I really enjoyed the character of Tara and I hate that she always gets the wrong end of the stick. I've never read the books but I do know that in the books Tara has a more stable life than Sookie and that's sort of what I'm going to portray in this story (at least I hope).

The time line of this story is sort of like in season one when Tara first started working for Sam, Sookie has just met Bill, everyone is still getting used to the idea of vamps being in the world, etc. To be honest, I never once thought of a pairing with Eric/Tara when watching the show until I came here on FanFiction, needless to say I tried one of the stories out and am now addicted but there seems to be a severe lack of production for my particular drug, lol. Anyways, hope you all enjoy and please, if you have the time, give me open and honest criticism.

Disclaimer : I do not own any characters that have appeared in the Sookie Stackhouse novels or the True Blood show. (obviously) but the characters I create and this story is completely mine and copyrighted.

New Business Deals

Tara stared in disgust at Sookie and Vampire Bill. She could not believe that Sookie was even entertaining the idea of befriending a vampire let alone acting like some giggly school girl on a date. She could barely wrap her mind around the fact that they existed. When she first saw the breaking news report on CNN she thought it was some sick joke and even entertained the idea, however briefly, of the news anchors being held hostage for said joke. Truth be told, she'd gotten extremely paranoid since the vamps announced their coming out, not that she wasn't paranoid enough already. Being black and poor in a small, predominately white, town in the south was reason enough for paranoia; not only did she have to worry about rednecks but blood suckers too.

She sighed and began wiping down the counter. This was not where she planned on being but Sam was nice enough to give her something to tide her over temporarily and for that she was grateful. She'd been thinking real hard, lately, about opening up her own business she was just stuck on what type of business she wanted to own. With her hot temper and unrestrained tongue it would be better for everyone if she was her own boss.

"Give me a screwdriver."

A round red faced man slapped a few dollars down on the counter and barely glanced at her as he swiveled on his stool to watch the other patrons. It was obvious that he was drunk before he even walked through the door. She pocketed the money and quickly made the drink waiting impatiently for three to hit so she could go home and take a nice long soak.

When the time came Sookie gave her a quick hug goodbye and hurried out. She knew Bill was probably waiting patiently outside. If he wasn't a vampire she wouldn't mind as much, he sure did come off as a gentleman, much more than the jerks she encountered on a daily basis. Still, she worried for Sookie, none of them knew what to expect with a vampire.

"When you get through daydreamin' can you bring them glasses to the kitchen for me to wash?"

She rolled her eyes at Lafayette's playful voice and took her sweet time gathering the glasses.

"Hookah, if you don't hurry yo' black behind up, some furniture gone be movin' in this bitch."

He came out and stood at the end of the bar with one hand on his hips in his usual loud attire. Tonight he had on a purple see through top over some black leather pants. She rolled her eyes at his impatience.

"You can kiss my black behind and the only furniture that's gone be moving is one of these glasses hitting your head."

She handed him several glasses stacked together and he gave her one of those conspiratorial looks.

"Did you see Sookie earlier?"

She grabbed more glasses and hid a small smile. She knew Lafayette was probably in the kitchen all night stealing glances at them dying to talk to her about it.

"Yep, everybody did. She spent her whole break talking to him and took every opportunity to pass by his table."

Lafayette tsked shaking his head.

"Sookie hangin' round vamps and shit. What is the world coming to?"

"You forget Sookie ain't that normal either. She said Bill the only one whose mind she can't read that's probably why she like hanging around him."

"I just hope she don't get caught up in nothing."

Lafayette took the remaining glasses and disappeared into the kitchen. She finished cleaning up the bar area and was going outside to wait for Lafayette when Sam came strolling in from the back. He had on a blue and white plaid shirt with jeans, his customary attire. Tara found Sam to be highly attractive but if the looks he threw Sookie were any indication the feeling was not returned. It figured. She wasn't used to getting what she wanted.

"Hey Tara, you finding the job okay?"

"I haven't went off on anybody yet."

He chuckled.

"There's still plenty of time for that," he gazed around him, "Is Sookie still here?"

Tara resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"No. She ran out of here a little while ago. Where were you most of the night anyway?"

He tried to mask his disappointment with a shrug.

"I had a lot of paperwork to do," he looked towards the kitchen, "Is Lafayette still here too?"

"Yeah, we were about to leave though, he's just washing the last few glasses."

He looked like he had a lot on his mind and surprisingly wanted to share it with her but was either too embarrassed or too shy to spill.

"If you're interested in Sookie, you better do something fast cause she getting' real cozy with that vampire."

His eyes widened slightly.

"He was here wasn't he? I knew I sm-," he stuttered for a moment, "It seemed like he would be here."

"So you admit it?"

She didn't know why Sam chose to pussyfoot around this obvious issue. The more Sookie hung around Dracula the worse his chances were.

"Admit what?"

"That you're interested in Sook."

He looked like he was about to protest but then thought better about it and gave a sheepish grin.

"Is it that obvious?"

"It's so obvious that she's the only one who doesn't know."

He moved closer to her looking earnest and a little bit helpless.

"I was gonna ask for your help with that."

She raised a brow, "Help?"

"I know you're not happy about her being with that vamp anymore than I am. I talked to her about it but she won't listen, maybe if both of us talked to her and got her to see how crazy all this is-"

She held up a hand.

"Wait, Sam, I can't do that. I don't like the thought of her seeing a vampire but what she does with her life is her business, not mine."

"But you're her best friend if she listens to anybody it'll be you."

"You think I haven't voiced my opinion on the issue, with my loud mouth? I have. She likes him and so far he's been treating her real nice and if there's ever a point in time where that changes I will be there for her to kick his dead ass but until then, I'm staying out of it."

"You ready?"

Lafayette came out of the kitchen nodding at Sam.

"I'll see you later Sam."

"See you later Lafayette," he looked purposefully at her, "Tara."

She said goodbye and stepped outside into the cool night air, Lafayette at her side. She wrapped her arms around herself when she felt the breeze kick in. They got in the car and Lafayette turned up some new underground hip hop joint. They rode in silence for a while both nodding their heads to the beat when Tara suddenly turned the volume down.

"Can I stay at your house tonight, Fey?"

He didn't even glance from the road.

"Lettie Mae acting a fool again?"

Tara put an elbow on the door and let her face rest in her hand. They were halfway home and she was already tensing up.

"When does she not act a fool?"

"Hell if I know," he glanced at her and smiled, "You know your ass welcome. You want me to stop and get you some clothes?"

"Naw, I'm straight. I have a change of clothes in my purse."

Lafayette turned the music back up a notch, "If I was you I would never go home," he gave a shudder and started bobbing to the music again.

Some days, between bouts of sobriety and coherence, Lettie Mae could actually act normal. She remembered those few moments as a child when her mother would actually show her kindness and at least pretend to be a mother for a day or two, maybe more if she was really lucky. As fleeting as those moments were they were even rarer now. The last time her mother hadn't acted as if she was demon possessed was over a year ago and counting.

Knowing that she was about to spend the night with Lafayette began to relax her and her head began bobbing to the music as well. She dozed off for a bit when all of a sudden her body gave a jolt and her eyes cracked open. Lafayette was fiddling with the knob on the radio and had taken his eyes off of the road. Tara looked up and saw something move quickly in front of the headlights and she grabbed Lafayette's shoulder. He glanced up at her and then back to the road before his eyes widened and the car made a sickening collision.

Eric and Pam stood in the secluded mossy area of the woods impatient and bored. Queen Sophie had summoned him and he had no choice but to oblige any of her requests. There were only two reasons she would ask for them to meet in the woods, one; she wanted to annoy him, and two; she was becoming increasingly paranoid, or a combination of the two. He usually went to these meetings alone but Pam insisted on coming and he found no real reason to deny her. Neither of them were fans of Sophie and he was about fed up with her backhanded dealings.

"Could she have chosen a more dramatic place?" Pam rolled her eyes at the sound of a howl far off.

Eric said nothing. He could almost sense Sophie's presence and in less of a heartbeat she was standing in front of them, fangs bared.

"I'm going to make this quick," she lifted her head royally and glared at them both, "I want you to sell V and bring one hundred percent of the proceeds back to me. After all it will be my blood you'll be selling."

Eric was not surprised, although disgusted.

"And if we are to get caught?" he drawled.

Sophie ran her hands through her fiery locks and gave him a pitying smile.

"If you," she gave Pam a withering look, "Or your child were to get caught then you would face the consequences, of course, my name will never come up. Are we understood?"

Eric's jaw tightened and he could feel Pam's mood shifting quickly.

"We are very unerstood, my Queen."

She smirked and flew away before anything else could be said.

"So now we're pushers. Great," Pam's wry tone broke the dead silence.

"Our Queen must be in deep troubles if she's sanctioning the selling of V," Eric mused.

Pam laid a careless hand on her hip, "Or she's just a crazy bitch."

Before Eric could reply both of their heads turned when they heard a loud crash.

Pam sighed exaggeratedly, "I'm going to go back to the club to enjoy my new snack. I should be able to have some fun tonight."

Eric ignored her blatant disinterest in whatever it is they heard and turned in the opposite direction.

"Follow me," he beckoned.

He knew she had no choice but to follow. Using their vampire speed they followed the sound and came across a car or what used to be a car. It looked like the car ran right into a building. The front was pushed in as if it had hit something enormous and unmoving. More than anything he could smell the blood and there seemed to be a lot of it. His eyes moved around quickly before finding two bodies. The male was a good fifteen feet to the north of the car and the female was laying in a pile of leaves on the side of the road practically hidden by the encasement of the trees.

"Can I finish them off?"

Eric turned to Pam who had her fangs extended and a lustful look in her eye. He could feel a faint heartbeat from both of the humans but they were quickly fading. He moved towards the one closest to him, the male. The man lay sprawled with limbs going in unnatural directions, but he was on his back face up and Eric could more closely observe. He was dark or what would have been described in his day, a moor. The man's face was surprisingly unscathed, too bad the rest of him didn't fare so well. He heard the tapping of Pam's heels on the concrete behind him.

"Is there a point to all this? If I can't have what's left let's at least leave the scene, cops might be on the way."

"My, my, Pam, I had no idea you held such regard for human enforcements."

"There's no way either of these two are gonna make it so why don't we? I'm starving."

He reached inside of the man's left pocket and pulled out a wallet.

"You ate before we came."

"I started to eat before we came and then a call from Ms. High and Mighty came in," Pam traced her fangs with her tongue.

He reached into the other pocket and pulled out a vial. He examined it for a moment and tilted his head in Pam's direction.

"I guess fate is on our side tonight and theirs as well. They won't be dying anytime soon."

Pam's interest was piqued and she sped to his side.

"What is it?" he handed her the vial, "V? You think he's using or selling?"

Eric stood up from his crouched position and headed towards the female.

"Probably both but we'll know for sure when he awakens. Take him to Fangtasia, I'll get the girl. And be quick, they don't have much longer."

Pam wordlessly lifted the man and sped off into the night. Eric did the same with the woman and in less than a minute they were back at the club. He laid the woman down gently and took a good look at her face, it was battered and bruised from the collision and he could not make out how she looked. Her hair was soaked in blood and so were her clothes.

"Give him your blood and I'll give her mines," he gave a wry smile, "I think that would be more appropriate but I doubt if the man would like it."

Pam obediently slit her wrist and forced it to the man's mouth who was mewling and moaning by now.

"Drink up dahling or you'll be six feet under soon," she purred.

Eric noticed something about the woman for the first time and his eyebrows screwed up in confusion. He decided to ignore it for now and bit into his wrist and lifted it to the woman's mouth. He blinked thinking he was seeing things. Her face didn't look as bad as it had a moment ago, as if it was healing on its own. It sounded like her heartbeat was getting stronger too. He pressed his wrist to her mouth and lifted her head back so that his blood would go down, filing the peculiar situation away in his head.

It took some time but they both slowly healed. The man was the first to come out of it, jumping up and backing away from Pam until his back hit a wall. He seemed to be in shock. The woman healed faster than he did but she lay still, apparently, in a deep sleep. Her face was mostly covered in blood but he could see her fine features now. Her ebony skin was smooth and flawless. He curled his fingers to keep them from touching her unnecessarily. Her face looked like it was sculpted and he wouldn't even deny that he was waiting earnestly to glimpse her eyes.

"This is a fair human," he spoke mainly to himself while cradling her head in his hand.

The dark man trembling against the wall broke out of his terror when he spoke and seemed to see the woman for the first time.

"Tara!"

The man rushed towards the woman, he now knew as Tara, and halted when he saw Eric's steely gaze.

"D-d-don't hurt her," the man stammered.

He looked back at the woman who still slept soundly.

"I have no intentions on harming her or you, so calm down and take a seat. I have a business proposition for you."

He picked up the woman and reluctantly laid her on the bar before ripping his eyes away from her. He could practically smell the fear dripping off of the man and hear his erratic heartbeat.

"Are you calm?"

The man nodded quickly. Good, he had no patience for hysterical humans.

"I would ask if she is your mate but judging by your scent that would be pointless," he walked to Pam and held his hand out to which she placed the vial of V in his palm, "There is one question that I am very interested to know," he walked to the man and leaned into his face, "Where did you get this?"

The man was visibly trembling and if he became anymore frightened he wouldn't be surprised if he passed out.

"I-I-I..."

Eric sighed and Pam raced to the man's side putting a perfectly manicured nail to his neck.

"Think before you speak. We don't have the time nor the patience for lies."

"Are you an addict?" he asked.

The man shook his head fervently and Eric tsked.

"That is much worse human. Using V is frowned upon," he paused making sure the man caught every word, "Selling it...is unacceptable."

Tears involuntarily spilled down the man's face and the man's eyes skittered to the woman still asleep on the counter.

"Who is she?" he was curious about what type of relationship the man could have with the woman.

The man seemed to gain a bit of confidence and tried to move in his chair but Pam's finger was still dangerously close to his throat so he stilled himself.

"She ain't got nothing to do with this. She don't know nothing about V. I swear!"

"That's not what I asked. Who is she to you?"

The man crossed his arms and haunched his shoulders as if protecting himself and with trembling lips said, "She my cousin."

Eric glanced back at the woman and sped to her side when he saw her moving. His nonchalant expression hid the anxiousness he felt. He couldn't even explain to himself why he wanted to see this woman's eyes more than he wanted to live another day. He watched her stretch like a kitten and yawn. He leaned over her waiting for that first glimpse and felt something drop out of the bottom of his stomach when her eyes fluttered open lazily before focusing on him. He'd never seen eyes like this before. They were pure onyx and he could imagine them mimicking the deepest depths of the ocean, they seemed to be never ending. He could see the bitter hard edges protecting something much more precious within, much like the woman before him.

Tara's eyes widened when she saw the pale blond man leaning over her. She didn't know what to think she just acted on instinct and punched him. She gasped when his face didn't move an inch and her hand throbbed like it had hit a wall. Even more shocking was the small smirk that was forming on his face. Where the heck am I?

"Since you are just awakening I will excuse your mistake. Don't let it happen again."

His voice was so devoid of emotion he could have been mentioning the weather.

"Who are you?" she managed to get out in a shaky breath.

Without saying a word he reached under her and lifted her up. Her body became rigid in his arms and she shivered from his cold hands. The tingles that went down her spine made her heat up immediately after and she lowered her head to clear it. Ignoring any unwanted feelings and sensations, she tried to remember the last thing she did and with whom. She remembered being at Merlotte's then leaving with Lafayette. They were in the car and she saw something on the road...

"Lafayette! Where's Lafayette?"

She broke out of the man's grasp and nearly fell over before he grabbed her again. It was then that she noticed she was sitting on top of a bar.

"Tara! I'm okay."

She turned in the direction of Lafayette's voice and saw him sitting in a chair not too far away with some blonde woman hovering over him. Lafayette looked like he was about to pee his pants so, obviously, the situation wasn't good.

"What happened? And who are they?"

The woman gave her a bored look, "We'll be asking the questions, cupcake."

Cupcake? Who the hell was this and who did she think she was? Before she could speak the man beside her walked around the bar and faced her looking like an earthquake wouldn't even disturb him.

"As Sheriff of Bon Temps it seems that you're cousin here is in direct violation of the law."

"I thought Bud Dearborne was the Sheriff," she stated.

The man smiled and she wrapped her arms around herself at the lascivious look he gave her.

"Dearborne may be the human sheriff but I oversee the local vampire laws and your cousin here is a serious offender."

She looked quickly at Lafayette and his face confirmed the man's words. She didn't know if she was more afraid of the fact that they were in the custody of vampires or that Lafayette had done something to piss them off.

"What the hell did you do?" she glared at Lafayette.

"He has been selling V. What have you been doing?"

She blinked in confusion, "Me? I damn sure haven't been selling no V," she turned her attentions to Lafayette momentarily forgetting their predicament due to her irritation, and sighed, "I can't believe you been selling that stuff."

Lafayette didn't say anything he just kept his eyes on the blonde woman.

"Look, whatever he did he's sorry."

The man was in her face in the blink of an eye and she lost her breath for a second. Whoa. She knew next to nothing about vampires so the super speed was really throwing her off kilter. She'd never seen anyone move so fast.

"His crime is punishable by death," her mouth fell open in shock, "But I'm giving him a proposition instead."

"You kill people for selling V?" her words came out in a clumsy stammer.

"With pleasure."

She could see the blonde over his shoulder smirking and knew that she was enjoying her and Lafayette's discomfort. She lifted her hands to her head and grimaced when she felt something sticky there. When she pulled her hand away and saw blood she felt panic set in. For the first time she noticed that Lafayette's shirt looked darker than she remembered. She glanced down at her own clothes and saw how drenched in blood they were. She thought back to the last thing she saw. What had she seen? Had they hit something? If so, what, and how did they end up here?

"Did we crash? Did you make us crash?"

"Tara, just don't say nothing," Lafayette warned.

"Yes and no. We were nearby when we heard your car. It's a good thing we were there because you wouldn't have made it otherwise."

She looked at the man incredulously.

"You saved us?"

"Yes, which means you are both now indebted to me."

She swallowed heavily, "What do you want?"

The man's gaze was intense and she blinked focusing on anything but him.

"I want your cousin to sell V for me."

The man turned his body so that he could look at Lafayette whose face seemed to be set in a permanent O.

"I thought you said it was against the law," Lafayette asked confused.

"It is," the man said wryly, "But from now on I will supply you and no one else. You are also to never speak of this or I will make you wish you had died in that car wreck."

Lafayette nodded, he didn't need to be told twice. Tara felt herself growing angry and whenever she was angry fear was not a factor.

"You want my cousin to sell V so that some other group of vampires can find and kill him? Hell no!"

"Tara, shut the hell up!" Lafayette began to pray in his head hoping to God that she didn't get herself and him killed tonight.

The man's eyes were once again trained on her and in the back of her mind she acknowledged how mesmerizing they were. The sea green reminded her of the ocean, although she'd never seen it in person.

"Lafayette, will do whatever I say. He works for me now. As for you," his eyes slowly perused her once again and she felt like he could see all of her hidden places even with clothes on, "You will pay off your debt in another way."

She prayed that he wasn't talking about sleeping with him because if that was the case, he should have left her for dead. She was insulted that he would even suggest it. She guessed men could be pigs whether dead or alive.

"I'm not sleeping with you."

"Who said anything about sleeping?" the man grinned.

"You know what I mean."

"Would you have preferred I left you on the side of the road?"

"With what you're offering? Yes!"

The man blinked and looked surprised. She could tell it was an expression he was not used to wearing. Judging by his demeanor he was used to having his way and apparently thought he ran the world or at least a corner of it. She didn't care if he was a vampire or the Queen of England, he wasn't about to guilt trip nor blackmail her into sleeping with him. She got a ton of horrific images just thinking about sleeping with a vampire.

The man didn't remain speechless for long but he was no longer smiling arrogantly at her, either.

"You and your cousin are free to go. Pam get the keys. I wouldn't want them crashing again on the way home."

The woman walked off and disappeared in a room near the bar. The man was standing so close to her that anytime he moved he brushed slightly against her legs. She wasn't exactly sure if she should make any sudden movements.

She couldn't believe the situation they were in, it was almost unreal, not to mention the fact that they had been in a terrible car wreck and Lafayette no longer had a car. The amount of blood soaking her body also perplexed her. If she lost this much blood why didn't she feel any pain or wounds? She felt like she'd awaken from a deep slumber and actually felt refreshed, which didn't make sense considering the circumstances.

"You said that we almost died but I don't feel any pain," she looked at her hands and arms, "I don't see any wounds either."

The man looked her over once more before replying, "You drank a great deal of my blood."

She blanched.

"You're a liar," she protested.

The man was once again smiling pridefully.

"Lying is pointless and a waste of my time, especially to humans. You drank my blood and we now have a connection. Wherever you are and whatever you are doing I will feel," he pinned her to the bar with his arms and brought his face close to hers, "When I collect my debt, and I always do, you will not be able to resist me."

She bit her lip at his words and clamped her knees together tightly. Why the hell was her body responding to his pig headed comments? Why was it responding to a vampire?

"Kiss my ass."

The man raised a brow.

"I'd love too."

The woman came strutting out of the office just then holding the keys out to the man who only looked at her.

"You will be taking them home. I have business to attend too."

The woman huffed and walked to the entrance swinging the door open.

"Get in the car and don't say anything. I'm nowhere near as nice as Eric."

The man seem to find that funny and chuckled. Eric. Somehow she expected something much more over the top than that. He released her from his pinned position and watched her expectantly. She slid down from the counter and made her way to Lafayette who needed help getting up. He was practically shaking. She held on to his arm as they moved towards the door.

"Tara?" she stopped and turned at the sound of her name and Eric smiled secretively at her, "Sweet dreams."

She said nothing and escaped through the door with Lafayette, taking huge gulps of the outside air. Now they just had to make it home with the woman and they'd be alright.

Eric kept his gaze on Tara until she disappeared out of the club. She was more than beautiful and more than a little interesting. He would certainly be seeing her sooner rather than later and it wouldn't be too long after that when he would taste her in every way possible.

Pam turned to him before stepping outside.

"Talk about killing two birds with one stone."

She turned to go, "Pamela," she stopped when she heard her full name, "Did you notice anything interesting about the woman?"

She gave him a serious look and nodded. Eric's expression became pensive before saying, "Her blood had no scent."