A/N: Previously...

"Trust me."

I whispered against her flaxen, sex-styled hair – as my fangs snicked into place – not waiting for her reply before I plunged them through the smooth, soft skin of her slender neck, sucking hard as the ambrosia danced along my tongue and slid down my thirsty throat.

"I… do… Eric…"

She rasped out through gritted teeth – painstakingly – as she tensed before slumping down further into my arms, bright blue eyes surely slipping closed, her body twitching slightly – an involuntary protest against my ministrations – until finally she became almost deathly still.

And at that moment, by the Gods, I prayed that she really did.

Otherwise, what the fuck was I doing?

I savored the sugary flavor of Sookie's blood as it coated my tongue before swallowing with an audible gulp to force the silky bliss from my salivating mouth into my flip-flopping stomach – without a hint of my nerves or apprehension betrayed by my stoic expression. My fangs eased out from the nape of her neck, my lips replacing them, easily slipping back inside my itching gums as I cradled my fairy temptress tighter against my blood-warmed body. In my experience, things always seemed to calm and settle right before an impending shit-storm.

This time was no different.

"Why did you stop?"

Sookie breathed out wantonly, her voice laced with only the slightest bit of pain, her eyes slowly fluttering open as I dragged my tongue languidly over the fang marks in the crook of her neck, to seal but not heal them.

Even though it pained me greatly to leave her forever scarred, it served a purpose.

Right what would have otherwise become a wrong.

"Shhhhh… Sleep now," I implored in a hushed whisper, hoping to spend what was likely my last daydeath with my soul's mate wrapped up in my arms, warmed by the feeling that for the first time in my thousand years I felt complete – whole, "The world will find us soon enough. Let me cuddle you until then."

I was grateful she offered no protest – begged no explanation for my actions – before she snuggled closer against my frame and let her weary eyes droop to a close. Sleep grabbed her quickly, her breath evening and steady, kept in time with the short rise and fall of her naked and perfect chest. Surely the gods had carved her from marble, breathed life into her, and resisted letting her go. I knew I felt much the same at the thought of losing her. She was an angel, a goddess – my Sookie. Teasing and unfair visions of a happy future with my fairy temptress flashed behind my eyelids as the sun pulled me away from the world, showing me laughter and smiles, heartfelt embraces and steamy kisses through clipped scenes even as years wore by.

It was cruelty personified.

I was sure it would lead to madness.

It was exactly what I had always hoped love would be like.

The door shook heavily with the force of the frantic knocks placed upon it, which in turn roused Sookie from her deep slumber, her hands fisting at her eyes in an effort to remove the collected sleep.

I had been awake for the better part of an hour, just shortly before the descent of the sun, admiring the sleeping beauty whose limbs were intertwined with my own. She had given herself to me, opened herself to me, made love with me – a trifecta new to me despite my thousands of years. I love this beguiling fairy woman – I thought to myself, wondering if I should give voice to my musings considering what was sure to come. We had only known each other for such a short time.

"I love you, Sookie."

I whispered into her blonde, sleep-messed hair, refusing for the first time to allow my own hang-ups to guide my actions – she needed to know how I felt.

Without uncertainty.

Without question.

"Oh, Eric," Sookie mumbled back, the sadness in her tone inescapable, "I love you too."

"SOOKIE!" The knocker finally yelled, ceasing his unanswered assault on the door. "The Prince demands your presence. NOW! He said, and I quote, 'if she does not present herself within the next fifteen minutes, I will not hesitate to breach the threshold of her inner sanctum. Previous promises be damned!' So hurry the fuck up. Oh! And bring your bedmate. He insists on that as well."

I did not miss Sookie's eye roll as she sat up, dragging the sheet along with her to cover her delicious breasts. I pulled it from her immediately, grinning as her pink nipples stiffened at their exposure to the cooler air. "Quickie?" She winked, her eyes pools of lust and unadulterated fire. Oh, fuck yes, my fairy goddess. She squealed as I pounced on her, sheathing myself in her moist, warm heat in seconds. Pleasurable frenzy gave way to orgasmic bliss, leaving us only a few minutes to spare for dressing before we finally opened the barrier between us and the real world, her door. As we reached the bottom stair step, I swept her into my arms once more, kissing her hard but slow – a gesture she returned with all the fervor of a woman truly in love.

She had me, she had my heart, she had my soul.

I knew she would carry me with her always.

"I love you, Sookie. A thousand years of searching, but I finally found you."

"You marked her," Niall said lowly – standing arms-crossed next to a set of Queen Anne chairs – his tone biting and full of venom, as we walked hand-in-hand into the lavishly adorned office space, "You have consumed her blood then."

Well, we were going to cut straight to the chase it seemed.

I guessed I deserved it, having never been one to waste time myself.

Sookie's hand flew from mine to touch at the pebbled bumps on the crook of her long and beautiful neck. I sucked in an unneeded breath, fearful of her response – it was not as if I had shared the plan with her. I had scarred her for life, with purpose, but still. Relief followed instantly when a pleased smile graced her plump lips and she swirled her finger over one before trailing it to the other to do the same. I tattooed the moment into my memory, hoping to carry it with me to Valhalla, knowing her radiant smile would fade once the truth behind my actions settled in. And it did, quickly. She gasped, emotion proliferating the heartwrenching sound, and dropped her hand, turning to stare into my oceanic blues – her own blue eyes glistening with fat tears. They fell without measure as she whispered softly, "No no no" over and over, pleading – perhaps with the universe – to make this a dream.

It broke my heart to see her this way, to know I was the cause.

But I refused to let her sacrifice herself for me, give up her freedom for mine.

I gathered her face in my hands, not giving two shits about her glaring grandfather, and alternated between thumbing and kissing away her tears. "A thousand years, Sookie," I whispered, my lips brushing against her cheek as I held her to me, "You have given me more in one night than I have had in a thousand years. You deserve this – your freedom – you deserve the world," She would have that too, my 'any last words' would be used to ensure she received the whole of my vast fortune, "Shhhh… min älskade, I will always be with you," I laid my calloused hand on her décolletage, tapping my fingerpads lightly on the spot over her heart, "right here."

I felt her nod her head against my cheek before she broke from our embrace to offer me a sad smile and a quick kiss. Electricity coursed through my form, like it had every time we touched. Gods, why was I not just whisking this beautiful creature away? Launching us both into the sky to keep her as my own? Because you will start a war if you do that, because thousands will die, because she could get caught in the cross-fire. I would never risk her that way, the possibility was unconscionable.

I threaded my fingers into hers and we crossed the room together, sitting stock-still in the proffered chairs, submitting to our fates.

Niall stared sternly at the two of us for several minutes, his eyes scrutinizing and cold, his close stance meant to convey power, to force us to cow to some degree – or at least that was how it seemed.

"Sookie, darling, leave us for a moment."

He implored softly, finally breaking the silence, squeezing her small hand in his before helping her from her seated position to usher her out of the room. "Vampire, you will stay," he hissed at me disrespectfully as he closed the door even though Sookie was barely out of sight, her glistening blue eyes – wide and fearful – haunting me as it swung closed with a bang. When he turned back towards me, his demeanor was markedly the opposite, not cooler but certainly less venomous – without a hint of ire in his expression.

"Well, I can say this… you certainly know how to look a gift-horse in the mouth. I am not going to bother to feign anger at this silly play of yours. However, I will say I am quite disappointed it came to this."

His emotions had suddenly turned, sharply as if on the top of a pin.

I was startled.

Eric Northman did NOT get startled by anything but that was the only term that could describe the emotion that flooded torrentially through me. But my expression refused to betray even a hint of my unease, I had no intent to give him the satisfaction – to participate in whatever sick game he was surely playing. So I roared instead, replacing shock with anger at his chosen words, "SHE CANNOT BE GIFTED. SHE IS NOT PROPERTY!"

"Of course, I would not gift her to you! She belongs to herself, and I am her grandfather – not a monster!"

"But you said…"

He interrupted me with an exasperated sigh as he dragged his wrinkled hand through his previously styled white hair, "I am simply suggesting it is what I wanted – the two of you together – that I may have given her a push in that direction by implying she was expected to procreate tonight. Shoshona is nothing if not defiant, after all, and the quickest way to get her to do something is to tell her she cannot, and vice versa. Had I shared with her my intentions to partner her with you, or someone like you, she would have balked – run. This…" he hesitated, spitting out his next word as if it was poison coating his tongue, "… deception served a greater purpose. It gave you both a chance."

"How DARE you liken Sookie to a petulant human child, impugn her honor! How DARE you even suggest she only came to me – gave me the precious gift of her body – to rebel against you!"

I screamed, fangs clicking loudly into place as I felt the overwhelming urge to tear the Fairy Prince apart limb by limb – only the smallest amount of doubt snaking through my thoughts.

Stop being foolish, Northman!

You KNOW she did not offer to sacrifice her future happiness for a revenge fuck.

"I will not pretend I am a good man," Niall admitted conciliatory, dropping his head into a submissive stance that not only caught my attentions, but also threw me off-guard, "What I am is a manipulative old man, one Shoshona has rightly come to mistrust. But I know – in this, and perhaps this alone – I had her best intentions at heart, her happiness my only focus," He rose to his full stance again, confidence returning to his tone and a small smile that did not in any way resemble a smirk claiming his lips, "I know as well as you do, this was her choice, and hers alone. Not one I goaded her into, or she made evil-spirited – or without great deliberation. You were not the only vampire here, she could have balked at my request she end the night teeming with life and still not chosen YOU. In truth, she could have not chosen ANYONE!"

But she said…

"But she said…"

My thoughts spilled from my lips and suddenly, I felt like a human schoolboy fumbling for my words, remembering hers from earlier as they clawed into the forefront of my mind.

"…it's the Princess' duty to partner with someone here tonight… and breed – like a broodmare."

"She did not lie. It is the Princess' duty to mate and breed," Niall insisted, as if he had read my mind, his regal-sounding pronouncement accompanied by a condescending snort I did not appreciate one fucking bit – despite the fact his words had instantly calmed the icy slush threatening to swell through my steeling nerves, "It is the duty OF ALL the Fae to ensure the survival of our race, but it is NOT law. She knew she would not be punished for refusing to share herself, for failing succumb to the temptation I had strategically situated around her," he huffed out a resigned sigh, "Why do you think I agreed to allow her her anonymity? To host a masquerade ball at all?" he veritably roared, "So SHE could CHOOSE."

The weight of his words hit me like a freight train, colliding with my covered chest, slamming hard against my undead heart. Elation spilled into the hollow cavity, and I grinned almost uncontrollably. She chose me? She CHOSE me. She chose ME! And then a similar sensation hurtled against me, soliciting the direct opposite response, an emotion like unlike dread.

But… I broke the treaty.

"But the treaty…"

"The treaty was enacted to curtail senseless violence, not discourage partnership and love. The two of you may want to re-familiarize yourselves with the document, there seems to be a clause you both have overlooked."

Niall joked lightly, his eyes twinkling with an impish delight, as he crossed the room to place a hand purposefully on my shoulder – the gesture felt fatherly and not unlike approval.

"I am going to call Sookie back in here now. I am sure she is crawling the walls with worry."

"You chose me."

I mused happily as Sookie and I lay together, naked limbs tangled beneath the gray sheets of her four-poster bed, my fingers teasing circles on the back of her smooth hand as she nuzzled against my chest.

Sookie's reaction to Niall's revelation had been more than I could have hoped for. She had jumped straight into my arms, wrapped her tanned legs around my muscled waist, and demanded I take her straight to bed. "Claim me," she had said, "Show the world I'm yours." Her wicked words had been arousing as hell, sucking all the blood from my appendages to send it south to my cock. With my rock hard member tapping against the curve of her toned ass, threatening my resolve, it was a miracle we made it to her secret room at all. But truth be told, we had barely shut the door before collapsing onto the floor to tear off each other's clothes and sate the flames burning in our respective loins. Thank the gods she did not have carpeted floors.

"What can I say, Eri-c," she said cheekily, the popped 'c' she placed in my name one of my new favorites sounds, second only to the guttural moans she released while cumming, "You are quite the dance partner."

She nipped lightly at my nipple, rolling it in her teeth and I moaned loudly, my little temptress was playing with fire.

"Uh-uh-uhh," I tsked, echoing her earlier admonishment, feeling my beast awaken and slink towards the bar of his cage with all intents to rattle them, "do not play dirty, fairy. We do not want to get into that type of trouble, now do we?"

"Oh, yes, Eri-c," her voice sultry and low, fire dancing in her eyes as she swept her tongue out to wet her swollen pink lips, "we most certainly do."

With that, she drew my nipple into her hot little mouth, biting so hard I knew she had drawn blood. My beast cheered the action, red dripping into my vision, challenging my ability to keep control and not take her as mine. MINE! My mind chanted as she sucked at the wound she had made until it closed, my member all the while stiffening to the point of near explosion.

She tongued at the spot erotically, lapping up every last drop of my rich essence, her eyes glassy and hooded, as her emotions exploded within me – the forceful swell of her love figuratively swallowing me whole.

"Now," she teased playfully, drunk with lust and vampire blood, her finger toying against my sternum, "Are you going to return the favor or am I gonna need to do that again?"

"Sookie," I warned, the red in my vision turning from a thin sheen to a thick cloud, "I am not a saint. If I bite you again, I can promise you I will not stop. I will do what I have wanted to do since the moment I met you. I will make you mine until the end of time."

"Please, Eric, choose me." she responded lovingly, the teasing gone from her tone, "Make me your child. Never let me go."

"Min älskade," I breathed out, my body shuddering with excitement as my fangs snicked into place, "I will always choose you."

A/N: The End!

Thank yous to every reader, but most thanks go to Rachel Olsen-Williams who gave me this prompt. Who knew I had it in me to write something so smutty? (Betas, don't answer that! LOL) Oh, and mom, if you read this, until recently I'd forgotten you know this screenname. Whoops.