Bored To Death

Chapter 12

Nerves

**

Landing was far more stressful to Sookie than take off. Had she been wrapped around a human’s arm as tightly as she was around mine, she might have caused nerve damage. Even once the plane finally came to a stop, she was still holding on for ‘dear life’.

I found myself concluding that a bond could prevent her distress.

She seemed paralyzed, catatonically frozen in tension.

“Sookie?”

Nothing, even as I put my hand on hers. Her eyes were seemingly fixed on the empty drink holder in Pam’s armrest. Adele seemed not just curious, but concerned.

“Eric, can you get away from her? The contact…” Sookie must’ve mentioned that contact with vampires proved to be a sensory change.

I pried her fingers away from my arm and moved away from her as gently as I could.

The three of us didn’t need to wait long before Sookie’s eyes found mine. She immediately took on a baffled look.

“I’m sorry. I guess it worked too well.”

Pam and I shared a look. “What worked? You seemed petrified.”

She eyed me sheepishly. “I uh… I kinda hid… I could feel your brain when I was trying not to freak out and I… it was so quiet.”

I might have laughed slightly. “You hid in my ‘bubble’.”

She cringed. “Yeah. I just… I concentrated on how calm it is instead of how scared I was.”

Pam started laughing as I sat back, waiting for the doors to be opened with Sookie. She muttered ‘bubble brain’ so quietly that Adele didn’t hear it, but it did earn her a vicious look from Sookie.

**

I could hear the cart engine as the stairs were being situated and the clamor of the workers on the tarmac. We waited quietly. Sookie grimaced at how wrinkled her skirt had gotten while she rested. She smoothed it and fiddled restlessly until I took her hand, trying to assure her that it couldn’t be helped.

It only took a moment, but Sookie’s look changed. She felt suspicious. “Eric, who are you expecting?”

I was concerned instantly. “There are several people out there tending to the landing gear and luggage… I’m only expecting a driver though.”

She shook her head slightly, her feelings approaching paranoid range. “There’s 3 vampire… about a hundred feet away.” Shit. Let the games begin.

“Can you nonchalantly peek out to describe them?”

After a moment of seemingly deep thought, she huffed out a deep breath and turned around, speaking directly against the window. “What the hell’s taking so long? It only took ‘em a minute to pull the steps away when we left!” Very sharp. She chose to use impatience as her pretense. Pam recognized her scheme and gave an impressed nod in my direction while Sookie seemingly tried to catch a view of the attendants’ progress.

Sookie turned around, playing up her annoyance and flopped back into her seat. “There’s one standing by a limo. He looks like a blond boy dressed up like a bodyguard and the other two are in the car.

Shit. Andre. And he brought two ‘unknowns’ with him. “Front or back?”

“One in front and one in the back. The one in the back is moving around a lot.” Vampire don’t tend to fidget. Curious.

“Anything else?”

“One of the luggage guys is trying to figure out how his wife managed to drop the transmission in his truck and one of the mechanics had something for dinner that didn’t agree with him.”

I smiled at her while Pam called her a ‘smart ass’.

**

We emerged from the plane slowly as I held a hand of each Stackhouse lady. Sookie was holding my hand for the simple reason of liking to, while Adele was intimidated by the steep, unsteady stairs. She rested her hand on my arm as she had the night before as soon as she was on solid ground again.

Andre, as per his usual, was uninterested in his task. Personally, I’d have been more than pissed to be sent to ‘fetch’ visitors like a welcome wagon as Second to the queen.

“Northman. Ravenscroft.”

We faked a genial nod for the prick. “Andre. What did you do to be sent as a chauffeur?”

That got a reaction out of him. I’d earned myself a fangy little sneer. Adorable. “The Queen has sent me to greet your companions and apologize that she is unavailable tonight. I am to invite you all to join her first thing tomorrow evening.”

“Certainly. Has Compton checked in with the Queen yet?”

Andre showed his creepy smile. “Bill Compton hasn’t bothered yet, no. Are there messages regarding his behavior?”

I gave him a slow nod. “If the queen is feeling charitable, I’d appreciate being present when she sees him. It seems we uncovered his intentions to turn Sookie so that he could win favor. From what we’ve learned, he was planning to leverage the queen for the use of Sookie’s unique ability.”

“Ability?” Fucking liar. He knew exactly what I was talking about.

“Sookie is a telepath. She can read human minds. In fact she’s solved a couple of mysteries this week alone.”

“Human minds? Not Supernaturals?”

“Not vampire, certainly. She has a friend who is Shifter that is only a sporadic read at best. The small town she lives in doesn’t see a lot of traffic so she has limited exposure.”

He gave me an understanding nod. “Arrangements can be made to test her in regards to the other breeds, as well as the extent of her accuracy with humans.”

This fucking game was already wearing my patience. “She won’t disappoint.” I risked a look at Sookie, whose mood was concerned. Undoubtedly, her anxiety was caused by Andre’s consideration of her as a slave to be scrutinized before purchase. Yet, she was smiling at him cheerfully, as was Adele.

“If she’s as good as you say she is, the queen may very well be interested in coming to an agreement about her services.”

I gave him a nod, hoping to end the conversation soon. I’d never liked Sophie-Ann’s little sycophant henchman. “I’m positive that we can come to an amicable arrangement.” …As though I’d have a choice in the matter.

The little ass kiss smiled that he’d get to tell the queen that I would be willing to share ‘my toy’. “I’m sure she’ll be pleased to hear of your agreeability. In the meantime, the car will be transporting you to your house and will stay with you until Hadley needs to return from her reunion.”

Hadley’s reunion? The restless vampire in the back seat. It makes sense now.

Before I had to force more platitudes, Andre melodramatically sped away in a blur. It only took a moment for the back door of the limo to open once he’d left.

Adele’s grip around my arm tightened as a spidery leg extended to the asphalt, followed by the other. The woman started to tremble and it started to feel as though Hadley was drawing things out intentionally as I pulled my arm back and wrapped it around Adele’s shoulder. She all but became part of me, burying herself into my side.

Feeling less tension since Andre’s theatrical departure, Sookie released my hand to take her post as an emotionally supportive bookend.

**

Adele was a nervous wreck by the time Hadley finally pulled herself from the car.

She seemed to be using the door as a shield for a moment as she stared at her grandmother without a bit of emotion on her face.

The fact that she acknowledged me, then Pam with a nod before she greeted her grandmother irked me.

Pam, impatient and impertinent as she is, seemed just as annoyed by Hadley’s behavior as I was. “Lord! Hadley, you might be immortal, but Gran isn’t! You’re going to give her a damned heart attack.”

Hadley shot her a dirty look. “She’s scared.”

Pam scoffed at her. “Scared is the last thing she is. She’s thought you were eating out of garbage cans for years. You’re seeing excitement. You should’ve seen her getting ready to leave tonight.”

Hadley’s waif-like frame finally made its way around the door slowly and came to stand directly in front of me, giving another nod. “Sheriff… She’s yours?”

“Only in protection.” It was pleasant to see she didn’t have any conceit about being the child of a queen (unlike Andre).

“Sookie is yours.” Adele’s sniffle brought my attention to her nerve-wracked tears.

I nodded, impatiently. “Yes.”

“Why didn’t Jason come?”

“His work schedule wouldn’t allow it. He was very disappointed that he couldn’t make the trip.”

She betrayed her surprise. “He wanted to come… see me like this?”

I was about to tell her that somehow she ended up with the first family I’d ever heard of to be relieved to discover their kin had been turned, but Pam’s irritation was becoming too much for her.

“If you don’t hurry up and hug your Gran, I’ll brain you, wait for it to heal and brain you again!”

As Sookie laughed, I saw in my periphery that she held her hand out behind her… and watched my brat ‘slap her 5’.

Sookie finally made a move, letting go of Adele’s hand and surprising her cousin with a hug. She chuckled as their faces were pressed together. “Of course you’d be a bitch and die a size four. You’ll be thinner than me forever.”

Hadley closed her eyes, smiling slightly. “I’ve missed you guys.”

“Not knowing’s been hard. We missed you too.”

By the time Sookie stepped away from her cousin, Adele was beside herself. She stepped back and took Adele’s place at my side as she finally had the chance to greet her ‘grandbaby’…

Their embrace began silently, both of them crying and Sookie seemed startled to see Hadley’s bloody tears.

“Mama’s really gone?”

“Yeah, baby she is. You should come home to say a proper goodbye when you can.”

Hadley’s tears started falling faster as she whimpered ‘home’.

“Of course ‘home’. I’ll bet the sheriff will tell me how to make the guest bedroom safe for you. Light tight and all.”

We all watched as her hold on Adele got tighter.

“She’s good to you, right? Your vampire?”

Hadley’s surprise was aimed in my direction. I’m sure she was questioning how much I had told ‘Gran’. It wasn’t something I discussed with her, but it didn’t mean that she hadn’t come to the conclusion herself. Risking a look over to Pam, her raised eyebrow told me that she was just as taken aback by Adele’s acceptance of her granddaughter’s ‘sexually unorthodox vampire’ status.

When her eyes met mine, I gave her a steady stare. One day, perhaps within the next century with some luck, Pam might stop second guessing me.

“Yeah, Gran. She is.”

“You happy, baby? Other than being homesick?”

She let a chuckle. “That’s not such a problem anymore.”

“No. I guess not.”

**

Sookie, Pam and I sat quietly during the drive to my house, watching the reunion unfold.

Adele gently admonished Hadley for not coming home or calling for so long, not understanding that the Stackhouses were a rarity. Pam only broke her silence to explain that even now, rising as a vampire normally meant that family was no longer an option.

Adele sympathized, petting Hadley’s face and assuring her that she should have known better than to expect ‘that nastiness’ from her.

**

The maid was waiting for us at the garden gate. She enjoyed her job far more than her Shreveport counterpart. Bobby seemed to do as little as he could get by with, while Paulette showed an impressive level of initiative. She was salaried and for the most part only spends a few hours each week tending to the garden, but on the rare occasion she was called to ready the house for a stay, she never disappointed.

When I spoke to her this morning (without a complaint in regards to the hour of my call) she seemed eager to prepare the house. She’d rattled away her list of usual laundry, dusting, and airing out. Her shock that I would have humans in tow was eclipsed by the question of groceries, catering or takeout menu options and reminded me of a few things that wouldn’t have occurred to me such as toiletries and pet supplies.

Her hand went out to immediately introduce herself to Sookie and Adele and directed the driver to take the luggage to the landing on the second floor as she ushered us through the garden. She made it a point to explain to the ladies that the drawback to the garden they’d complimented was the chronic presence of bees, warning them about allergies that I wouldn’t have thought of.

She’d escorted us to the kitchen so that she could familiarize Sookie and Adele with the food items she’d purchased and where everything was stored as well as showed them the laundry room where she’d taken care of the cat’s supplies before she took her leave explaining that she’d be back in the morning to take care of anything they needed and making mention of the special errands Pam and I had given her.

The clothing that had been ordered from Pam’s chosen boutique had been picked up and been put away in respective rooms. The den had been supplied with an assortment of classics for Adele to enjoy and there was a stack of brochures for different attractions and events on the breakfront in the hall for them to peruse.

I really had tried to convince her to relocate to Shreveport. Sadly, she was quite attached to her family and her coven.

**

Hadley seemed impatient as Paulette had given the Stackhouse ladies a mini-tour, even more so when their first order of business was releasing and tending to the cat.

After she mentioned that she hadn’t seen Tina since it was a kitten she turned her sneer to me. “I wouldn’t have figured you to be a cat person.”

I raised an eyebrow. “How spoiled you young vampire are to not realize how helpful a cat can be. Rodents tend to nibble. Had you ever had to wait to regenerate a digit, you’d appreciate the feline as a superior alternative.” It wasn’t as though I’d ever named one, but I’d owned many. There was a time when Europe’s rodent population outnumbered humans and I refused to be lower on the food chain then anything with a tail.

Adele starting laughing, but apologized quickly. “I’m sorry! I was wondering why you wouldn’t mind having an animal around. It never occurred to me!”

I smiled at her amusement. The concept could have repulsed her, but there was a darkness to her sense of humor that I valued.

Pam furthered the point with a nod. “They make a vehement bodyguard. I understand that it’s one of the primary reasons for the ancient Egyptian preoccupation with cats. I have two of my own out of habit.”

Sookie giggled. “Are they hairless so they don’t shed on your clothes?”

When I started laughing, Pam stared at us humorlessly in turn. “You think you’re funny don’t you?”

Sookie’s laughter grew. “Oh my God! They are?” This pair was named Versace and Armani; hideous and comical.

All I could do is nod as Pam fumed. I was too busy laughing and fully appreciating that in addition to everything else about her, Sookie could shut Pam up.

**

Pam was still refusing to speak to us when I led the Stackhouse ladies upstairs to show them their rooms. I took Adele’s luggage to her room first and put it on the settee for her. She seemed a tad disappointed at first, until I pulled the wall of blackout curtains away from the floor to ceiling windows for her. Her eyes lit up as she peered out, jokingly asking if it was alright for her to sleep on the balcony. I’d have welcomed her to if it weren’t for the railing being covered in honeysuckle and bougainvillea so I invited her to sleep with the windows open rather than risk waking up covered in bee stings. I even double checked the screens in the case that she wasn’t joking.

The dresser had a fresh arrangement of flowers from the garden and Paulette had filled the bathroom with an assortment of toiletries. Adele seemed more than pleased with her accommodations. She actually told Sookie to take ‘good care’ of their house back in Bon Temps because she wasn’t leaving… ever. Her reason: “The devil was the only fool to leave heaven.”

As I turned to show Sookie to our room, Adele caught my arm startling Hadley. “She’s family and a vampire, what does that do for protocol?” Good question.

I smiled at Adele. “Hadley, turn around.” She showed confusion before she took the order and Adele immediately hugged me, chuckling at the joke and thanking me for bringing her for the visit.

**

Pam’s luggage had already been taken from the hallway. She was pouting.

As Sookie and I took our luggage to my room, she smiled up at me. “I like Paulette. She’s very friendly.”

“Bobby isn’t?” I’ll kill him. Slowly.

“Paulette is really friendly and even her curiosity is friendly. Bobby’s is faked and his curiosity is nasty.”

Now my interest was piqued. She squeaked when I picked her up and carried her to the bed, laying down with her. “Tell me how they differ.”

“Paulette was excited to have the extra work. She’s relieved that we seem nice because it’ll be fun to have someone to chat with while she tends to things. She hopes you’re happy with her work. She’s curious about us since you’ve never brought humans along with you before and hopes you can trust us while you’re resting.” I really needed to convince her to move to Shreveport.

“Do I want to know about Burnham?”

She raised an eyebrow at me, shaking her head.

I growled. “Tell me anyway.”

“Bobby hopes you get bored with me soon because he’s sick of the ‘extra bullshit’ you make him do. He can’t figure out what you see in ‘pudgy white trash’ like me and he’s trying to figure out if Gran’s blood is better because it’s aged or if you like it powdered.” Tina might end up enjoying Bobby pâté after all.

“I’ll start looking for his replacement.” It’ll explain why he isn’t working anymore… maybe not why Tina puts on some weight…

She giggled and snuggled under my chin. “Don’t do that. You can’t help what you think.”

“I don’t care if it’s aloud or not, he’s insulting you and Adele. I won’t have him behave like that. He was told when he was hired that he represents me. If his thoughts are that rude in my home, I can’t trust that he’s behaving appropriately on errands.”

She giggled again. “I’ll go along with that, but you’re going to need to come up with something better for Pam. She’ll see right through it.” Sassy brat.

“I suppose you should return to your family.”

“Because you’re annoyed with me or because you need to talk to Pam because we hurt her feelings laughing at her?”

“Because you haven’t seen Hadley in 5 years.”

“We were never very close. She preferred Jason to me. I’m just giving her some time with Gran.”

“Jason?” Who the fuck would prefer Jason to Sookie?

“Yeah. Another case of my ability screwing things up. It freaked them both out. You saw how upset Jason got when I did it to him.”

“And I saw what Long Shadow looked like when he thought you’d done it to him.” Not to mention how terrified she was to have heard an impartial thought from me.

“So it’s easy to see why I’m not terribly popular with humans.”

“Yes, but she’s not human anymore. You should spend some time with her so it isn’t perceived that I was keeping you from her.”

She huffed, blatantly pouting. “Fine. Will you pull rank and save me when it’s time for bed?”

“Sookie, are you asking me to collect my pet?”

She started sliding to the edge of the bed with a beguiling grin across her lips. “Don’t swagger, Master…”

I twitched, knowing she was mocking me… I still had a reaction to the way that word sounded crossing her lips.

“…We still need to discuss what happened earlier.”

I raised my eyebrows at her as she dug through her bag to pull out some nightclothes. “Possibly explore it further.”

She smirked at me. “I guess that would depend on how long you leave me. Wouldn’t it?”

**

When I knocked on the door to Pam’s room she ignored me. She was behaving like a child and after watching Sookie change, there were other things I’d rather be taking care of.

I went in anyway, as she knew I would, just to get an ‘eat shit’ look from her.

“What are you being a brat about specifically?”

“I’m more than a little annoyed that you have obviously spoken to her about me more than you’ve spoken to me about her.” Insolent, spoiled brat.

“She’s been living at my house for nearly a week. We’ve had more than a few conversations. Pray tell, what would you like to know about Sookie?” She had to know by now that she was walking a fine line. Even if she’d forgotten our long history together, my tone shouldn’t offer any misunderstanding.

I took up residence in the chair in the corner of her room while she stared at me. “What have you told her about me?”

“That you’re a whore to fashion and that you’re loyal.”

“That’s all? That’s all you’ve told her about me?”

“Why is that a problem? I assumed that you’d be a bitch if I had given her your biography in whole.”

“I’m not being a bitch. You love her and want to turn her and you’ve said nothing about her to me other than to explain her ability. Considering your little practical joke a few years ago, I’m not sure how you expected me to believe it.” I almost laughed remembering her reaction to being ‘cursed’ by a gypsy. She filed a police report over her ‘evaporating clothes’ and hired Were trackers to find the ‘gypsy’. Stephen King’s Thinner was good for nothing, if not inspiration… and ridding her wardrobe of her vast collection of goucho pants.

“Pamela, I’m beginning to wonder if you will ever learn to not push me.”

“What do you know about her?”

Irritating as her attitude was, the only solution when she gets like this is to give the brat what she wants. I rattled away the list of what I’d learned of Sookie and Adele over the past few nights. Her life story included but wasn’t limited to her life in Bon Temps, her parents’ death, their home, her job, their only family being Hadley who isn’t alive and Bartlett who wouldn’t be for long…

And then I waited for her reaction to the details of Sookie Stackhouse’s life.

Pam melodramatically threw a shoe at me. “That doesn’t tell me anything about them!” Why did I ever call her from Minnesota?

“Crazy bitch, what do you want to know then?”

“About her. Not public record information that I can learn from a $10 web search!”

“Then ask me something specific. Sookie is the mind reader.”

“Favorite colors, family vacations, television shows they like, why they aren’t afraid of vampire… That’s the sort of thing I want to know.” I’m dumping crazy glue in her underwear drawer when we return to Shreveport.

“Sookie’s favorite color is blue. Adele’s is pink. Since Adele was already widowed and on Social Security when her son died, there wasn’t any money for family vacations. She took them to church activities and to the pond behind her son’s old house to swim and fish. They don’t watch television often because they prefer to read. They aren’t afraid of vampire based on the belief that just because vampire could kill them doesn’t mean that they would. Adele claims that with silver load in her shotgun she could do just as much damage to me… happy now?”

She’d frozen. Stopped in the middle of the floor with her mouth open and a stack of her clothing in her hands. “You’re serious.”

“I am.”

“You bothered to remember all of that? You don’t bother yourself with most humans’ names and you remember all of that?” There are times when I think she might be awarding herself points for pissing me off.

“Are you aware of how exasperating you are?”

She laughed. “Me? You were on the verge of a killing spree to alleviate your ennui and you’ve suddenly found remedy in a fresh faced little redneck. Now you’ve made a joke out of my predictability because you’ve completely deviated from everything I’ve ever known of you. You, Eric, are the pisser.” One of these days, Alice, bang zoom… right to the moon…

“Pisser? Your girlfriends are rubbing off on you.”

“That’s what I keep them for.” I should have turned a man.

“Are you going to fester the entire time we’re here?”

“No. I’m sick of being kept in the dark though. Even if you won’t say why, you are attached to her. I need to know about her, be friends with her to a point so that it will make protecting her easier. If I’m put in a position to guard your little telepathic friend, then I’d prefer to not suffer an awkward silence… I do enjoy Adele though. We talked while we were waiting for you two. She’s intriguing to say the least.”

“What did you two talk about?”

“We discussed how excited she was to see Hadley. She wondered if I had met her. She wondered if I knew if Hadley was ‘involved’ with someone. She didn’t show much reaction to the news that she was ‘with’ the queen. I only told her so that the information would have the chance to sink in. I didn’t want the old woman to have a coronary if her first meet with Hadley included some of Sophie-Ann’s more intimate behavior.”

“Adele is astoundingly tolerant. Sookie says that she believes that since no two people are exactly alike, focusing in on differences turns every man into an island. She’s known as a friend to all in their tiny town. After the meeting last night, I believe it. It seemed like everyone there greeted her. She must have promised 20 breads and pies when she returns ‘from vacation’.”

“Vacation!? That’s what she considers being sequestered in your house?”

I nodded. “She may want to be interred in my study. She’s been quite upbeat about her circumstances.”

“She’s an excellent sport to be taking things so well. Her grandson is Boo Radley. Her granddaughter is the target of a murderous bigot. Her other granddaughter is a dead lesbian. And she’s happily in the protective custody of… you.”

I stood to leave her. She’d pushed enough of my buttons for one evening. “They are enjoyable company. Perhaps you’ll remove your head from your ass long enough to find out while we’re here.”

“You might be interested to know that I have no problems with them. You’re sudden secrecy and mood change are the nuisance. You’ve become that cliché… The guy that alienates everyone for a chippy.”

“Pam, I’ve humored your curiosity more than I wanted to. Feel free to question Sookie if you want to know more about her, but our relationship is off limits. Adjust to that truth or move on.”

“Eric?”

I didn’t look back as I left her room. “It’s your choice, just like behaving like a jealous twat.”                           

**

There was a riot of laughter behind Adele’s door as I knocked.

Sookie swung the door open wearing a bright (possibly grateful) smile almost immediately, but the room had become quiet.

“I’m not interrupting anything, am I ladies?” My hands were in my pockets, but Sookie wrapped herself around one of my arms. She might not enjoy the term ‘pet’, but she certainly put on a good showing.

Adele smiled from her seat on the edge of her bed. “Of course not. We were just catching up. There’s quite a gap to cover.”

“I’m sure.”

“Would it be an imposition for Hadley to stay for the day and just go with us tomorrow?” Hadley’s look was expectant, childlike.

“Have you spoken to Sophie-Ann?”

“I have my own apartment.”

“Regardless, you’re in the house of another vampire. You need to clear your plan with your maker. The room next to this one is light tight if she approves and the refrigerator has plenty of true blood. Have at least two before going to rest.”

She dug into her purse, nodding as I spoke and pulled out her cell phone.

I watched Sookie fake a yawn right away. Bad acting. “You’re tired?”

She nodded. “Haven’t been getting much sleep. A couple of hours here and there.” She looked like she wanted to kick me, making it hard to not laugh at her horrible little lie.

“Then you should get some rest.”

“I guess so.”

I waited while Sookie gave a kiss goodnight to Adele and Hadley…

**

…No sooner than the door was closed behind us, Sookie slapped my stomach and smiled up at me.

I mouthed, “What?”

She barely whispered, “You owe me a kiss for that.”

When I bent to humor her, her arms went around my neck before our lips touched. She held us together until I lost patience for ‘just a kiss’. I slid my hands under her ass, lifting her and moving towards our room.

Her legs were locked around me again as I sat on the edge of the bed.

Sighting the pulse on her neck as I pulled away her robe…

Smelling her anticipation…

Feeling her longing…

Her heartbeat raced as I ran my tongue over the sweetness of her shoulder…

My fucking phone put the brakes on everything. I had no choice. I knew it was the queen.

Sookie slithered from my lap to the bed as I answered. Her heat was gone.

“Thank you for calling, Majesty.” Sookie reached from behind me and started unbuttoning my shirt, barely getting her tiny arms around my shoulders.

“I understand the reunion is going well?”

“That is my understanding, yes. Adele is very excited to see Hadley.”

“She is comfortable being with a vampire?”

“Majesty, because of current circumstances, Sookie and Adele have been staying with me at my home for several nights. In fact, Sookie and I had some business to attend to last night. Adele quite enjoyed Bubba as her guard.”

“She’s met Bubba?”

“Indeed. She was angry with herself for falling to sleep and cutting her visit short.” Sookie started untucking my shirt, then pulling it from my shoulders.

“She fell to sleep? In the house with a vampire?”

“In the room with him, actually. She invited him to visit her home.” I felt a flash of warm air on my neck, just before Sookie’s mouth began testing my ability to seem undistracted.

“I was concerned that Hadley might have misread the situation when she asked to stay the day.”

“No ma’am. I only asked that she take in a couple of true bloods before she rests because of her age.” I reached behind me, searching for Sookie’s leg… planning to stop her with a pat on her leg… only to find that she’d removed her pajamas… Fuck stopping her. I found her leg… her thigh… wet… hot… I slid my fingers into her… She dropped her head to my shoulder… trying to control her breathing… warming my back…

“Yes, of course. And she’ll be safe?” Shut THE FUCK up!

“My caretaker has placed wards on the property. She is the only being that can enter during the day.” My pants were becoming problem enough that I tucked the phone under my chin to open them…

“That pleases me. I received word that we have many things to speak about tonight.”

“Yes, ma’am. Most of what we need to talk about will most likely leave you quite pleased.” Sookie’s fight to stay quiet was getting more trying, muting herself against my arm… reaching around and grabbing my dick… I had to catch the growl in my throat… rubbing… wringing…

“Then I’ll be anxious until we can speak tonight. I’ll call Hadley myself. Thank you, Northman.”

“Thank you majesty.”

I hadn’t given her the chance to say anything else. I might have hung up on the queen…

**

I spun around, clutching my hand over Sookie’s mouth and tackling her back onto the bed… In an instant I’d given in…

My dick, my fangs…  exactly where they wanted to be without warning her…

In a moment her heels were pulling me into her… her fingers knotted into my hair, holding my face to her neck… bleeding into me…

Her blood flooded my senses and her tight little body held me…

I might have worried about scaring her… if she hadn’t started coming the second I threw into her… moaning into my hand… clawing at my back…

She was learning so quickly…

She pivoted her hips into my every thrust…

No shyness from kissing my bloodied lips…

Gasping, pulling at the bedding, arching into the bed as I picked up speed…

Coming again…

Wrenching around my cock in rhythm like a heartbeat….

I only pulled away long enough to flip her over…

She buried her face in a pillow, but lifted her gorgeous ass to me…

Matching me shove to shove, raising to meet me…

Writhing, pulling her knees up …

Whimpering…

Cursing…

Sweating…

Tensing…

Pulling in like a vice as she came again and I let go…

**

As soon as I relaxed to the bed she clung to my side in what was becoming a habit for her… and a want for me…

Her breathing, her heart raced for what seemed like an eternity and more so… I felt it.

“I didn’t scare you intentionally.”

She giggled into my side. “I was having too much fun to be scared.”

“You were having too much fun doing what? Giving me a hand job while I spoke with the queen?”

She giggled again, this time sleepily. “You didn’t complain.” Why would I?

“You might get me killed yet.”

“I sure as hell hope not.”

I chuckled at her, knowing she was already half asleep. “Why is that?”

She hummed and slid her hand up my side to rest on my chest. “B’cause I love you.”

Oh. Fuck.

**

If I breathed, I would have stopped. If my heart beat, it would have arrested.

I was completely un-fucking-prepared for that.

She’d stunned me to the point that I almost let sunrise sneak up on me.

My search for my phone woke her up, but thankfully she settled right back into my side…

I barely had time to fuck with my asshole ‘day guy’…

His distinct lack of humor was going to make it easy, but hopefully he’d quickly realize that Sookie wasn’t a phase…

**

Bobby,

I lied about time off.

Your list for today…

• Contact the usual firm about adding a light tight room that doubles as a safe room under the Stackhouse home. Have them use their best judgment as to the details according to the structure of the house and plumbing requirements. This will be a rush job.
• Order a large assortment of ball gags and the like and have them sent to Pam. No card. She’ll know who they’re from and why they were sent.
• Order a duplicate of the leather arm chairs in my study and have it delivered to the Stackhouse residence. Do not discard any of the existing furniture; just find a suitable home for it.
• Arrange to have the exterior of the Stackhouse home repainted. Have the company do their best to match the colors that were already used. As well, have an assortment of wallpaper books and paint chips waiting at my house when we return.
• Commission a large gazebo for the Stackhouse property. It should be painted white to match the house, wired for a ceiling fan, screened in and made comfortable for reading, i.e. padded seats.
• Have both Sookie and Adele’s car detailed and retuned. The interior upholstery should be steamed. New tires. New brakes. New state inspections (I don’t care if they were done last month). The exteriors should be repaired and repainted as needed as well.
• Arrange to have a landscaping company tend to Adele’s flowers while they are away. Give them license to add whatever they see fit for aesthetics and aroma. Adele seems to like honeysuckle, sweet Kate and hydrangea.

In the coming weeks the Stackhouse residence will be getting a lot of my attention, by extension yours.

Bobby, feel free to let me know if you are unhappy with the current conditions of your employment. I assure you that you are not only easily replaced, but easily disposed.

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