BITB Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I don’t own True Blood or the Southern Vampire Mysteries. Those rights to belong to Charlaine Harris, Alan Ball and HBO. I am in no way affiliated with them, no profit is being made and no copyright infringement is intended. I simply like to play with the Viking!

A/N: I do own my OC’s and their antics.

~~~

Chapter 11

“You were looking for me?” he asked with some trepidation.

I could instantly see the discomfort settle into his body language. Oh God! He thought, as I had, that someone sent me to get him! I need to fix this before he runs!

“No, not like that! No one sent me to find you! Well, someone did, but not your roommates! That is, I mean, no one from your…um…nest. I don’t know any of them nor have I been there.”

“Then who knows of my whereabouts? Who would have told you how to find me?”

“Octavia.”

“Octavia Fant? I haven’t spoken to her in a decade! Why would she send you?”

“Are we still keeping each other’s secrets?”

“Are you telling me the truth?”

“Yes, of course! You can even call her if you want, though after talking with her last night, I haven’t been able to get through to her since. I don’t know what’s going on.”

“You spoke to her about me last night? She knows I’m here?! … Of course she knows. She knows everything, or she can find out. This is unfortunate and unwelcome news,” he slumped back into his chair with a defeated look.

“No! No, I didn’t tell her anything about you. Hell, I didn’t even know you were you.”

“You do know I could glamour you to see if you’re being truthful?”

“No… You can’t. I probably shouldn’t tell you this, but I find that I do trust you, so I think you should know. It doesn’t work on me. Besides, I have no reason to lie! Until now, I thought you were a human teenager going through some personal issues. I would never have betrayed that boy’s trust by divulging his struggles to someone else. Honestly!”

“Well, in some ways I am still that boy. Of course, technically, I haven’t been a boy in two millennia,” he said, grinning.

“Seriously, don’t worry. She doesn’t know where you are. Apparently, no one does.”

“I was unaware that anyone knew of my connection to her, but it shouldn’t surprise me. As soon as they learned of it, they would go to her or, more likely, summon her.”

“I promise you that she doesn’t know you’re here. We were talking about the fact that you weren’t at your nest and my friend hasn’t returned since she left to talk to you. I’m worried about her. Truthfully, I’m beginning to worry about both of them.

“We shouldn’t speak of this here. Come to my room.”

“Actually, I think you should come to mine. There’s a privacy spell and no one can hear us talking in there. Unless… Is your room spelled as well? How have you been keeping your presence a secret?”

“I have closed off my bonds.”

“Oh. Do you have bonds to everyone that lives with you?”

He laughed hard at that as if it was the most ridiculous thing I could have said. Still, it was good to hear him laugh, so carefree, in that moment. OK, so maybe Eric was telling the truth, at least about something when we were together. The blood is sacred to them. I believe he’d said that during our argument over the potential, accidental start of a bond between us. Jesus! That had been a fight! To be fair, how the hell would I have known? ‘You knew because I told you.’ I heard his voice whispering in my ear, the same as it had happened at Maggie’s. I felt a shiver run down my back, resisting the urge to look behind me. At least I didn’t begin to hyperventilate!

“No. I would never do that. I am only directly bonded to one and if my child can’t feel me through the bond, there’s no one else who would be able to track me unless, possibly, through a witch. I have a slight connection to his children, well, now only one child, but we would need to be close by, and they certainly would not be able to find me even if I hadn’t closed that bond as well. Still, you make a good point. My room has not been spelled and the ability to speak freely is quite desirable at the moment.”

“What do you mean, now only one?”

“The other child died long ago.”

“That’s horrible! You lost your grandchild?”

“I suppose that is one way to put it, but enough talking. We should get to your room.”

“Great, let’s go.”

~~~

Godric followed me and when we reached my door, he tensed while I was typing in my code and swiping my card. I felt his body stiffen next to me. He was staring down the hall to the left. When I followed his gaze I saw no one there.

“Are you OK?” I asked in a whisper.

“Yes, but we should get inside quickly.”

I realized I had waited too long to open the door when I saw the light blink and stop. I entered it again with shaking hands and swiped the card quickly, opening the door and entering. When I turned around, I saw he was still outside the room glancing back and forth between the doorway and down the hall, shifting his weight from one foot to the other anxiously, but not entering.

“What’s the matter?”

“I can’t enter,” he hissed.

“Oh shit! Godric, please come in,” I mouthed the words afraid of invisible ears.

The intent of my silent words must have been enough because he sped in the room, closing the door behind him amazingly without a sound as he did so. He stopped and looked out the peephole. I watched his body relax and knew he’d found nothing. He looked at me with a small smile, but I could tell it was forced.

“Is everything all right?” I asked. He nodded in response, but it was obvious he was still nervous.

“What was that? Why could I not cross the threshold?”

“Sorry about that. I forgot. This is sort of my home away from home. Maggie put some protection wards or something around the doors that make this similar to a human dwelling. Vampires can’t enter unless I invite them.”

“That is quite convenient and ingenious.”

“She said Octavia taught her. She’s Maggie’s mentor.”

“It seems Octavia has gained much knowledge since we last spoke.”

“I wouldn’t really know. I only met her a few days ago,” I shrugged.

“You just met her and yet you trusted her enough to seek me out?”

“Well, yeah.”

“Why would you do that? Did you not think it might be dangerous for you?”

“Yes, but there’s something important that I need to talk to you about because I think you might have answers for me.”

“Cricket, I am an ancient vampire and can be quite lethal when it’s called for.”

“Actually, it’s because of the fact that you are an ancient that I came to you.”

He glanced at the door again. When he turned back around to look at me, I could see an amused smile on his face that he seemed to be attempting to contain.

“What’s so funny?” I asked.

“845464”

“What’s funny about my door code?”

“Why did you choose it?”

“I don’t know. I had to type in a six-digit number that I would remember and it sort of just came to me. It doesn’t mean anything to me, so I can’t really say where it came from. Why?”

“I’m merely curious,” he said, smiling wider and chuckling to himself.

Did the number mean something to him? We would have to revisit that topic later. I grabbed a glass off the bar and carried it to the kitchen to pour myself a full glass of my moonshine. I lifted the jug and felt its full weight when I did. I’ll be damned! It is refilling itself like Octavia said! I would definitely be keeping this jug forever. JP will love this stuff!

“Do you, uh, need something to eat or, I guess, drink?”

“No. I can survive on little blood and am content for now.”

“Oh. Have you fed recently?”

“Please don’t worry. I told you, I would not do that to you. They have something here at the hotel if I require it.”

“Oh. OK.”

“Are you hungry?”

“Yeah, but I’ll be OK. I don’t want to bring anyone up here to the room.”

“Cricket… I’m sorry, may I use that name?”

“Sure. Everyone does.” Well, almost everyone. I thought to myself and frowned slightly. He didn’t seem to notice. If he did, he didn’t comment.

“Thank you. Cricket, if you need to eat, order something. It will be fine. I will go in another room when it arrives to keep my presence hidden.”

“No, really, it’s fine. I was too worked up earlier to eat and even though I’m calmer now, I don’t know if I could eat. Besides, I have this to fill me up,” I said, holding up my full glass. I could feel myself blush slightly.

“The choice is yours.”

“I’m fine. Do you want to sit?” I asked, walking to the sofa and sitting on one side.

I placed the jug on the end table and took a drink from the glass I was firmly holding. He nodded, but before he took a seat on the other side, he walked to the fireplace. Quicker than I could track, there was a fire in the fireplace and he was seated on the opposite end of the sofa, facing me. I pulled my shoes off and turned to him, tucking my feet under me to sit with my legs crossed.

His shoes disappeared as well, and he rested one knee on the sofa, so he could continue to face me while resting the ankle on the opposite knee. It might seem odd to watch him sit that way if I hadn’t been thinking of him as such a young man over the past several days.

“I know it must be warm for you, but I find it comforting,” he said wistfully.

“No, I like it. I’ve got the air conditioner on anyway, so I’m not going to get too warm.”

“In that case, where should we begin? Would you like to tell why you sought me out, talk about your missing friend, or will you finally tell me about this Eric you were yelling at on the roof?” he said with a smirk that I didn’t understand.

“You know, to be honest, would you mind if we just hung out for a little while? My brain is a bit on overload right now.”

“I would be amenable to that. I, too, am feeling a little overwhelmed, but we’re safe here, yes?”

“Yes. We are perfectly safe,” I smiled.

“Then what shall we do?”

“A movie? Something mindless so we can just, you know, chill out for a while?”

“I like that idea. There are many movies they have here. I have only watched a few as I’ve been preoccupied much of the time during my stay. They’ve taken my mind off of things on occasion.”

“Then you can pick whatever you want.”

His face lit up, and he looked like my boy again when he picked up the remote control and turned on the TV. He started scrolling through the movies on the large flat-screen television. He seemed to know what he was looking for.

“You know, I would make popcorn, but that seems silly since you can’t eat it.”

“I would guess there’s something in the kitchen if you would like to prepare it while I get the movie started.”

That sounded like a wonderful idea, so I set my glass down (after chugging almost half of it) and headed into the kitchen. He was right. I found a box of microwave popcorn in one of the cabinets and pulled out a package. While it was popping, I left for the bedroom and changed into my pajama pants and a t-shirt. When I returned, I retrieved my popcorn, pulled the throw over me, and settled in to the corner of the sofa, reaching in to grab a handful of my treat directly from the bag.

“You don’t mind, do you?”

“Do I mind if you eat? Of course not. It’s too bad I can’t join you. I’ve heard it’s quite good,” he smiled at me, and then turned his attention back to the screen.

“Well, I did mean that, and also the fact that I’m in my pajamas,” I said sheepishly.

He only laughed and shook his head. It was amazing to me how comfortable I was with this, for all intents and purposes, stranger. He really was starting to feel like part of my family. I rarely felt so close to someone so quickly, but there was something about him that put me at ease. That sounded crazy considering what he was, but the feeling was there all the same.

I was surprised to see that he had chosen a teenage vampire movie. It made me laugh when I realized that was where his reference of being ‘seventeen’ had come from. He had mimicked the voice perfectly! The characters in the movie were definitely not the type of vampires I had come to know, and it made me laugh harder to compare them in my mind to those I had met in real life. I still couldn’t believe that my real life had changed so drastically from what it had been a week ago. I raised an eyebrow and looked at him when I saw the movie we were about to watch.

“What? I love this movie!” he said excitedly.

“I call Bullshit!”

“No, truly. It’s very amusing. It is one of the few movies I have watched here and I enjoy it.”

“Well, you can’t laugh at me while we watch. I really like this movie, too, but for very different reasons, I’m sure,” then we were silent for a moment until I couldn’t help but ask, “Are there…I mean, do vampires…?”

“No. Absolutely not! We also cannot go into the sunlight. It’s ridiculous, but that’s what makes it funny!”

“So, there’s not another, I don’t know, species of vampire or anything that would behave that way?”

“Not that I have come across in my long life,” he laughed, “Now be quiet and watch the movie! They’re just about to meet for the first time,” he said with a wink.

This was most definitely not the way I thought I would be spending the remainder of my night, but I was tired and my brain wasn’t clear enough to focus on any important issues. We watched the film in its entirety though I found myself yawning through the last half hour.

“Cricket, I think you should get some sleep.”

“No, I’m OK. I mean, I’m tired, but we still need to talk.”

“Let me rephrase that. I need to rest.”

“Oh. Right. Um, so, I guess we’ll meet on the roof tomorrow or would you rather come back here?”

“Actually, I was hoping, if you wouldn’t mind, that I could rest here.”

“Here?” I asked, slightly shocked at his own level of comfort.

“I’m sorry. Please forgive my forwardness. Of course I will return to the penthouse.”

“No! No, I mean, of course you can. I’m just very surprised you would want to stay. Aren’t you vulnerable during the daytime? Wouldn’t that be…um…uncomfortable for you?”

“I trust you. These rooms have light-tight shutters that cover the windows, but even if they didn’t, the room over there has no windows,” he said, gesturing with his head toward the door I had not opened yet, “Besides, from what you’ve told me, you need me. I don’t believe you would take advantage of my situation.”

“You’re concerned about someone finding you, right?”

He glanced at the door, and then slightly in the direction of the hall that he had been looking toward earlier.

“I will admit I feel it would be a better idea to stay within a protected area where no other vampires can enter for tonight, if that would be all right with you.”

“OK. It’s perfectly fine with me. Just because you’re not the guy I thought you were, doesn’t mean I’m not still here for you. I will help in any way I can. We can talk when you wake up tonight. I don’t know if there’s a lock on that door, but if there is, you might want to use it. At this point, I’m not expecting to hear from Maggie, but just in case she comes back, she will come here. Better safe than sorry, you know? By the way, I know it should be my priority to be asking what you might know about that, and it’s not that I’m not concerned, because I am. It’s just, we both need to sleep and if there’s anything you could do, you won’t be able to during the day. I know I’m not going to go out and look for her myself without us talking it through first.”

I was a terrible person. I’d been so concerned about what could have happened to my friend, but I still felt protective of my new kid brother, and that was overriding where I really needed to focus. We both stood and I carried my stuff back to the kitchen to dispose of the bag and rinse the glass. He walked toward the closed door.

“What’s in there?” I asked.

“Come and look.”

I walked over to meet him at the door, stepping in when he opened it and gestured for me to go in. It was empty. The closet door was open and I could see what looked like two folded up gurneys.

“Why are those here?”

“They are stands for travel coffins, but I won’t need them. I don’t have a coffin here. We tend to travel privately as not to attract attention or suspicion, but I felt it better to travel unencumbered. This hotel is somewhat designed for vampires.”

“Yeah, I already knew that. I just didn’t really think about what that meant or what it would entail. Where will you sleep? Why don’t you just sleep on the sofa, or you can have the bedroom, and I’ll take the sofa.”

“No. Keep your bed. This room is the safest since there aren’t any windows, and I will be just as comfortable sleeping on the floor.”

“At least let me get you a pillow from my bed and a blanket. I’m sure there’s an extra one somewhere.”

“It really isn’t necessary. Once I go to my day rest, I won’t know the difference.”

“I will know.”

I found the items I wanted along with a pair of sweatpants and a t-shirt I had with me. I was thinner than him, but also taller, so there was a chance he would be OK in them. He accepted the items with a smile, to my relief, and said goodnight, entering the room. I heard the click of a lock, and I smiled to myself before heading to the bathroom for my nightly routine.

I returned to the main room and lay down on the sofa. I probably should have gone to my bed, but oddly felt the need to be closer to the room where he slept, to watch over him in some way.

~~~

I opened my eyes to the hypnotic blue ones I had come to know looking at me. He was kneeling on the floor next to me and stroking my face.

“Hello, min sǫngr,” he greeted me quietly.

“Hi,” I said, turning my face to kiss his palm.

“What are you doing out here?”

“I, uh, I have a guest.”

“That is all the more reason for your privacy.”

“Maybe, but I wanted to be near him.”

“Him?” He visibly stiffened.

“Seriously? You’re jealous?”

“Of course not! I’m quite certain it is another of your friends who is partial to men.”

“Well, you would be wrong about that. However, there’s no reason for you to be jealous. Besides, I’m dreaming, and in my subconscious, you know what I know, so you know why he’s here.”

He stood quickly and glared at me.

“I am not jealous! That is a preposterous notion!”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake! Get over it, Eric.”

“Are you being intimate with him?”

“Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Do you plan to?”

“Oh my God! I can’t believe the way you’re behaving. Anyway, he’s too…young for me,” I said, holding in a laugh that was desperately trying to escape.

There was no reason to provoke him. I was sick and tired of arguing with him in my dreams when there were so many other more pleasant things we could do.

“Fine. I will ‘get over it’, but I do not have to like it.”

I could no longer hold in my giggle at his overly dramatic reaction.

“Come back down here,” I said, extending my hand.

He took my hand and returned to his kneeling position near my head. He resumed touching my face, moving away some hair, and tucking it behind my ear.

“Why do you have another man here?” he asked more subdued than before.

“He’s here because he’s helping me…or maybe I’m helping him…I don’t know. We’re helping each other.”

“Can I not help you?”

“I don’t know where you are, and I think he’ll be able to tell me more about what I am.”

“You do not believe I can help?”

“You’re not really here.”

“You still have not told me what you are.”

“I still have doubts… What good would it do? You’re only in my head and therefore, as I said, you only know what I know.”

“Fair enough,” he said, leaning forward to give me a soft kiss on my lips.

“So, did you want to continue asking me inane questions about the boy in the next room?”

I wasn’t sure why I was reluctant to tell him who my visitor was. Was I still trying to protect Godric in my dreams, or was I trying to protect my Dream-Eric’s feelings? That seemed ludicrous, but it was what it was.

“Definitely not,” he stated, leaning down to kiss me again more passionately than before.

“Good,” I smiled and returned his affection with a kiss of my own.

“Come, let us adjourn to your bedroom.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

We walked hand in hand to the room, stealing quick glances and smiles at each other along the way. I really loved spending time with this Eric. I knew that once, if ever, I saw the real Eric again, it would not be this easy. I was still concerned that I would find out his draw to me was due to the fact that I was a Siren. Here, with this Eric, there was no worry about that. Perhaps after speaking with Godric, I could put some of that worry to bed, though I highly doubted it.

When we reached the bedroom, he looked toward the bathroom, and I pulled him to the bed.

“We’re not going in there,” I said.

“Why not? I can only imagine how luxurious it is and did you not enjoy the last time we bathed together?”

“I did, but to be honest, if I was going to be with you there, I would rather it be with the real you. I know that will never happen, so I’d just like to keep the memory and not confuse myself more than I already am.”

“I understand that.”

“You do?”

“Of course. You do not believe in me.”

“It’s not that. Well, I guess in some ways it is. I just want to have that feeling of it being so simple between us as it was when we were actually together.”

“We are together now.”

“It’s not the same.”

“You are right. It is not. To that end, do you not feel in some ways it is better?”

“I would like to say yes, and I love this intimacy I can share with you here, but I know it’s not real. I can say and do whatever I want with you and there’s no fear of disappointment or rejection.”

“I would not reject you.”

“You’re right. Here you wouldn’t. I don’t want to talk about what happens when I wake up.”

“In that case, what is it you would like to do with me?”

“I’d rather show you,” I said seductively.

“I like that idea,” he smirked, pulling me into his arms and lifting me so that my legs wrapped around his waist.

“This is a good start,” I winked.

“Indeed it is.”

We moved to the bed where he tossed me, causing me to bounce before he pounced on me. I giggled and tried to get away when I realized he was beginning to tickle me. We played that way for a while, laughing together and enjoying the pretend time we had as long as it lasted. When I was thoroughly out of breath and had begged for mercy, he sat up and pulled me onto his lap. I straddled him and looked into his eyes.

“Eric, I want to tell you. Only…”

“Shh. I know. You are not ready and I told you I would not ask again, but thank you for saying that.”

I circled my arms around his neck, resting my head on his shoulder.

“Thank you,” I whispered.

He held me close and stroked my back gingerly and lovingly. It was wonderful, and I moaned when I felt his hands kneading into the flesh there. It was quite a contrast to his well-defined and hard muscles. I found myself pressing our chests together and pulling him impossibly closer to me. I felt him kiss the top of my head and continue on, placing open mouth kisses down my neck and across my shoulder. I shivered at the tingling feeling and inhaled the clean scent of his skin. He did the same, breathing me in before running his tongue back up the path he had created until he reached my ear.

“Be with me, Chelsea.”

“Mmhmm,” I moaned into his shoulder.

He reached down and pulled my t-shirt over my head, and then unfastened my bra exposing my breasts to him. He lavished them with equal attention, pinching the hardened nipple on one while sucking and nipping at the other until switching positions to do the same on the other side. I felt the material of my pajama pants give way as he tore them from my body and instantly, without changing our positions, he somehow managed to rid himself of his jeans and shirt, leaving himself bare underneath me. He was going commando and I was glad. We kissed deeply, our tongues battling while I rose slightly above him and sunk down onto his throbbing, waiting cock. He was ready, and so was I. He filled me completely as I lowered myself until he was fully sheathed inside of me. He moaned at the sensation and grasped my hips. He moved me up and down, coating his shaft with my juices until I was able to match the rhythm he set. We moved in sync, gaining speed until I was all but slamming down on him. I felt my stomach muscles tighten as well as his grip on my body. He pulled his head back and locked our gazes.

“I want to see you when you fall apart,” he said roughly.

We were only able to continue a few moments longer, our pending releases nearing the precipice until we fell over the edge together. He called out my name as he came and I fought to keep my eyes focused on his when I felt the overwhelming sense of euphoria from our joining overtake all my muscles and nerves, leaving me sated and exhausted. He placed several sweet kisses on my face ending at my lips. I sucked his bottom lip into my mouth biting down gently and eliciting a sensual growl from deep within his chest.

“That was…” he started.

“I know.”

He deftly lifted me off of him and lay me down on the bed, snuggling behind me, and pulling my back to his chest. He pulled the covers up over us both and kissed the back of my head. I held his arm that was around my waist, twining our fingers together, and sighed in comfort.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

“It was my pleasure,” I replied with a smile.

“Good night, min sǫngr.”

“Good night, my Viking.”

I felt him smile against the back of my head when he placed one more kiss there. I wondered briefly why I had been so adamant to point out this wasn’t real when I had not done so since the dreams began. That thought quickly left my mind when I drifted off to sleep within my dream.

~~~

Aurelia Gliwiski as Chelsea ‘Cricket’ Kerrigan

Alexander Skarsgård as Eric Northman

Allan Hyde as Godric

BACK                      NEXT

~~~

A/N: Thank you, MsBuffy, for your brilliant editing and your continual encouragement! Thank you to American Android for the fabulous banner!

Also, as some of you may know, MsBuffy is on vacation. What does this means to you? Sadly, it means there there will be no update next Sunday. I didn’t supply her with a new chapter to edit. Sorry. It doesn’t mean, however, that I won’t still thrive on your review!

Thanks for reading!

Please feed the muse, but watch your fingers. She can be pretty feisty.