and thanked him for showing up for once, since he’d taken so many prior nights off to be with Sookie. He just sighed at her. This was all coming to a head soon – he knew it. When he told her about the engagement and Karin’s planned arrival her reaction would likely require him to punish her. More than just take away shoes and credit cards kind of punishment. He wasn’t sure why he hesitated. Karin was a great vampire but she’d even tested him once and he took a firm hand. With Pam, he should have done so a long time ago but he always saw her as his little girl and couldn’t. He knew who she’d become was the result of his actions – or lack of action.

Before he went to the floor – to his ‘adoring’ fans – he called Hunter to wish him goodnight. He still couldn’t get over the warm feeling he got when Hunter called him Daddy. But just as he did in New Orleans, he pushed that joy aside to put on a show for the public and left for the stage.

OOOoooOOOooo

A few hours later, Sookie and Hunter were finishing up their movie and Pam walked into the room. “Pam?” Sookie looked around confused. “Did Eric send you here?”

“He did, since he’s needed at the bar but he just wanted me to check on you.” She was lying, but she needed to get in the door without raising any suspicions. At least she didn’t need an invitation – it was a hospital – but if Sookie screamed before she could complete her mission, she’d have a problem.

Sookie regarded her warily, certain that Eric would have alerted her that Pam was coming. She also knew that if anyone was checking on her, it would be Indira. “Well, we’re really fine and Hunter actually stayed up late as it is, so he needs to go to bed.”

“Can I just speak to you for a moment? Maybe clear the air?”

‘Ah, I knew he didn’t send her. I wonder what she wants to talk about. I bet she thinks if she can get me on her side, I’ll speak to Eric for her. I’m sure as hell not getting in between the two of them. Still, I’ll be polite.’ Sookie gestured towards the chair across the bed. Pam closed the door and took a seat. “Pam, this is my son, Hunter. Hunter, this is Ms. Ravenscroft. She is Eric’s child.”

“Hiya Ms. Ravenscroft.”

Pam simply nodded; then said a sharp, “Sookie.”

At the tone, Sookie looked at Pam immediately and felt the same tickle as when Eric tried to glamour her. Pam continued speaking. “In an hour, you will take a pillow from Hunter’s bed and suffocate him. Be sure to leave the door open and make noise just as he dies.” She focused on Hunter. “You will stay in this bed quietly until your mother puts the pillow on your face and you won’t scream or make any noise.”

Sookie was in a panic but she did NOT show it. Years of controlling her features in the face of hearing the thoughts of others gave her this ability. Even when her phone rang, and she knew it was Eric, she maintained a vacant stare at Pam. She continually sent thoughts to Hunter telling him to do the same: To stay still, to appear to be listening to the woman and pretend he did not just hear instructions for his death. Hunter did her proud: He didn’t flinch at the woman the whole time.

Pam told them not to speak of their upcoming task and released them both from their glamour, or so she thought, and rose saying a good evening to both of them. Sookie quickly texted Eric and said she’d call in a minute then sat patiently. She waited until she felt Pam’s void heading down from her so she could safely call him.

OOOoooOOOooo

On his throne, Eric could feel Sookie’s concern then her fear and he ran to his office to call. At first she didn’t answer and he was prepared to go to her but a moment later a text came in and he waited for her call. It was a long five minutes before his phone range. “Sookie what has you so afraid?”

“Are you alone?”

“Yes.”

“Pam was here.”

Silence – she stayed quiet believing he needed to let what she’d just said sink in.

“Did she touch you? Hurt you in any way?”

Sookie sighed. “I would rather have waited to tell you in person, but something happened that . . . well in an hour she might be expecting something.”

“I don’t know what you mean.”

“Eric.” There was a pause before she spoke again. “She tried to glamour us; ordering me to wait an hour then suffocate Hunter. She further ordered him to stay in bed and be quiet when I did it. Then she set it up so I would have the door open and make noise at the end – I guess so I would be caught.”

“I need a minute.”

Eric fell into his office seat. First and foremost he was thankful that Sookie and Hunter were not vulnerable to glamour. If they were, Hunter would have been dead in an hour and Sookie convicted of his murder. That brought the reality of what Pam had done to the forefront. Pam had attacked a human that he had claimed. Other vampires, well they didn’t know Sookie was his but Pam sure as hell did. Another vampire would be killed for this and he truly didn’t know how to handle it. Dealing with Pam would come later; right now he had to ensure Sookie’s safety in case Pam returned to check out her glamour.

“I am sending Indira to you while I stay here since I believe she will happen to show up at the bar after she thinks her glamour has been executed. I will keep the bond wide open so I can track her location. She is still off in your direction.” He kept to himself that she was radiating immense satisfaction and joy in the bond. It actually sickened him. ‘If she really did this out of concern for me, she would feel relief and a twinge of sadness for what I would feel as a result of her actions. Satisfaction – that just means she did it for herself’.

“I waited until I felt her heading down from us before I called. I’ll keep checking for a void.”

“I will not let her hurt you. I do not know what will happen next, but she will have a command to never hurt you or Hunter in any way again.”

“I’m sorry Eric. I never wanted to come between you and your child.”

“YOU have not done anything, Pam did. She thinks you distract me to the point of it being dangerous.”

“Do I, do we?”

“You distract me, but it is not dangerous. It is exhilarating. I feel like I am alive Sookie and she just could not understand that. I cannot believe . . . I do not know what to do about this.”

“Do? More than command her you mean?”

“Sookie, if another vampire had done this to you, knowing you are mine, I would kill them.”

Sookie gasped. “ERIC, you can’t do that. I don’t want that.”

“I know I cannot but I need to do something. I will restrain her for now while I think about it. I might talk to Karin.”

The punishment topic started Sookie’s crying. “I’m so sorry Eric, so sorry. If we’d never met you wouldn’t have this to deal with.”

“Never speak about us not meeting. I cannot bear to think of it. You know as well as I that she was spiraling. Something would have happened eventually. She needs to be taught some basics like respect and decency. If I had taken a firmer hand sooner, this would never have happened. I apologize to you and Hunter.”

“No more apologies. We’re fine. You’ll deal with it as you need to and we’ll get through this.”

“We will. Can I talk to Hunter? I just want to make sure he’s OK.”

“Sure. I need to get him to sleep after. Wake me when you get here or call me if you want until Pam gets there.”

“I need to focus on the bond. I will wake you when I get there.”

“Love you. Here’s our baby.”

“Hey Fidget how are you?”

“I was scared Daddy but Mommy kept talking to me – you know how – and I knew we would be OK and that you’d fix this somehow.”

“I will fix it. Right now, I have another vampire coming to you. She will stay until I can get there in a bit. Your Mommy met her. . . “

“Indira?”

“Yes, it is Indira coming to stay with you and Mommy. Right now though, you need to sleep; you will not meet her tonight since it is getting late.”

He whined out. “I want to stay up for you Daddy!”

“You can not Fidget. It will be many hours before I can get there.”

“Will you wake me?”

“The past few days have been hard for you, you need your sleep.”

“But. . . “

“Hunter. Your sleep is important and Mommy is already upset tonight. Promise me you will not give her grief about going to sleep.”

He came out with an obviously unhappy, “Fine.”

“Thank you Hunter. Have a good night. Love you.”

“Love you too Daddy.”

Eric hung up and stayed still for a while, just feeling for Pam. This had quickly become one of the most difficult nights of his life – the night Appius wanted him to kill Pam was the only one he could think of that compared. His own child; he needed to Sheriff against his own child for a violation against him. This was not the time to wallow though – he needed to plan. The next half hour he sat quietly, going through what he should do, what he believed he could actually do and finally what he knew he needed to do.

He could feel she was coming near, that made sense as it was now about 45 minutes since the glamour was applied – give or take a few minutes. To get started on part of his plan, he sent a text to Indira to setup a call to him when he signaled her via text. Next he went to the basement and prepared Pam’s accommodations for the next few days. That was hard, but locking her in was going to be harder.

He moved to his throne to wait.

When he felt her right outside, he texted Indira and she phoned him just a moment later. Pam was predictable. She was returning to him just right after her glamour would have taken effect. He faked distress and walked towards the office just as Pam entered the bar. She followed of course and heard part of the call. The authenticity of Nancy calling and speaking with the hospital noise convinced Pam. “Master. I can feel your sorrow, what has happened?”

It wasn’t hard for him to fake sorrow – he was hurting over the betrayal from his own child. “There has been an incident at the hospital.” He turned to face his closet and opened it. The conversation in his office would be private, even to other vampires because of a silence spell, so he could discuss Sookie without worry.

“What happened?”

When he turned back his hands were covered in leather gloves and they held silver handcuffs. While Pam did see the gloves and the cuffs, what struck her more were the red tears coming down his face.

“Master?”

His voice was cold when he responded. “I know what you did.”

“What I did?” Pam was alarmed for a moment before she decided there was no way he could know about the glamour. Her confidence died with his next words.

“I can already feel your panic Pam and I know you tried to have Sookie kill Hunter through glamour.”

“What? Why would you say this?” ‘How could he possibly know?’

“Because it is true. Don’t make this any harder than it already is. I told you, I know what you did. What I want now is to hear it from you and I mostly want to know why.”

Silence. Complete silence while they stared at each other. Eric knew he could out stare his child but he wasn’t interested in that particular game right now.

“Pamela. How many makers’ commands have I ever given you?” Out of anger he began pacing back and forth.

“Two.”

“For what?”

“You forbid me from returning to see my brother after I was turned.”

“And.”

“You commanded me to follow Karin’s commands when you left me with her at the turn of the 19^th century when you were hired for an enforcer job and you did not want to worry about me. You lifted that one when you returned 5 years later.”

“Do you think a maker should have to command his child to not harm a human the maker claimed?”

There was a long pause before she said no.

“And yet, I should have done that. My own child tried to have the woman I love and claimed kill her own son, a boy I have claimed now as my son.”

“You love her? That ring I saw on her hand, it’s from you?”

“I do love her and I’m marrying her.” He noticed the shocked look on her face. “Why are you surprised? Do you think me incapable of the emotion? I love you and Karin.”

“You don’t love me, not now.”

“I still love you Pam, if I did not you would be finally dead right now, or well on your way.”

“Dead?”

“I claimed Sookie and you knew it. You glamoured her.” He pushed her into a chair, gripped the arms to lock her in and moved his face mere inches from him. “You know damn well I can kill you just for that.”

“You can’t kill ME! I’m your child.”

“As your maker I can kill you at my will. I do not even need to file the paperwork Pam.” He moved away and swiped his arm across his desk propelling his paperwork and computer to the floor. The anger and hurt was clawing at him and he needed release. “FUCK! PAM!” He returned to looming over her. “I want to know why but first I need to understand the depth of your betrayal.”

“I haven’t betr . . .”

At her denial his hand moved of its own accord and backhanded her so hard, her head whipped around before she could register the movement. Shock came through the bond loud and clear from Pam – even greater than the physical pain from the blow. “Are you so surprised that I would raise my hand to you? Did you think if you were caught I would simply take away some of your shoes or force you to feed on men for a period of time like your prior punishments?”

Still clearly shocked at his strike, she wailed. “Y . . . you’ve never punished me physically before.”

“And perhaps, if I had been a little firmer on my lessons, we would not be here now. I will not fail you as a maker now so perhaps you will not fail me as a child again. Because make no mistake about it Pam, you have failed me, you have shamed me, you have betrayed me and you have hurt me deeply tonight. Amends for this will be long and hard for you.”

She tried pleading and begging. “Master, I did this for your safety. She has bewitched you somehow. You are not yourself since meeting her. Please, I beg you to see truth of . . .”

“SILENCE!” The word was like ice coming from his mouth and she immediately closed hers.

The silence he requested stretched between them; Eric trying to bring some calm back so he did not rip her apart as his inner beast wanted – he knew he would regret it. Pam was trying to understand how fucked she was, how he knew what happened, how she might not survive this night.

Eric finally broke the long quiet once he knew he could carry on with his plan to simply lock her away and only return to her once he knew he would not kill her. “As your maker, I command you to tell me the truth as I ask you more questions. I need to know if you have spoken to anyone about Sookie – any other vampires, humans, your fucking cats. I want to know what other risks we have.”

The command took hold and she answered honestly. At least this question was easy. “I have told no others of Sookie. I was too embarrassed by your fawning over an undeserving hum . . .”

Her retort was cut off by another backhand to her face. “I care nothing of your opinions; you will not speak out again. I am struggling to not kill you Pamela and if you keep it up, it is a struggle I may very well lose.”

Realizing through the bond the truth and the barely controlled anger she was getting from Eric, she backed down. “I have not spoken Sookie’s name except for the time I glamoured information from Bobby.”

“And have you put in place any backup schemes to have Sookie or Hunter hurt? If your glamour failed, did you have any alternate plans?”

“None. I never considered that my glamour idea would not work. How did you find out?”

“I owe you no answers. You, however owe me one more. I want to know why – the real reason, not the bullshit about my safety.”

The temptation to lie crept in but the command from Eric stopped it immediately. She hung her head and started to answer. “I was. . . “

“LOOK. AT. ME. Have the decency to look at me when you tell me why you chose to break my heart.”

Blood red tears dripped down her face as she looked up at him. “I was jealous.”

“And there it is. The fucking truth.” He held up the cuffs and ordered, “Raise your hands.” Once she was clamped in, he continued to talk. “Our only advantage is the fact that my claiming was not public and neither was your attack.”

“Eric you promised me!”

“I promised you what?”

“When you talked about turning me. You promised me you’d be a better maker than yours was. You knew I never wanted to have sex with a man, so you never so much as touched me that way even though I know that’s common for makers and their children. You promised to care for me and now you’re telling me I have to work and earn my own way. You promised me Eric, you broke that promise. On top of that, now you’re replacing me.”

“I more than care for you – I love you. I also promised I would teach you to be the perfect child, and standing on your own is part of that. I have broken that promise in fact though, by coddling you for too long. I never wanted to discipline you so I just kept spoiling you instead. If I had punished, we would not be here now. What will happen to you next is going to be worse than if I had just handled your childish ways when they popped up before. For that, Pamela, I am sorry. I am also NOT replacing you. I am adding to our family. I wish you could have seen that. I wish many things could be different now.”

“You lied to me.”

“When have I ever lied to you?”

“You said your sanctions against me started before you met Sookie. That wasn’t true.”

“Actually, it was literally. It was reading Hunter’s letter and seeing his unselfishness that make me realize what you were: A spoiled, selfish brat.”

With a nod of his head, he guided her out to the hall and down to the basement level to the coffin he’d prepared for her. “Right now, you will be secured in a coffin here until I decide what to do.”

She was full on crying as she descended to the lower level. “H . . . How long Eric?”

“I do not know Pam. I need to separate some of my emotions from the decision on your punishment. It is in your best interest that I remove you from my sight for a while.”

“You c. . . can’t do this. I’m your child.”

“And that is a truth I just do not want to be reminded about right now.” He lifted and secured her into the coffin while he spoke. He put his hand on the lid of the coffin and she started screaming for him to take her out. “I will see you when I am calmer. Good bye for now Pamela.”

True panic invaded Pam to the core when she understood what was happening. Her maker was locking her in a coffin and she had no idea when the lid would open again. Her body started to shake from fear as she screamed to him. “ERIC. . . WAIT.”

He slammed the lid down and walked from the room while Pam continued to scream behind him. Knowing he couldn’t have that noise in the bar, he returned only to command her to silence until returned and opened the coffin.

Fangbangers and other vampires gave him wide berth as he made his way to the throne. Without knowing the details they could easily see that Eric exuded anger: His jaw was tight, his eyes were narrowed and his fists were clenched. The vampires had the added information of having heard Pam being locked away and knew it couldn’t be good if a maker had to imprison a child in a coffin. Eric longed to fly out of here and go right to Sookie but even more so now; he had to maintain his presence at the bar. If the bar was open he or Pamela was there. His schedule suddenly took a turn for the worse with Pam out of the picture; she at least kept the bar going when he took the night off. ‘On further thought,’ he acknowledged, ‘that’s just not true. Just a few weeks ago she kicked a fangbanger that resulted in an on premises feeding. So that night of management cost $10,000’. He spent more time thinking about her recent work history and he had to admit that Pam hadn’t been of value to the bar for a while. Even to a lesser extent, Pam never took care of inventory or the payroll – both tasks that had been assigned to her when they opened. Realization hit him: No matter what punishment he decided for Pam, he needed to replace her at the bar. She would still keep her portion of ownership but he would need to hire someone to share in the management and day to day operations. He simply would not be tied exclusively to this bar right now – or at all if he could help it. His priorities were Sookie and Hunter.

OOOoooOOOooo

Time crept slowly while he stayed at the bar through closing and finally took to the air so he could reach Sookie as quickly as possible. Indira was standing outside when he arrived and he thanked her for her service. “You can sit inside with Sookie and Hunter if you’re here unless I tell you otherwise. I’m sorry I didn’t make that clear.”

“Thank you Master. I did chat with Sookie from the doorway until she fell asleep.”

“She’s not in bed now though.”

“She’ll be right out of the bathroom. I’ll be on my way.” He nodded as she left for the elevator.

Seeing her walk out of the bathroom dressed was quite a surprise and he didn’t hide it in his face. “Are you OK, why are you awake, why are you dressed?”

“I’ve been waiting for you. I asked Indira to wake me at 2:30 figuring you’d be arriving shortly after 3AM.”

“But you didn’t need to wake early for me.”

She simply reached into her closet for her jacket – well his leather jacket. “I wanted to get ready to head out.” With a final quick check on Hunter, she walked towards him and explained, “He’s fine. Indira will stay and Nancy knows we’re headed out for a bit. Take me to the lake.”

“Are you sure?”

Lovingly, she placed a hand on his cheek. “Sweetie, I can’t imagine what’s happening in that head of yours tonight. I don’t think dealing with that here is the best idea. Please take me to the lake so I can take care of you.”

Overwhelmed by her words, he pulled her into a hug and fought for control of his emotions. She was right, he needed help with the situation and the hospital room with Hunter was not the place for that. “Let’s go.”

They drove Sookie’s new car – it was just too cold out for a flight and she didn’t want to arrive at the gazebo freezing; it would prevent her distraction plans. They said nothing as they drove, Eric just holding tight to Sookie’s hand. He could feel her worry for him, some residual anger (he guessed at Pam) and mostly her love. He basked in it, using it as a salve to mend the cracks Pam had made to his heart tonight. When they arrived, they simply walked in and Eric started the heater while Sookie grabbed for some blankets that Eric told her had been stored in the bench seats. After wrapping a blanket around her shoulders, she sat first and beckoned to him with a finger; he responded of course and sat next to her right where her hand had patted the seat. “I’m here for YOU Eric. Whatever you need, whatever you want to say or not say I am here for you.” She ended by putting her arms out and he fell into them as bloody tears pooled in his eyes. The depth of the bench seats allowed for her to pull him down so his head was on her lap and he welcomed the action; burying his face into her stomach while his arms banded around her body. For long moments, Sookie simply ran her fingers through Eric’s hair and sent him love, comfort and acceptance through the blood tie they had (at least she hoped she was doing it right). Eric didn’t move once he was in position. He was hurting and needed Sookie’s comfort. Right now, she was offering complete acceptance of him and he reveled in it. This acceptance was important to him especially tonight since he was painfully aware that if she had a human lover, events like today would never have happened. It was the reason he wanted to keep her away from vampires in the first place. He wasn’t sure if Sookie knew she was radiating such healing emotions or if it was an accident. Given the tranquility of the moment, it was something that could be asked later.

At long last, Eric raised himself from her lap, unashamed of the tears or the vulnerability he’d shown her. Upon seeing her face, he saw that she too had shed her own tears and he used his thumbs to wipe them away. “No more tears over this. Well, at least not tonight. I need more time to come to terms with what Pam did and decide on a punishment, but not tonight.”

“I agree. I have a bit of a distraction for you.” Her feelings turned to lustful in an instant.

He raised an eyebrow at her. “Tell me.”

“I’m not going to tell you, I’m going to show you. I told you before we left the hospital that I’m going to take care of you; I’m going to love you right now.”

She moved so she was kneeling in front of him as he sat on the bench. The bench was deep and she asked him to move forward so she could reach his face and lick his bloody tears. Eric didn’t stop her; he was enjoying her attention and even if he did take blood later they had already decided to bond and just hadn’t had alone time since then. After cleaning his face, she started on his shirt, unbuttoning each button slowly, taking the time to pull the shirt open and kissing the chest that was exposed. As she reached the bottom, she pulled it from his jeans and finished her task, taking it off completely. With his whole chest exposed, she moved to the bench and sat behind him in the gap between his body and the wall of the gazebo. She started playing with his locks. “Your long hair fascinates me. It’s 1000 years old and soft enough to make me jealous. It’s also long enough for a good grip.” A grunt escaped Eric’s mouth as she grabbed a small section and tugged. “Seems you like that too. I’ll have to keep that in mind.” Sweeping his hair to one side, she nibbled on an earlobe. “Your ears, well your actual ears are adorable.” He gave her a snorty laugh. “But it’s more what you do with your ears that I love. You listen to me Eric. You listen to Hunter. You listen and learn from the nurses and others about us. Nobody has ever given our words or Hunter’s needs such attention. Your interest in learning about us was your wooing Eric. I love the flowers, and the warehouse full of my stuff, and right now I REALLY love this gazebo, but it’s your attention that grabbed us.” She moved to kiss and caress along his shoulders. “I love your shoulders Eric; so broad and strong.” Moving to rub both arms and hands while she continued to kiss his back, she added. “I love your equally strong arms and hands: Arms and hands strong enough to protect me and hold me and gentle enough to love me.” To continue her homage, she shifted to be back in front of him and she placed two hands on his chest. “Not that you don’t know this, but this chest,” She moved her hands down. “And this abdomen are perfection. You are walking perfection and I want to lick and taste every inch of this chest.” She raised herself to place open mouth kisses to his collar; then she moved down.

When she hit a nipple he reminded, “Be sure to bite a little too.”

She bit and was rewarded with another grunt of pleasure. Her hands moved to the belt on his pants and she unbuckled it then turned her attention to the button and zipper. Once the fastenings were out of the way she instructed him to lift so she could remove his pants. His cock sprang out looking painfully hard and she only smirked at him. She finished with his pants quickly, taking his boots and socks off as well. “Before I continue, I think I’m getting a little warm in here. Perhaps I am overdressed.”

“You most certainly are my sweet.”

He lifted his hand to try and remove her dress but she slapped it away. “AH AH AH, I’m taking care of YOU tonight. You just relax.”

“I’ll be more relaxed when you’re naked.”

“Then stop distracting me from undressing silly.” He laughed at her term – it seemed to be a favorite of hers. His chuckling stopped when she unzipped, held the dress to her chest and slowly pushed the sleeves down each side. Instead of letting it drop while she faced him, she teasingly turned then allowed the dress to fall.   She was only in her fancy underwear, pink lace panties he’d bought for her to wear under her first date dress and he itched to rip them off. He kept his hands to himself, first because Sookie ordered him to just a moment ago, but also because if he ripped her underwear, she would most certainly NOT be happy. At this particular moment, he didn’t want her to stop her actions, so ensuring she stayed happy was a priority. She only teased him for another moment though; when she spun around, the panties came down. Surprising him again, she walked to the swing for a second and returned with one of the cushions and dropped it between his legs. He smirked; his little fairy was going to suck his cock. THAT would certainly make him feel better. She confirmed it a second later, “I’m going to be on my knees here for a bit, don’t want them hurting.”

“No, we can’t have that at all.”

A thousand years of blow jobs had not prepared him for the sight before his eyes. Seeing Sookie, the love of his life, stretch her mouth around his large member and her small hands grabbing his balls almost had him coming before she even got started. “Sookie, you test my control.” Her eyes simply looked up at him and sparkled. She loved that it was her actions making him feel this way. It was her mouth and hands making him lose control. He was growling and grunting and grabbing at the blanket she’d left on the seat while she pulled, and sucked and licked. Seeing him so excited had her growing wet so she reached down to touch herself. “OH GODS SOOKIE! That’s going to make me come; seeing you touch yourself like that.”

She released him from her mouth and spoke. “You really like that huh?”

“I’ve never seen anything sexier.” He patted the bench next to him. “Get up here and do that, right in front of my face.”

She’d never done anything like THAT before. Well she’d done THAT, just not with an audience. His request sent both a bolt of lust and reluctance through her that he felt. Eric chose to focus on the lust. “You did promise to take care of me – this would do it.”

“You’re a bad boy using my words against me.” She chastised him WHILE she stood to sit where he wanted her.

He helped her into the exact spot he wanted, one of her legs behind him, the other in front giving him an up close view. As they had room on the bench, he helped her again by pushing on her knees and spreading her wide. “Beautiful.” He praised her.

Using the lust she was feeling to get over her nerves, she returned to touching herself, rubbing on the outside or thrusting her fingers in and out. Eric was transfixed. The world could ignite on fire around them and he wouldn’t be able to look away from both her actions or the look of bliss on her face as she pleasured herself. Her engagement ring – his ring – was on the hand playing with her folds and seeing that combined with her arousal had his chest filling with that pressure it did when around her. He longed to touch her but wanted to see her go all the way so he simply started rubbing his cock – almost absentmindedly. She admonished him right away. “No Eric. I’m taking care of you. You’ll need to wait a moment, or rather that baseball bat you call a cock will.”

He wanted to chuckle at her, but his lust was in control and since she started pumping her fingers in and out in earnest, his attention returned exclusively to her show. She’d added a hand to a breast and he noticed she was rougher on her nipples than he ever was – something he tucked away for later. They were so far from any road or other houses, the only sounds were from Sookie’s pants and her slick fingers moving in and out of her heat. She added some excited moans and Eric could see she was close. It only took another moment and she went over. Her legs trembled a bit so he caressed them, but did nothing more as she regained her composure. When she could, she stood and pushed him to be on his back and she straddled him; taking him inside her heat at the same time. They’d tried this position before and Sookie found she enjoyed it, especially tonight when she was in control. Knowing he liked the taste of her arousal, she presented her fingers to Eric’s mouth and he sucked on them eagerly. While he was enjoying everything she was doing, he was missing some key activities so when she pulled her fingers from his mouth, he begged. “Sookie please.”

“What do you want Eric?”

“I want to kiss you; suck on your breasts; put my hands on you.”

“In a moment. First just look Eric. Sit up and look where we are joined. See how we fit perfectly together.”

She wasn’t kidding. He was mesmerized as he watched his cock being swallowed by her sex every time she lowered herself. When she pulled up, he could see more of her juices coating him. Since he’d sat up as she requested, her breasts were rising and falling in front of his face now. He could barely stand the temptation. Sookie knew it so she positioned her hands to clasp her breasts from underneath and leaned in, offering him what he wanted. He didn’t hesitate; he latched onto one immediately and stared into her eyes in appreciation. Though he spent time with each breast, he wanted more. “Sookie, please. My hands.”

Knowing she’d probably teased him as much as she could, she acquiesced. “You may touch me and kiss me as you need.”

His release from her orders instigated immediate action and he grabbed her to pull her close to his mouth so he could kiss her while she continued to ride him. It was wet, it was messy; it was out of control and mostly, it was full of his desperate need for her. At vampire speed, he started thrusting upwards into her as he controlled the counter movement of her hips. While turning her head to expose her neck she begged him, “Bite me Eric. I want you to.”

His eyes glowed at her words and he moved his mouth to her neck and bit. Sookie came right away taking him with her. Eric had yelled her name on other nights together, but his outburst now was more animalistic and it only had her throbbing around his cock still tightly lodged within her.

Eric was enjoying the lingering blood in his mouth. He only took a sip, not wanting to deplete her at all, but it was a delicious sip. After her accident, when he’d licked her wounds clean he had a taste of course and noticed she was very sweet but he was too preoccupied to enjoy it. He leaned in to lick her marks and bit his tongue to add some healing blood. Hunter might know about his feeding habits but he would not have him see his mother marked.

With his forehead pressed to her, he simply said, “Thank you my love. THAT was just what I needed. YOU can take care of me anytime.”

“It was my pleasure, believe me.”

“Oh, I do.” He guided her back so she was lying on top of him and he pulled the blanket to cover them. “We have about an hour before I should get back, can we talk for a bit?”

“Of course.”

Even though he asked to talk, he just quietly laid there stroking her back and enjoying her naked body pressed to his. Sookie was just quiet. Eric obviously needed time; she could wait. His voice startled her when he finally did speak. “Do you realize what you’ve given me tonight?”

“What I’ve given you!?”

“Yes, you. You’ve given me this opportunity to need someone, to be vulnerable. Then you were the exact person I needed. You picked me up and started healing what was broken tonight – after you were the actual victim. In my 1000 years, I’ve never been able to be so vulnerable AND have someone fix me. You worry that you think people believe you’re with me for money and that you lucked out by snagging a rich husband. Nothing could be further from the truth Sookie. I’m the one that lucked out. No amount of money could ever buy what you did for me tonight. Do you see that?”

“I do. I’m sorry about . . .”

“No more apology or guilt Sookie. You carry the weight of the world on your shoulders; I knew you would struggle with the offer. It’s all behind us now.”

“You are the most wonderful man. I am glad you waited for me to get everything through my head.”

“I’m just glad we found each other and got here.” He was quiet for a while and just held her before he moved onto another topic. “I realized some things tonight that will impact us for a short while.”

“What’s that Sweetie?”

“No matter what happens with Pam in terms of her punishment, I have to hire a bar manager. She’s had too many chances to step-up and do her job and she has failed. The shares of ownership she has in the bar will remain hers, but not her position if you will.”

“Will you hire a vampire or a human, or something else?”

“You assume I don’t want to hire you for this?”

“You don’t want me around other vampires. I know you also want someone to be there on some nights so you can see me, least I hope so. So if you hire me, we’d always be working opposite each other and anyway you know I’d kick your butt for assuming I’d want to work at your bar with vampires.”

He chuckled at her statement. “You do know me well. I just didn’t want you to feel slighted.”

“Ah, no. BUT.” He raised his eyebrow. “I can help you with inventory and payroll. I can do those things during the day. It doesn’t have to be a job either. You’ve already done so much.”

“That’s not a bad idea and it would be a job. I can add to your pay.”

She growled. “Eric.”

He responded similarly with, “Sookie.”

“You bought all my stuff. It wasn’t cheap. I’d give you the money back but I wrote checks to Good Sheppard, the doctors and the medical supply store right away. I’ve started as the fund manager for the charity. I don’t need more pay.”

“I don’t want that money back. It’s ridiculous to me that you’re liable for all those expenses then the state claims he’s not your son. If he’s not your son, then the money owed shouldn’t be yours. If they insist you’re in debt for his expenses, then he is your son.”

“I’ve tried many arguments, including that he’s a foster child but the foster system won’t cover his expenses from the years before they took him in.”

“Of course the case worker should be fighting for you.”

“Yes, but you forget the greed involved here.”

“I’m aware of the greed and plan to do something about it as soon as Hunter is yours. Now back to my bar.”

“What are your plans?”

“I want to hire a very good looking vampire so I can get off the throne and have someone else sit there, look pretty, and run the bar.”

“I like that idea.” She nodded her head while she thought more. “Yes, I like that very much.”

“Good.”

“So, when do you start training me on payroll and your inventory boss? We can go in on a Monday night when you’re closed. I can make it one of Maxine’s days.”

He groaned. “I HATE the idea of wasting a Maxine night on that bar.”

“A few hours, that’s all.”

“Fine. But a week from Monday since we have Hunter’s appointment with Ludwig this Monday.”

“Of course.” There was another bit of silence before she added. “This is what I meant when I said master wooing you know? Alcide NEVER asked about Hunter’s care, or prognosis or tests – he never even knew if Hunter was having a test – and here you are handling his appointment schedule.”

“I can’t even imagine that.”

“Eh, no more on that. You said some things that will impact us. What else?”

“Until I hire the manager, I’m tied to the bar when it’s open.”

“I guessed that already.”

“I have someone in mind, so hopefully he will accept and get here quickly.”

“Get here?”

“He’s in California right now; an old friend. I’ll call him when I’m home but before I go to rest.” They were quiet for just a few more minutes before he spoke again. “You know we had our second blood exchange tonight.”

“I know. You haven’t changed your mind?”

“Not at all. I’m very happy with our decision and the second exchange.”

“OK. What else, I can feel you hesitating.”

“Starting tomorrow, you’ll have guards.”

“WHAT?!”

“I can’t live without you or Hunter. I literally can’t Sookie. Tonight scared me. You’ll have a Were assigned to you and when Hunter goes to dialysis, a second Were will be brought in to stand outside the dialysis room.”

“ERIC!”

“It’s getting close to dawn Sookie. We can argue about this tomorrow night.”

“Did you plan that – bringing this up so close to dawn?”

He feigned innocence, poorly, and said, “Of course not my sweet.”

“Don’t you ‘my sweet’ me.” She stood to start getting dressed. “You’re bad.”

He leaned forward, pushed up the skirt of her dress and bit her ass with his blunt teeth since she’d bent over to retrieve her panties and it was right in his face. “Of course I’m bad. That’s why you love me.” He leaned forward and nipped the other cheek.

“ERIC! Stop biting my behind!”

“Or what?”

“I won’t let you see it anymore.”

“You’re a cruel woman Sookie Stackhouse.”

“I’m just taking a firm hand.”

“I love what your hands do to me. And your lips, and your pussy.” He’d stood behind her and began rubbing against her back while he inhaled her scent. His cock had hardened again at their banter. “How can I live without seeing your behind?”

“ERIC.” She moaned and yelled at the same time.

“Don’t tease me about not seeing that behind anymore.” He moved his hands into the top of her dress to fondle her breasts.

“You’re not playing fair.”

“Promise me. You’ll be my wife, how can you withhold such a sight from me?” One hand maneuvered its way to a nipple and he started pinching it while he started licking and kissing behind her ear.

“You’re going to leave me in this condition aren’t you?”

“What condition is that dear?”

“Hot and bothered.”

“If you let me fly you back I can take care of you.” She moaned at the thought. “But you have to promise me I’ll always get to see that ass.”

“You have me at your mercy. I promise.” She moved to the bench. “In fact, you can take a down payment right now.” She positioned herself on all fours and flipped her skirt up. She never did get her panties back on so she was ready.

With a quick thrust into her he responded. “I accept your terms and your down payment Miss Stackhouse.”

She moaned out. “Pleasure negotiating with you Mr. Northman.”

Tidbits have been updated for this chapter (including some insight into the last chapter and comments).