Sorry for the delay with this one! I hope I make up for it with this chapter. I was distracted by Deadlocked, my child, visiting various family members, blah, blah, blah. On with it!

Disclaimer: I do not own any rights to these characters. They just come over for play-dates sometimes. (Yeah. I wish!)

Chapter 6:

When I came to, the light from the bathroom was still the only light on. I was on my back, on my bed, in nothing but my lacy, red underwear. Eric had kindly pulled a sheet over me, though I'm not sure why he had bothered. I definitely knew that this Eric, the one with his memories, would love nothing more than to have me naked on my bed. He wasn't touching me- well, not exactly touching me. He was sitting beside me, with his hands on either side of my shoulders and he was lazily licking my chin, the way a cat cleans her kittens, I thought, obviously delirious from the evening's attack. My body shook with laughter and Eric froze for a moment before bringing his face up to mine, our noses almost touching. I noticed something shift in the air between us and my smile dropped, just as Eric's fangs snapped down with a click. I was nervous and excited- Eric Northman was in my bed, with my naked body pinned beneath him, and if I just leaned forward a bit….

"I need you to remove the silver on your wrist," Eric breathed on my lips in no more than a whisper, "so I can heal your wounds." I couldn't speak, so I just nodded my head. He straightened his arms to give me space and I relaxed enough to breathe, but only slightly. I tried to pick up the arm that was bitten but it seemed heavier than I remember it being, so I used my good hand to slide the silver off of my wrist and finally took a look at it. I winced at the sight of blood and mangled flesh and felt a tear flow down my cheek. Eric gingerly grabbed my injured hand and leaned down to start cleaning the wounds. The vision of his head bobbing up and down had my heart racing and I knew he could sense it. Hey- what's a girl to do when a gorgeous Viking is giving her his undivided attention? My breathing was starting to pick up and I couldn't rationalize how I was getting so worked up when all he was doing was licking my arm.

I needed to do something to calm down but I couldn't form any sort of coherent thought. My mind was telling me to stop but my body was remembering how well Eric could tend to me and squelching any demands from my brain. Eric finished cleaning the dried blood off my arm and dragged his tongue over the puncture wounds to seal them. He brought his face back to mine, perched just over my lips again and I closed my eyes in anticipation of what was to come. After a few moments of waiting though, nothing happened and I curiously opened my eyes. Eric was still hovering over me, staring at my lips like a starving lion, yet not moving in for the kill. If I leaned forward just an inch, our lips would connect and I could be lost in him. Was it what I wanted? If I kissed him, surely something more was bound to happen. I gulped. Just thinking about being with Eric now that he had his memories had me on the verge of a panic attack. Yes, he was gorgeous and probably the best sex I would ever have or could dare to imagine, but what if that was all he wanted out of me now? I would not yield to him without knowing that he cared for me as more than a bloodbag that doubled as a good lay. Then again, I wouldn't be completely yielding to him if I just kissed him as a thank you for saving my life, would I?

"Eric," I paused for a second, attempting to steady my breathless, shaky voice and waiting on his eyes to meet mine, "thank you for coming for me." I looked down at his lips, then back up, before slowly raising my head up off the pillow. Just before my lips connected with his, I paused, pondering my decision one last time. Eric's eye's never left mine as I pressed forward with my decision clearly made. Just as my lips found his, he stiffened and pulled back. Oh my god! He's rejecting me, was all I could think. I felt myself begin to blush at my brazen attitude and started grabbing at the sheet in an attempt to make a run for it to my bathroom, where I could have a proper meltdown. What was I thinking? There was far too much Eric and I had to figure out before we took that physical step. I chalked it up to a major loss of blood and decided to forgo any more embarrassment by getting as far away from him as was possible.

I sat up, pulling the sheet around me, and moved to put my feet on the floor. Before I could, at a faster speed than I could catch, Eric slipped an arm around my waist and pulled my back to his chest. His free hand slid up over my shoulder to my neck and pushed my hair away, leaving my neck exposed. I felt extremely vulnerable and totally turned on. I was deaf to anything but the pounding of my heart. He leaned his head into the crook of my neck, and inhaled, breathing in my scent. He then kissed right below my ear and my entire body turned hot from the sensation.

He remained there for only an instant then whispered in my ear, "This is not over." His voice was a husky and dripping with lust. I was practically panting at this point, having lost all shame to my desire. "Get dressed and come downstairs," he continued. "There are some… matters we need to discuss and I am afraid we are no longer alone." I thought I could hear disappointment in his words, but when I turned to look at his expression, he had already left the room. I stared at the empty wall for what seemed like a very long time, but it was probably no more than five minutes.

Eventually, I regained sense of myself and moved to stand, but swayed a little from the loss of blood and had to sit back down. A strange thought occurred to me. I licked my lips and my suspicion was confirmed. Eric hadn't forced me to take his blood and he hadn't even offered me any while he was cleaning my wounds. I wondered why. Eric had certainly always jumped at the opportunity to get his blood inside me. Something to mull over later, I told myself and worked my way to the bathroom, using the nightstand to help and turned on the light. I noticed that I must have been out for a little while because Eric had managed to wipe the floor clean of blood, remove my bathroom door, along with all of the splinters, and board up my window. After a quick (cold!) shower, I stripped the sheets off my bed and placed a new set out to change later. I threw on a pair of jean shorts and a plain black v-neck tee, but decided not to wear shoes. I had been so absorbed in my thoughts about Eric that I hadn't really noticed how badly it hurt, but I knew it wasn't broken because I had been on it for the last few minutes without even knowing. It was definitely bruised though and starting to swell. I pulled my hair back into a ponytail and gave myself a once-over in the mirror, nodding my approval. It'll do for a girl who was just mauled by a werewolf! I thought and made my way slowly down the stairs.

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When I turned into the living room, I don't know what I had been expecting, but what I found was not at all what I was ready for. Pam was duct-taping Alcide Herveaux, who seemed to be unconscious, to one of my dining room chairs at vampire speed.

"PAM," I yelled and started toward her, but winced when I stepped too heavily on my bruised foot and decided to continue my assault from a chair. As I hobbled my way there, I continued angrily, "What the hell are you doing? Alcide is on our side, remember?" I sat and felt some of the pressure relieve on my foot. I caught Pam's eye, "Let. Him. Go."

Suddenly, Pam was right in front of me, one arm on each armrest, with her face just inches from mine, much like Eric only a few minutes early. This time, I was completely the opposite of aroused and cowered back into the chair as far as it would allow. Her fangs were extended and she looked menacing as hell.

"You should learn to hold your tongue, Sookie," Pam hissed my name in disgust. "Or perhaps… we could find something more useful for you to do with it." I held my breath as she leaned in leisurely and very lightly swept her tongue over my bottom lip. I was too scared to move but I could feel my blood begin to boil with rage. I was about to say something completely stupid and definitely something I would regret, but then Pam moved her tongue to my chin and licked it quickly. "Mmm, missed a spot," she purred and winked (really!?) at me before turning back to her task of tying Alcide up. I was stunned, and angry, but frozen in place. What on earth was up with everyone tonight? I couldn't tear my eyes away from the unconscious Alcide, but for once listened to that little voice telling me not to say anything. Well, okay, the little voice and Pam. She was most likely doing this at Eric's bidding and he must have had a good reason for it. Eric never did anything without good reason. Wait. What? When did I come to that conclusion?

Speak of the devil; Eric strode, because that is the only appropriate term for the way he walks, into the room like he owned the place. Which, I suppose, he did. Oh my god. I had just been debating having sex with him and he still owned my house. I had almost given him exactly what he wanted- everything. Ugh, sometimes, Sookie, you're about as sharp as a marble! I mentally scolded myself, took a deep breath, and turned on Eric with narrowed eyes.

"Would you like to tell me what is going on? Why the hell is Pam tying Alcide to one of my chairs?" I asked him, proud of how steady my voice sounded.

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