So sorry an update took so long! I'll try to do better this week, I promise (long-ago girl scout pledge there, people.)

Thank you to all you great reviewers! I love to read your opinions, and I appreciate that you take the time to click that button and tell me what you think.

My apologies to any that were unhappy about the uber-quick lemon in the last chapter. Hey, in my defense, it was a quickie!

...

Eric relaxed against his red corvette, the soft breeze of the evening ruffling his golden hair as he waited outside Merlotte's. He had learned long ago to listen to his instincts, and they were warning him that something would happen with Russell, soon. The older vampire had waited far too long to make a move.

Several patrons left the bar and headed towards their pickups in the parking lot, looking at Eric wearily. The tall vampire was becoming a regular sight, both outside the bar and inside, and several of the more daring Bon Temps citizens had also seen him when they visited Fangtasia.

Moments after the others drove off, Sookie left the bar, a little arrow of happiness hitting her as she saw him standing there waiting for her. "Hey."

"Hello," He responded, leaning over to give her a sweet kiss, one hand on the small of her back to pull her snugly against him.

"Well. Now isn't this just so sweet," Russell drawled, and even through her panic Sookie could feel Eric stiffen slightly before calmly looking up towards the other vampire.

Russell had healed well from his severe burns of the previous year, and Eric raised an eyebrow at him, holding Sookie in place against him in what he hoped looked like a casual stance. "Russell. I've been wondering when you planned to stop by."

"Ah, Mr. Northman." The sugary southern accent couldn't hide the irritation Russell felt. "I have been busy, you know. Makin' new friends and makin' some plans for a get-together with you and our lovely Miss Stackhouse."

"And how is that going?" Eric's deep voice was taunting.

"Better than you would think." The sound of a deep growl came from the nearby woods, and Sookie tightened her grip on Eric's leather jacket, knowing from the sound that there had to be a werewolf nearby, possibly more than one. How could she and Eric fight off Russell and the wolf at the same time?

"You see, Mr. Northman, not all my…friends..were destroyed when you buried me alive in that cement. And some of them seem to want to blame you for their difficulties."

Eric and Russell stared at each other, the sounds of the loud bar a distant background to the face-off occurring. Eric shifted, knowing he had only moments to move Sookie before a werewolf attacked. Russell would be less of an immediate danger, since Eric knew he preferred to stand back and watch the destruction. He moved rapidly, shoving Sookie behind him next to the car as two werewolves barreled out of the woods, straight towards him.

He caught the first one by the neck, throwing it into a tree, ignoring the yelp as he looked to the second wolf, who was currently pacing in front of them, sniffing the air for Sookie's scent.

"Enjoyin' yourself?" Russell called in amusement. "I'd love to stay, but I just have a few things I have to get done tonight. You have fun now." With that, he disappeared as the second wolf launched itself at Eric.

Sookie screamed as Eric fell to the ground along with the wolf, his deep growls making his anger clear as he fought to keep the wolf from ripping him apart. The second wolf was limping back towards the corvette, and she stared into its yellow eyes as she scrambled in her purse for her cell phone, not sure what to do or who to even call.

Eric bent the wolf's arm back, hearing the snap of the bone, just missing the angry teeth as the wolf howled and tried desperately to rip his throat out, the V making it stronger than normal. He could tell the other wolf was heading towards Sookie, and tried to wrestle the wolf off of him, desperate to get over to her, when he heard the sound of lightning fast steps race to a stop in front of Sookie, his silent yell for help obviously having brought them some assistance.

"Enough of this shit," Pam griped, slamming the other wolf against the hood of the car. "I had a damn pedicure planned tonight."

Able to focus solely on the wolf in front of him, Eric grabbed its neck, twisting it until a loud snap could be heard, then leaning over and sinking his teeth into the furry throat. Blood poured out of the wound, the first wolf no longer a threat.

Pam was struggling with the other wolf, and Eric wiped the blood from his mouth before striding over to his progeny and grabbing the wolf's legs, making it easier for Pam to attack the neck, ripping the second wolf apart as well.

Sookie was pressed back against the car, her silent phone in her hand as she stared at the two vampires before her. Eric was looking over at Pam, very much like a proud parent, both their mouths dripping with blood.

Pam looked coolly over towards her maker. "I could have killed him without help."

"I know." He snapped his fangs away. "But you don't want to miss that pedicure, do you?"

...

Sookie and Eric laid curled in the bed, her hands tracing patterns on his smooth, hard chest. "You're amazin'."

"Of course I am." His cockiness was firmly back in place. ""You say that like it's a surprise."

She laughed, the tenseness of the evening's events having faded away. "Good to know your arrogance is back in place."

""Mmhhmm.." Eric smiled at her, moving so that he was leaning over her. "Do you ever stop talking?" He grinned at her indignant look, his lips meeting hers as his hands slid up her side, cupping her breast before ending the sweet kiss, his lips moving down to cover her aching nipple as his other hand moved to caress the other sensitive peak.

Her fingers stroked his golden head, loving the scrape of his teeth on her sensitive tips, sighing with pleasure as his clever fingers moved down her body, his mouth close behind as he spread her silky thighs wide, settling between her legs, giving her a naughty grin as his fangs came out. He trailed kisses down her toned stomach, over her aching cleft, then sank his teeth into femoral artery of her left thigh, her sweet blood sending the always elusive feeling of warmth through his body as she squirmed in pleasure on the bed.

Sookie was lost in a firestorm of pleasure, desperately wanting him in her, but loving the feeling of his long fingers teasing her clitoris as he suckled her blood. "Eric," She moaned, pulling at his well muscled shoulders, her whimpers of pleasure mixing with his deep growls of intense arousal.

He gave into her wishes, lapping at her artery before grabbing her by the waist and pulling her on top of him. He loved to watch her cum, to see the way her eyes lost focus as the pleasure overwhelmed her. Positioning her over his pulsing phallus, he wasted no time in thrusting up into her, his hands on her softly curved hips helping to keep her at a steady, rapid pace as she rode him, her breasts bouncing as she held onto his rock hard thighs, the muscles bunching beneath her fingers.

Just when Eric thought he couldn't hold back any longer, he could feel Sookie clench around him, milking his cock in a way that sent him into matching ecstasy, her soft cry of pleasure mixing with his muttered expletive as they rode the crest of immense pleasure together, before she collapsed onto him, kissing him softly. "I love you,Eric," she whispered, and he had to silently admit to himself that her quiet admission meant more to him than a thousand years of orgasms ever had.