Title: The Gift

Author: Marianne H. Stillie

Categories: Romance, Angst

Rating: T

Pairing: Eric and Sookie

Summary: After Dead and Gone, Sookie and Eric come to an understanding that no sacrifice is too big for their love.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters and places for Southern Vampire Mysteries Sookie Stackhouse Novels are the property of Charlaine Harris, Ace Books, The Berkley Publishing Group, a division of Penguin Group. This piece of fan fiction was created for entertainment, not monetary purposes and no infringement on copyrights or trademarks are intended. Previously unrecognized characters, places and this story are copyrighted to the author. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

Archive: Please do not archive anywhere without the author's permission.

Copyright (c) 2009 Marianne H. Stillie

The Gift

The play of flames within the circle of firebreak stones danced merrily, consuming the last of the dry autumn leaves I'd raked so diligently on this warm early November day. It was one of the chores I hated most, but it needed doing. I kept close watch on the crackling sparks that sputtered now and then from stray pine needles. Gran had taught me to be wary of this kind of fire. The big plastic bucket of water and sturdy shovel were within easy reach, just in case. It seemed under control, but you could never tell when a wisp of breeze would try to call it elsewhere or a stray bit of red would overflow the rocks and reach outside the ring.

I'd decided to spend this first day of a long-overdue two week vacation doing some of the little chores I'd neglected thanks to the extra hours my barmaid job had been taking from my free time over the past few weeks. Between family crises and the usual cold weather sickness, my boss, Sam Merlotte, had been strapped for help to cover all the shifts. He'd been really great when I'd asked him for this long stretch of time off, so I didn't mind doing double shifts. Of course, if he could, he would have asked me to cancel my vacation. Being short on help wasn't his true reason for his contrariness.

During the last three years, Sam had seen me in perilous danger, first hand or at a distance, more times than I wanted to remember. I knew it pissed him off no end that every one of the incidents, wars between opposing forces of vampires, werewolves and fairies, not to mention human terrorists, was because of a man I knew. My upcoming vacation was because of the very special man who affected my life most, Eric Northman, vampire sheriff of Area Five. There had been unusually rare occasions over the past ten months when I'd been able to hear Sam's thoughts. He was a shape-shifter which made reading his mind pretty near impossible compared to a normal human's thoughts. And he'd always been darn good at shielding. I'd known for a long time how much he cared for me, and that he considered himself a much more benign form of supernatural than the others I'd been involved with in varying degrees. In other words, he was a heck of a lot safer for me than vamps, Weres and fairies. The very powerful Eric was the ultimate trouble for me, in his opinion. What I'd known better than to remind Sam was that under vampire law, Eric and I were married.

Mesmerized by the flames, I let my mind wander deeper into what I planned on telling my gorgeous, blond lover when we were together again. Eric's responsibilities to his businesses and his liege lord, the King of Nevada, had taken up an unusually heavy schedule of meetings, with an out-of-town trip that had lasted six weeks. I stopped counting the days since we'd shared a night of lovemaking when he'd finally returned from Las Vegas ten days ago. Our pillow talk that night had been a mixture of good news and bad news.

The good was that the Las Vegas group had found a new telepath for their use. I really did feel bad for her, or him. I could feel Eric's relief roll off his cool vampire skin that night as he told me that I would be safe from telepathic exploitation by Felipe de Castro from here on. There was no guarantee in the vampire world but it meant we could actually have a life together. My man had pledged that once he found the traitor in his area he would arrange his schedule so that we could spend more time together in Bon Temps, or maybe someplace out of the country neither of us had ever been to. I made it pretty clear to my stubborn Viking that I wouldn't allow him to risk everything he'd worked to achieve for me. I just wanted him to be less of a workaholic. Eric being the oh-so-ready lover he was, smiled gratefully, kissed me passionately and had me primed and ready for his gracious plenty again in minutes.

The "traitor" thing was the bad news we talked about the next day. Someone was spying on us. I have to admit my rage was as livid as Eric's when he told me. The people who worked for him were alive because of how he'd handled the Nevada takeover. So much for gratitude from a person or persons unknown!

Since he'd come home, I'd been counting the days until the very private vacation we'd arranged to end my status as a very unhappy and unsatisfied woman. I'd gotten too used to having him around on a regular basis after the horror of the fairy war in January. But there was still a big piece of unfinished business between us.

My thoughts about that unfinished business had been overflowing outside my little corner of Hummingbird Road from the first second I saw the daylight this morning. My great- grandfather's parting words, "The vampire is not a bad man, and he loves you," had finally sunk in. There was a long-overdue choice I had made that couldn't wait any longer to tumble out of my mouth. The joy and happiness I wanted to see on Eric's face when I told him I loved him, directly and out loud, flashed through my mind again and again. That I wanted to make the commitment he'd been waiting for, to share his life as a full-time wife, was worth all those terrible rough spots and obsessive doubts I'd struggled with for so long.

I admitted to myself it was about damn time Sookie Stackhouse finished growing up. What I had was so much more than what I'd thought possible for me three years ago. My great revelation was as huge as the vampires' outing six years ago. What really kicked some sense into me was realizing that all the time I'd spent fighting being tied to Eric through the blood bond, I'd selfishly ignored how tied to me he had become. Vampires were known for their extreme emotions, all the negative ones, of course, and I'd foolishly fallen into that mindset. Despite how consistently he'd shown me otherwise, I'd kept up my thick-headed demands for freedom and independence from him. But he never gave up even though I was constantly hurting him. If that wasn't the unconditional love I'd been hoping for, I didn't deserve him.

I looked up at the sky to gauge the time. Without meaning to, my breath held as I counted the now fewer hours until dusk, and Eric.

The crunching sound of tires on gravel brought me out of my daydreams. Carefully, I poured water over the bed of dying embers and raked the wet patches through. Wisps of smoke and leaf dust burped from the blob of burned residue.

I made my way around to the front of the house. An unknown late model silver sedan had parked in the driveway of my big, old family home. The unknown man who stood on the screened-in porch was just reaching up to knock on the door when I asked, "Can I help you, mister?"

The conservatively well-dressed, bespectacled man came down the steps, tucking a thick, briefcase under his arm. "Are you Miss Stackhouse?" he asked in a soft Texas drawl.

"That's me. And you?"

As smoothly as he could, the thirtysomething dark-haired guy fished a business card out of his breast pocket and handed it to me. Smiling, he said, "My name is Dr. Richard Fairchild. I work for your great-grandfather, Niall Brigant."

With a lump in my throat, I asked, "Have you seen him recently?" After the horror of the fairy war, and my near death, I had assumed the door to the fae world would have closed solid months ago.

The doctor's smile faded slowly. "No. He gave me instructions to deliver a package to you as soon as it was ready. That was just before he left."

The trail of silence between me and the doctor would have dragged on if my dawning curiosity hadn't kicked me in the butt. "What package?"

His smile was now completely gone, replaced by a very serious expression on Richard Fairchild's face. "It would be best if we talk about this indoors. If you don't mind," and his arm pressed the briefcase closer against his side.

In my not-as-neat-as-it-used-to-be living room, I gestured for the doctor to sit on the couch. "Would you like coffee or iced tea? The weather is good for either, Dr. Fairchild."

"Please call me Richard. After everything the prince told me about you, I feel I know you as a long-time friend." Very carefully, he put the briefcase down on the cushion right beside him. "And coffee would be perfect. I have a long drive back to Houston tonight."

Taking in the fresh pieces of information I'd just found out, I smiled and headed for the kitchen. As the pot of water perked through my coffeemaker, I took down my Gran's silver tea tray that had survived the fire last year. I smiled remembering the top of the line coffeemaker that now resided in Eric's kitchen in Shreveport. It and a basket of flavored coffees and baked goods had been delivered to his house the morning after I'd slept over the first time. My very practical vampire lover knew what I'd need when I woke up, and had some very efficient contacts do what he couldn't do in person. After arranging the sugar bowl, filled creamer and two good china cups and saucers on the tray, I had time to read all the information on the doctor's business card.

According to the richly engraved card with its simple navy blue logo that identified my great-grandfather's company as Chem One Research, Dr. Richard Fairchild was the senior geneticist and microbiologist for their research and development lab. I wondered whose genetics he was researching and developing.

The last dribbles of water had come through the coffeemaker and I moved the filled pot to the ornate trivet on the tray. I wished my former housemate Amelia was still in residence. A quick conversation with her would have been perfect just now. She'd moved back to New Orleans soon after the whole fairy war nightmare. The death of her significant other, Tray Dawson, had been too much for her. With a great overflow of tears, she'd packed, wished me well and told me to make sure I remembered where New Orleans was in the great State of Louisiana. Her grief had made dealing with her rich and overbearing father there easier than staying in Bon Temps with all its memories.

As good a friend as Amelia had been to me, I was glad to have my house back. I'd been able to bring Eric over into my world with complete freedom and privacy. Since that cold February night I'd shown up at Fangtasia unannounced, and spent the first of regular four-day weekends with him at his home in Shreveport, I'd let my heart lead me where it wanted to go. Eric thought he had heavily controlled his emotions after the fairy war but I'd felt his longing and emptiness, clearly and often while we were separated. When he'd told me he dreamed now, I knew the glimpses into his vampire soul at odd times during my days had been his dreams of me.

That first time we'd truly spent the night together in his light-sealed bedroom restored what had been in abeyance – a Word of the Day calendar word I never thought I'd get to use – since we'd parted so poignantly weeks before. Luckily it was winter so dusk came early. I'd settled myself Indian style on his huge bed waiting for him to wake, something I hadn't been able to do any of those precious days he'd spent at my house the year before. For just a moment, my memories of frantically trying to wake him when the Rhodes hotel was exploding made my throat close and my heart pound faster. Even though he doesn't breathe, I just had to touch him to make sure he was really there and safe. I knew right then I was finally letting myself love him freely.

He startled awake, turning his big body in my direction. Soothingly, I caressed his face, pushing aside the thick clumps of his sleep-tousled pale hair, and wished him good morning. The look of amazement in his eyes at seeing me there with him was fierce. For the first time since he'd regained his memory, I saw pure, tangible love on his face. As he reached for me, his vampire glow became stronger than usual. That moment was the beginning of an honest mutual bonding between us. Since then, the "morning" wake-up sex with my lover had become a delicious habit when I was in Shreveport.

When summer came, his nightly visits to my home had become as close to a real marriage as we'd dared to go. I'd only put my true feelings for him into words while he was away. I needed him, the blood bond between us so intense, it had become painful for me when he wasn't in touching distance. Was I afraid of how much I'd come to need him? A tight knot of apprehension twisted in my stomach every time my mind lighted on the alternative - my only fear was that my connection to the millennia-old vampire would end for some unknown reason.

The lengthy group e-mail had come through on Eric's home computer that Friday night of our long weekend together in August. He'd told me there were rumors of a major business meeting so he wasn't surprised as he read the endless pages of details.

I'd wandered into his office looking for a new mystery or romance that I could start the next day while he was asleep. My lover had an arrangement with a large local bookstore chain for regular deliveries of new releases for me. My growing shelf of reading material was right next to the packed DVD section. A Word of the Day from the calendar I'd given him, eclectic, described what was in the collection, along with the CD assortment and massive selection of books on other shelves that I'd been sampling regularly. High school had been a bust, and college out of the question thanks to my "gift". But I'd always craved to learn more so I took pleasurable advantage of what Eric had accumulated materially. I won't go into detail about the size of the television screen or a description of the AV equipment in the living room. Top of the line as I've known for a long time is Eric's style in everything. It took me a real long while to get used to the affluence of it all.

His home office was totally unlike his sparse, utilitarian office at Fangtasia. It was a true representation of his cultured tastes that reflected his long existence on Earth. He'd blended all the modern elements with a diverse mix of artwork. My special favorite was an expensive alabaster reproduction of Rodin's The Kiss that stood beside a framed picture of us at the back center edge of his wide desk. I teasingly had called the room his lair the first time I'd seen it. He'd laughed and corrected me stating with a very Eric grin that his bedroom had that title especially now that I shared it with him.

I always enjoy watching Eric when his mind is elsewhere. Describing his physical attributes requires a good-sized dictionary. When it comes to explaining his facial expressions, only a super-size thesaurus comes close. The look on his face right then was very sour. I peeked over his shoulder and asked what was wrong. Silently, his long index finger pointed to the words listed under the heading of dress requirements: formal business attire with tie only. I knew it was the wrong thing to do, but I burst out laughing.

My very powerful sheriff of Area Five was a jeans-and-tee kind of guy. On the rare occasions he dressed up, tuxes at the late queen's party in New Orleans and the summit ball last year, or an occasional suit like the very well-tailored and expensive one he'd worn when he had taken me to the casino for my birthday were, to put it mildly, near agony for him, and were shed as soon as he could do so. If he had his druthers, he'd go completely naked which is what I enjoy about sleeping with him. Well, there are other things I enjoy more about sleeping with Eric, but you get the idea.

With a sharp arch of an eyebrow, Eric made a simple statement that we were going shopping the next night then shut down his computer. The book I'd chosen for daytime reading fell to the floor as he swept me up in his arms. In the bedroom, he was quickly a vision of naked lusciousness.

Our shopping trip was in familiar territory, the area of upscale boutiques in the same neighborhood as the restaurant where I'd officially met my great-grandfather Niall a year ago. Emotions assaulted me from so many directions that night, I was on overload.

The men's clothier, boastfully advertised as for the most discerning men of Shreveport, was on the same block as the very elegant dress shop and spa I'd visited in July as part of my birthday gift from Eric. Spending a day being pampered and buying a spectacular outfit that my man had visually drooled over had been wonderful. The most heartwarming part had been how I'd been greeted by the staff at both places. From the moment I walked in, I'd been addressed as Mrs. Northman. I knew that had been Eric's doing. He knew how sensitive I was about being looked at as his kept woman. What I didn't know until our most recent shopping trip was that he considered that my true formal title. He quickly introduced me as his wife to each and every employee we passed in the various departments. As we followed the store manager to a private booth area, Eric took my hand, and I bumped my shoulder against his arm. I saw his wide grin but he just kept looking straight ahead.

If you've ever watched the movie Pretty Woman, you'll remember the scene where Julia Roberts is in an exclusive women's clothing store in Beverly Hills with Richard Gere. Well, I found myself in the Richard Gere role as my flamboyant vampire husband put on a very enjoyable fashion show for me. Eric is so secure in himself after so many centuries, he does the humor and flowery words to me with ease and sincerity. The preening and showing off are so much a part of his fun-loving nature, I was in tears from laughing so hard at his antics. I also couldn't resist regular exclamations of "yum" with each new outfit.

After trying on seven suits, he decided on three. When the in-store tailor arrived to begin the alterations, Eric brushed his lips slowly and lingeringly across my mouth then suggested I browse around for whatever I thought he might like. I knew he was thinking of more than just ties so I took my time going from department to department. By the time I got to the ties, I was juggling several packages of socks, dress shirts to go with the suits, blatantly sexy underwear and several colorful handkerchiefs. Having lived there for so many centuries, Eric liked the European touch of a complementary designed handkerchief peeking out of the breast pocket of his suit jackets. I was pretty proud of my selections. It showed I'd definitely gone beyond Wal-Mart.

I'd just finished picking out several ties that would go with what I pictured he'd look like in the new suits and shirts when I felt his arms snake around me from behind. Ignoring the various pairs of eyes on us, he snuggled my neck in a mock attempt at biting, his fangs just barely visible. Laughing joyously, he let me go and checked out the selection of accessories in my arms. Glancing over at one of the tie displays, I saw his eyes get round as saucers. Almost reverently, he picked up a simple striped tie and held it up to the light. I noticed that the blue stripes were almost the identical color of his eyes, and I said so. The smile he gave me back can only be described as enamored as he pointed out that the blue and yellow-gold stripes were the exact colors of the Swedish flag. It's rare that I don't have a comeback for Eric. That night I just smiled sweetly and kept silent. Vikings – sheesh!

As two members of the staff loaded our purchases into the Corvette, I noticed a large, very feminine shopping bag packed with several beautifully wrapped boxes. The name on the bag was the elegant dress shop. I decided not to ask about the extra items to give Eric the pleasure of formally presenting his latest gifts to me when we got home. I'd definitely gotten used to being spoiled by my very generous lover.

I knew Eric had made reservations at Les Deux Poissons after our shopping adventure. He insisted on taking me out to eat regularly on dates. Not all vampires remember that their human companions need to eat real food. In case you're wondering, Eric dislikes the human process of feeding. It hadn't been a problem before because our times together had been so sporadic with him sleeping days and me sleeping nights. The two weeks he'd been at my house with amnesia I'd worked around it pretty well. That didn't work at all now.

The first dinner I made for myself in Eric's kitchen had been pretty simple: steak, salad and biscuits. He'd wandered around his small, comfortable house while I ate my suppers that first weekend. I could tell he didn't like not keeping me company, but the smells really didn't sit well with him. His emotions and mine had really clashed over those four days all because of our very different eating habits. I'd made sure to scrub every possible hint of food away before I'd headed home to Bon Temps.

I was darn tense our next weekend together in Shreveport. I'd made sure I ate before I arrived at his house just so we could have a special evening together. To my total shock, Eric laughed self-consciously and suggested we go grocery shopping that night. If it had been possible for a vampire to blush he would have as he quickly explained. He wanted me to cook a regular meal for myself the next evening and he was going to sit and keep me company while I ate. His theory was that because of the emotional bond between us, he could concentrate on my positive feelings about the food I would be eating and it would make him comfortable with my feeding. If he wasn't over a thousand years old and possessed the most incredible control and strength, I would have asked him not to try. Truth was, it wasn't only his discomfort I wanted to avoid. Thanks to our wonderful blood bond, when Eric was unhappy, so was I.

His theory worked like a charm and we were able to share more time together. He would chat about various topics as I ate my suppers at his dining room table each evening. We became so domesticated that grocery shopping was a regular errand every weekend we were together. When we both felt confident enough of this new emotional bond, we tried going out to eat. An unexpected extra to our concentrating on each other in public restaurants was that I was better able to tune out all the human noise that usually assaulted me.

Being in the same restaurant where I'd spent such a magical evening with my great-grandfather, the fairy prince, had put an odd damper on the evening, and I found myself thinking more serious thoughts.

Niall and Eric shared a beauty and power that made them irresistible to me. I'd often wondered why my great-grandfather wanted me with Eric. I finally figured out it was the glaring differences between them that made the vampire everything my great-grandfather could never be to me. Eric was practical and intuitive of my feelings, actions and reactions. He insisted on meaningful conversations even when I tried to stall or avoid them. He was there when I really needed him, freely giving of his revived humanity and the emotions that came with it. Yes, he was a vampire, so different and so hated and mistrusted by many. But I knew better. He had become the man I'd fallen in love with when he'd lost his memory. I was never alone anymore and I wouldn't have it any other way. His deep caring surrounded me when he was awake. I felt safe, protected, wanted, needed and, yes, very loved.

When Eric asked me what I wanted from the menu, I had looked up into his eyes. The wave of total love that enveloped me at that moment was awesome. I knew in my heart that I truly did belong with him. I couldn't imagine even a day without him. From the questioning lift of his eyebrow I knew he'd felt my deep thoughts. I'd put my hand over his, unable to form the right words at that moment. Instead I told him what I wanted to eat. He'd simply smiled, placed the order with the waitress and began talking about his thoughts and ideas about the meeting.

The words came tumbling out as my vampire husband spoke about what he planned to put into his presentation. Eric's memory was like a steel trap so he didn't need prose details once he'd made up his mind about facts, figures and projections. I knew he'd use the modern technology at his disposal to put together a simple Power Point presentation when he'd finalized the report structure in his head. I'd seen how fast he used a keyboard so it wouldn't take long once he was ready to do the final version.

There were things about his vampire world that he kept his own council about. I understood all too clearly why he wanted and needed to protect me from the sordid underbelly of the old ways that were still too prevalent. I became so enthralled by his confiding in me so thoroughly, I had to keep reminding myself to eat. His trust in me had become so unquestioning, I felt a very old pull of guilt crawl up my spine. His belief in me made me wish I had trusted him sooner. Deep down in my soul I knew Tray, Clancy and maybe even Claudine would still be alive, and Bill wouldn't have had to struggle so hard to recover from the silver poisoning if I'd done as Eric had asked and stayed with him in Shreveport last January.

I'd always been so tentative with Eric, never decisive or sure or honest about my feelings for him. That long-suppressed question I'd been too afraid to ask couldn't wait any longer. The time for hesitancy in our relationship had to end so I jumped right in and asked what he would do if he was offered a kingship.

Eric's eyes went wide with surprise then his expression became deeply thoughtful. His silence made me afraid of what his answer would be. When I saw his pensive look evolve into a brilliant smile, I was reminded that trusting him should be a given now. His voice so firm and sure, he answered that he would turn it down because he didn't want to lose his freedom.

Without any prompting from me he explained that he was very proud of what he'd accomplished in Area Five and how his people perceived his rule there. He was basically autonomous, and clearly respected as a king without all the petty intrigue and drama a kingship would bring. He didn't want or need anymore than what he had.

He smiled gently and took my hands in his on the table. He would also never risk having to give up our pledge for the sake of a political alliance, and have me become nothing more than his mistress. When he said those words so simply and gently my eyes went wide. It was the closest Eric had ever come to saying he loved me and that our love came before power and position in his world. He'd freely chosen what I needed - to come first in my man's life.

When it came to gossip, the vampire race was right up there with humans. Eric was the only sheriff outside Europe who was pledged to a human. The current gossip had categorized our pledge as a marriage of convenience. Only those closest to us knew it was much more. Though attitudes and mores were changing in his world, too much old-guard mentality still existed among the territory sovereigns to accept us as a legitimate couple. I almost broke down and made a grand profession of love for him right there and then but decided to wait. I could feel that he was content to have the subject out in the open and wasn't expecting more.

I decided to skip dessert so we could get home as quickly as possible. I desperately wanted private alone-time with my man. By the way, the shopping bag of gift wrapped boxes turned out to be a beautiful selection of lingerie in a glowing shade of orchid silk with black lace trim that Eric had picked out himself. I didn't get to do my own version of a fashion show until the next night.

I had spent an extra long weekend with Eric before he left for the big Vegas pow wow. I was feeling pretty guilty about expecting Sam to work around my personal life, again. Truth was, my barmaid job at Merlotte's had become a chore I really didn't want to do anymore. The pull to be in Shreveport with Eric had become stronger than my old ties to Bon Temps: my job, the people who didn't miss me when I wasn't there, even my brother. It wasn't fair to Sam after what a good friend he'd been to me all those years, and I had to make a decision. Most surprising, I found I wasn't afraid to let those very old ties go anymore.

I'd seen an unusual want ad in the career section of the Sunday paper. The word resume jumped out and scared the shit out of me. Past experience as a barmaid didn't count for much when I'd be applying for a national liaison position with a company like Extreme(ly Elegant) Events, the same organization that had handled the double Bellefleur wedding a year ago. I would never have considered it except that I knew about the vampire money that was behind the scenes of the company, especially in the Special Events branch that staged various happenings for groups in the supernatural world I'd become so touched, entangled and influenced by over the past three years. I was fully a part of that world and there was no going back. The ad was very clear that applicants had to provide verifiable references. I knew I probably wouldn't get the job but I'd give it a hell of a try. It was time I called in all those markers that were owed to me.

While Eric slept, I drove to Bon Temps. With his encouragement, I'd hired an old friend of Halleigh Bellefleur's, a computer teacher from her home town of Mandeville, to upgrade the computer I'd inherited from my late cousin Hadley, and to teach me everything I needed to know about that wonder of modern technology. I'd really enjoyed learning all the new things the simple looking machine could do. I was back in Shreveport well before Eric woke up, the freshly printed resume in my purse. I hadn't hesitated to use some big names both living and dead. Every word in the document was true and, I have to say, it was damn impressive.

I'd gone to the Shreveport office of E(E)E right after the Anubis Air transport had picked up Eric's coffin that next morning for his flight to the meeting in Las Vegas. I hadn't heard from them yet, but I was hopeful since some of the living references I'd given had called to let me know they'd been contacted and had given me glowing recommendations. It sure was nice to know how many friends I'd made in the vamp and supe communities.

I shook myself out of my serenely simmering personal thoughts about Eric. My unexpected company came first. Luckily, the doctor would be long gone before my man arrived. Taking a deep breath, I lifted the tray and went back to the living room.

My visitor hadn't moved from his position on the couch, except that his hand was protectively covering his briefcase. We quietly prepared our cups of coffee the way we liked, and sipped.

With a pleased smile, Richard said, "You make a great cup of strong coffee, Miss Stackhouse."

"It's Sookie." My eyes slid from his delighted face to the briefcase he'd let go of to enjoy his coffee. "What are you delivering, now that it's ready?"

Being the perfect scientific professional he was, Richard Fairchild put the cup down on the coffee table and pulled the briefcase onto his lap. The soft tan leather had been well-used over many years and the metal on the flap mechanism opened almost noiselessly.

I didn't know what to expect as he reached into the briefcase, so I found myself biting my bottom lip in anticipation. Without a word, he placed a small rectangular metal cube and an oversized buff-colored envelope into my hands. I immediately recognized the unicorn imprint on the thick wax seal.

"The prince asked that you wait until I leave to open his letter. It will explain everything you need to know about what's inside the receptacle."

Sometimes Pam wished she didn't know Eric Northman as well as she did. He'd arrived at Fangtasia only a half hour before, and rushed through his usual night routine, terrorizing everyone on the premises in the process. Aside from herself, of course. Now he was storming out the back door of the bar. Following quickly but carefully behind him, she saw him vault over the door of his red Corvette convertible and start the engine. She took the chance and shouted, "Have a nice vacation, boss!"

If it wasn't for her superior vampire hearing, she wouldn't have heard his very colorful retort. Her maker's strange way of starting the first real vacation he'd ever had was bizarre, considering that he was going to be with the woman he loved. She almost felt sorry for Sookie Stackhouse.

Despite my extreme agitation, I needed to keep my speed just at the maximum limit. I eased my foot off the gas pedal, watching the speedometer needle waver then slide back down. My hands that were strangling the steering wheel as if they were around someone's throat also needed adjustment. Just a little more pressure and they would have snapped my primary means of controlling the vehicle.

Tonight I did not want to run afoul of the human's code of laws in any way. I had too much to sort out between Shreveport and Bon Temps to get sidetracked. To that end, I sat back more comfortably in the leather seat, and began reviewing the various topics I had to choose from. Even before I began, I knew each topic would lead to the beautiful woman I had come to adore since I first laid eyes on her almost three years ago. The same one I would be saying good-bye to forever in a very short time.

In my world, business and personal were so entwined, they couldn't be easily separated. The month of silence from my lover after the fairy war was an exercise in excruciating self-control. I'd used my business interests to camouflage my heightened emotions to a degree that surprised even me. I'd fooled most of the beings within my sphere of daily living. Only Pam knew better. She considered my behavior an excuse, a way of hiding the truth. From her, I accepted those alternate opinions, knowing they were valid.

Through our blood bond, I'd known that Sookie was healing physically, which eased my mind to a degree. The almost excessive quantity of blood I'd given her had been very dangerous, and very necessary.

From the threads of emotions I'd sensed, she also needed breathing space from me. It had been hard to share her complex struggles with the violent events she had gone through while I pulled my own emotions back to a time before my love for her had consumed me. I could not fool myself though. My days of sleep had become increasingly restless, invaded by various shades of dreams. Dreaming was a human trait I had not had to deal with for over a thousand years. I was not comfortable with it as a vampire.

There had been nights of normal activity when I'd thought I was succeeding in my new control. Then I would feel a vivid flash of my lover that I knew was coming directly from miles away rather than simply my recent memories. In the middle of doing something else, I would find myself pulled into her fresh tears, many of them renewed grief over her lost fairy cousin. Those distant tears were so hot, painful and real I could feel them on my cold skin as if mirroring what I had experienced when I'd held her in my arms our last time together.

The February night my lover walked into Fangtasia unannounced had ended my torture. She had somehow shielded her feelings so that I had to mask my shock behind a bout of anger that she had made that long drive alone in some very bad weather. Her familiar pout of defiance quashed my harsh words. From my first encounter with Sookie Stackhouse, I had been amazed at how feisty and fearless she was. Surrounded by vampires and extreme new experiences, she had stood up to me with humor and courage. Her trace of fairy blood had manifested in a highly unique way, giving her a strength that rivaled, and sometimes surpassed her telepathic gift. My lover does as she wishes, and I wouldn't have it any other way.

Most of all, after the weeks of silence, her coming to me unbidden was a sign that she had forgiven me for what she had suffered. In the euphoric aftermath of our passion that night, I told her why I had been unable to stop any of the torture she had been forced to endure. Her resigned sigh of acceptance to my explanation that the unexpected arrival of my maker and his excessive demands on my time had soothed only a part of my guilt. The fresh sensuous loving she offered me immediately after was a balm to the bouts of empathetic pain I vividly remembered from being forced to stay so far from her that horrible night.

That surprise visit turned into the first of regular four-day weekends together at my home in Shreveport. As I automatically checked the I-20 highway signs that sped by, I felt a small smile touch my mouth. When I had gone to the club after Sookie's first visit ended, I hadn't been able to escape my child's gloating smile that evolved into three ancient Swedish words. Loosely translated Pam had said, "It's about time!" Then she had turned on her heel and walked away laughing obscenely.

I gratefully accepted that my lover had stepped further into my world that night. But being the cautious vampire that I was from old habit, I let her lead, waiting for her to ask for time with me, alone or in public. I have always known I could easily coerce Sookie into going to bed with me because of the time we'd spent together last year and even more because of the strong blood bond between us since Rhodes. But I never could or would. I have always wanted her to come to me willingly.

As winter had drifted into spring, her scent finally became so overwhelming throughout my house, I had to take the initiative, and go to her. Four days here and there just weren't enough. Now that the vampire universe had settled down, my time was my own, and I chose to use it to satisfy my endless passion for my woman.

My April night flight to Bon Temps landed me in Merlotte's parking lot. The outside lights illuminated me clearly, casually leaning against the hood of Sookie's car. I had expected her to be demure and lady-like when she greeted me, despite her surprise, since there were others watching at that closing hour. I had guessed wrong. Wresting control of a rabidly horny human woman as she wrapped her body tightly around me wasn't easy especially considering my own swelling desire, but I did it. I also couldn't help remembering the first time she and I had had an encounter with the hood of a car.

As I opened the passenger side door for her, I was glad I had controlled the situation. Sam Merlotte was standing stock still in front of his trailer across from his business, openly staring at us. Though I don't read minds like my woman, I could see Sam's thoughts on his face. I tend to be possessive and jealous of my lover with all other men, and I don't hide it. Sookie's boss was a man I considered worthy of respect and consideration, especially since his voluntary part in the violent Were struggle last year. I wouldn't have been so generous with the loathsome creatures, but that's just me. He had been there to protect her, and he had done so valiantly at risk to his own life. My first nighttime visit was the only time he was forced to see my lover and me together so intimately.

Our nightly rendezvous proceeded naturally through the beautiful summer. The pull to stay with Sookie just before each dawn when I had to leave her bed was a little easier to control thanks to the growing closeness we were sharing. Absence might make the heart grow fonder, but the immediacy of the five senses in actual use was much more exciting. I sensed a vital change in her, the turning to me more strongly, and with an open, free affection that had gone beyond the influence of our blood bond. But she never said the word. For someone so human and so very emotional, saying the "l" word was even harder for her than it was for me. I accepted that until she had chosen, the word had to stay unspoken from both of us. But it didn't really matter. For those precious hours, she was mine alone, the way she had been when I had lost my memory.

I treasured the extra days with her when she was free of her work responsibilities. I would spend the daylight in the farmhouse hidey-hole, rising at dark to share the too short night hours with my lover. I also took the opportunity to make some improvements to my country resting place, specifically purging the lingering past scents that weren't mine.

We spent another extended weekend in Shreveport for her July birthday. I warned my darling I had planned an extravagant celebration for that Saturday evening. As I gave her a list of everything I had arranged for her enjoyment during the day while I slept, and the night on the town for us, I had expected a typical Sookie Stackhouse response. For the first time, she didn't protest or refuse my material gifts.

The poised, vivacious woman on my arm wearing a striking pearlescent black lace sheath dress was quickly noticed as we entered the Shamrock Casino that night. She smiled confidently despite all the admiring male eyes. The women's eyes enviously admired the ruby and diamond necklace and earrings that had been my primary gift to her.

While she was being admired from afar, an old friend came out of the crowd. Alcide Herveaux, werewolf packmaster of Shreveport, greeted us effusively and invited us to join his party of friends and business associates. Again, my beautiful country girl glowed, her self-confidence and warmth easily giving her entrée to the group of mostly strangers.

The mood around the long table was buoyant and friendly as the evening progressed. The past history, complex though it was, between Sookie and Alcide was put aside, until he asked her to dance. It wasn't really seeing her in another man's arms that bothered me. It was the swiftly changing expressions I saw on her face as their conversation became more serious. Her emotional discomfort had projected across the room despite her attempt to shield me from it. When the music ended, I was right there beside them. The Were nodded politely like a gentleman, despite what he was, and walked away.

Since that first time at Fangtasia and again, so joyously, at the doomed summit, I had danced with my lover mostly in private. The passion that came out in me when I held her so close was far too graphic to be seen in public. But I took the chance, and swept her into my arms. The public part of our evening ended shortly after our dance.

That night as we lay in bed, sated from our intense lovemaking, discussing the evening's events, I didn't ask and she didn't volunteer what exactly her conversation had been with the Were. Instead my lover laughed sweetly and stated that the object of all those admiring female eyes was me, and she was as happy as a pig in slop that she was the one who got to take me home. What's that human phrase, "You can take the girl out of the country…"?

The days had become noticeably shorter as September began. By then we were so tightly bound, I knew we had to speak of deeper things. That was when my unusually quiet business and political life began hitting some snags. Through my long centuries of existence, I had learned to always be on alert. This time I didn't see any of it coming.

A national business meeting had been called by the North American kings and queens. E-mail had been the communication of choice with no RSVP attachment. All the sheriffs were told where and when to report despite how inconvenient it might be. They were our liege lords and we obeyed. Fortunately, the Louisiana/Arkansas territory was first on the long agenda for discussion and review. I expected to be away from Shreveport and my woman for only a few days. I assumed incorrectly. On the second day I was informed that my presence was required for the duration of the conclave.

Six weeks in Las Vegas might be a dream opportunity for some. For me it was a blatant form of punishment my master, Felipe de Castro, used very obviously and eloquently. That I had thwarted his plan to bring Sookie under his total control by orchestrating our marriage would never be forgotten or forgiven. Vampire memories are far too long and prideful for such human weakness.

Though it crossed my mind, I decided that anger was one of those occasionally useless emotions in this situation. I put it aside, and settled into the spirit of the gathering. The agenda was substantive and highly structured as each area was called on to report. We were becoming so mainstreamed with our planning committees and goals that I found it hard to keep my amusement in check. It was the rare sheriff who hadn't been able to provide chapter and verse for every aspect of his or her territory. My presentation had been thorough, but I realized there were some weak spots I needed to address as soon as I returned home.

Inevitably each day, business flowed into social exchanges. I had not seen my fellow sheriffs from the American Central division who had survived the tragic events in Rhodes since that day. Renewing acquaintances with them and the new sheriffs who had taken over the vacant areas as well as my counterparts from across the country and Canada was both pleasant and enlightening as informal conversations became more relaxed among the attendees. I especially enjoyed my conversation with the Native elder who represented Vancouver. His very eloquent sales pitch about the new vampire hotel that had just opened made we wonder if Sookie would be interested in visiting our neighbor to the north. He was especially descriptive of the honeymoon cottages which were highly private and featured special accoutrements for lovers. I took his card and colorful brochure, and promised I would consider his offer of a special rate for me and my wife.

Each night, after a reasonable length of time with my fellow vampires, I would make my excuses and go to my room. Abstinence had become an unnatural state for my lover and me. Within seconds after speed-dialing the Bon Temps number, Sookie would pick up. My lover always knew how to set priorities in her life, and she didn't disappoint while I was involuntarily far from her. Phone sex wasn't the ideal, but being separated by two time zones and too many miles, it had to do. The small talk would come after our passion had been released, what her day had been like and a capsule version of mine. I could feel her smile across the miles when she thanked me for the latest delivery of flowers. Her special favorite was the suggestively shaped exotic red bloom like the one I had sent her after her first adventure in my world. And there was always an element of laughter that came so naturally between us now. When I felt her growing need for sleep, I would reluctantly end the conversation with a solemn promise to call again the next day.

The schedule of events had become so routine as the last week of meetings began with the final group of sheriffs, I only belatedly recognized the seemingly bland and ignorable comments and questions that had been coming from various sources for what they were. When the subject was openly my personal life and came directly from both Felipe and his henchman, Victor Madden, I knew something was up.

In the world of vampire politics when someone achieved the high level of power I had, the tests from above were always there. I had never had to draw a line before, but my relationship with my woman was something I had hoped they would respect. Unfortunately, they seemed to be fully informed of events in my area even to the most intimate details of my time with my lover. At the lavish party he gave the night before the end of the meeting, Felipe took strong note of the fact that Sookie and I still lived apart despite our formal marriage pledge. My explanation was both true and pragmatic without revealing the underlying issue between us. With his almost guileless charm, he also informed me that Sookie's special "services" would no longer be needed by him. They had found another telepath who was totally available, and far more pliant for their use than my wife. I didn't bother making a formal exit as the party devolved into a classic vampire orgy.

The closing hours of my imprisonment by the Las Vegas "mob" were short and anticlimactic. I had already arranged for an Anubis Air flight out that would bring me into Shreveport well before midnight. I left my coffin for transport on my original day flight. The message I left for Sookie was that I would be at her house when she got home from work.

By the time the flight landed in Shreveport, the fermenting anger I'd held in for days had become a pure rage. There was a spy somewhere in my organization, and I had sworn to find whoever was betraying me.

Exiting the terminal, I was about to hail a taxi when Patricia Dolan, a shifter and daytime driver for the livery service I had bankrolled, took my suitcase and garment bag and pointed to the white stretch limo waiting at the curb. Her twin brother, Patrick, also a shifter, usually did the night jobs. When I stepped into the spacious back seat, I understood why they had switched.

All the built-up rage became an uncontrollable lust as I gazed at Sookie. The beige knit shift she wore clung tightly to all the right places as she raised her arms to me. It was quite obvious my creative lover wore nothing underneath the light material. Her expert hands made quick work of my T-shirt and tight jeans. If it weren't for the heavily tinted windows, the citizens of Shreveport and Patricia would have had a first hand look at sex between a starving vampire and his equally hungry human woman.

Despite my attempt to control it, the rage spilled over into my need for her. I knew I had caused her some pain in my frenzy to possess her body again. That she was no longer afraid of me showed in her own equally greedy passion for me after our time apart. By the time we reached my house, the bite marks she had pleasured me with had disappeared. I tenderly licked the raw twin puncture marks I'd left on her generous breasts from tasting her exquisitely sweet blood again. Inside, we immediately headed to the bedroom. It was hours later before the loneliness and deprivation of our separation had been eased enough to allow me to vent my rage coherently.

There were obviously security issues at Fangtasia so my strategy meeting the next night took place at home with the two beings I trusted most, my human wife and my vampire child. It did not escape my notice that both were women.

As I sat on the front of my desk with each of them seated in one of the comfortable easy chairs that flanked my desk, I saw Sookie and Pam look at each other in that silent understanding and communication that had grown between them.

Pam's enthusiasm to take on the management reins of Fangtasia again was far exceeded by her absolute glee at the prospect of hunting down a spy. I just hoped it wasn't another bartender who would pay the price.

When I posed my belief that there had to be two spies, they quickly concurred. Sookie's suggestion that she and I take a long overdue vacation in Bon Temps to ferret out the spy who had to be skulking around her home town took care of the second prong of our investigation.

While Sookie and Pam did some catching up over TrueBlood and sweet tea in the living room, I made phone calls to the people who owed their business lives to my benevolence and excellent management. I set up meetings over the following week, leaving Bill Compton for last on Halloween night. I wondered what might crawl out of those meetings. Maybe the spy who was betraying me? What came out was not what I had expected. That was three days ago.

Halloween at Fangtasia was packed to the rafters that night. As he sat in the chair I had carefully placed beside my desk, Bill was the image of the affluent country gentleman he had cultivated so well since his relationship with Sookie ended. I had let him do most of the talking, conceding that he was very capable in the marketing and research for his vampire data base, and didn't need as much overseeing as others in my area.

Outwardly, he had recovered remarkably well from the silver poisoning. His physical strength was back to that of a normal vampire though it had taken months. I had engaged Dr. Ludwig's services for his care. It had cost me, along with the demon caregiver who had been with him in the early weeks, but it had been worth it. I'd known that my too tenderhearted lover had attempted to care for him in those first days after the fairy war. I would not risk her recovery after what she had suffered.

I fully admit there were still issues between Bill and me, though my anger had become manageable. Strangely, the thing that I found most intolerable was his attempt to keep Sookie locked away in Bon Temps for his own use, a vampire equivalent of barefoot and pregnant so to speak. I'm possessive but I give my woman the freedom to make her own decisions. She and I have acknowledged over time that neither of us is always right or always wrong. My wife deserved better than what Compton had given her, and I was grateful that I was providing her with that life.

It wasn't until after the visit I'd received from my old friend the sheriff of Toronto the first August evening after Sookie had gone back to Bon Temps that the true extent of Bill's problem came to light. Normally, I would have been summoned to his office to pick up my disgraced underling. Instead Alec, an Irish vampire only three centuries younger than I, had delivered Bill to me in Shreveport with the edict that he was now persona non grata in the Ontario Province area permanently.

I knew whatever the incident was it had to be grave so I questioned the leniency of the sentence. My fellow vampire who had once been a priest, both before and after his turning (but that is a story for another time), coldly informed me that the request had come directly from my king to his queen. I nodded solemnly to Alec, acknowledging the reality that money talked for vampires as well as humans.

The story turned out to be a stereotypical vampire one. While in Toronto doing research for his vampire history book, Bill's usually cool temperament had turned hot and violent. He had beaten and raped a young blond woman he'd met in a bar so severely it had taken major feedings of vampire blood to save her. The police had not been involved because of the woman's family background.

As Alec talked, my thoughts were churning with the bits and pieces of insights that I'd been given about Bill's changed personality over the months. None had made sense individually at the time. He had had random memory lapses, gaps of time past and present that seemed to have disappeared. He was occasionally not the calm and rational vampire he was known to be, and in certain things, his temperament had an odd sharpness. Vampires are supposed to be able to heal all types of physical damage except for those rare events that can cause final death. Obviously, the silver poisoning had done some permanent damage to Bill's undead body.

Before Alec left to catch his private charter flight back to Toronto, he told me that Bill Compton needed to watch his back at all times, a clear indication there were those who objected to the light sentence he had been given for such a heinous crime. I didn't waste words with the newly created monster who sat sullenly on the couch across the room. Only my need to protect Sookie forced a small bit of compassion from me. I forbade Bill to travel anywhere outside Bon Temps without my permission. He glared in that most glacial of ways that just skirted defiance and asked for a ride home.

I was due at Sookie's that night and was already running late. While Bill waited in the bar, I called her, apologizing for my delay, and asked what I could bring her to make up for our lost time together. Her voice soft with laughter, she demanded a late-night take-out meal to make up for the dinner out we had originally planned. After depositing Bill at his house across the cemetery from Sookie's, I sped across the road hoping the pizza I'd picked up was acceptable. For a northern Louisiana country girl, my woman was very fussy about her favorite toppings.

Bill's sudden change of topic startled me. I used the raucous volume of noise coming from the bar to quickly cover my lapse of attention. His lighthearted voice was proudly boasting that Tara's Togs in the strip mall he owned was expanding at the Bon Temps location and would be opening a new location in Monroe that he was financing. The baby boom going on in the area made Tara du Rone decide it was a perfect time to add maternity and baby clothes lines to her store offerings. With a cold chuckle, Bill held out a snapshot to me. His next words were very smooth yet lethal as he reminded me of the one thing our kind cannot give a human woman. He laughed brazenly as I looked up from the photograph then walked out of my office.

The invisible wooden stake Bill Compton, damn him, had calmly slipped into my un-beating heart was a picture of Sookie cuddling Tara and JB's baby tightly in her arms. The beatific expression on her face was so strong I could feel the emotions behind it. The handwritten date on the back in Sookie's open scrawl was just after her birthday in July. I had so convinced myself that I knew everything there was to know about my lover I had overlooked one very significant part of her – her innate desire as a physically fertile human woman for a child.

Now I understood the odd blank moments in recent weeks in the flow of emotions I always felt so clearly from her, certain thoughts she had quickly suppressed when I was near. The strength it had taken for her to shield me as each of the three new babies in Bon Temps, du Rone, Bellefleur, Vick, had been born had taken a tremendous effort since our blood bond was so exceptionally strong. Each of us tended to shield some things for simple privacy. It had become an acceptable exercise that worked well between us. This was very different. We had come to an agreement on so many subjects, my lover and I. This one very sensitive personal issue neither of us had dared approach.

I was grateful she had gone back to Bon Temps. I needed the three days until our holiday vacation began to think through what I should do next. At first my anger held sway. After all we had experienced together I was appalled that she would hide such strong emotions from me. It took several layers of outrage before I realized the true reason for my wife's deception. Very simply, her beautiful, loving soul did not want to hurt my feelings. Even in her silent longing she freely surrounded me with her deepest caring in every waking moment of our time together.

I had not known human love for over a thousand years. From our first meeting, despite my inability to recognize why I was so drawn to her, Sookie had slowly made me remember and want that fragile, all-encompassing joy again. By the time of the fairy war, there was no going back to my old, safe vampire life.

As I looked at the photograph again, I thought of my long-dead wife Aude and our children. The sexual pleasure had been easy to recreate with Sookie. In that powerful lust that so dominated each of us, we were as one. What I allowed myself to remember now was the happiness I had known in watching Aude's body change as each child had grown inside her. My pride as a man and my love for her as my wife were as strong as my life as a warrior had been. The actual process of childbirth had been in the hands of the women of our village. Only afterwards did I become a part of her again. I often watched as each child in his or her turn nursed at their mother's breasts. When they were small and Aude exhausted from her day, my big hands would hold them. For the first time in centuries I wept at the memory of Aude's loving looks as she thanked me for the gift I had given her with each child. We had truly been a family.

If I could give Sookie that gift I would, but it was not possible. I am vampire, my undead body incapable of giving my woman viable seed. By loving her, I have cheated her out of the legitimate human life she was entitled to as her birthright. Because of my love, I could not allow her to give up that part of herself that she so obviously wanted just to be with me.

The one question left for me to answer was which of the human men she knew, the ones who have wanted her because they sensed, as I had, how very special she was, would give her that completeness.

I had attempted over the last three days to restore the wall I had created around myself that had allowed me to function without interference from my growing human feelings for her during those first two years. But I had been fooling myself. Our long phone conversations each night only heightened the pain of loss that had already begun eating away at me.

The tortures I would endure when she was with another man would be very real, both physically and emotionally, through our bond. For the first time, I would have to lie to her. Actually, two lies – that the bond would be broken once she had become lover to another man, and that I would be able to have the marriage officially dissolved. When I put those thoughts into words the first time, the ripples of despair that rushed through my ancient body were excruciating. I knew neither would be possible. The marriage had to stand in order to protect her, though I knew what my masters would demand from me in the future. I could free her with my lies, but I could never free myself of her.

As the Bon Temps exit approached, I desperately wanted to slow my car to a crawl. Instead I pressed down on the gas pedal so hard I would have spun off the ramp and crashed except for my vampire reflexes. Because of the late hour, the distance through town and passed Merlotte's was quiet. Again, I increased my speed, the compulsion to reach my destination overwhelming. The small parish road quickly brought me to Sookie's driveway. I parked at the back of the house, and saw her waiting at the bottom of the steps.

The waves of very specific emotion that assaulted me as I exited my car were so strong only one thought flooded my mind and body, and all of it was coming directly from my woman. The closer I came to the house, the more I felt my lover's passion. She was projecting so blatantly I became beguiled. It was as if a spell of fairy magic had surrounded this place to draw me into her palpable desire.

Instead of her usual leap into my arms, she stood on tiptoe and wound her arms around my neck. My hands lifted her by the waist so that we were face to face.

"I've missed you so much, my lover," she whispered. Her mouth found mine and I was lost in her sweetness. With a flirtatious smile she loosened her hold on me and slid down my body, her lightly clothed form teasing all the right places on me.

She took my hand and pulled me toward the house. I knew I should stop this before my mounting thrall became uncontrollable. We needed to talk. But I just could not. I wanted one last night with my lover and wife. Tomorrow would be soon enough for tears and good-bye.

In her softly lit bedroom, I relaxed into her open, eager and ready body. Her human heat radiated out and surrounded me. I had become used to the rhythm of my woman's monthly cycle so the compulsion I felt was very familiar. It was the intense longing of a fertile woman to mate and create a child with her chosen man. I had glimpsed these feelings vividly in recent months only to have her quickly hide them behind her normal desire for me. As she sensually slipped her hands under my shirt and slid it up and off my body, there was no hesitancy in her mating urge. Her eyes hot with desire as she looked into my eyes, she wasted little time on the rest of my clothing.

Taking hold of her upper arms, I buried my mouth in that spot between her neck and shoulder and bit lightly. Urgently, I said, "My turn." Her sweatpants and top were all I had to contend with for my hands to begin exploring her burning skin.

The tactile urgency of our bodies made movement onto her four-poster bed a dire necessity. We clung to each other, rolling from side to side, mouths devouring each other's face and neck, my chest and her breasts, our raging hunger reaching for those most intimate places we shared so greedily when we were together. Finally, her voracious need won out. In a rush of strength I had never seen from her, she pinned me on the bed and mounted me. The flood of pleasure was like nothing I had shared with her before. I became lost in the blissful erotic look on her face as she moved on me. I watched her body become heavily flushed where her hot skin connected with my groin. Her movements quickened and I gripped her hips, eagerly following her throbbing pleasure. The heat of her vagina increased around my erection again, her muscles squeezing tighter as she tried to suck that special form of bodily fluid out of me. Her writhing body was taking what her heart wanted most.

With a loud cry of ecstasy, her body convulsed so hard when she came around me, my body bucked. I immediately followed her in release with my own shout of pleasure. Her heart pounding, she collapsed forward onto me. I pressed her lower body down tightly to keep us intimately connected for as long as possible.

Her breath panting against my ear, she softly said, "Thank you, lover."

The light over the kitchen sink was just enough for me to see by as I filled a glass with water. I'd fallen asleep for a couple of hours, our repeated lovemaking having worn me out. I'd been up way too early this morning. My long drink was cool and refreshing as it went down, and I found myself thinking about Eric in that lustful way that had become second nature to me this past year. I knew I was ready for more of him.

Was it the third or fourth time we had sex that I bit him so hard he yelped in a very un-Eric way? I was craving his blood so much tonight along with wanting his body insatiably.

There were so many things I needed to talk to him about now that he was here: my decision to leave my job at Merlotte's and go live with him in Shreveport, the E(E)E job. I'd felt him coming as soon as he'd gotten off the interstate. All those boring normal thoughts had quickly disappeared from my head by the time he parked on the back lawn. All I wanted was him.

Giggling, I picked up the metal receptacle Richard Fairchild had left with me. For something so small that fit in the palm of my hand to hold such a miraculous means of creation gave me shivers as intense as an orgasm. Could this gift from my great-grandfather be the reason for my excessive horniness tonight? There had to be some fairy magic involved. Human science wasn't that advanced.

I was very anxious about telling Eric, unsure of what his reaction would be. I knew him so well now, but this was a whole new ball game, for both of us. It was something so extraordinary it went beyond anything either of us knew of in the supernatural world.

Taking a deep breath, I picked up the special gift from Niall and put it into the deep pocket of my heavily quilted plaid robe. The thick envelope just fit into the other pocket. I followed the threads of Eric's oddly melancholy emotions out to the front porch. He'd settled his big body along the length of the porch swing, his long legs hanging over the edge. His long, thick hair was twisted under his head like a pillow.

"Mind if I join you?"

Smiling silently, he held out his arms, one foot going down to the wood of the porch to keep the swing from moving. I rested my body on his. His arms went around my waist and pulled me close.

I tried to relax in Eric's arms so I could enjoy the peace and solitude of the night with him. His strong hands moved on my body, comforting, sensuous and, yes, possessive. Every one of my nerve endings, from my scalp right down to my piggy-toes, were still too fired-up with his closeness to not want more of what he was so good at. Pretending to make myself more comfortable against his hard body, I wriggled. Unfortunately, the only part of me that moved was my hottest spot that was strategically on top of his pleasure source. I knew he knew what I was up to because his hands settled on my ass and pressed my body down. I felt a definite tell-tale reaction from my Viking's equipment.

"When are you coming back inside, Eric?" I asked, just barely controlling a quiver of pleasure at the strong tingles I was getting from him down below.

"Why? Are you cold?"

I heard the undertone of teasing in his voice. Doing my best to keep from begging, I answered, "No. I just want you again."

That deep joyful laugh I loved so much came out as he said, "You are a wanton woman, Sookie."

"This is what that amazing old blood of yours has done to me."

With a rare sigh, he said, "It works both ways, my lover." After a long silence, Eric did one of his unexpected changes of subject. "When I passed Merlotte's, the parking lot was empty and the lights turned off. Isn't it a little early in the evening for Sam to close his establishment?"

This time I sighed. Once a bar owner, always a bar owner. "He's been out of town since yesterday." Eric waited patiently, knowing I'd tell him the where and why. "He decided to close the bar so he wouldn't have to worry about anything while he took care of some personal business."

A very noticeable shift in his body betrayed Eric's growing impatience. "You don't shield as well as you think you do after we've had sex. I sense that I missed some great event while I was away?"

I couldn't help giggling, and just blurted out, "Sam is bringing his girlfriend here to live with him. She's a shifter too, and they met at a supe gathering awhile ago in Baton Rouge."

"This doesn't bother you that Sam has found another woman?"

"Why should it?'

"You have been very close with him in the past."

"Not that close. He never got in line."

"Ahh."

"Sam will always be my dear friend, and I wish him the greatest happiness."

"Do they plan to marry?"

"Oh, yes! Sam's real sure Beth is the one for him. She wants all the things he's always hoped for including kids." I felt a funny emotional blip from Eric then it quickly disappeared. "I've met her and she's the perfect woman to help him run the business. She loves all the management stuff I hated when I filled in for Sam when his mom was in the hospital back in January."

"I take it the E(E)E position is more to your liking?" Eric asked very coolly.

Stunned, I pushed myself up and straddled him around the waist. "How did you find out about that?"

In the glow of the porch light, I could see his face clearly. Eric's expression was calm. His words came out softly and gently. "The CEO called me from their headquarters in New York."

Suddenly, I was pissed. "Let me guess. Some big shot vamp behind the scenes needed your permission to hire me!"

Eric took my right hand and brought it to his lips. The kiss was sweet and loving. "If the big shot vamp on the phone had been so insultingly chauvinistic toward you, I would have hung up on him."

My mouth hung open in stunned shock. My man might be old-fashioned in certain things but he'd definitely learned where I stood in my twenty-first century independence.

"Why didn't you tell me about this?"

"I wanted to make sure I had the job first."

"Your control and shielding have come very far since we first met. You will need the strength and focus you have learned to deal with all the voices and images from such large groups of humans, and from so many types of supernatural beings. I'm very proud of you for wanting this challenge." With a big smile, he added, "The job is yours."

My happiness was short-lived as I thought of the one thing I needed to get out in the open first. "My new job will often be working with the Special Events people, so I may run into Quinn once in a while." When Eric continued to stare as if he was waiting for me to say more, I added, "His personal life hasn't changed, so my decision about him stands."

I felt Eric's hands take firm hold of my waist. The blue of his eyes was dark and mysterious-looking in the limited illumination. I didn't feel afraid, but an odd rush of anxiety went through me, and it was coming from my man.

"Since you seem to be in a talkative mood tonight, may I ask a question about the Were?"

I knew immediately who Eric was referring to. I'd always been grateful that he hadn't asked about the conversation Alcide Herveaux and I had had that night as we danced at the casino. Again, I wasn't afraid of Eric's reaction, just very embarrassed that one of the men in my past had been so brazen in the presence of the man I had been openly involved with for months.

With deliberate emphasis on each word, Eric asked, "What did he want?"

The one thing I've learned over the past three years was that Eric liked direct answers. Since I'd turned over a new leaf in that department, I answered, "Me – as his wife."

Eric's complimentary response didn't soften the hard edge his voice always had when he spoke about Weres, "He has good taste."

"I told him I was exactly where I wanted to be, with you." What I didn't say out loud was Alcide's mental response to me. From our past experience during our Club Dead adventure, he knew how to project to me. His clear hatred for Eric had been painful to read and feel.

My husband's eyes narrowed then he asked, "What else?"

"He'd decided I was the perfect woman to have his baby. Actually, more than one." I felt Eric flinch, physically and in the emotions he was trying to control.

"I regret that you were subjected to such disrespect that night."

"Alcide was the one being a shit, and I told him so."

A slight smile played around Eric's mouth as he cupped my face then ran his fingers slowly through my loose hair. I leaned down and kissed him tenderly, grateful for his understanding. It didn't take long for the simple kiss to become a tongue-fest of mounting desire. That was kind of typical for us every time we were in touching distance.

To my surprise, Eric broke our mouth contact. He always liked when we focused our eyes on each other. I couldn't be glamoured by any vamp, but the special bond between us created something far more meaningful. As his eyes held with mine, I began feeling a strange flow of very mixed emotions from him.

In a calm, contemplative tone, Eric said, "It is too bad Quinn's life is so flawed. After what he did to save you from Andre, I know he would care for you and keep you safer than the self-serving Were ever could."

For the second time that night my mouth dropped open in shock. Eric rarely called Quinn by his name, referring to him as "the tiger". What confused me even more was that he knew it was Quinn who had dispatched the late Queen's long-time protector in the rubble of the Rhodes hotel.

I wanted to ask some very pointed questions. But Eric waxing nostalgic about the men who've waltzed through my life over the past few years was just too much, and I lost it. I jumped up and stood beside the swing, hands firmly on my hips. "What's going on, Eric?" I choked out. "And don't give me one of your indulgent little smirks." I thought my outburst would snap him out of his icy vampire angst. Instead he slammed down all his emotions so violently all I felt was pain. The frightening part was that I could tell it was his pain. Right behind it came a searing flash of impending loss.

He sat up and looked directly at me. His voice flat and his expression stoic, Eric said, "At my meeting with Bill Compton, he showed me a photograph of you with Tara's baby."

It was my turn to slam my barriers into place. If the picture was the one JB had taken of me holding their baby just after they'd brought her home from the hospital, I knew why it had affected Eric so strongly. I'd turned into a sentimental mess that day. Holding a newborn child, knowing I'd never have any of my own if I stayed with Eric had hurt like hell. Despite what I knew I'd be missing, I've made my choice out of pure love, and I don't regret it.

Damn you, Bill Compton! I never thought you could be so vindictive and cruel! The vamp who still professed his undying love for me had sure gone over to the dark side this time. Letting my anger out at a very specific person was an epiphany (yup, today's Word of the Day). All those confusing vibes I'd been getting from Eric tonight made sense now. He was in agony because of that one thing he couldn't give me. I'd avoided the subject to spare his vampire pride. It was a form of lying and I hated myself for the dishonesty. Worst of all, my silence had hurt him in a much deeper way.

I looked down into his eyes. The mixture of love, loss and sorrow I saw in them was so intense it seeped through his continuing struggle to block his true feelings from me. Taking the sweet, loving route with my words wasn't going to work so I lashed out, "Do you think having babies is all I should care about? I love you, Eric Northman, and nothing else matters! I want to be with you as your wife until the day I die!"

Eric's shock at what I'd said to him registered openly on his face. When he jumped to his feet, and glared down at me, I knew I'd broken through. I also noticed that he was dressed in the same clothes he'd arrived in, flip flops included. Was he planning on leaving me tonight?

His words were a rushed jumble of all those emotions that were tearing him apart, "It's because I love you, Sookie Stackhouse, that I have to end this now!"

The absolute joy of hearing my vampire husband finally say he loved me out loud was drowned by my fear. I'd been so worried about losing him to so many bad things that might happen I never realized our relationship was even more vulnerable to something as humanly ordinary as this.

I knew Eric hated to see me cry, but I was so damn angry at myself for being such a coward, I just let my tear ducts overflow. As the soggy wetness trickled down my cheeks, I rushed off the porch and ran across the lawn as fast as my short legs would go.

Sookie had only gotten a few feet before I was directly in front of her. Her abrupt stop made her crash into my chest. I took full advantage of her closeness to firmly grab her arms and hold her against me. Her tears became heavier. I knew there would be huge wet spots on my T-shirt, but I didn't care.

I had planned an eloquent speech explaining why I felt it was best for her if we parted. Now that I had heard her say very clearly and forcefully that she loved me and wanted to be my wife, ending us just wasn't possible. After her profession of love for me and, I realized, mine for her, my lover would never be happy with anyone else. Some might consider that conclusive proof of my arrogance. It was, very simply, the truth.

My credo had always been that of a true vampire: to only do what was in my best interests. My next words to my woman fit that belief perfectly, "I am so sorry for hurting you, my wife. I promise it will never happen again."

Slowly, her sobs abated. From the pockets of her robe she withdrew a small metal object and a thick envelope. Cradling the object close against her breasts, she handed me the envelope. When she looked up into my eyes, I saw a sweet, shy smile. "Your timing is so bad, my love."

The wisps of happiness I felt coming from my lover as I opened the envelope embraced me as her earlier passion had surrounded me. I didn't need the outside security lights to recognize the delicate flowing handwriting on the vellum sheets. My emotions moved swiftly from curiosity, to disbelief, finally settling on anger.

You would think I would be used to the oddities of the supernatural world being a vampire, but the pragmatist in me was just too strong. Keeping my voice low and controlled, I said, "This is impossible. There is nothing of my human essence left on this earth after all these centuries."

Her voice soft but strong, Sookie responded, "I choose to believe human science and fairy magic can do anything, my husband."

I looked into her loving, pleading eyes. What I felt from her was not enough to overcome my distrust of this fairy magic and my fear for her. "No," I said coldly.

My silent heart nearly broke as my woman's tears returned. Wrapping her closer against my body, I shared her grief at what we might have had.

A familiar intoxicating scent filled the night air. I inhaled deeply. "Niall is here." I loosened my hold on Sookie, and we both turned toward the woods.

As the ancient fairy made his way toward us, his long flaxen hair glowing in the starlight, the heady aroma of his true nature dissipated. I shook myself vigorously to clear my mind. He was stepping aggressively closer, his cane gripped like a poised weapon. There would be a confrontation, and I needed to be prepared.

Sookie broke free of my arms and ran to her great-grandfather. Despite his benign appearance, Niall Brigant was a formidable warrior. In a fight, one of us would definitely die. I didn't believe it would come to that. If one of us did die at the hands of the other, the survivor would lose the precious human we both loved so deeply. Once my woman had given her love, there was no choosing which one meant the most to her.

Despite the distance and softness of her voice, I could hear Sookie's tear-filled words to Niall. Her explanation was a simple, honest recitation of our situation without an overly dramatic attempt to influence her great-grandfather. Niall nodded to her then tucked her arm through his.

I struggled with my emotions as they drew nearer to me. Only when she let go of her great-grandfather's arm and stood beside me did I feel her emotions again. To my grateful surprise, her sure smile confirmed what I was sensing through our bond. She had chosen. With a deep intake of breath, I directed my attention to Niall.

His expression neutral, the fairy asked, "You have issue with my gift, Eric Northman?"

"I will not risk my woman's life with your fairy magic."

A slight ripple of laughter came through as he said, "How foolish of you. All life is risk even for those of us touched by supernatural magic. Do you really believe I would offer my precious great-granddaughter something that would harm her?"

Something in his words and my wife's warm hand on my arm made me word my response very carefully. "I believe you would not deliberately hurt her."

With an almost frustrated sigh, he went on, "I have offered this one gift that is beyond price and cannot be recreated to both of you for your future together."

I experienced a rare moment of indecision while Sookie's open emotions rushed into mine. "No one knows the future even when it is created by magic."

Taking advantage of that vacuum, Niall spoke sharply, "That thing you fear so much, vampire, will cease to exist through my gift."

A burst of annoyance went through me. Damn fairy and his cryptic pronouncement! His words left me to wonder which of the two things I feared for the future he was referring to. The annoyance melted away as a tremendous pull of feelings made me look at Sookie. The tears were gone as she again clutched the small metal container to her breasts.

Bowing my head to Niall, I said, "I accept your wisdom and your gift, Prince."

With a satisfied smile, Niall hugged Sookie and kissed her on the cheek. Turning, he made his way back to the edge of the clearing. The night air shimmered noticeably as he stepped into the trees and passed over into the fairy world.

Answering my lover's silent request, I folded the letter, replaced it in the envelope and slipped it into a pocket of her robe. Needing her human warmth as strongly as I had when I'd been lost in fear and confusion from my amnesia, I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her against me.

Her head tilted back, she looked deeply into my eyes, and asked, "So, what's that big thing you're so afraid of, Viking?"

I leaned down and gave her a tender kiss. "It's something we'll discuss someday." At her skeptical glare, I smiled, "I promise. First, I have an important question. Will you marry me?"

"You're asking," she whispered breathlessly.

"It is the right thing to do if we are going to officially live together, correct?"

"My gran would be real happy."

To my surprise, a large tear welled at the corner of each of her eyes. I could feel that they were different from the tears she had spilled earlier. Gently, I licked each one, treasuring the sweetness that was so much like her blood to my hungry mouth.

Our bond open wider than it had ever been, my lover and I reveled in waves of joy, love and hope that poured between our bodies and minds.

"Yes, I'll marry you, Eric Northman," and she wrapped her arms tightly around my waist.

I leaned down and whispered in her ear, "I love you very much, Sookie Stackhouse," then scooped her up in my arms and carried her toward the house.

Her hands still clutching Niall's unique gift, my lover snuggled closely into me. "Eric?"

"Yes, my darling?"

"You know I'll be traveling pretty regularly with my new job."

"Of course."

"That means more phone sex."

I couldn't help laughing at Sookie's cautious way of bringing up such a delicate topic. "I will be looking forward to the reunion sex with you each time, my beautiful wife."

The thoughts behind her happy smile and contented sigh came through as she nipped me on the neck. There was a jumble of emotions openly being directed at me. I speculated that her thoughts were careening from her new job, to our impending human marriage and, ultimately, to the child we could have in the future. I embraced each one, letting her know how deeply I shared her human dreams.

This long autumn night would be filled with much loving between us in our fresh understanding. Best of all, there would be many more tomorrows for my lover and me to spend together.