Dead Tired: Resurrection

Chapter 7

Quitting Time

**

Sunday, January 3rd…

*SOOKIE’S POV*

I woke up early and, even though I tried for over an hour, there was no going back to sleep. I wasn’t going to complain too much. Even though the amount of rest I’d had could hardly be considered a nap, I’d been sleeping less and less and keeping up with things just fine. Plus… not being able to go back to sleep was totally my fault. Snuggling up to Eric was too amazing. It wasn’t something I’d ever been able to do before because it wasn’t safe for him to stay in bed with me at my house; another ‘pro’ on the list of things in favor of his house. The longer I stayed in bed with him, the more excited I was to move in eventually. The attachment I had to the house I’d spent so much of my life in was seriously being tested.

I had to pry myself away to go downstairs to find anything to write on… I didn’t want to leave while he was in bed without leaving a note for him.

After sorting our laundry, I slid into my car and played for a few minutes… It was probably silly, but the car had so many bells and whistles, I couldn’t resist. It wasn’t like my little old car had more than AM/FM… I revved the engine, plugged in my iPod, adjusted everything for me since Eric had clearly been the last person to drive it, and found the turn signals before I left for Bon Temps.

I stopped at the Super Wal-Mart for some light grocery shopping. Amelia was the last one to restock our pantry and, since I hadn’t been home a lot, I could only guess what was in the house. If I was going to have company, I would need to make sure I at least had drinks in the house.

When I got home, I could tell right away Amelia was gone… not just telepathically… the house echoed with emptiness.

While I put away my groceries, I filled a garbage bag with all the stuff she’d left behind. Most of it was just odds and ends; take out containers, sodas that had gone flat, and a few baggies of herbs that would’ve raised eyebrows if my house was ever searched by authorities. It was just Amelia’s spell ingredients, but wormwood and angelica had a reputation of their own.

On my way back to get dressed for my shift, I saw that the answering machine’s light blinking. Five new messages…

• Jason wanted to know if I had his post-hole digger.
• Holly wanted to switch shifts, yesterday.
• Holly again.
• Alcide wanted me to call him back.
• Sam.

Well, it could’ve been worse. I called Jason back and left a voicemail, telling him I didn’t have the digger, and asked why I would.

I called Holly just to tell her I wasn’t ignoring her… That call took a lot longer than I thought it would because she wanted to dish about my ‘hot date’ the other night.

I had to brace myself while I dialed Sam’s number. His message was vague and after the way he’s always acted in the past, I was pretty much just hoping he wanted to fire me… I was braced for him trying to ‘talk some sense’ into me though…

“Hey Sam, I got your message. What’s up?”

“I wanted to make sure we’re okay.”

Okay? Yeah, right.

“I don’t know, Sam, after the go-to-hell look you gave me the other night when I came in with Eric, are we?”

“That look wasn’t meant for you, Sookie. It was for him.” He said ‘him’ like he saw a pedophile with leprosy instead of Eric.

“That nasty look was meant for both of us. Don’t pretend otherwise. Do you think I’m an idiot or did you forget I’m a mind reader?”

He might as well have called me a moron since all he gave me as an answer was a quiet snort. How was I supposed to not be insulted?

“I’m with Eric now. Can you deal with that or are you going to make my life difficult because of it?”

He whined, “Of course not. Sookie, I’m sorry.”

Sorry? Sorry for what? Sorry he lost some competition I didn’t know I was the prize for or sorry I wasn’t smart enough to see the error of my ways?

“Yeah, whatever. I’ll be in at one.”

“Sookie, I can’t change how I feel.”

“I know… It must really be a burden to be so self-absorbed you don’t care about anyone else’s feelings. Like I said, I’ll be in at one.”

When I realized I’d said that out loud, I hung up before I slipped and told him to go fuck himself.

I was actually disappointed that he didn’t fire me.

It wasn’t just Sam. It was Sam, and Bill, and Quinn, and Amelia… and I was up to my eyeballs with being told how to live and what should make me happy.

**

Speaking of happy… I saved the best for last.

Alcide, the friend who actually listened to me.

“Hey cutie, how’s it hangin’?”

“To the right. How about yours?”

“Kinda limp during the day…” I giggled, more because I couldn’t believe I’d said it, but sometimes juvenile potty humor just won. “To what do I owe the pleasure of speaking to the Packmaster of Shreveport? You’re still coming tonight, right? I have a feeling it’ll be your last chance to come see me at Merlotte’s.”

“Yeah, I’ll be there. Something going on?”

“Sam called to make sure we’re okay after the other night when you came in. He shot daggers at me and Eric, and didn’t say a word to me. He told me he couldn’t change his feelings.”

“And you said…?”

“I basically called him an egomaniac and hung up… He pitched a fit the other night. I’m just a trophy to you, and Eric can’t love me. Same old, same old.”

“You know, he is the only one who can love you the way…” He couldn’t even get through saying it without laughing. “Sorry Shug, I tried… He’s just not going to get his head out of his ass. You should play wingman… Send Carla his way.”

“Ooooh, good idea. Then he can date her and they can start an anti-Alcide campaign. Thanks anyway. I’m just waiting for her to go psycho like your other exes…”

“MY exes!? There isn’t a Supe who’s ever met you that wouldn’t go broke playing the Sookie lotto.”

“That doesn’t count.”

“Why not?”

“Because not a damn one of them knows anything about me. It’s this damn Faeness that makes them interested. Not who I am.”

“Eric might say otherwise.”

“Eric got to know me and was interested in spite of all the shit… You might want to think of something for us to do tonight. I have a feeling I’ll be leaving work early.”

“I’ll get there a little early then. I don’t want to miss anything… Hey, what’s up with the baby-Vamp? Don’t their Makers usually take care of them?”

“Oh yeah, don’t talk about it unless Eric brings it up… He’s über pissed. The poor thing was in a car accident and woke up in the morgue with no Maker. She really is a pitiful thing. She found a Vampire to talk to, but he told her to get settled somewhere and report to the Sheriff… and the Sheriff would expect ‘favors’… so she cried when Eric introduced himself. And to boot, her parents are still living and don’t want anything to do with her now.”

“That’s bullshit… all of it. What’s Eric doing for her? What does she need?”

“He gave her the full hook-up. Job, car, place to stay… some guidance. He’s going to claim her as his child at the bar. Without a Maker, anyone could mess with her… Let me tell you, I’ve been through a lot with Eric… I’ve NEVER seen him as pissed as he was last night after we dropped her off. I’m pretty sure he’s called the Sheriff over in Orange to find her Maker.”

“How pissed?”

“He yelled at me, well in my direction about the situation, and when I tried to calm him down, he asked me to stop talking because he wanted to be mad.”

“That’s pretty pissed. He didn’t take it out on you though, right?” Sweet, protective Alcide…

“Of course not… Well, not in a bad way.” I giggled at my intentional overshare.

He was quiet for a minute trying to shake off the mental image. He growled, “You share too much sometimes. I’ll see ya in a bit.”

**

After changing into my uniform and doing a few quick chores, I went to Merlotte’s, sure enough to bet tonight was going to be someone’s breaking point. Eric had said my job annoyed him, but he wouldn’t put his foot down about it until it was a problem… I had other obligations that would eventually keep me from waiting tables… and Sam had made it clear that my personal life was a spectator sport for him…

I knew it was going to happen. I knew I was going to quit soon… I just couldn’t be sure how it was going to happen. I wasn’t naïve enough to even hope Sam would let it get to the point where I’d just sit him down and resign peacefully. Sam was going to start an argument. It would be absurdly myopic, and the only real mystery was how Sam’s final hissy fit was going to play out.

Jason was in the parking lot when I pulled up and my car caught his attention before he noticed I was the one driving… He followed me on foot to the employee parking area and looked my car up, down and sideways like he was flirting with it.

Without a word he slid into the front seat and started looking over the interior, making himself at home.

It was like he was stoned from the new car smell when he finally said, “Sookie, what’d you do to get a car this nice?”

Nice. ‘What did I do?’ Not ‘where did I get it?’ I probably would have been fine if he came right out and asked if Eric bought it for me, opposed to implying that I was ‘earning’ it.

“Get out of the car Jason, I’m late for work.”

“That Vampire get it for you?”

Even that would have been preferred. Why didn’t he start with that?

“Jason, until you bother yourself with learning his name, I won’t discuss our relationship with you.”

He didn’t climb out until I did.

While I locked the doors, he mumbled over the roof, “I didn’t mean nothin’ by it, Sook. I was just… even if I had the money, I cain’t think of anyone I’da bought a car for.”

At least he wasn’t being a jerk, just a bonehead.

**

I pulled open the employee entrance and as soon as I walked into the back hallway, all eyes were on me. Sam, Holly, Arlene and the busboy were all there and Terry was at the pass talking to another new cook.

Sam started on the wrong foot…

He griped, “Sookie, you’re late.”

“Sorry about that Sam. Maybe if you hadn’t tied me up on the phone whining about your feelings, I’d have been on time…” I said it loud enough for everyone to hear me too. Screw him and his high horse. “I’ve already hit my idiot limit for the week, so y’all might want to just leave me alone so we can get through this shift without calling 9-1-1.”

For the first time I could remember, the Merlotte’s staff kept their mouths shut and left me alone to do my job. It was beautiful. It probably had something to do with all of my new abilities, but who was I to look a gift horse in the mouth?

It was a normal Sunday afternoon with moderate traffic… just busy enough that I wasn’t bored out of my mind.

I smiled like an idiot when I noticed the sky was turning bright pink… feeling Eric waking up was a nice realization. He’d been blocking our bond while we were apart, and I’d missed the slight rush it gave me, especially when he was first waking up for the night… I couldn’t help but feel really guilty for how much I used to complain about it though.

I had just served a table and was stopped in my tracks by Alcide doing a great justice to his jeans and t-shirt.

He grabbed me, wrapping one arm around my back and taking my hand. He was grinning from ear to ear and told me, “Dance with me,” as he started a quick two step as a greeting.

I’d just been dipped when Arlene decided to crawl out of the woodwork.

She drawled, “Hey Sookie, I’ve seen him here before. Who’s your friend?”

Meanwhile, she was thinking about how she was dumped the day before Christmas and she’d heard from Holly I was dating a blonde. Alcide finally made it onto her radar.

Alcide pulled me up from the floor like I weighed nothing as I introduced them, like he didn’t already know who she was…

“Alcide, this is my co-worker and former friend Arlene. Arlene, this is my friend who won’t pay your utilities or let you use your kids to keep him around, but none of that matters because he has Vampire friends, so you already hate him because you’re a social lemming with the wrong friend-set.”

Catty? Probably, but at least I wasn’t leaving any room for confusion.

When Alcide chuckled and held his hand out to shake, Arlene made a horrible noise in her throat and stomped off instead, so I ended up laughing with him.

He snorted, “Are you in a bitchy mood or was that for her benefit?”

I huffed and led him to a table in my section. “A little of both. Sam was whining, then Jason rubbed me the wrong way, and Arlene was being opportunistic because she’s single again.”

“And… what part of that is out of character for any of them?”

Good point.

I managed a giggle. “I tell you what, in about an hour Eric will get here. God help the next person to cross me today. Did you think of something awesome for us to do?”

“I fucking hope so. Otherwise I’m toast.”

Another giggle, almost a real laugh. “You’re safe… What did you think of?”

He cleared his throat and paused for dramatic effect. “Have you ever seen Eric in a skirt?”

I smiled at the idea but for some reason the mental image was more of a bad Halloween drag costume.

“Pink spandex leggings. Close enough?”

He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head like he was trying to shake off a nightmare. His hand shot into the air like he was trying to shield himself and barked, “Don’t you dare put the real thing in my head. I’ll stop talking to you!”

I laughed into my hand and, I swear, the only reason I didn’t ‘show’ him was that I was sure Eric only dressed like that because he didn’t care what Humans thought.

“Out with it then. Tell me quick or I’ll-”

He cut me off to offer, “There’s a Scottish and Celtic festival in Reston tonight. The Highland Games start at eight o’clock. I entered us both. If nothing else, there’s music and vendors.”

“I haven’t been to one of those since I was a kid… Sounds like a blast… He’s awake but he hasn’t left the house yet. Call him. Son of a bitch may have his own kilt.” Eric was prepared for just about anything.

Sam interrupted, “Sookie, you think you can do your job?”

Big shock there. He’d actually tried to cover how jealous he was by telling me it was unprofessional to be social while I was working… I was so tempted to point out that he fantasized about an employee. For that matter, he was being a complete shit to the local Packmaster too.

I growled, “Sure Sam, I bet all three of my tables missed me in the last two minutes. I’ll get right on that.”

When I left Alcide, he was already calling Eric.

**

Just to prove the point that I wasn’t ‘derelict’, I checked on my tables. It wasn’t any kind of surprise none of them needed anything… Sam was making it easier and easier for me to hate him.

When I took a beer to Alcide, he told me I was right about Eric owning a kilt, and he was on his way, not that I couldn’t already tell Eric was getting closer.

Alcide moved to the bar once it cleared out a little, and a few minutes later, Eric walked in with a garment bag in one hand, smoothing his hair with the empty one. He’d flown.

Eric joined Alcide at the bar, taking the extra step to prove he was trying when it came to accepting my friendship with Alcide.

While I worked, I started to wonder if Eric was trying because of the promise he made or if the bond was responsible for his efforts somehow. Not that it really mattered. I wouldn’t dare try to force Eric to trust Alcide, not intentionally, but I was sure he just needed to give Alcide a chance. Loyalty and honesty were high on Eric’s list of preferred character traits and Alcide had them in spades.

My guys, my best friend and my fiancé, had been talking in hushed tones, and that’s pretty damn quiet for Supes with crazy good hearing. While I was behind the bar, I noticed Eric was giving Arlene the stare down. She noticed it too.

She finally snarled in Eric’s direction and snapped, “Do you mind telling me why you’re staring at me?”

Eric gave her his ‘bored face’ and offered, “Seeing you stirred a memory.”

She snarled, “Like from back before you were damned?”

Arlene had no clue where the fine line between bravery and stupidity was. She was so deep into stupid, she couldn’t see brave anymore.

“I was remembering the good ole days when red hair was a sign of evil. The babies were drowned at birth.” He smiled and flashed his fangs.

I know damn good and well that nasty bigot didn’t grasp that Eric was talking about ignorant, overzealous persecution… and that her Fangphobia was the exact same fucking thing.

Her face turned red to match her hair and she stormed to the back. At least she stopped leering. I whispered, “Are we ignoring that she’s as naturally redheaded as Alcide?”

He shook his head and whispered back, “No. She still should have been drowned at birth.”

I… I couldn’t argue with that.

*PAM’S POV*

My master, Eric Northman… Sexy, smart, aloof… We’ve been together for more than 200 years with the exception of a stray decade here or there while one of us was on an assignment. I knew Eric as well as he had ever let anyone know him. We had always been a good team… well, once I grew into Vampirism, at least.  We have always been friends under the Maker/child façade we wore. I’ve always respected him… he is quite impressive after all. But over the course of the past year he was being absolutely, without question, the biggest royal pain in the ass since Ann Boleyn.

I went to rest many a time since Eric’s recovery from his curse by pacifying myself with remembrances of torturing the Witch responsible. The curse Hallow put on my Maker echoed into every night of my life since. ‘Sookie’ this, ‘Sookie’ that. Before the curse, his pursuit of the telepath was a game. Even I enjoyed the entertainment… Eric would get a little spring in his step every time he had the opportunity to check Compton or get the slightest irritation out of Sookie.

When I collected him from her house after the Witch War, he was out of sorts. The two of them had been fucking while he was there. Even if I hadn’t been able to feel it through our bond, I could smell it on both of them. He didn’t remember what happened while he was boarding with her, and it was driving him to madness. When she finally told him, it only made things worse. I could tell when he was thinking of her. His end of our bond felt like a wind tunnel… spinning emptiness, swallowing anything that came near him. Occasionally sparks of lust and life would pass through, but after centuries of conquering women and scaring the shit out of men, I watched my Master turn into a fucking Valentine’s Day card. It made me sick. I assume one can be in love without making a complete ass out of oneself, but if that was how he acted in love, I was quite happy to only see it happen this once.

Since the night of the takeover, things worsened exponentially. He had regained his full memory at a most inopportune time. He couldn’t watch over her because of the political nonsense. My new purpose became babysitting my Maker’s pet. I’m only bitter in principle. After so many years of being a dutiful second, I was reduced to being an informant. The job itself wasn’t a bad one. I was able to use Amelia as an excuse to stop by, so there were some benefits. Amelia was chatty enough to give me more than enough information to relay to Eric. Every couple of weeks, we would enjoy a ‘girls’ night out’. Oh, the enjoyment I got out of dancing with Sookie. Doing body shots with her was payment enough for services rendered even if I didn’t get my own enjoyment out of Eric’s reaction to her smell on me afterwards.

There were some things about the job that weren’t as enjoyable. Information gathering was easy enough, but there were some nights when I was visiting Amelia, and I’d heard Sookie come home with Herveaux. I didn’t hear or smell anything that suggested Eric should be concerned, but I know my Maker, and he isn’t fond of sharing or Weres. I didn’t think the news that his bonded pet was ‘bunking’ with a Wolf would inspire confetti and a parade.

All the signs were there that Sookie and the Wolf were seeing too much of each other. Amelia couldn’t help me with the wheres and whys of Sookie’s little out of town adventures. Football games at Thanksgiving, maybe. His sister’s in Jackson? I could buy that for him, but why take Sookie? The most confusing was a visit to an aquarium in Atlanta? Why not go to the one in Texas? That one was definitely bullshit.

But alas, Eric finally got what he wanted. He approached Sookie and she agreed, more or less, to be his, and I was still holding my breath for those details. The night of their first date, I had to fight smiling at my post at the door to Fangtasia. His happiness and lust were overwhelming the bond we have. I was truly happy for him. I’d never seen (or felt) him be so pleased.

Last night brought me almost as much enjoyment. To my surprise, I found out he was… dancing with wolves? What’s more, Sookie decided to butter me up with couture and thrust her lapdog at me, like I was a consolation prize since she was off the market. Color me suspicious, but I didn’t like the sound of it. I’d looked to Eric when she suggested it. I’d been keeping him updated. As much as I liked Sookie, I wouldn’t see him broadsided if I could help it. Instead of disagreeing with her, he told me he trusted Herveaux.  Never before, never about me, had he said he trusted anyone. Not out loud. Of course there was a list longer than the Mississippi of those he didn’t trust.

So there I was, dressed in my new favorite dress and shoes handpicked by my blind date. I wished Vampires could be ill so I could call in sick. I knew Herveaux was good looking, don’t get me wrong, but I’d never liked Weres as a rule, and I hated the silly double date scenario enough to prefer any punishment for not showing up.

I was standing at my door trying to think of an excuse to not go (like staging my own kidnapping) when I got a text from Eric. “Don’t be a coward. We WILL have fun.”

As Master says, child does… but I was still bracing myself.

**

The moment I walked through the front door of that putrid little dive Sookie worked in, I saw Eric speaking with the Wolf… and they were both laughing. I couldn’t help but notice how well Herveaux wore his jeans. His thighs were as big around as both of mine together, and I could see their definition through his pants. His T-shirt was just as enjoyable. It was snug enough to show off a very well defined six pack and pecks bigger than my bed pillows. That guy was huge, and I might have been willing to admit he was built better than Eric. I was thinking I could enjoy our date, maybe. It only took a second for me to size him up, and judging by how fast the color drained from his face and the sudden change to his scent, he was thinking along the same lines. Maybe, just maybe.

Sookie came over to me, putting on quite a show for the patrons in Shifter’s Bar & Grill, and earning a fair amount of shock from her Master, by borrowing a bit of my lipstick and humming against my lips, and sliding her hand over my ass to greet me.

“Pam, you remember Alcide, right?”

Of course, I remembered him, but the last time I saw him he was furry and bleeding. We’d barely had the chance to nod at each other when the Shifter came from the back with his hair up…

Merlotte barked, “Sookie, I need to talk to you…” She rolled her eyes and stomped to meet him, mere inches away from his face. Oh my, Sookie was in a mood. “In my office.”

I had to resist the urge to laugh when she shook her head as though he was high for asking. “Have the stones to say it here, or keep it to yourself.”

“Fine… One of your friends just threatened Arlene, so they need to leave.”

Somehow, Sookie maintained the angry look on her face even though her eyes lit up. Suddenly, the evening had more promise than I thought. She took off her apron while she argued, “Sam, my friend didn’t threaten that lying bitch! My fiancé was nasty to her, but not nearly as nasty as her Fellowship scumbag boyfriends are to me.”

“Fiancé?” Well, if I was just then finding out about it, at least it made Merlotte break a sweat to hear it… The part that annoyed me was that Herveaux didn’t blink at the mention.

“Yup! Fiancé. You, Sam Merlotte can shove it up your selfish ass!” She threw her apron in his face and stomped out! This was going to be fun. The three of us followed her to the back door like lemmings while she continued to rant.  “I’m sorry about that, guys. Don’t worry. I’ll start looking for a straight job tomorrow. Tonight we’re gonna have fun if it kills me. Alcide, I’m kidnapping you. Go get your party dress, and we’ll all ride together.”

He was already jogging towards the front of the so-called restaurant when he replied, “Yes ma’am.”

Without a care of who saw her, Sookie began pulling off her clothing on her way to the trunk of her car… She had shed some of the shyness I used to find amusing, but I couldn’t help but be surprised she was changing in the open. It seemed like she was starting to calm down a little until Merlotte joined us outside…

She snarled, “Did you follow me so I could kick your ass, Sam?”

“Naw, Sookie. I came out here to say I’m sorry. Arlene lied to me. I didn’t know better…”

“Arlene lied? No!… Sam, I put up with your judgment and derision and your ‘nobody’s good enough for Sookie except Sam’ bullshit because I was naïve enough to think you were still my friend under all that. But when it comes down to it, I want friends who are happy for me when I’m happy. The happier I am, the worse you get. I don’t want to be around that. You believed her over me too many times. Arlene is still a bitch, and you can still go fuck yourself.”

“Sookie don’t you see what they’re doing to you? You never used to be this nasty. You never used to use that kind of language! You never would have gotten changed in an open parking lot before them.” He was just jealous he missed seeing her change her bra… rightfully so.

And what the fuck were we, the evil collective, being blamed for? A few ‘bad’ words, a more sensitive fuck-this-shit trigger, and nudity?

I could live with that.

She snarled, “Damn it, Sam. You need to realize the Sookie you’re hung up on was afraid of the dark and trapped. Meeting these ‘horrible’ people has been liberating as hell! I’m comfortable in my own skin now. I actually feel sorry for you that you can’t say the same thing… As long as you’re struggling with being a Shifter, you’ll always need someone to be trapped with you. I’m some sort of Faerie hybrid, and I’ve already wasted enough time whining about what that meant. Grow the fuck up, Sam.”

While Sookie and Alcide tossed their things into the trunk, Eric leaned over to me and whispered, “Merlotte thinks they can live happily ever after because they’re both ‘freaks’.”

“Am I allowed to remind him how many Human bodies you cleaned up after the Maenad he was boning?”

He chuckled loud enough to get a dirty look from the Shifter. “You just did.” Oops.

**

The Shifter looked like he was close to a crying fit when I slid into the back seat of Sookie’s car, but when Sookie bent over to join me, he grabbed her arm.

Other than the way my ‘date’ stiffened, I couldn’t see much more from my seat.

Sookie snarled, “Sam. Let go of me right now,” and Alcide growled at him.

He huffed, “I can’t do that.” When she spun around, she was so livid that I could feel it through Eric.

Sookie stomped forward, driving the Shifter back one step at a time. “Oh, you can… and you will. You don’t know what you’re dealing with anymore. You’re out of your league. I don’t owe you anything. Leave me to live my life in peace.”

The rant Sookie unleashed on Merlotte was worth writing home about. She said a few things just for shock-value, but when he tried to blame Supes (as though he weren’t one himself) for all of her new bad habits, she didn’t back down. I hadn’t ever been more proud of my little telepathic friend. The fact that she was such a spitfire never escaped me. As much as it annoyed me that Eric was a hopeless sap for her, I understood how attractive she was. Her magnificent D-cups aside, the girl had moxie.

She left Merlotte frozen in place as though he was being held against his will. He looked like he was actually considering making another grab for her until Eric backed the car out of the lot.

I didn’t said anything. I was sure she’d need time to calm down and if anyone was going to try to bring her out of her spectacular little hissy fit, it should be Eric.

After a few minutes, she stopped staring through the window and huffed, “What? Too much?”

Alcide offered the first reply, “He just wouldn’t let up. You said what you had to.”

Big surprise, Eric beamed, “I’m impressed. I’m proud of you for staying so calm.” Calm, my ass. She was yelling at the top of her lungs while she yanked on a new G-string hard enough to cut herself in half.

All I could say was, “I can’t believe they won’t just say it turned them on.” Then again, thanks to telepathy and blood bonds, they wouldn’t have needed to say it.

She leaned over to me and giggled, “How turned on are you?” I balked for a moment when she kissed me before I could answer. This wasn’t a ‘girls’ night out’… Eric might have enjoyed the floor show last night, but the rules were different. She was His… and it wasn’t just us.

But no jealousy. No anger… When I only felt lust coming from his end of our bond, I decided to have as much fun as Eric allowed.

I knew better than to think he’d share her, but I wasn’t going to ignore the opportunity…

Sookie and I had shared a few playful exchanges, but this wasn’t the same. She was coming at me with so much sexual energy that I was actually swept away. Her mouth was on my neck and she was chewing with just the right amount of pressure, blowing her warm breath over the dampness she left behind.

She inched down my chest, into my cleavage, and back up to the other side of my neck…

Teasing and rubbing our bodies together…

Her thigh nestled between mine…

Nothing says ‘double date’ like a little scissoring, right?

It wasn’t just a mischievously nibbled lip…

It was intense. It was hot…

And she pushed me until I came…

She actually made me cum during what wasn’t much more than foreplay, and I was convinced Eric allowed it just to prove he was justified in wanting her as much as he had ever wanted anything.

Completely convinced.

When she was done with me, we untangled our legs and helped one another with fixing our faces. If I didn’t know any better, I’d swear she’d just used me to calm down… Like she’d been near bloodlust.

Great. First Eric, now her.

What came next shocked me more than our kissing. The Sookie who once rebelled against all things vampire thanked Eric for allowing her to ‘make out’ with me. I couldn’t believe it. I was… there were no words really. I might as well have just met the Easter Bunny.

In spite of my surprise, I took the cue, “Yes thank you, Master.”

“You’re both welcome. You seemed to have fun.”

Sookie giggled, “Alcide? You alive up there? You’re never this quiet.”

“I’m fine. Just thinking about how to word my letter to Fangbanger Monthly.”

I couldn’t help but join the fun. I stood between the seats. “My my, you are a good sport. Aren’t you?” I surprised him with a kiss. I didn’t know if Sookie had ever kissed him before, but he was an amazing kisser, and I almost didn’t want to sit back down. I was fully prepared to blame my interest in the Wolf on what Sookie had done to me.

“See Alcide no mental image necessary, I’ll bet we can even find a bar out here that will serve Vegas weddings.”

He growled, “Maybe it’ll be a Cuba boda night.” The two breathers thought that was a riot, but I wasn’t about to get hot sauce on this dress! Sookie ruined Prada last time.

“Maybe NOT! I plan on wearing this dress for at least a decade!”

Alcide turned around to argue with me. “Sweetheart, you can’t fight the Cuba boda. I’ll buy you five new dresses tomorrow if I have to.” He winked. I throbbed. Shit, Sookie caught that. She’s already had Eric’s blood again.

She snickered, “The key to the kingdom is couture,” and winked at me.

Eric warned, “Alcide, if you keep it up, she’ll have you at fashion week. That’s a special flavor of hell. I was sharpening my bedpost before it was over.”

Oh, har-har.

**

After a few minutes of quiet Sookie whined, “Are we there yet?” It was like nails on a chalkboard.

Alcide turned and barked, “Don’t make me come back there!” Considering the looks on their faces, I assumed it was an inside joke.

Sookie all but dared him. “Ha. You couldn’t even if you wanted to!”

Alcide quickly pushed the seat down, pulled himself forward with a twist, and landed between us. His flexibility made me curious, among other things. “You were saying?”

“Ok guys, as it turns out, there is such a thing as too tight.”

Sookie started maneuvering to give us some space, putting her ass directly in front of our faces, but I resisted the urge to bite it and slapped it instead. Alcide’s slap landed at the same moment mine did…

She giggled, “Hmmm. Maybe I’ll stay right here.” She laughed and the two of us slapped her again. “Ok, Ok, I’m goin’, I’m goin’!”

Once she was settled in the front seat, she held her hand up, and I watched her purse float from the back seat… between our heads… to her hand.

Alcide looked at me and shook his head when he saw my surprise like it was no big deal… If Alcide knew, Eric better know. I didn’t even care if I was out of the loop… If Sookie’s telepathy had progressed into telekinesis, Eric needed to know.

Eric didn’t even give away any hints… either she’d already told him, or he assumed one of us passed her handbag to her.

I stared at his headrest (as though that did any good), trying to remember if she’d ever given me any hints, but I hadn’t seen her often enough. I’d been babysitting her from afar and ‘girls’ nights out’ had been the only tried and true way to separate her from her Wolf.

As far as changes were concerned, I knew she was much less inhibited. I knew she’d made telepathic strides that helped her become more comfortable. I knew she was finally using her instincts.

It wasn’t as though she was bonded to me, so she didn’t owe me any explanations… But Eric better know if the Wolf did.