"Forgive me, Miss..." Bill had never asked her name, nor had she said it once.

"Agrippa. Salome Agrippa." She smiled proudly. "But please, call me Salome." He nodded.

"Of course." Bill recalled her name from tales over the years. She was the original femme fatale. Something in his expression must've given away his thoughts as she laughed softly.

"I assure you, whatever tales you've heard are exaggerated." He cocked a half smile.

"I'm not sure what you're talking about." She rolled her eyes as she made her way around the desk, propping herself onto it and crossing her legs.

"Mr. Compton, please don't insult me. I know you know at least a little bit about me." He nodded once in admittance. "I assure you, I'm not as bad as people think. In fact, I'm merely a lonely vampire." He raised his eyebrow at her as she smiled sweetly. He could smell her arousal like a dog in heat, everything from the look in her eyes to how she pointed her body towards him screamed for sex. "Enough about little ol' me. There is still business to attend to." She slid off the table and onto her feet. "Would you be so kind as to get Mr. Northman on the line for me?" He nodded once more as he picked up the receiver from the base and dialed Eric's cell. Before he could offer it to her, she took it from his hands, her fingers grazing his. As their eyes met, her smile hinted at something too familiar to Bill - lust.

Sookie rested her head on Eric's bare chest, taking comfort in his fingers stroking her hair.

"Do you remember when you drank my blood in my room?" The question struck her odd as she nodded.

"We became one, as you described it." He smiled softly.

"And so we are." She sat up, looking at him, confusion on her face.

"What do you mean?" He didn't say anything as he took the time to look at her face, slowly trailing his eyes down her neck, chest and finally resting a few moments as he drank in the sight of her perfect breasts. "Uh, up here." He didn't move his gaze for a few seconds, until she snapped her fingers. "What do you mean we are?"

"Why did you drink my blood? What did you think it meant?" Honestly, she hadn't thought about it much. She remembered feeling so enchanted by him, he had been so kind and sweet and most importantly, he hadn't gone too far when he drank from her. She shrugged slightly.

"I don't know. I guess I thought you just wanted to strengthen our blood bond." His smile grew a bit. At least she knew it had something to do with a type of bond.

"Have you ever drank from Bill after he's drank from you? Without you being injured." She shook her head instantly.

"No. I'm not all that fond of having to drink it even when I am hurt."

"Then why did you with me?"

"I told you! I just thought it would bring us closer." He reached out and cupped her face, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

"And it has. Just not exactly how you think." She raised an eyebrow.

"What the hell do you mean, not exactly how I think? Eric Northman, what the hell did you do to me?!" He laughed slightly at her slight anger and panic.

"I started our bonding process." The anger shifted into pure confusion and some fear. "I'll assume Bill never explained bonding to you."

"Well, he told me that once I had his blood I'd feel different but only right after." He knew that the younger vampire's blood didn't hold the same sort of 'high' his much older blood did.

"That is just a simple blood bond. It's more beneficial to the vampire than their human." again, confusion danced strongly on her face. Eric was actually a bit angry; why the hell didn't Bill explain anything to her? Fucking asshole.

"Why are you angry?" the question caught him off guard. "I can feel it." He cocked an eyebrow and grinned.

"That is the bond. A blood bond allows the vampire to always feel their human but when a vampire and human exchange blood without needing it for medical reasons, it's bonding."

"So, instead of you just feeling me, I'll be able to feel you too?" He nodded.

"And in time, we'll be able to speak mentally without hesitation." Her eyes widen.

"You mean like how I can hear people's thoughts and talk to other telepaths?" Again, he nodded. He watched her as she looked around, obviously absorbing and thinking about what it meant. After a few minutes, she brought her gaze back to him. "Why?" It was his turn to look confused. "Why did you bond with me?" He thought for a moment, trying to evaluate if that was regret in her voice, but he wasn't sure.

"Because I loved you without my memories and I still love you with all of them. I do not regret my choice. I love you, Sookie." He was thankful at the small smile the last part of his sentence brought her. She took a few moments to let it sink in before her smile grew.

"I love you too, Eric." He pulled her into his arms, letting her rest her head on his shoulder. "Ya know, I honestly wasn't sure what was gonna happen. I mean, I still don't and I don't wanna hurt you." He knew she meant her feelings about Bill. He wanted to contain his anger, mask it emotionally and mentally so she couldn't pick it up in their bond but when she lifted her head, slightly pouting, he knew he failed. "I don't mean to love him on purpose. Honestly, I don't even think I love him the way you think I do." He looked into her eyes, not sure what she meant exactly. "He was my first love...everything and because of that, I'll always care for him and love him." Eric suddenly had that distant look in his eyes, the one she'd seen so many times when he tried to mask his hurt and save face. "I love Bill but I'm in love with you." His eyes suddenly seemed to brighten as the corners of his mouth began to slightly curl.

"Do you mean it?" She smiled and nodded.

"I wouldn't say it if I didn't." His kiss caught her by surprise but she welcomed it, melting into his arms. For a few moments, he found himself lost in bliss. That was until his phone rang. He really didn't care but Sookie clearly did as she pulled from him and leaned over to grab his pants from the floor. He grinned as the leaning over allowed him to enjoy her more visually. When she sat back up, she laughed at the grin on his expression while tossing his pants at him. "You are such a pig." He laughed slightly as he fished his phone out, opening it.

"Northman." Sookie watched as the softness in his face hardened and she became a bit worried. "Of course, Chancellor. I'll be there shortly." He closed his phone looking at Sookie with a hardness that caused her body to shiver.

"What is it?"

"The Authority want to see me at Bill's." She swallowed hard. "I was also ordered to bring you." her eyes widened.

"I can't believe Bill was gonna kill himself tonight." Pam put the bottle of true blood on the counter and glared at Jessica.

"I'm not. Sookie's precious Faerie snatch even has Eric acting like a fucking moron." Jessica took the bottle and sipped it.

"Does he love her?" Pam cocked an eyebrow. "It's just...I know Bill loves Sookie. He always has."

"Right, that's why while she was gone, he was fucking every hole around town while my maker was fucking barely feeding and sleeping at her fucking house." Jessica's eyes widened in shock. She didn't think Eric could care about anybody that much.

"At least he's happy." Pam shot her a look. "I mean, Bill told me that he had released Eric because of what he said about Sookie." Pam cocked her eyebrow again.

"What did he say?" Jess thought for a second, making sure she recalled it directly.

"Uh, well when he was about to stake Eric." Pam hissed slightly and Jessica wince. "He said Eric had told him to thank Sookie." Her eyebrow reached higher. "That because of her, he would've died knowing what it meant to love." The anger & confusion that held Pam's face broke and melted into something else; hurt. She knew shortly after Eric had met Sookie, he changed. Every decision that could possibly concern Sookie, concerned him which in turn, concerned her. Eric still hadn't told her what happened between them during his amnesiac state, but she knew more or less; she knew that her Maker smelled of sunshine and honey. She also could feel the fear, pain and then wave of happiness he had felt the days he spent with her. As much as she hated Sookie for taking Eric from her, she was thankful that she had protected him. "Ya know, I think she really loves him." Pam looked at Jessica.

"She better."

"Mr. Northman, it is a pleasure to finally meet you." She extended her hand to him, but not for him to shake. He glanced at Sookie who didn't look all too pleased as he took Salome's hand and kissed it. "And Sookie, I've heard so little about you." Sookie flashed her a sarcastic grin.

"I'm sure." behind Salome, Bill gave Sookie a look as to tell her not to. Salome laughed.

"She's feisty."

"For a mortal." Salome glanced at Eric with a grin.

"Surely you mean for a Faerie."

A/N: Well, I can honestly say I'm 98% sure I know where this story is going and where it'll probably/more than likely end. I want to thank everyone's read it and reviewed. You guys rock my world!

so...rock it some more? :D