Chapter 25 – Sugar

Chapter 25 – Sugar

A few weeks had passed and Sookie was feeling almost back to normal. Eleanor enjoyed her sixth birthday tea party. As Alcide predicted, they filled the barn with Eleanor’s school friends and the cast and crew of the film. Sookie begged the film folks to not give Eleanor gifts. While they understood the request, they didn’t agree so they compromised. Lead by Godric, they purchased a group gift: a significant bond to be put aside for Eleanor’s education and a lovely diamond earring and necklace set. Eleanor had gotten her ears pierced for her birthday and couldn’t wait to wear the earnings after the waiting period for changing earrings. Conscious of the possible sibling jealousy, Godric and the group presented Maura with the same gifts and explained that she was getting her birthday present early since they would all be gone in August. Sookie stilled at that comment, but only for a moment, then brushed it off.

Holly had been with them every weekend since they returned from Louisiana to tend to the B&B guests but she was about to enter her last month at school and she needed to focus on her final exams. She and Sookie had hired a replacement and the new girl, Felicia, would shadow Holly for a few weeks once the exams were over. Sookie was having two couples staying at the B&B for the upcoming weekend and she was nervous to be back in the saddle again.

It was a Friday, the first weekend in May and Mor found herself lost in thought as she waited for the girls in the foyer. She relished the opportunity that Eric and Pam had given her. She now truly understood what she had given up with her and Klaus’ decision to live in Hollywood while Eric and Pam stayed with the help in Sweden. It would be easy to blame Klaus for those decisions since his career was what drove them to Hollywood but she could have said no, or simply stayed home more. While she did regret those years, she decided to focus on the present and the future, and she believed this family was Eric and Pam’s future.

Dressed and ready for school, Maura and Eleanor’s arrival in the foyer pulled Mor from her musings. She was driving them today since Pam had some costume meetings for the film. She and the girls had easily fallen into a relationship of Barnbarn and Farmor (children’s children/grandchildren and paternal grandmother). “Ok, we’ll go. I am dropping your overnight stuff at Grace’s house so it will be there when she picks you up from school.”

“Mama is a little nervous about her guests this weekend; she is running around like crazy trying to get stuff ready. Will you take care of her Mor?”

“Of course I will, but your Mama will be fine.”

They had reached the school and Akita exited the car to give each girl their kiss and hug goodbye. “I will pick you up after we feed the guests breakfast tomorrow. Have a good day at school and sleepover tonight!”

When Akita returned to the B&B, Eric pulled her aside for a chat about Sookie. “Mor, Bart is coming over this morning to check on Sookie before she heads to the store for her weekend grocery shopping. Can you get her out to the car as soon as Bart is done? I need to speak with him and I don’t want Sookie hearing anything.”

“Eric, are you unwell?”

“Mor, it’s not about me, I need to speak with him about Sookie’s weight. She is not eating well and has been losing weight since we returned home. Before you ask, Sookie and I discussed the ‘Hollywood thin’ women I have been seen with in the past. She knows that I don’t like that look. She is not starving herself for me; at least I hope that’s not it. I want to be sure this is not a medical concern, or an after effect of the abduction. I also want to discuss her lack of obvious issues after the abduction. She just appears to have forgotten and moved on after the first few days when she cried. That just doesn’t feel right to me.”

“Eric I have suspected that she was not dealing with everything. I was sort of hoping she was speaking to someone and that it was being kept private.”

“Mor, it is never discussed. His name is not mentioned, well aside from the legal parts. On the positive side, she never had a nightmare and she seems to be getting enough sleep. I just want to check it with Bart.”

“Ok Eric, certainly I will help you. I see him pulling in now. Why don’t you go up and tell Sookie to get ready and I will say hello to Bart.” Akita ended her comment with a conspiratory wink.

Bart informed Sookie and Eric that she had healed well and he felt this was his last visit for her injuries. He did have one topic to discuss and the fact that Bart brought it up only made Eric’s concerns grow. “Sookie, can you explain why you are dropping so much weight?”

“Bart, I cut back on eating since I am not running. Your ‘clean bill of health’ today means I can resume that, so you don’t need to worry, silly.”

“Sookie, I call bullshit. First, my ‘clean bill of health’ does not mean you can go out and run 6 miles tomorrow. You will need to build up to it – just like when you started running. Second, your body was healing and struggling with your PT. That would have well made up for your lack of running. Third, you have lost 15 pounds since you returned to Pennsylvania three weeks ago. Your reasoning does not add up. You are losing too much in my opinion, and even if you wanted to drop that weight, 15 pounds in three weeks is too fast. What do we need to do to resolve this?”

“Nothing Bart. Am I physically in danger?”

“Today, no, but I will be watching.”

“Fine. I have grocery shopping to do.”

Bart stayed behind making a show of packing up his equipment very slowly. Then he asked to use the bathroom. Akita heard this and took it as the opportunity to get Sookie in the car.”

Bart came out of the bathroom and looked at Eric. “They’re gone,” Eric explained.

“Eric.”

“Bart.”

They both started together. Once they started talking they realized that their concerns were shared. Eric explained that Sookie had spoken to no one about her ordeal and Bart was concerned. “You can’t really force talk therapy on anyone Eric. I gave Sookie some names when she first came home, but I will email you the list again. Perhaps a sneak visit to just introduce the topic will help. Psych is not my specialty, so we can meet with one of the psychologists together and discuss it if you wish.”

“Bart that would be helpful. How do we set that up?”

“I will make the calls. When are you open?”

“If you get me a day’s notice, I can make it at any time.”

“I will contact you then.”

After Sookie returned from grocery shopping and prepped for Saturday’s breakfast, she had a meeting with Russell. The only good thing about the incident with Bill was an ownership change to the InnKeeper Business. Bill’s recorded confession of Sam’s murder negated Bill’s part of Sam’s will, thus removing him as a part owner of the InnKeeper business. The ruling by the local judge was not a conviction of the murder, but it gave Sookie the leeway to sell InnKeeper without Bill’s approval. Sookie was in final negotiations with a large software company that was purchasing her software, the customers, and the customer’s support contracts. Jessica was being hired by this company to support the customers and work on the porting to the new code. Sookie was being hired as an outside consultant for a few hours a week as needed. Sookie and Jessica were very excited. She was graduating in a few weeks from college and would be able to work remotely, only needing to visit the company’s headquarters for occasional visits. Since she enjoyed the area so much, she was already looking at apartments in and around Morgantown. The only glitch in the sale was the requirement for Sookie to place half the sale’s profits in escrow in the unlikely event that Bill was ever captured and found innocent of Sam’s murder at a trial.

Russell had the latest contracts and they reviewed them quickly. Every change Sookie had requested was now reflected and she could finally sign! The final tether keeping Bill connected to her would be gone. Eric came into the meeting since he was aware this was likely ‘it’ and celebrated with Russell and Sookie after she signed. It was a quick celebration as their first guests arrived for the weekend. Mor was quick to meet Sookie in the foyer to help greet the couple, and they were checked in quickly. “Sookie, now that I’ve seen your check-in procedure, I can handle the second couple. You and Eric go out, celebrate the sale of the company. I know you have all your breakfast work prepped.”

“You already know me so well. Eric, can you leave now?”

“I can, Love. Where would you like to go?”

“Let’s go to the Trooper Thorns, I feel like a cider and a scotch egg.”

“Sounds good.”

Trooper Thorns was their first time out of the house alone since they returned from Louisiana. Eric wanted to discuss his concerns, but couldn’t. Sookie was smiling and they were sitting closely at the bar waiting for a table. Sookie had her cider and in typical Sookie fashion, one made her a bit tipsy. While at the pub, they ran into some friends from the area and enjoyed catching up. There was a jukebox and after dinner, Eric took advantage of the small dance area to hold Sookie close with the slow songs he selected. He hadn’t wanted to resume their sexual relationship while she was healing, and now he was unsure how to approach the topic. He wanted her badly, but had been getting by with his hand in the shower and he could wait as long as she needed. He loved her, he was in love with her, and the sex was the icing on the cake, not the reason for the relationship. He ended the dance with a quick kiss on the lips and suggested they head home.

In the car, Sookie was excited by the closeness of their dancing. She could feel Eric’s arousal and while she knew she was unable to enjoy sex even a week ago, now, now she was ready. Snuggling was not fully satisfying these days. When they got home and he suggested they watch a movie, she was perplexed. ‘Does he not see me that way any longer? Did the marks Bill made on me, his need to care for me change things?’ Keeping the tears at bay, Sookie just said she was tired and ran to the bedroom.

Eric could tell something was wrong. ‘Tired Sookie’, he knew, and this was not tired Sookie, this was upset Sookie. He went to follow her and was approached by Godric to talk about something. He didn’t want to be rude, but he needed to get to Sookie. When Godric started talking about the film schedule for Saturday, he had to stay. Apparently it was going to rain, and they needed to film some of the rain scenes. It was a perfect opportunity so Eric took in the details, said he would be in makeup at 8AM, and left to get to Sookie.

When he reached the room, she was already asleep on her side, facing away from the door. ‘Great, just great, tomorrow morning she has to cook breakfast for her guests early, and I’ll be filming all day. I hate when there is something between us and we can’t get together to discuss it.’ He made his way to the family room and found Mor and Pam there. They both looked surprised to see him.

“Where’s Sookie?” Pam asked.

“Asleep.”

“What happened?”

“What makes you think something happened, Pam?”

“The scowl on your face.”

Eric hesitated to speak again and finally answered. “We went to dinner, had a great time; did some dancing. When we got home, I asked if she wanted to watch a movie and everything shifted. She ran upstairs to go to bed and I got stopped by Godric for a quick meeting on filming tomorrow, when I got to the room, she was asleep.”

“Eric, have you two, um, resumed…?”

“No.”

“Have you talked about it?”

“No, I’m giving her time.”

“Does she know you’re giving her time? Maybe she’s feeling undesirable?”

“Why would I not want her?”

“Eric, I think what Pam is saying is, perhaps she’s feeling that you don’t desire her because you aren’t approaching her for sex, even though your intention is honorable.” Akita added. “To Sookie, being seen in the condition Bill left her, needing you to care for her truly basic needs could’ve given her doubt. She could be feeling that you don’t see her as sexy any longer.”

“FUCK, and now we are booked separately all day tomorrow. We can’t even discuss it.”

“Eric?”

“I can’t stand this; she’s come so far getting over her feelings of self doubt about us. SHIT.”

“ERIC!”

“WHAT?”

“You do realize that it’s only 9PM? Maybe you want to go wake her to talk? I wouldn’t normally suggest waking someone, but I feel it’s a good idea since she will only continue to feel worse, well you both will. Your other option is I can tell her tomorrow since you’ll be working most of the day.”

“Thanks Mor, but I don’t think she would want that. I’ll go talk to her.”

“And Eric, keep a check on that language in the house.”

“Yes, Mor.”

Eric pulled on sleep pants and slid into bed facing her as she slept on her side. Now he could see that she had cried herself to sleep. ‘How much heartbreak does she need to endure?’ Snuggling in close to breathe in her scent he slowly started kissing her face. Waking her was not something he wanted to do, but Mor was right, the issue would only fester while they were separated tomorrow. “Sookie, wake up.”

She opened her eyes and appeared disoriented at first; then she sat up in a panic. “Eric, is there something wrong?”

“Yes, but not in the way you think.” She started to move to get out of the bed. “Sookie, stay here with me, we need to talk.”

“I…. I’m tired Eric.”

“No you’re hurt I think, and I think I did it, but I didn’t mean to.”

“You’re confusing me.”

“Sookie, the past few weeks have been hard. Your healing has been our focus, rightly so. At some point, you started feeling ready to return to our intimacy, and I’ve been holding back thinking I didn’t want to hurt you. I should have talked to you about it instead of just thinking I was doing the right thing. I’m sorry.”

“I haven’t felt ready except for the last few days. I thought our going out tonight was a sign you wanted to be with me again and when we came home and you suggested a movie, I was crushed. I thought, I thought you didn’t want me anymore.” She spoke through sobs.

“Sookie, I want you more than you could possibly know. I truly thought you needed more time, and I would have waited forever if needed. I just should have told you.” Eric continued to calm her while the crying continued, finally slowed and ended in hiccups as it usually did.

“And I should have told you why I was upset when we got back. Lord, will I ever stop doubting us?”

“I hope so Sookie, because I am going to love you forever.”

“I love you forever too. Can you hold me tonight? Nothing hurts anymore so you can even squeeze.”

Holding quickly turned into petting, then more forceful rubbing. Eric wanted more, but decided to take it slowly. Grabbing the hem of her nightshirt he looked at her with the unspoken question. She raised her arms knowing what he wanted. Her breasts, GOOD LORD her breasts. He had seen them plenty of times in the past few weeks; whether it was helping her bathe or dress but now he got to play. “Oh, how I have missed your breasts.” He said and moved his head down to worship them.

Sookie had started giggling with his statement but she quickly changed to panting and moaning from his attentions. “Eric, I have missed you.” To reinforce her statement, she snaked her hand down to his sleep pants, grabbed his cock and started stroking him.

Now it was his turn to moan. “Sookie, I’m not going to last long.”

“Then don’t, let’s just enjoy touching each other for tonight.”

So they did. Eric changed his position so Sookie could continue to stroke him, while he stroked and toyed with her nether lips. The lack of sexual contact over the past few weeks had them both over the edge quickly, but not quietly.

Mor and Pam had just turned off the TV and Mor heard something. It took her a moment to realize what it was. “Pam, what about when the girls are home, are Sookie and Eric always that loud?”

“The girls have a white noise machine in their room. I can only hope it covers up enough. To answer your question, yes they are frequently that loud. You better get used to it because now that Sookie is healed, I guarantee Eric’s lunch breaks will include an afternoon delight again. Most of the cast and crew are aware, but nobody will ever discuss it. Honestly, they all love Sookie too much to embarrass her. That, and Eric would kill anyone who says anything.”

“Mor, did I break you?”

“Mor?”

“I’m fine Pam. It’s just hard to hear this information about Eric, and well actually, um hear Eric.”

“Well, since you’re already in the uncomfortable zone I’ll tell you this. I’ve been around other situations where Eric was with someone. This is a Sookie thing. Not even Sophie-Anne got that kind of reaction.”

“Ok, well thanks for sharing but I am officially done with this discussion. See you in the morning Pam.”

“Goodnight Mor.”

Making breakfast for B&B guests always started early, so Sookie was in the kitchen by 5AM. Today’s menu included fresh cinnamon rolls and Sookie needed to start the dough so it would rise. Once that was done, she moved onto preparing the rest of the menu. Mor joined Sookie by about 7AM with Eric following closely behind. Sookie quickly prepared him an omelet and coffee and they chatted while Sookie and Mor continued cooking. “Eric.” Mor started. “I am thinking that Pam and I can take the girls out to dinner and a movie tonight. Will that be OK with you and Sookie?”

Eric tried to hide his smirk and failed, when he looked at Sookie, she was just blushing. “Sure Mor that would be fine. What time will you be leaving?”

“What time are you done filming?”

“6PM, we aren’t doing any night scenes today.”

“Then we will be gone by 6PM. And we won’t be back until 10PM. Will that work for the two of you?”

“Sure.”

‘6PM, when the hell will it be 6PM already.’ Eric thought over and over. Rain continued to poor down on the cast of the film. Godric wanted rain, he got rain; buckets of it. Since the weather called for rain on Sunday; they would all be working again. To compensate, Godric, Alcide and Eric planned to give everyone off Monday and Tuesday since the filming was still on schedule. A natural rainy day could not be missed when the script called for several scenes in the foul, wet weather.

He had told Sookie about his being off on Monday and Tuesday so she was starting to pack up her InnKeeper stuff now and it would be ready to ship when the contracts were finalized. Russell had set up the needed accounts for her so the purchasing company signing the contracts and sending the funds to the account were all that remained. She was beyond excited now. To celebrate, she and Eric were going on a last minute mini getaway. Mor and Pam would take care of the girls while they went to New York City on Sunday night. They would be back early Wednesday morning. ‘Finally! Things are going well.’ She had walked to the laundry room to move the towels from the washer when she was attacked from behind by a huge, wet, lover. “YUCK! Eric, you got me soaked!”

“Guess I’ll need to get you out of those clothes.”

Sookie giggled. “PERV! You’re early, what happened?”

“My scenes are done. Where are the girls?”

“Gone, they left early with Pam and Akita.”

Not needing to hear anything else, he quickly removed his wet clothes, then Sookie’s. Now in their underclothes, he scooped up Sookie and ran her to their bathroom where he removed the rest of their garments. “Stop staring at me like that.”

“Like what Sookie?”

“Like you’re a lion and I’m a gazelle.” She said as she back away from him into the bedroom.

“Oh, but Sookie, I’m going to eat you all up.” He pounced and captured his prey while she pretended to struggle. He only set her down once they were both in the warm shower. “Sookie, your smile gives you away. I don’t think a real gazelle in danger of being eaten would have such a grin on its face.”

“I don’t think a lion would be thinking about only licking its prey all over.”

“All over ? I think you propose a good idea. I am going to start with this ankle, right here. In addition to licking, I think some suckling and love bites are necessary, don’t you?”

“I am your captured prey, do as you wish.”

“Oh Love, you have no idea what you just said.”

Eric did start with her ankle. Nipping and licking all the way up to her curls, but skipping the sensitive area between the folds. “You know Sookie, I love you bare here, but your curls are gorgeous too. I don’t know if I want you to go back to waxing.”

“Maybe I can switch on and off.”

“I like that idea.”

He continued with the other leg, also stopping short of touching her labia and clit. “Eric, please. I don’t know how much more I can take.”

“Ahh, my prey, I will decide for you. You told me to do as I wish. Now, I wish for you to turn around.”

Sookie did as commanded, and Eric started again, up her legs providing nips and licks on her buttocks. He finally stood to continue up her back while he held onto her breasts. Sookie smirked at him over her shoulder. “Sookie, I am helping you to stay standing by holding your breasts.”

“Just a gentle-lion aren’t you?”

He got to her neck and made sure to suckle behind each ear. It always drove her crazy. Finally, he asked her to turn and lean back against the wall. Sookie boldly spread her legs but Eric pushed them together. “Nuh uh my prey. I didn’t tell you to spread your legs. Your chest has not been properly licked yet.” He continued from just above her mound and up her tummy down her arms and across her collar bone. “There, all done.”

“Oh my lion, you missed several spots.”

Raising his eyebrow, he replied, “Did I? Tell me.”

“You missed your poor neglected and dripping pussy and your nipples that are standing here at attention, begging for your worship.”

Eric growled and attacked. He knelt and put Sookie’s hands on the newly installed grab bars and one of her legs over his shoulder. He spread her open and licked and sucked. One arm snaked up her belly to reach the neglected nipples, splitting his time between each breast.

“Eric, I am so close, more.”

He brought his hand back down from the nipples to join in the attentions below. He had one hand holding her lower lips open and another moving in and out of her, curling as needed to hit the sweet spot. She screamed his name as her walls started convulsing around his fingers. Standing, he kissed her while he continued to stroke her through the orgasm.

“I think I like those grab bars.”

“Yes, installed for safety reasons only, of course.”

“Of course.”

They giggled and actually cleaned up in the shower before drying and heading to the bedroom. Eric placed Sookie in the center of the bed and lay on top of her. He spent several moments just kissing her. “I missed this.”

“I have too. Eric, make love to me.” She raised her legs to capture his sides with her thighs, spreading her legs wide open. With one hand, she reached for him to guide him into her. Once he was fully inside her, they both felt a huge relief.

“Love, you feel so good.”

“Eric.” She breathed out.

The new bed had been placed almost in the same spot, but they both realized quickly that it needed some bolt tightening. The headboard whacked the wall every time he pushed. It didn’t stop or slow his movements at all. If anything, he loved the extra sound. The thuds were amplifying the claim of his prey. He reached in between them to rub her clit and she started to hold her breath. “Cum for me, my prey, cum.”

Sookie exploded and when she starting clenching her walls, she milked every last drop of Eric’s orgasm out of him.

Resting and breathless, they caressed each other for a few moments. Eric spoke first. “Love, the other side of this wall…?”

“You mean Alcide’s room? Hope he’s out to dinner.”

They erupted in laughter.

“I’m starving now; you didn’t give me a chance to eat.”

“Ok, let’s go eat.”

Sookie had prepared a tray of finger foods for them to share. They hadn’t shared their meal like this since their first weekend making love and he enjoyed it just as much. Feeding Sookie was an erotic experience; she moaned at the taste of the food, she sucked the flavors from his fingers, she drove him crazy and before they were finished eating, Eric was ready to go again.

“I need you again, Love.”

Sookie quickly move the tray off the bed and removed her robe. Eric moved to stand on the side of the bed. He had measured his height against the top of the mattress when the bed first arrived, and he’d been waiting to take Sookie as she lay on the bed while he stood on the side. ‘Now to see if Sookie is interested.’

“Sookie, can we try something?”

“Ohh you have a look of pure mischief, what are you up to.”

“Come here.” He said and he held his hand out. A little excited at what he had in mind, Sookie complied and stood next to Eric on the side of the bed. He started by peppering her with kisses. Starting with her face, he then worked his way slowly to her breasts. He wanted to spend time with them now, because, if she agreed, he would not have access to them once she was bent over. Caressing her skin, he moved down her stomach to her curls and Sookie spread her legs for him automatically and he took the opportunity to touch her lower lips and found her very ready. Turning her in his arms so her back was to his chest, he continued to stroke her lips and her breasts until she was panting. “Sookie, I want to bend you over the bed, can I do that?”

Instead of answering, she moved to the edge of the bed and Eric bent her over and spread her legs. ‘Good God, the height is perfect just as I thought!’ He held his cock, lined himself up and plunged.

Sookie gasped at the feeling and said, “So good Eric.”

He moved one arm under her so he could reach her clit and started tapping. Sookie moaned at the feeling and unconsciously spread herself even more and raised her hips just a bit to change the angle. “Eric, harder…more.”

His thrusts became faster and he started running his fingers over her clit with increased pressure and speed. Sookie move her arm around her to touch Eric as he pumped in and out of her. “Sookie, ungh!”

She lost it and came while yelling his name. Eric pushed in a few more times with very powerful thrusts and spurted his seed insider her while he made a noise that sounded like a roar to Sookie. Completely spent, Eric landed on her while he was still buried within her. They spent a few moments settling down and then he moved to lift her onto the bed.

“Sweetie, that was wonderful. Feel free to try something anytime if those are the results.”

“It was wonderful, and we had the added advantage of not knocking the headboard into the wall.”

“We have to fix that. I won’t be able to look Alcide in the face knowing what he might be hearing.”

“Speaking of hearing, I think my princesses have returned. You stay here; I will get them tucked into bed with Mor and Pam.”

“Thank you, I don’t think I could walk right now anyway.”

Eric returned and snuggled into Sookie. He was still worried that there would be fallout from her abduction. He was still worried that Bill was on the loose. But now – now he was just happy that they had some private time together and they had renewed their intimacies.