Never Walk Alone Chapter 15

*Chapter 15*: Chapter 15

AN: Thanks for the reviews last chapter. I must say, I had not expected such visceral reactions to Sam (DEA overlay?)! Yes, his subterfuge is wrong, but it is his misguided attempt to keep Sookie “safe” from a very dangerous vampire. Lest y’all forget, Eric was also a very sneaky boy in the beginning of this story, even attempting to glamour her when she discovered him in her room. ; ) Looking back, this story started out as a one-shot, inspired simply by the image in my head of Sookie looking up and seeing Eric flying across the moonlit sky. Since then, it has grown into something else, in part because of my unhappiness with the way SVM ended. For those willing to ride out the angst with me, it may help to remember I am an Eric/Sookie shipper, but it makes things more interesting to have a few roadblocks thrown in along the way to their HEA, don’t you think?

Thanks as always to VAlady for her insight, editing skills, and support (I fiddled with this chapter after she beta’d so all mistakes are my fault). Also, much gratitude to Nanou13 for her hard work on the blog she created for me. Both ladies, as well as you readers who leave constructive reviews, favorite, and follow me, motivate me to keep writing when I would otherwise stop.

Warning: Graphic ESN in this chapter, so if it offends, don’t get persnickety since you have been warned. No likee? No readee!

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As she drove home, Sookie pondered Sam’s odd behavior. His territorial and aggressive streak aside, she noticed she couldn’t get a bead on his thoughts…even when he had touched her, it was like trying to look through a brick wall.

She continued her musing until she turned onto her street. She immediately noticed the vette parked to the side of her driveway before she made out Eric’s shadowed form, sitting on her porch swing, long legs stretched before him. She parked the Mercedes by her old Honda, all while her heart raced in anticipation.

She was surprised that he didn’t come to her car. Instead, he waited patiently for her to make her way to the swing.

Reaching out a hand to her, he smiled and said, “The night is pleasant, is it not? Come and sit with me, hmm?”

She paused for a moment, watching the breeze gently blowing his hair back as he subtly rocked the swing back and forth. She joked, “Well, it looks like you’ve just made yourself at home, huh?”

“You are my woman. I will be “at home” wherever you are.”

Wow. He…certainly had a way of getting his point across. She swallowed thickly and reached out, allowing him to gently pull her to his side. She found herself sitting close, her hip and leg touching his. She glanced down at his denim-clad thigh, which was muscular and hard as marble. Her eyes inadvertently strayed to his crotch, which made an impressive bulge in his pants.

She felt rather than heard his deep chuckle, and she was mortified to realize he had seen the path of her eyes. She cleared her throat and rapidly changed the subject.

“You know, I’ve been thinking a lot. I mentioned how Gran told me in my dreams that she had used that fairy thingie for me to meet my soul mate, and then she shows me…it just so happens that well, you’re him. So, since other forces beyond our control brought us together, I’d…well, there’s so much I would like to know about you, but I don’t know where to start. I mean, we talked some on our date, but I still have a ton of questions.”

He turned to look at her, curious. “You may ask me any question. I will never lie to you, but I may not be able to provide all the answers you seek.”

She scooted to the side so she could maintain eye contact with him. She toed her shoes and socks off and curled her legs under her. “Now, that’s an interesting response. Why wouldn’t you be able to tell me everything?”

“There may be times that I withhold certain information to ensure your safety, for instance. But once the danger is passed, I would be willing to tell you everything you may want to know.”

She raised her eyebrow. “Well, that makes sense, I guess. I could see there would be stuff you couldn’t talk about. About vampire secrets and what not.”

“On the contrary, Sookie, I want to educate you more about vampires and supes in general. Although we have not yet shown ourselves to humans, we will in the near future. Many things that have remained hidden will be revealed. But until that time, it will be important to bring you up to speed about the dangers that lurk in this world. To be frank, I am shocked that no other vampire has…sought you out.”

A thrill of fear shot down her spine. “You’re scaring me,” she whispered.

His eyes turned serious as he took her hands in his. “Sookie, I am not trying to frighten you. I believe that educating you about very real dangers that exist will keep you safe and could potentially save your life.”

Her mouth dried up as she took in his grim expression. “What do you mean?”

“I am…disturbed that your fae kin have not made themselves known to you. That they have not warned you about the implications of your heritage. Especially given your royal lineage.”

“Royal? Oh yeah, I seem to remember you mentioning that though I’m not sure what in the world you meant by it.”

Eric took a deep breath, calming himself with her delicious scent. “You are of the Brigant line. Niall Brigant is prince of Faery. From what you told me, it appears that Fintan, his son, is your grandfather.”

Sookie shook her head. “You know, it’s hard as heck to reconcile that my Gran had an affair with a fairy. And a royal one at that! It’s just so weird. Actually, weird doesn’t even begin to describe it.”

Eric nodded. “I would guess that hearing of your grandmother’s infidelity would come as a shock to you. But aside from the secret she was keeping of your heritage, there are other factors to consider, little one.”

She frowned. “Uh, such as?”

He bent down and skimmed his nose softly up her neck to her ear and whispered, “Well, for one thing, your…luscious scent. It is a most maddening elixir of innocence and allure.”

She shivered and pulled back, nervously laughing. “Well, to you maybe.”

He shook his head. “No, you are wrong. Every supe that comes across you will be mesmerized by your scent, by your exceptional beauty.”

She shook her head. “Men don’t feel that way about me. Or not for long, at any rate. I’m just “crazy Sookie” to everyone.”

Eyes glinting in anger, he growled, “They are fools. You are exquisite. But they are human and do not respond to fae in the same manner a supe would.” He frowned, “The shifter for instance. He is enraptured with you.”

She blushed, feeling uncomfortable. “Sam? Well, yeah, I’ve read a thought or two of his before. I know he thinks I’m pretty and smell real good…”

His frown deepening, he said, “He wants you for his own, make no mistake. But he cannot have you.” His eyes glinted in anger, like distant lightning bolts in a stormy sky.

Squirming with a sudden heated rush, she changed the subject and channeled her arousal into anger. “So my great grandpa is a fairy prince, and since I have fairy genes I’m like catnip to supes. Is that it in a nutshell?” She crossed her arms and huffed in frustration.

“Do not downplay the importance of your heritage, Sookie,” he admonished. “You have been extremely fortunate other supes have not discovered you, especially other vampire. Because of your beauty and scent, you would be in danger of getting drained. And then there is the potential for discovery of your psychic ability.”

“I’m not psychic. I’m a mind reader, remember?” She corrected him.

He shrugged, “Your ability, no matter how you refer to it, would be extraordinarily appealing to supes, and one to be exploited to your detriment.”

“Exploited?” She sighed deeply before continuing. “I hate to ask, but how?”

“Kidnapped, tortured, forced to grant your body, blood, and talent to ruthless vampires. Even by a king or queen of our kind,” Eric said grimly.

She scoffed, “King or queen of the vampires? Oh, please!”

“Do not laugh. We have royalty ruling each state. In Louisiana there is Queen Sophie-Anne. She is covetous and calculating. And her second in command, Andre, is ruthless despite his deceptively innocent exterior. I am absolutely certain that my kind would find you to be a great prize, and one that would be worth…killing over.”

Her eyes widened as her heartbeat sped up. “Kill over? Me?”

“Yes, Sookie. And not just vampire. Weres, witches, and even other fae. Indeed, the Brigant clan has been at war with a rival clan for some time. I suspect that is the reason you were all but hidden in this backwater town, but I have to wonder at the wisdom of keeping you ignorant of the dangers. It could have had disastrous consequences, especially given your…solitude…Luckily, that is no longer a concern.”

For some reason, his words struck her heart to the core. Her voice trembled as she said, “I…I realize now how vulnerable I’ve been…how alone, especially since Gran…”

He nestled her chin between his thumb and forefinger. “Now that you are mine, you will always have a protector. You will never walk alone.”

Her eyes teared up as she looked at him, his beautiful face illuminated by moonlight. His strange and frightening words unlocked a completely different reality, ripping the veil away from her eyes. Her whole world was shifting and she felt overwhelmed by his declarations of devotion. It was too much, too soon, and she needed to get some distance in an attempt at self-preservation.

She noticed he was studying her, his eyes perceptive and appraising. He made her feel naked, exposed to him….

Blushing, she cleared her throat and said, “Well, it’s late and I better get my sleep. Arlene is going to be out again tomorrow, so it looks like I’ll be pulling another double.” She made a move to get up, but he intercepted her, deftly pulling her between his legs.

“Sookie. I know my words are disturbing, but as I said, you need not fear for your safety. I…have lived a very long time and am known throughout the supe world as a formidable warrior. None would dare attempt to harm you without having to answer to me first.”

He put his massive hands on her hips and pulled her closer, his voice becoming hoarse. “I have thought of nothing but you since I rose this afternoon.” His level gaze continued to strip her down in a way that she had never before experienced.

Her voice shook, belying her attempt at bravado as she quipped, “Oh, well you sure could have fooled me the way you were having a staring contest with my boss. Just what was that about, anyway?” She prayed this would prove to be a diversion for him. Otherwise, he would prove to be her undoing.

It didn’t work. He maintained his singular focus.

“Sookie, I did not cause a disturbance in his place of business. I was merely letting the shifter know in no uncertain terms that I am aware of his efforts to keep us apart, and to make it crystal clear that you are my woman.”

Sookie took a breath to object to his ongoing cavemanish declarations, but she was silenced by his lips, which found their way to hers in the blink of an eye. And he kissed her. Kissed her with all the ease of a thousand years worth of practice, kissed her till her heart pounded and head spun. One big firm hand between her shoulders-all, really, that was holding her up at the moment-the other cupping her ass, thumb lightly caressing the dip that led between her legs. She reached and grasped his massive shoulders. God, he was so big all over, she felt as if she was holding on to a mountain. She giggled to herself as she recalled Jane Bodehouses’ thoughts about climbing him but soon she immersed herself in the moment. A moan escaped her lips as her head lolled backwards. Without breaking contact with her skin, he stood as her legs automatically wrapped around his waist. With seemingly practiced ease, he had opened her door and glided up the stairs to her bedroom, where he continued his ministrations on her bed.

Although he was gentle, his movements were sure and inexorable, broaching no refusal. So skilled was he, that he had removed both of their clothing while still tending to her mouth and body.

Finally, he raised up to a kneeling position between her legs. He sat there for several moments, silently devouring her body with his worshipful eyes.

Blushing, Sookie fought the impulse to cover herself. They had just recently met…moved so quickly from first date to the prior night’s heavy petting and surreal blood offering, to this…Oh, Jesus, she was about to lose her virginity and she hadn’t even realized it until that moment.

She sat up with a gasp, scooting back on her bed until her back was against the headboard. They were moving too fast, too fast…

Eric’s puzzled look gave way to a gentle smile of understanding. Gazing upon her, he realized the enormity of the situation. He could not afford to lose her trust…he had to do this right by her, had to convey with his mouth and body how much she had come to mean to him in so short a span of time…to let her know that what he felt for her he had not felt in all his long years of walking the world in shadow.

“Oh, lover, please forgive me. I have forgotten your…innocence and I am too eager to taste you. I do not want to scare you, I merely want to bring you pleasure, as I had given you before. Will you…let me?”

She stared at him. This ancient, beautiful man humbling himself before her, practically begging to love her. Her eyes were focused on his enormous jutting erection, engorged to the point that it looked…painful.

She recalled his earlier words. His bold declaration that he would keep her safe, to fight for her life if needed. She looked at him and really saw him for what he was. A vampire, a deadly warrior, true, but one who for some reason clicked with her, resonated with her on both a spiritual and physical level. A man brought to her by her grandmother’s dying wish…to ensure she wasn’t alone. And also…to perhaps keep her safe? After all, her Gran had some inkling about the world—the one hidden to humans.

Again, she thought about the rapid rate in which things were changing between them. She realized with a shock that it no longer really frightened her. Not now. For whatever reason…From her initial outrage when she realized he had been, well, stalking her, to the confusion and exasperation she felt with his high-handedness and the extravagant gifts, to now realizing the depths of his feelings for her, she was dizzied by the progression of emotions that could very well grow into…love? Regardless of the circumstances, and how quickly things were developing, there was the growing feeling that screamed for the rightness of it all…

She suddenly realized he was watching her again with the intensity of an intelligent predator. With a thrill from boldness that felt alien to her, she looked into his true blue eyes and licked her lips before saying, “I trust you.”

He paused for a moment, as if disbelieving her words. But then the truth of her declaration hit him with the force of a wrecking ball.

With a groan, he fell on her and began working her mouth with his, as if starved for her, as if he wanted to climb inside of her.

She felt on fire, stoked to a heated blaze that would immolate them both, the bed a pyre of ecstasy. She responded with a passion that would have frightened her if she had paused to consider it, but instead she was led by instinct, by pure lust and emotion.

He began trailing kisses down her neck, leading for a time to her breasts, where he lingered for several minutes, making sure to worship each one before he knelt, pulling her ass to his legs. He paused for a moment and then gripped her thighs in his hands, bringing her quivering pussy to his mouth. He wasted no time thrusting his tongue onto her clit, working her to a rapid climax before slowly introducing his finger. He brought her to two more orgasms, the last one accompanied by three of his fingers inside her.

He was in his own personal Valhalla. He was beyond pleased with her passion and responsiveness. And her honeyed fae-laced taste was an indescribable and rare indulgence for him, one he could barely fathom despite his prior sampling.

When he raised his head and resumed his kneeling position between her outstretched thighs, Sookie looked at him through half lidded eyes. His long blonde hair was tousled and his eyes glowed with savagery as he slowly and deliberately gripped his cock. His intention was clear and she had no thoughts or will to stop him as he bent over her, at first gently introducing his thick head into her opening. Pausing, he whispered in her ear, “More?”

She nodded and licked her lips. “Yes, oh God, yes, Eric.”

Suppressing his beast’s urge to slam into her to the hilt, he slowly inched his entire length into her. He watched her face to make sure his considerable girth was not causing undue pain. But all he saw was a fierce hunger in her expression, fiery enough to match his own.

He allowed her a brief moment to acclimate to his size before he began pumping in and out of her. At first he began slow, but the tightness of her channel, fae-laced scent and taste on his tongue began driving him to near madness. He hunched, reached one arm down, and pulled her back and ass up into him as he thrust with near abandon while the arm stretched above her head steadied him.

Sookie gasped and moaned with pleasure as he gave everything he had into her body. He ensured she had climaxed several times and was gasping by the time he had worked himself to the edge. He bent down and murmured to her, “Lover, let me taste you again?” He nuzzled her neck so that she understood his intent.

“Eric, I want you to…I told before you I wanted to be the only one to feed you,” she moaned.

There was something that stirred in his eyes with that statement, something dangerous, something that held connotations well beyond the surface of the words, something he understood on a level she didn’t—not yet.

The look on his face was dark and primal…and it made her burn.

“Yes,” he snarled. He trembled with desire as he ground out, “You are the only one. Only Sookie,” before embedding his fangs into her artery. The bite, for all it’s passion, was surprisingly gentle. He bit her with a lovers touch even as he drank deeply.

Groaning as if in agony, he spent into her, driving himself as deep as physically possible, all the while still latched to her throat.

Impaled on his massive form, Sookie let out a guttural scream, reaching a mind numbing level of ecstasy as she rode out the pain-pleasure of his double-penetration.

Finally, after an indeterminable amount of time, Eric’s body stopped pumping although his cock remained embedded in her body. He withdrew his fangs and lazily licked the punctures before healing them with a drop of his blood, plucked from the tip of his tongue by his fangs.

She lay there in glazed bliss for several moments, until she became aware that he was trailing her abdomen with his semen, dipping his fingers along her slit. He was rubbing her, marking her in a most primal way. On some level, she thought that she should be repelled by his actions…not only was the act itself primitive, but she was aware he was silently branding her as a possession. The thought sent a thrill down her spine.

He continued anointing her with his essence as he nuzzled her cheek and whispered, “You were magnificent, lover. How are you feeling?”

Sookie chuckled, somewhat embarrassed, although she stretched luxuriously while taking stock of her body. “Amazing…but I must admit, there’s a little bit of soreness.”

Eric frowned. “Well, that will not do, lover, since I plan to have you many times.”

He withdrew and slid down her body. He pierced his tongue again and thrust it into and around her drenched slit. After several seconds, Sookie gasped and then wondered, amazed that all pain had dissipated.

She held herself up on her elbows, her self-consciousness erased by her surprise. “Eric…that’s amazing. I don’t feel sore anymore!”

He smiled and raised his head for a moment, licking his lips. “Yes, I put some of my blood in you. And now you know another secret: vampire blood has healing properties. My blood is particularly potent given my age.” His grin turned lascivious. “And as I told you, I plan on taking you. Again and again.”

Sookie’s eyes widened when she noticed his cock, which was fully engorged again and still shining with her juices.

He smiled softly, but his eyes were not laughing. His eyes told her in no uncertain terms how much he meant what he said. “You are mine, lover. As much as I am yours.” He paused and placed a proprietary hand on her hip. “Understand, little one?”

She nodded, breathless and stunned with the intensity of the night’s events.

Her acquiescence seemed to please him and his mood turned lighter. He smiled again, this time reaching his eyes, as he asked conversationally, “I am sure you have heard of what is now referred to as ’69’? I am wanting to introduce you to this act. It is quite pleasurable.”

Before she could respond, he lay on his back and in the blink of an eye situated their bodies accordingly. “Oh lord,’ she gasped, as his muffled chuckle floated to her ears.

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Eric, true to his word, took her multiple times throughout the early morning. He had introduced her to several different positions and acts, but nothing too outlandish. Not yet. He didn’t want to frighten her so soon. He would have time enough to open her eyes to all of the pleasures of coupling, no matter how seemingly strange on the surface it might seem to her southern upbringing. His beast salivated at the thought of what he could do with her…

Reigning in his lust, he looked from her sleeping form to the window with regret. The sky was beginning to lighten. He hated to leave her, but with dawn approaching, he had no choice. Luckily, the renovations on the old house had allowed for the construction of his hidden chamber. While still unfinished, it was fireproof and set up with other basic security features that were temporarily sufficient for his needs. Although uncomfortable due to the lack of a bed, it would have to do. He would have to get Burnham to procure an air mattress or cot until it was furnished. But, then again, it was no great hardship. He wanted to be as close to her as possible when he rose for the night and he had had much less creature comforts throughout his long existence…

He got up and dressed, and with a longing backward glance, went downstairs to write her a note before he headed next door to the antebellum house.

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As the sun began to rise, Sam flew in a lazy circle high above Sookie’s home. Technically, he wasn’t really spying on her, just…going for a leisurely flight.

His heart skipped when he spied the red corvette still parked at her house.

Sam knew he had gone there, but seeing the evidence nonetheless produced a scalding, toxic flood of fury through his veins. ‘Son of a bitch!’ he raged.

Letting loose his bowels, his aim was true while he watched with smug satisfaction as the feces splattered on the hood of the car.

‘Enjoy your time with her while you can, you undead bastard,’ Sam thought to himself. Soon she would reject him for the predator that he was and Sam would be there to pick up the pieces.

Smiling inwardly, he circled one last time before heading home.

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AN: I wanted to give them one night of happiness before the shit hits the fan (or the corvette, in this case…).