Bored To Death

Chapter 26

Reprisal

**

I pulled away. “Sookie, are you going to change your mind about my office?”

She barely giggled through her panting. “You know what I’ve never done?”

“You’ve never let me fuck you in my office.”

“This is only the third time we’ve been alone in here, including the night we met. ‘Never’ would be overstating. ‘Yet’ would be better fitting.”

“Now that you’ve given me a grammar lesson, which you’ve never done, can I fuck you in my office YET?”

“You might be able to convince me if we had more time.”

“Sookie, I’m a vampire… I have plenty of time.”

She leaned away from me, bracing herself against the desk… and teasingly stroking her leg along mine. “You have work to do. You need to see how Pam is doing with the bartenders, hire a guard and you have that mysterious errand to run.”

I leaned over her, uninterested in anything but her body at the moment. “I’ll sign the bar over to Pam, resign as sheriff, call the guard later and postpone my errand.”

She giggled, “Eric?”

I growled when I realized that I wasn’t going to win. “What have you never done, Sookie?”

She lifted her face to mine and kissed me calmly, running her thumb over my lips as she spoke. “I haven’t… ever… made you wait… when we could help it.”

“FUCK!” I stood up, backing away to stand clear of her.

She pouted her lips. “I’m sorry.”

I scowled at her. “And amused… YOU go check with Pam… and make sure your new guard is housebroken before you bring him back.”

**

I’d barely managed to calm down by using paperwork and scheduling as my diversion. My ‘enter’ button paid the price though… I’d need a new keyboard before the next night… and a mouse…

Sookie was completely in my office before the guard was ever in sight. She was wearing a bright smile. “Pam has 3 bartenders ready to go. They’re doing their W-4s with Bobby as we speak. Chow, Hamilton and Stewart… God only knows if they can mix a decent drink. I think she just hired them so she can make fun of their names.”

“What’s wrong with their names?”

“Chow, Ham and Stew. Mark my words… she’s going to call them ‘the buffet’ or something in the neighborhood.” ‘Smorgasbord’ since she finds the Scandinavian languages utterly hilarious.

She pointed to one of the guest chairs as an invitation for the Were to sit and came to stand behind my chair.

“Eric, this is Alcide.”

I was probably too proud of her for her stance ‘behind’ me, but I reached around to move her to sit on my leg. “Alcide what?”

He cleared his throat and only sat once he was addressed. He’d been trained. “Herveaux. What’s this about?”

“Sookie needs a guard.”

He balked. “This is a joke.”

“No. I’m very serious.”

He blew out an amused huff. “Good luck with that.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m not gonna try to tell you your business, but she was flirting with 5 sauced Weres right under your nose. She doesn’t need a guard. She needs to be locked down during daylight.”

I had to hide how tempted I was to do just that while Sookie laughed and started, “Alcide has some guard experience.”

He shook his head. “Sorry, chickadee. I’m not interested. I have a job.”

She nodded. “Yeah. You sure do. Your father owns the company. The guard job isn’t full time.”

“You’re really a telepath?”

She nodded.

“Why the fuck did you pick me?”

“Because you and Jeff are the only ones who weren’t being perverts.”

He eyed her for a moment before he continued, “Then why didn’t you bring Jeff back here?”

“Yes, the flirting was a check… He didn’t get pulled back because he has a wife and kid. He could use the money more than you, but I don’t want to take him away from his family.”

He stared at her. “That’s insane.” I’m sure he meant the strength of her ability as opposed to her reasoning behind her choice.

She shrugged. “I get that a lot.”

He shook his head with his eyebrows drawn up and turned to me. “Why does she need a guard?” Because she flirts with ‘sauced’ Weres.

“Because I’m the sheriff. Because she’s a telepath. Because she’s under contract and formal protection of the Queen… While she’s working towards being more nocturnal, she’ll need an escort once or twice each week so that she isn’t forced into being a shut in. And we’ll need someone with her for travel.”

“Travel?”

“She’ll be working out of town from time to time. I’ll be traveling with them, but tourism wouldn’t be possible without their own guard.”

“Who is ‘them’? You said ‘she’ needs a guard.”

“Depending on the circumstances, Sookie’s brother may join us, but I’ll make sure he’s armed as well. The standard will be Sookie, her grandmother and her… little boy.”  I wasn’t sure how to ‘label’ Hunter… but my uncertainty was met with a peculiar feeling from Sookie when I referred to him as ‘her little boy’.

”The guy that slapped your second’s ass, a telepath, an old lady and… how old is the kid?”

“He’s 3.”

“What kind of circumstances would make the extra guard come in?”

“Her brother has a job so he’d only be able to travel when timing allows it. He would be traveling as an armed companion more than an additional guard.”

Sookie added, “Sightseeing and stuff wouldn’t be tedious or anything either. Gran’s 83 next month and she tuckers out easily. An hour or two, once in a while… but for the most part, she’ll be happy to sit in a quiet room reading.”

“Babysitting.”

Sookie shrugged again. “Soccer mom. Mostly just toting us around or sitting around doing nothing…” She grabbed a pen and started scribbling a note.

The Were was not amused. “That shit’s just rude.”

She dropped the pen and sat back against me. “You’re right. I’m sorry… Who owns your dad’s marker?”

He growled quietly. “You’re sitting on him.” I was actually amused that he said it as though it was my fault that his father is a shitty gambler…

“Ahhh, Jackson Herveaux. I knew your name was familiar for a reason.”

“How much does he owe you?”

“I can’t be sure. I’m having technical difficulties…” Sookie shifted and looked into the trash bin… and proceeded to giggle when she noticed what used to be my keyboard and mouse. “…It isn’t much…”

“It’s enough that he’s afraid of having to liquidate.”

I shrugged. “This should make negotiations go more smoothly, I think… In addition to your compensation for time and travel, I’ll freeze your father’s debt until you’ve completed a one year contract then it’ll be forgiven. This should help him excuse your occasional absence from work as well, yes?”

He shook his head. “There’s got to be 30 others in the pack with more guard experience… you wouldn’t have to forgive a debt big enough to bankrupt a multistate contracting company to hire them.”

I’d already opened my mouth to answer him, but Sookie took the floor, starting with a hum. “Help me with that math… we’ll use the 5 of you as my control group. Out of those 30 guys… averages would tell me that 18 of them would be horny jerks… another 6 would have wives or kids that would miss them, right?”

He nodded with an aggravated grunt.

“So out of the 6 hypothetical guys left how many of them would mention that I was off my leash? AND have an out of town girlfriend? AND a nephew the same age as my little boy?” She had the same peculiar feeling again.

He offered no noise this time. He simply rolled his eyes.

“And, don’t forget that by advertising that we’re looking for a guard we open ourselves up to job seekers with possible ulterior motives.”

He rubbed his eyes. “Is she always like this?”

“Even when she sleeps.”

“What if I say no?”

“Then you say no. I’ll go to Flood quietly about candidates.”

“You won’t call in my father’s marker tomorrow?”

“No. That would be bad business.”

“How?”

“One doesn’t open a casino in the hopes that their patrons will win. If your father’s business is lost, so is his ability to repay me.” And gamble… and repay… and gamble…

While the wolf seemed to be considering the situation and its prospects, Sookie absentmindedly started running her fingernails up and down my thigh… bad idea…

Not only could she feel my ‘mood’ coming back with a vengeance but she’d have to be completely oblivious to not notice my dick pressing into her hip… and she didn’t stop.

I wouldn’t even have to wait to pull them off… I could pull her shorts down just enough…

Push her over my desk…

Shit… the way she whimpers when I push into her…

The way she claws to grasp anything when I fuck her from behind…

The way sweat beads up on her lower back…

“Eric?”

“Yes?”

“Alcide asked if you have a contract already written up.” Fuck. I had to wonder how long I’d been letting my imagination run riot…

“I’d have to add the stipulation about your father’s debt, but it can be ready in just a few minutes.”

He quickly wiped a puzzled look from his face. “And that if something happens to me while guarding her, the debt is settled anyway.”

I nodded, still distracted by torment.

He nodded as he stood to leave. “Let me call my father about the time I’d miss on site.”

**

As soon as he was through the door, she turned to look at me with a raised eyebrow. “How are you supposed to fix the contract if you poked through your keyboard?”

“You’re going to bring back Pam’s computer for me.”

She giggled. “What if you break that too?”

I growled at her. “Just go get it before your clothes end up in shreds.”

“But…”

“If you don’t get off of my lap, you’re going to help me break the desk.”

Something about my warning inspired her mood to move from playful to eager… her pulse quickened as her breathing hitched and it pushed me closer to my breaking point, but she left me…

The room’s temperature felt like ice as it fell on the warmth she’d created.

**

She returned a few moments later with Pam’s laptop and the Were close behind.

She stood in front of my desk and held the computer out to me. “I’ll leave you guys to business.” It was probably for the best. At least as far as Pam’s ‘digital catalog’ was concerned anyway.

“Sookie, think of something horrible to do to Bobby before you send him back.”

She was very tempted to say something along the lines of ‘yes master’, but thought better of it. She was gone again with a simple nod.

I motioned to the Were’s previous seat and he cleared his throat as he took the invitation. “Bobby?”

I quickly started editing a standard contract, forcing myself to be gentle with the keys. “My piece of shit day guy. He’s on borrowed time.”

He snorted. “You sure you wanna mention shit like that before I sign a contract?” Amusing point.

“Not that sort of borrowed time. Sookie won’t let me kill him. His replacement will be taking over in a few days.”

“Is he a piece of shit in a way I’ll need to worry about?”

“Doubtful. He’s been forcing his low opinion of Sookie on her at every opportunity. His attitude has become belligerent and Sookie spent most of her day upset because of his thoughts.”

“Thoughts like…?”

“He delivered her new car in the hopes that it was a ‘bon voyage’ gift. Not only did she hear his assumptions that I was done with her, but he also had a few choice thoughts about the boy.”

“Her feelings were hurt because she thought you were breaking up with her… but your thoughts don’t give her nightmares?”

“I’m a choir boy.”

He snorted. “Whatever.”

“She can’t read vampires… Daemons either for that matter.”

“Oh… So humans… Weres… what about Fae or witches or…”

“Witches, yes. Fae, we don’t know.”

He nodded thoughtfully. “It’s a shame you can’t hire a vampire day guy.”

“I don’t need to… You’re aware of the common feeling of superiority among vampires, yes? That humans are beneath us.”

He snorted. “Yeah. That’s not exactly a secret.”

“Well, they are. We would know since we were once human, but that’s neither here nor there… I actually like Bobby’s replacement.”

He shook his head. “Will I be running into the guy?”

“Frequently, I’m sure. Her name is Paulette. She’ll be needing a small vial of your blood when she arrives.”

“DO WHAT!? I’m not really interested…”

“Don’t be difficult. This is non-negotiable. She’s a witch. She’ll be warding my home and Sookie’s and she’ll need but a drop or two so that you’ll be granted access to our properties. She’ll also be binding you from gossiping.”

“I’m not really down with working for a vampire as it is, but now you’re saying you need my blood?”

I stopped typing to look at him. “I don’t need anything except Sookie’s safety. While she feels as though she can trust you because she can hear your thoughts, I’m prone to taking added precautions. Sookie, Adele, Hunter and Jason are all formally protected by the queen, specifically they’re mine. As Sookie’s guard, you will be responsible for the safety of an asset to Louisiana privately and on the occasion her talents are needed during the day. Furthermore, being in the position you are, there is a certain amount of state business as well as personal confidences you’ll be party to. Knowing that you are contracted and bound to secrecy, and willingly, will make your presence less unwelcome.”

“That’s all it’s for? Wards and keeping me from flapping my gums?”

I returned to typing. “In its entirety. Offer the sample however you choose. Have a doctor do it or have someone punch you in the nose. Pam would volunteer. She’s already punched Jason tonight.”

“They looked like they were getting along pretty good to me.”

“He was abducted by another vampire. The cover story for his absence from work included a car accident.”

“So she gave him that shiner to sell it?”

“Precisely.”

“You fuckers are weird… So, what do I need to know?”

“You’ll be needed to taxi Jason to his home tomorrow and take the ladies to run some errands. The queen will be visiting next week and you’ll most likely be required for an introduction. Sookie and Adele will most likely arrange it so that you’ll be needed on a scheduled basis to ease your work conflicts… You should get your passport in order since we could find ourselves traveling abroad.”

“That’s it?”

I nodded. “For now. For the next week Sookie will be working from here.”

“The old woman…”

“Mrs. Stackhouse until you’re invited to call her otherwise.”

“…Right, she’s fine with vampires… what about Weres? Does she know?”

“She was actually less shocked to hear of the reality of lycanthropy than Sookie was. You may very well find yourself being interviewed.”

“Interviewed?”

“She is entertainingly curious and exceptionally broadminded.”

He nodded, trying to absorb everything. “The brother?”

“He’s… at first I considered him obtuse and simple in a cut-his-food-into-small-pieces kind of way. As it turns out he’s actually quite clever. Sadly, he lacks the ability to apply himself. Case in point, his dealing with the surplus applicants and at the moment… he’s trying to convince Pam that Fangtasia needs to add the MLB Season Pass to its cable package.”

He started laughing. “Seriously? Does he not realize your customers would be happier watching Charmed reruns than baseball?”

“As would Pam… She’s still embittered that the actress who played Piper opted for family life instead of porn.”

“Aren’t we all?” No shit.

I actually spared a laugh.

“Ok… the kid. Hunter, right? Is there anything special about him? I’m guessing that he knows about vampires.”

Shit. “Sookie, would you be more comfortable explaining Hunter’s circumstances or would you like for me to do it?”

“That’s fine. He’ll need details. Thank you.”

The Were whipped his head around to look at the doorway, then back to me. “She heard you! What the fuck is she?”

“She’s a telepath who’s bonded to a very old vampire. Her senses are probably more heightened than yours.”

“No shit! That’s fucking… wow… I mean… damn!”

Getting back on track… “Hunter is the 3 year old son of Sookie’s recently turned cousin. She’s adopting him. He’ll be here next week. It’s possible that he knows about vampires, but your guess is as good as mine. He most likely just knows us by how our thoughts feel to him.”

“He’s a telepath too?”

I nodded. “We’ve yet to meet the boy because he was kept a secret. Before Sookie had vampire blood, she couldn’t read Weres very well unless she was the subject of their thoughts, so you may have more mental privacy with him than Sookie. It seems we’ll all be getting our education at the same time.”

“Wow… that’s one hell of a family trait.”

“Indeed.”

“All I got was straight teeth.” And a strange reaction to full moons…

**

I’d just sat back, only waiting for the printer when our attention was grabbed by the most dreadful sound imaginable coming from the hall…

“Every night in my dreams… I see you, I feel you… That is how I know you go on…”

Bobby was close to being ended for singing AND walking into my office without an invitation when I noticed the glaze to his eyes… Pam had glamoured him.

It wasn’t the first thing I noticed or Alcide for that matter…

“Far across the distance… And spaces between us… You have come to show you go on…”

Alcide and I were both laughing uncontrollably at the fruit of Sookie’s flawlessly wicked imagination…

“Near, far, wherever you are… I believe that the heart does go on… Once more you open the door… And you’re here in my heart… And my heart will go on and on…”

Bobby had been ‘made over’… a mop head was his wig… they’d given him freckles on his cheeks, and ‘geisha lips’ in addition to the bright purple eye makeup and drawn on eyelashes… I’m sure that I did NOT want to know where the bra and panties came from, but he was wearing them over his dress shirt and slacks with oranges filling the bra and a toupee from the lost and found box horrendously placed in the front of the panties. It looked like Chewbacca was going down on him. They’d painted his nails and he had a red feather boa around his neck.

When he was done butchering the already trite Titanic theme, he curtsied… Perfect! “How can I be of assistance, sheriff?”

“Pamela! Did you think to turn on the security camera?”

She laughed. “Of course I did… I’m not your favorite child for nothing.” Never mind that she’s my only child… so far.

“My favorite child who just earned a virtual visit to La Perla.”

Pam was standing next to me in a blink, practically twitching with an excited grin. “Platinum and La Perla in the same night?”

I smiled and closed her laptop, knowing that she wanted, no NEEDED it back now that I’d dangled the proverbial carrot. “After that? Absolutely.”

She actually giggled and kissed my cheek. “That’s why you’re my favorite maker.”

She was gone fast enough to create a breeze… but she came back for a moment. Just long enough to reach into the back of Bobby’s pants and yank his underwear hard enough to cause a rip, but only after she released him from her hold.

**

Bobby was still trying to pull his underwear out of his asshole…

“Didn’t I warn you about your conduct?”

He winced, continuing to dig. “I’ll do my best to behave, sir. Do you have a task for me?”

I nodded, pulling my checkbook out of my drawer. “Several. The first of them is to find a red riding hood. You know the type?”

“Yes sir. Size 8?”

“No. Your size. You’ll wear it when you take a basket of cookies to my associate John Flood, along with this check. You’ll sing for him too. Little Red Riding Hood by Paul Revere and the Raiders. You know the song?”

He huffed out a miserable breath while Alcide turned and snickered into his hand. “What kind of cookies?”

“Bobby, what the fuck makes you think I know the difference? Just take him an assortment of fucking cookies and stop being a cunt.”

“Yes sir. Is there anything else?”

“Something has happened to my keyboard and mouse. Replace them. Get several of each.” If Sookie was going to be working out of Fangtasia, I was going to need them.

He nodded. “Anything else?”

“Pam is interested in spray tanning. She’s quite envious of Sookie’s bronze… Find a spa that provides the service in the evening, get one, report back.”

He rolled his eyes. “Yes sir.”

“Sookie needs a computer…”

She interrupted from the bar, “No she doesn’t. Sookie doesn’t know what the hell…”

“Sookie needs to stop eavesdropping.”

“Your fault. And I still don’t know how to use one.”

“Pam and I will help you. You’ll need it for keeping track of your work and more domestic things such as Hunter’s schooling and shopping on your own.”

I chuckled when she conceded with a raspberry.

“As I was saying, Sookie needs a laptop and a cell phone.”

Alcide cleared his throat. “Uh, if she doesn’t know what she’s doing, she could probably use one of those ‘For Dummies’ books in case she gets stuck during the day.”

I nodded. “Good idea.”

Bobby nodded and offered a ‘yes sir’ again.

“Take cookies and the check to Mr. Flood. Keyboard and mouse reserves. Get a tan. Sookie’s laptop and phone… and once her phone is in service call the crews attending to the Bon Temps home and give them her number as the new point of contact. Do you understand or should I make flash cards?”

“I understand. Thank you sir.”

“Good. Now get the fuck out of my office. Your ‘wig’ reeks of vomit and Kahlua.”

When he turned to leave, we got another laugh. Someone had written ‘nobody rides for free’ in large letters on his back… directly below it was an arrow to his ‘coin slot’.

**

Once Sookie had made arrangements with Alcide to start their errands at noon and Pam introduced me to the ‘smorgasbord’ (proving how predictable she can be), everyone left after Sookie insisted that I ‘be careful’ on my errand.

My meeting wasn’t going to take long… between the near bloodlust state Sookie had caused earlier and the task before me, I was too anxious… high on the promise of what the night still had to offer…

I might have actually squirmed while I waited for the door to the tiny house to be answered.

The house’s sum total was only about 800 square feet, if that. Yellowed lace curtains in all three of the front windows of the dove grey structure with deep burgundy trim… The car in the driveway was old enough to not have any luster left to the paint… a 5^th Avenue with a Masonic emblem on the back end next to the handicapped license plate…

… and while the car had handicapped decals there was no ramp, leading me to the hypothesis that Bartlett Hale had found yet another situation to exploit.

Since it was nearly one o’clock, it took several tries at ringing the doorbell before I heard any movement inside and a few more to entice the inhabitant to climb out of bed.

The ever comical sight of a person peering through a peep hole inspired more than a few caricatures by Pam. While I usually found myself amused at the Picasso-esque image, I’d already had my laugh for the night.

He swung the door open, unleashing the stench of stale cigarettes, pork and moth balls. He angrily wrapped a short robe around his frail frame. He might be a more healthy sight if he’d been civilized enough to not be estranged to his sister who’d have been feeding him well for the last 17 years. “What do you want? Who are you? Do you know what time it is?”

“I want to speak with you. My name is Eric Northman. It’s 12:51 am.”

His lip turned up. “What’s this about?”

“I know your sister.”

“Adele? I haven’t spoken to her in years. Is she ok?”

“She’s wonderful, Mr. Hale.”

“I don’t understand then…”

“She’s only 2 years younger than you are. I’m sure that you can understand how one could start to ponder certain things when they get to a certain point in their life. It seems Adele has some regrets.”

He looked confused as he shook his head. “I’m not… does she want to see me? She…”

“No. Her wish isn’t to see you. Your sister has had a life full of loss. Her husband died of heart failure. Her son died in a car accident. She nursed her daughter through two years of treatments before Linda was taken by cancer. Hadley was…” If I could vomit, I would have. The moment I mentioned Hadley, a predatory look came to his eyes that would shame sharks and vampires alike. “…Hadley was made vampire.”

He winced. “A vampire? Figures she’d be running with the likes of those monsters… How about Sookie?” I could feel ‘it’. I could smell ‘it’. As her name fell from his mouth, it watered. My hands fisted in my pockets to keep from leaving a very messy scene.

“Sookie’s gotten the attention of a vampire herself.”

“That’s just disgusting. Tell me Jason ain’t out gallivanting with them… How Adele could let them run amuck… she should’ve brought ‘em up better.” The gall.

Before he had the chance to say anything else, before he could inspire a sudden change in my plans, I caught his eyes to push my will… “Mr. Hale, you need to dress and get your car keys. We have somewhere to go.”

He nodded and he wandered away from the front door.

**

The I-20 had usually moderate traffic for the time of night as I instructed Adele’s brother to pull to a stop directly under a traffic camera giving us 3 miles of privacy in either direction.

We stood on the shoulder as his tension built. Once I released him, he’d finally come to the realization that I was a vampire and was too petrified to act.

“Mr. Hale, you’re aware of Sookie’s ability to read minds, yes?”

“That’s crap. She was just trying to get attention. Adele just made it worse by encouraging her.”

“Untrue. She’s quite gifted. How else would she know about what you were going to do to her?”

“She’s still telling those lies!?”

“No, sir, in fact she suffers the distinction of not being able to forget those truths… She and Hadley will remember them forever.”

“Hadley told you… that little bitch…”

“Hadley doesn’t need to say it. The mention of your name managed to make a vampire look like a scared child.”

“So that’s what this is about? They hired a vampire to do something to me.”

“They didn’t need to hire me. I’m here because I want to be. I’m here because of the thousands of people I have killed and beaten and tortured… Bartlett, you’re going to be my favorite.”

I took a moment to enjoy the fear wafting from his decrepit body as he struggled to find words. “What are you going to do to me?”

“I am a thousand years old… and in all of the eras and movements I have seen come and go, even through the days of having slaves and concubines, it has never been acceptable to pursue children… ever.”

He sniveled. “I didn’t…”

“Don’t hasten your passage to hell by lying again… As though molesting children wasn’t vile enough, you further tortured Sookie with your thoughts, your plans, your desires…” It hadn’t taken but a moment… but when she told me I realized why my ‘thoughtless’ brain would be so appealing to Sookie… It wasn’t that the rednecks she’d had the chance to date had such terrible thoughts… simply hearing them most likely brought back memories of Bartlett’s perversions…

“What are you going to do to me?”

“Tell me, Bartlett, do you think it would be better to know, to have that insight before something unspeakable happens to you or would you rather just have it happen? Which one of your nieces do you think was less miserable in your company? The one who could hear and envision all of the ways you wanted to rob her or the one that only had to suffer through the actual event? The one who could hear how satisfied you were with yourself or the one that could pretend that it had just been a nightmare?”

His sniveling increased and when his knees began to weaken, I ordered him to stay on his feet… and watch. A tractor trailer sped by but its load would have jack-knifed and caused a news-worthy pileup…

He whimpered, “What are you waiting for? Just toss me into traffic if that’s what you’re gonna do, you bastard.”

I chuckled at the irony of being called a bastard by a pedophile. “What I’m waiting for, Bartlett, is my perfect window of opportunity… you know the one I’m talking about… the chance to do something ghastly without being caught, without causing collateral damage or leaving any believable witnesses… Do you like how it feels? Are you alarmed knowing that you are my flavor of choice? Knowing how fucking much I’m going to damage you? Knowing that I’m about to devastate you and nothing you say or do, no amount of running will spare you from what I have planned?”

He shook like a sail in gale force winds… “What’s in this for you? I don’t understand.”

“Your sister is a close friend of mine… While Adele has worked and loved and struggled through her life, she is deserving of the ideal… a peaceful, graceful end of passing away in her sleep. We don’t feel as though you do. While I would like nothing more than for your sister to continue to thrive because she brings a charming accord to the lives around her, I feel as strongly about cutting you down, destroying you before you have the chance to think you’ve gotten away with abusing your nieces.” I watched a large truck go by, that would have been perfect if it hadn’t been for the small sedan tailgating it…

“So you’re going to kill me for something I supposedly did decades ago?”

“Bartlett?”

“What?”

“Here it comes.”

“What are you talking about?”

I pointed down the highway to the overpass where a truck had just emerged. “Can’t you see it? It’s a red Peterbilt semi without a trailer… and it’s all by itself. It’s about 2 miles away, but it’s moving at an impressive speed. Are you ready?”

“NO!”

I taunted, “Baaaaartleeeett… it’s going to happen… you know it’s going to happen… no one’s going to know… no one will ever understand why…”

“NO! Noooo. This can’t be happening!”

I growled, “Imagine how many times those exact words went through the minds of Hadley and Sookie, you repugnant prick!”

“I’ll make amends!”

“You most certainly will.”

“NO! I’ll make it up to them! Just tell me what to do and I’ll do it!” I knew he would look at me, beg me with his eyes…

And that’s when I took his control… “You’ll do anything?”

“Yes! Yes anything… Just stop! Just leave me alone!”

I smiled at him and waited until the truck was only feet away. “Then step into the path of that truck.”

His body quaked, betraying his hopeless attempt to fight my influence… and took the first of his last 11 steps…

The driver’s attempt to avoid plowing into the man who ‘wandered’ into his path was for naught…

Bartlett’s upper body crumpled into a heap as the trucks momentum slowed, dragging him under the massive wheels and crushing him to a pulp and ejecting his scraps…

I was in the sky again before the traumatized trucker could gather his wits enough to understand what had happened, let alone remember that I’d been a spectator.

**

It hadn’t been until I saw Sookie’s small frame washing away Long Shadow’s residue in the shower at Fangtasia that I realized that the stall really was that small… I’d gotten to believe that it was ‘just me’…

I’d planned on taking advantage of the complete silence of the bar to take care of the lingering paperwork I’d been too distracted to attend to before…

As soon as I entered my office to dress though…

I smelled her.

I did try to ignore it, but forcing myself into my chair didn’t help…

All it did was remind me of how obsessed I’d been earlier…

And I never touched the first inbox item…

**

When I stepped into the house from the back patio, I was met with the sound of laughter coming from the library…

The excitement in Sookie’s eyes as she stood to greet me with a hug would have been enough to save me from my sickened mood even without the bond…

Bubba was the only absent party since Pam offered to stay so that he could go retrieve his payment.

Since Jason had fallen asleep after eating ‘Dinner: the sequel’, Adele, Sookie and Pam had done some ‘light shopping’ and other ‘girl stuff’ while they waited… seemingly, for me to return.

Pam kissed Adele and Sookie, eyeing me carefully as she said her goodbyes… She’d known too well what I’d been up too. As long as we’ve been together, she’d analyzed the ‘recipe’ of my moods…

Not that she always reacted to my frame of mind correctly, but this time she understood that there was nothing to worry herself with.

Once Adele had carried Canterbury Tales to her room to turn in, Sookie took my hand to lead me downstairs.

**

Sookie slowly peeled her robe away to reveal nothing more than white bikini panties as she backed to the bed. “I never got that bonus you promised.” She grinned playfully as she laid back…

“I’d almost forgotten.” Until I entered my office… then her ‘bonus’ was all I could think about.

She giggled and told me ‘bullshit’ as I yanked my clothes away and as soon as my leg touched the warmth of hers, I knew I’d wanted her, wanted this for too long…

Patience wasn’t something I had left…

Just feeling her skin against mine was too much…

It had been centuries since I looked forward to anything so much as being with Sookie…

My mind was a riot of ideas and anticipation and I quickly found myself worried that I’d run out of control…

The more we rolled and pawed and bit at each other, the more Sookie pushed me…

It wasn’t a game to her though… she was feeling me…

And enjoying everything, every touch…

Every thrust…

Every groan…

Every yank…

Every grind…

Every fucking bit as much as I did…

We clawed at each other and there wasn’t a single part of my body left untouched by her mouth, her sweat, her blood, her cum…

I’d let go, forgetting the concept of willpower…

Only keeping my need for her blood in check…

We’d rolled out of the bed to the floor, her legs wrapped around me where I sat…

Her little hands fisted into my hair as she breathed into me, her tongue sliding against mine until she began chewing her retreat…

Her body writhed against me, around me…

When Sookie’s head fell back, moaning, tightening her fingers into my hair…

She pulled my head, stabbing her own throat with my fangs and quaking…

Cumming as I fed from her…

Because I was feeding from her…

And it made me cum so hard that I collapsed…

**

I had to carry her to bed because her legs were ‘on vacation’.

She curled up with me and waited to catch her breath before she said anything.

Her fingers drifted over my chest… “Was it Bobby?”

“Was what Bobby?”

“Whoever it was that you killed earlier.” A drawback to the bond.

“What makes you think that I killed someone?”

She stared at me for a long moment after clearing her throat. She was actually offended…

“I’m not underestimating you. I’m only asking what led you to the conclusion.”

“You were appalled, infuriated, calculated, protective… then all of a sudden, you were better. Like you… read the end of a book where the bad guy dies.”

“I could be feeling all of those things without having killed someone.”

She huffed, annoyed that I was avoiding the original question.

“I didn’t kill Bobby. Are you getting attached to him?”

“Awww, hell no… I was just curious. I’d joked about it, but I’d have felt really guilty… you know.”

I kissed her forehead. “I’m still tempted.”

She giggled. “Me too.”

…Then she fell asleep without asking anything else.

NEXT>>