21 - Sookie Stackhouse and Eric Northman Look to the Future - Part Two

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Chapter Twenty One

I stayed in the club long enough to feed from another man whose name and face I forgot as soon as I healed him, then Eric and I left for home.

Still in love with the night, I wanted to run through the velvet blackness, lit by the energy that existed in all things. I longed to feel the wind in my hair. The freedom of being able to run like that was pure joy.

It was like riding in a speeding convertible at night but without the car. Once I was home I would change into my running clothes and put a scarf around my hair to prevent it from becoming a wind blown tangle. The woods, the night, the stars in their glory practically sang to me, calling my name.

On the way home I asked Eric if he knew Pam had wanted to be my Maker.

"She asked my permission many years ago," he said.

"I didn't know she was interested in me, I mean, in that way," I said.

"All vampires are interested in you in 'that way' if by 'that way' you mean a fairy to drink from endlessly, a fountain of pleasure that never runs dry. Your additional talents make you a powerful ally, a wonderful possession. Not that I consider you a possession, but most vampires would," he added that last bit quickly, trying to avoid offending me.

The tension in his voice and the top speed he was driving led me to believe he was a tad uncomfortable with this topic.

"What did you tell her when she asked your permission?"

"I told her she could not ask you or give you any indication she was interested in being your Maker."

I could almost hear the muscles in his jaw setting, he was sure this was going to lead to a disagreement between us.

"I forbade her," he added, as if he wanted to be sure I understood what he was saying.

"Wouldn't that have been my decision to make?" I asked gently.

Since I was already Vampire the whole topic was a moot point. Still it was interesting to know what dynamics had led me to the place I was now.

"You were Mine," he stated flatly, as if that defined everything.

Maybe it did. It also directly contradicted what he had just said a moment ago, that he didn't think of me as his possession.

He quite obviously did think of me as his possession. This didn't disillusion me, I knew how vampires regarded humans. Eric tried really hard not to act as if I was here to meet his needs. For the most part he succeeded.

Still, I felt like I needed to reaffirm my need for independence. I couldn't have Eric orchestrating my life, this was my life to live the way I wanted.

"I thought you understood that I needed to make my own decisions about things like that," I said in the most non-confrontational tone of voice I could muster. "Are there other ways you are controlling me?"

As I spoke a wave of irritation began to rise up in me. I didn't want Eric riding herd on all my thoughts and actions. I believed it was just his concern for my past human fragility that had caused him to limit my choices.

I hoped all his manipulation was a thing of the past now that I had Turned. I got a smug satisfaction that he could not control me with glamour

I recalled the one and only time he had put his hands on me in anger was when I told him I had mentioned to Anna Hita that I might consider her as my Maker. Eric hadn't hurt me but he had to leave me stranded in a car in New Orleans in order for him to get control of his fury.

Eric always knew without doubt that he wanted to be my Maker. I wondered if it was an unpleasant surprise to find out his power to compel me was very slight. I felt a glow of pride that he had very little influence on me as a Maker. I was my own person, not a puppet to be moved this way and that.

Eric pulled the car over and cut the engine. As the hot metal pinged and the sky sang the sweet magical music of the stars I regrouped emotionally. I knew what he was going to say before he said it.

"I was not controlling you, my wife, love of my life, I was protecting you. Your special qualities could have tempted another to exploit you. It was my duty as your husband to make certain you never fell into the hands of those that would use you," he explained.

"Or abuse you," he added ominously, to remind me of the threats that surrounded me.

He left out the part about him being possessive and jealous. He took my hand. It still surprised me how warm his skin felt now. He looked up, then turned to look directly at me.

"I loved you then. I love you now. I will love you always," he said simply, his unwavering blue gaze entering my very soul so I could see this was the single golden truth in his heart.

He leaned forward to kiss me, a kiss that turned into a passion only two vampires could share. As his fangs touched my skin I whispered, "I love you too. I am yours because I willingly gave myself to you. Thank you for protecting me."

He moaned with joy and pleasure at my acceptance of things as they were, then we left the car to make love under the dazzling stars, adding the fireworks of our passion to the already glorious night.


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more to come .....(Hi everyone! I love to check and see if anyone has stopped by, when I see your comment it is a wonderful confirmation I am not out here in cyberspace alone. Your enthusiasm and encouragement are phenomenal! Could there be a better group of fanpires? I don't think so! Love you!)


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