Don't Say Yes

AU/ AH/ OOC

Chapter 10

A/N: Hi. Remember me? It's been a while, huh? So in the past year I've had baby boy #2, started my Specialist degree in Educational Leadership, and taken on an Administration job online. So, yeah life's been busy, but I'm ready to write again and my muse wants to finish this story. If you're still here, thank you. If you sent me a PM checking on me, I appreciate it. If you're just now picking this up, I hope you like it!

This is the morning after the wedding and hopefully everything you've wanted it to be. HUGS and LOVE from the ridiculously hot state of GA.

SPOV

I woke up in a strange, yet familiar room, with a very familiar, warm body wrapped tightly around me. The sun had just started to peek in behind the curtains, and everything at the Northman house was strangely quiet considering the major event that had happened the night before.

I still couldn't believe I'd done it; well technically, Eric had really done it. All I'd done was stand up in my look-at-me red dress and make eye contact with him. Eric had done the rest. My heart started pounding as the events from the night before replayed in my mind. Amelia and I had come to Eric's wedding to stop his wedding and he'd come to me in front of all of his guests and kissed me and then carried me out of there like my own personal knight in shining armor.

The most important thing of all… he still loved me. He'd told me he loved me before I'd completely lost my mind and started crying and then I guess I must have passed out from sheer emotional exhaustion.

The sound of Eric's breathing changed, and I knew he was waking up. Funny after all this time, I still remembered the little sounds he made. He squeezed me tighter to him, and I turned my head to face him as much as I could.

I really wanted to kiss him, reach my hands behind us and squeeze his ass. I wanted to grind my ass into his morning wood, but I knew we had a lot to discuss before we went there. Lord knows once we went there, we'd never get anything accomplished. I'd promised myself I wouldn't allow us to fall into old habits before we determined where we really stood with each other. But, damn it, it was hard. Literally and figuratively.

Before I had too much time to overanalyze our situation Eric said, "Morning," in his adorable, scratchy morning voice.

"Morning," I replied on a sigh.

"What was that sigh for, Sookie? You okay?" Yep, I'm good. Great. Just beyond sexually frustrated, but I was not about to tell him that. He'd fix that issue in two point five seconds.

"Yep. Good. Fine." Time for a subject change. "So… did I really stop your wedding last night?" I asked, as I turned my body so I could face him. I could tell he wasn't buying the 'fine' comment, but that he was going to let it slide… for now.

"Ahh yes, it would appear so, but I think I'm the one that actually did the stopping. You just kind of helped me along." He smiled at me then, and leaned forward to kiss the tip of my nose.

"And now what do we do? I'm sure we left your poor father with a giant mess last night. I don't even want to know what happened after we disappeared." I turned in his arms to face him. I needed to see him. "Ya' know something? I'm really shocked we weren't bothered last night. I hope your dad didn't sell his soul to the devil to get us some alone time."

"Sook, he would do anything for you and apparently, anything for me. I think there's a lot you and dear old dad aren't telling me. What's happened since I saw you that night at your apartment? What have you been up to? And did you know –?

We were interrupted by a knock at the door. I knew we wouldn't be left alone for too long.

"Eric? Sookie? Is everyone decent?"

"Yes, Mr. Northman, please come in," I said, as I sat up in Eric's bed. I hadn't realized we had gone to bed completely clothed. Well weren't we mature all of a sudden? Or, I should say, Eric was mature. I really didn't have anything to do with our current state of dress.

Stellan entered the room with two giant mugs of coffee and a stack of papers tucked under his arm. He handed each of us one of the giant mugs. I held it up to my nose and inhaled the sweet aroma. He still remembered the way I took my coffee; wonderful, thoughtful man.

"Eric, I have something for you," Stellan said, as he handed over the stack of papers, which turned out to be envelopes; envelopes I immediately recognized as my own.

"What is it, Sookie? What's wrong? Do you…? Shit, are these your cards?" Eric wrapped his arm around me and pulled me into his side. "Where did you find them, Dad?"

Stellan's face turned serious as he explained how he'd realized that my cards must have been intercepted by his conniving, meddling wife. He told us that after he spoke with me, he'd gone into her room and searched her drawers to discover all of the Christmas cards I'd sent the Northman family over the years; just as we'd suspected.

"Why did you wait until now to give them to me? Dad… I could've ended things with Sophie Anne before the wedding, and saved everyone a great deal of drama in the process." Great question, Eric.

"Son, I knew that if you had seen these letters prior to the rehearsal dinner and the actual ceremony, you would have missed out on what I had been trying to get you to realize all along. I wanted you to see exactly who and what you were marrying and I knew if I had given you the letters you may, and I use that term very loosely, have always doubted your decision to end things with Miss LeClerq. I wanted you to end your engagement because of who she is, not because of what your mother did. You had to see for yourself that you were about to enter into the type of marriage your mother and I have, or maybe I should say had. I could not and would not let you do that. I knew, I just knew, that Sophie Anne's true nature would be revealed to you at the rehearsal, especially after she and your mother ran into Sookie at the bridal shop." Oh wow! Wow! He knew about that. Never underestimate Stellan Northman.

Eric then turned to me. "You saw Elle and Sophie at the bridal shop? Oh god Sook, I'm so sorry. I suspected as much after Sophie's little slip-up at the rehearsal dinner, but I had no idea how you'd actually met her."

"Yeah, that's a story for another day. Let's just leave that alone for now, okay? So, Mr. Northman, what happened after we left last night? Was it awful? We owe you, big time, by the way. Thanks for letting us escape."

"Anything for you, Sookie. You make Eric very happy and that's all a father could ask for." He winked at me then. I really, really loved that man; he was like a father to me. "Well, let's see where should I begin? Oh yes, well, my soon-to-be ex-wife had to be restrained and then escorted from the premises. The LeClerqs took off, as you both observed, and the guests either stayed to partake in would-be wedding festivities or left. It was really actually pretty uneventful with the exception of Elle."

"So, what happened to Elle, Dad?" I could hear the worry in Eric's voice, and it would have bothered me, but I was slightly concerned for her well-being too. She had always been a loose cannon just waiting to detonate.

"After your mother was subdued enough to communicate with me, she informed me that she would be staying with your Grandmother for the time being. I am positive that I will be served divorce papers shortly; either that or I will be serving her. It is rather odd to be so lackadaisical about divorcing Elle after all these years, but it is something I wish I had done many, many years ago. Enough about me though, it's time I took my leave. You two have quite a bit to discuss I'm sure. Enjoy your time together. You both know we will all be bombarded with media the minute we leave this house. Be advised."

With that Stellan walked out and closed the door behind him. Eric and I sat in silence for a while trying to digest everything we'd just learned. Honestly, I hadn't even considered the media being an issue until just now. I'd forgotten how high-profile Eric was now; being in his room, in his arms, had lulled me into a false sense of security. Stellan was right; our lives were about to take a turn for the insane, and we needed to be prepared.

EPOV

Sookie was the first one to break the silence that had crept into the room following my father's departure.

"Are you prepared for all of this, Eric? Do you think we can handle this? You do realize our entire lives are about to be under a microscope? I hadn't even considered that. What are we going to do?"

Everything Sookie'd just said had been on a constant loop in my brain since I woke-up this morning. She'd never been in the spotlight with me; she had no idea what she'd just gotten herself into. I hoped we could make it through this. I hoped with everything I had she would be able to accept this new lifestyle, because it was so far from what she was used to.

Unfortunately, I was always in the public eye. I'd played football for the University of Florida. Not only that, but I'd been the quarterback of the two-time BCS Championship Gator team. Everyone expected me to go pro, but I hadn't. I was going to take some time and determine if I really wanted to play football for a living. I never went anywhere without being questioned about my decision to not enter the draft. Could Sookie handle this?

"Sorry to bombard you, Eric, are you okay?" Sookie had, apparently, crawled into my lap to face me while I'd been lost in my own brain. She was now straddling my thighs, and I was definitely distracted by the way her skirt rose up her bare, tanned thighs. Not to mention the fact that I had an amazing view of her cleavage. I'd really missed that cleavage. Sophie was totally lacking in the chest department. What was I thinking? Well, none of that really mattered now. I had Sookie and we were going to figure this out if it killed us both.

"Eric. Earth to Eric. Eyes up here buddy."

"Sorry, momentary distraction. I haven't seen you in a long time and especially like this." Sookie blushed, but it wasn't the usual crimson she'd turned in high school. She'd definitely grown up since I'd last seen her.

"It's okay. I totally had to talk myself out of groping you inappropriately this morning." This was definitely a more mature Sookie.

"Talked yourself out of it, huh? You really shouldn't have. I'd never turn you down. Ever."

"I know that, Eric, but we have a lot to discuss, and we'll have plenty of time for all of that later."

"So, you're willing to walk into the media firing squad with me?"

"You bet your cute ass I am!" Just to place emphasis on the 'cute ass' remark she slid her hands down from where they'd been resting on my waist to pinch as much of my ass as she could grab.

"I love you, you know that right? We'll figure this out."

"I do and I love you too, but I kind of just want to hide for a while. How long do you think we can hide?" She'd leaned forward and placed her forehead on my shoulder. She smelled so good. Just like I remembered.

"We can't hide for long, but definitely long enough to figure out how to handle this."

"Do you have an agent or a publicist, Eric? Could they make a statement on our behalf?"

"That's a great idea, Sook, yes I do. I'll give Bobby a call this afternoon. We'll need to give him a draft of what we to release to the media."

"Well, lucky for you, your… wait, what am I?"

"I guess you're my girlfriend, as childish as that sounds. We'll leave it at girlfriend for now, but I'm hoping to call you something more permanent in the immediate future. I don't want to waste any more time, Sookie. You're mine. You've always been mine, and I want the world to know that as soon as possible."

Before I knew what was going on, Sookie attacked me with kisses. The kisses started out as sweet, innocent pecks on my cheeks, my forehead, my nose, the corners of my mouth, but they quickly turned heated. Very heated. Sookie's dress had ridden up around her waist, exposing a lacy red scrap of fabric I'm sure was supposed to be underwear. As soon as she saw me looking down she tried to right her dress, but I stopped her hands. Our foreheads were resting against each other's and we were both breathing hard. We were using a whole lot of restraint here, and I wasn't sure which one of us was going to give in to the lust first.

"I want you, Eric" Sookie breathed into my mouth.

"God, I want you too." I proceeded to close the distance between us, but Sookie chose that moment to lift her head and pull back to look at me.

"I need to know how many others there were. As hard as it is, I need to know. There was only one other person, Eric. I was engaged to him. I broke it off, but he was the only other one. How many, Eric?"

"Jesus, Sook. I don't know. I'm going to be honest with you, because we've never lied to each other and we sure as hell aren't going to start now. After we quit talking… I just… well, I slept my way through Florida. I was trying to fill the hole you left with sex, and it didn't work. I honestly don't know how many there were, but you have to know I was always careful. Sophie made me go through a battery of tests before the wedding. I'm clean."

"Thanks for not lying to me, I guess." Her eyes were searching my face and I could tell she was trying not to be overwhelmed with what I'd just told her. I could tell she was very conflicted about what she should do and how she should react.

"Are you… how does… are we? Shit, I don't know what to say." She hadn't moved from my lap, but I could tell she was disconnected. Her mind was running a mile a minute. I was surprised she hadn't started crying yet. High school Sookie had been a crier.

"I'm okay, Eric. I'm just really wishing we'd never broken up, ya' know? If we hadn't then it would have only been us. You and me. No one else. We wouldn't be having this conversation about others. I just hate it. I'm okay. I am. I just don't like it."

"I know. I feel the same way, but it is what it is. We can't change the past, but we do have a future, right?"

Sookie leaned her body into mine and scooted up so that her body was completely flush with mine. She wrapped her arms tightly around me and I reciprocated. We just sat there holding each other for god knows how long. It felt great.

"Hey Eric?"

"Yeah."

"As much as I'm enjoying this, you know what I'd really like?"

"Huh?"

"A shower. We're still in our wedding clothes and that feels all kinds of wrong. Shower with me?"

"Sookie… if I, if we… I won't be able to see you naked without being inside of you. It's been too long."

"I'm not going to stop you, Eric." With that she grabbed my hand and led me towards the bathroom. We stood at the sink together brushing our teeth, waiting for the water to warm and smiling at each other's reflections in the mirror like total idiots.

Once we were finished brushing our teeth, I moved to stand behind Sookie. She caught my eyes in the mirror and our expressions were both filled with heat. I pulled the hair off her neck and placed a gentle kiss above the tie that held her dress up. She shuddered, and I really wanted to just rip that sexy red dress from her body, but somehow restrained myself.

She moaned my name and I'd forgotten how much I loved that sound. She was beautiful like this.

I untied her dress and then moved my hands down to unzip the back. I slowly slid the zipper down and was rewarded with a view of the tiny straps of her red lacy underwear that perfectly outlined the beautiful round globes of her ass. I made eye-contact with her in the mirror as I pulled the halter top of her dress down, revealing those perfect breasts I loved so much. I was dying to touch her, but I decided to make her wait a little while longer. I knelt down behind her to slide the dress down her legs and then helped her step out of it. I remained kneeling as I turned her around to face me. She was standing before me in nothing but a tiny scrap of red lace that left nothing to the imagination. She looked down at me then and whispered, "Eric, you're overdressed."

I didn't give her time to undress me in the same fashion I'd just undressed her. I was ready to feel her. Enough of the slow seduction. My will-power was shot to hell with those three whispered words.

I stripped off the dress shirt, pants, socks, and boxers as fast as I could. When I looked at Sookie, she was staring at me like she'd never seen me naked before. "What?"

"God, you're huge. I'd forgotten. How could I forget? You're amazing. All of you."

I couldn't take it anymore. I closed the distance between us and pressed my lips to hers. I grabbed her head the way I knew she loved and slowly licked her bottom lip. She quickly opened her mouth to me and I dove in to taste her. It'd been so long and she still tasted the same. She tasted like Sookie. She tasted like she had the first time I kissed her all those years ago. Mine.

Without breaking the kiss, I picked her up and she wrapped her legs around my waist and gripped my shoulders. I walked us into the shower and under the spray. We were now soaking wet and grinding against each other like the two teenagers we once were. My mind was flooded with all of the memories of us together this way. What we had was nothing short of amazing.

"Eric, I need you inside me. Now. I can't take it anymore. Please." Sookie lowered her legs and took her thong off and threw it out of the shower. For the first time I realized she was bare. She'd never been bare in high school and I couldn't have cared less, but now it was the sexiest thing I'd ever seen.

"Sookie, god, I have to taste you. I'm sorry." I dropped to my knees in front of her and ran just the tip of my tongue up and down the length of her slit. She was writhing with need. I backed her up against the wall, lifted one leg onto the side of the tub and then held her hips steady with one hand as I used my other hand to slowly push one finger into her.

"Eric! Please. Don't torture me. It's been too long, please." Sookie had never been one to beg, and this was definitely a huge turn on. I couldn't deny her.

I laved her inner lips with my tongue as I gently added another finger, curving the two fingers towards the front of her body to hit that spot that would push her over. When I could feel her inner walls rippling with the oncoming orgasm, I flicked my tongue quickly back and forth over her clit. She went over the edge screaming my name and it was the best sound I'd ever heard.

"God, you're amazing," she said, as she smiled down at me through weak blue eyes.

"You haven't seen anything yet."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah."

I turned her around to face the shower wall and grabbed her hands to put them above her head. I secured both of her hands in one of mine, keeping them pinned above her head. I nudged her feet open with mine and then entered her again with two fingers, then a few seconds later with three. She was so tight, and I knew I'd hurt her if she wasn't prepared.

Once I knew she was as ready as she could be I placed the tip of my cock at her entrance and slowly, inch by inch, slid home. I gave her time to adjust; but, not too long after I entered her she started rocking her hips against mine and I took that as my signal to move.

I kept my movements slow and deliberate. I didn't want our first time together again to be ruined by my lack of endurance. There was just something about her that made me want to come immediately. She just turned me on that much. No one else ever had.

"Eric. Faster. Please."

At her request, I increased my pace and it quickly became more than I could handle.

"Sookie, I can't… I'm gonna…"

"Come, Eric, come."

I thrust in and out of her a few more times and then with one last hard thrust I came deep inside of her. She came right along with me and the feeling of her rippling around my cock was exquisite torture. I released her hands and spun her around so I could kiss her.

"I love you, Eric."

"I love you, too. I've missed this. I've missed you. No one compares to you. No one ever will."

So… what'd you think? Let me know.

Love,

K