A/N: Dear Readers- Kink is fascinating, don't you think? This story explores those darker desires some of us keep locked away. Mine are locked away behind years of Puritanical good girl traditions and Catholic sin. This story perhaps unlocks the archaic indoctrination that keep me tied down, so to speak. And since I can't imagine, and my imagination is quite vivid, a more beautiful and erotic man than our favorite leading man, he, in the character of Eric, becomes the hero rending those chains of shame and fear. Sookie is a virgin with no experience. Bill never existed (yeah). Eric is determined to claim her, in more ways than one. It is a story of consensual and monogamous sex and relationship, but also explores unrestrained sexuality. In the end, I hope it is a story of relationship and the ties that bind one person to another. Reviews keep the muse fed, and as one reviewer put it so vividly, our Viking 'tied to the bed.' Lack of reviews, the muse goes to sleep, as does our Viking and his 'sword'. What a waste. M Rated for language and graphic sexual situations. Be warned and be patient. As Eric leaned into Sookie's ear and whispered, "Trust Me" I would ask that you do the same. Like an onion, there is much to be peeled away. Characters belong to Charlaine Harris. I'm just taking them out to play. Thanks to LadyScorpio for her support and encouragement.

The Claiming of Sookie Stackhouse

Or

Restraint & Exploration - The Merging of Innocence and Knowledge

Restraint

Wou'd I were free from this restraint, or else had hopes to win her,

Wou'd she cou'd make me a saint,

Or I of her a sinner.

~William Congreve

Prologue

Eric's big hand held Sookie captive with her arms above her head while his hard body pressed angrily against hers, crushing her against the column of her farmhouse hard enough to carve indentations on her back. The bruises left behind would no doubt brand her fair skin for days.

"This has gone on long enough, Miss Stackhouse," he growled his frustration.

"Eric, stop it. Let. Me. Go," she said as she bit through her clinched teeth. She was furious as well, their mutual anger spilling between them.

"I told you before…I am a patient vampire. But now you try my patience, lover," the sneer in his deep voice vibrated through his chest into her body, causing delicious but slight tremors.

Sookie knew she should apologize. On one hand, she knew he was no saint and had told him so on several occasions. On the other, when directly faced with the obvious outcome of his lack of sainthood, she had gone ballistic, storming out of the club like a child. And now, a very angry vampire had her pinned against her porch, losing his control.

To hell with him…I have every right to be pissed off…

She knew she should be scared. She was sure she was, somewhere, deep inside. But more troubling was how the angry look in his eyes stirred her insides, making her damp with need. She often wondered just what it would be like with the great Eric Northman. Was he like the Harlequin romantic heroes she read occasionally? The old-fashioned 'bodice-rippers" her Gran had secretly enjoyed where the helpless heroine is rescued by the hero all in 192 pages? She laughed at the idea. She was no buxom and helpless heroine sprawled across the cover of some pulp novel. And looking into his eyes, filled with arrogant cruelty and anger and overpowering lust for her, she knew he was not the lightly sketched protagonist of the Harlequin's, or of any of the romance novels she enjoyed so far. Even with his blonde hair, blue eyes and fair skin, she knew he was dark…very dark inside. He would be the Lucifer to the other novels' Lancelots. And the idea made her shiver with anticipation.

His free hand pressed carefully on her tiny neck, feeling her rapid pulse under his skin. She swallowed nervously, belying her proud and determined eyes. Never taking his eyes off of hers, his hand drifted down, capturing her breast in his palm, tweaking the hardened nipple under her light shirt. Her breathing was harsh, but she never broke eye contact with him.

She wasn't helpless, he knew that. He would let her go if she really protested. And even if her mouth said the words, her body was screaming for him to take her. And he would…eventually, over and over again. He leered at her, knowing that just as she had teased him for weeks, he would torture her as well. All's well that ends well, isn't that what they say? Or should it be all's fair in love and war? It didn't matter. Either way, he'd have her. He'd take all of her and then some. And he'd make sure she'd enjoy every minute of that taking.

She was beautiful when she was angry.

Her eyes glittered, full of rage and passion. It was time to teach her just how deep her passions went. He was the teacher. She would be the student. His cock strained against the confines of his black jeans at the thought of schooling the beautiful Sookie in all the ties that bind her to him, and he to her.

And what ties they would be.

Blood rushed through his veins, his heart pounding and his shaft jerking as his imagination took flight.

Yes, this had gone on long enough and it was time...

Reluctantly leaving her heaving breast, his flat palm pressed hard against her body, seeking out the feel of her beneath him. Reaching between the legs of her jeans, he rubbed back and forth and was rewarded with a moan as her eyes glazed over. She was damp even on the outside of her jeans. Judging from the scent of her arousal that drifted around him, and her dampness, she must be very wet indeed.

"You see, Sookie…lover," he drawled in that soft, arrogant voice, "I think our mutual patience is up. Although I think I outlasted you, lover." His lips held a smirk as they came down to capture her mouth. Her eyes closed as his mouth came close, feeling their breath mingling.

Oh, sweet Jesus, what had I done?

TBC

Keep the muse fed so our Viking stays tied to the bed. I think we all would like to have our way with him.