Chapter 22

Disclaimer – Wish they were mine, but they’re not. I just want to play with the Viking!

Chapter 22

I was exhausted and equally disappointed. I went to our table to collect JP. He pulled me a few feet away from the others.

“I’m going to leave with Russell,” he said.

“JP, come home with me,” I moaned out. I was too tired to argue.

“I know what I’m doing, Cricket.”

“Do you? You know what this could mean? Are you thinking clearly?”

“Yes, yes, and yes.”

“I can’t make you leave with me, but please, please remember everything we talked about last night.”

“I do. I’ve spent the whole night talking with him and even if you’re right and he is, well, you know, I think it’ll be all right,” he said, practically pleading with me.

“You’re a big boy, Peej. If this is what you want, I won’t stop you. You know what you’re getting into. I’m not afraid of Russell hurting you, but I’m still afraid. I don’t want you to get hurt in any sense of the word. Please be careful.”

“I will. I love you,” he said, pulling me into a hug.

“I love you, too.”

~~~

Several thoughts filled my head as I left the bar.

I was hesitant to leave JP, but, really, what could I do? He was acting pretty clear-headed and seemed like himself, so I didn’t believe he had been glamoured or coerced in any way to stay. I reminded myself that there were other people with him. Lafayette, Jason, and Tara were still there and I believed that if nothing else, everyone knew we were friends and they would look out for him. Hell, they liked him better than me! In addition to that, it wasn’t the first time he’d spent time alone with Russell.

Of course, I no longer believed that Eric would simply step in as I had thought earlier today, but I thought Pam would. They’d become friends.

Thinking of Pam, surely to God she was wrong that Eric would hold a grudge against me for something as stupid as asking him to sing. I knew I shouldn’t have tried to fuck with him in that way. Now knowing what and who he was, I should have realized it was something that would have made him out to be a fool in the eyes of the others. I mean, thinking about how his attitude and demeanor changed with just Bill around should have been clue enough for me.

Of course, Bill was a douche, and I was sure he was looking for any sign of weakness in Eric. In fact, I was surprised he hadn’t already tried to do something to me knowing that Eric was fond of me in some way. Maybe he was just glad Eric’s attention was averted from Sookie for the time being?

Wait a minute! He had! Bill had tried to make me to forget my interactions with Eric! Of course, Eric let it happen, and even encouraged it, but I now thought that was for a different reason.

It was all very confusing when I thought about Eric’s motivation. I didn’t want to go back down that road again after all the emotional ups and downs I had earlier tonight. In fact, I was spending way too much of my time being confused over every fucking thing. Just when I felt I had solved things, something else popped up.

How far would Bill go to hurt Eric without actually hurting him? After all, I was just a human. That made me prey. It also made me disposable. What was the term? Bloodbag? I would be defenseless in a dangerous situation.

It was then that I remembered what happened before I fell from the ladder, and what I saw happen in my dream before she/I fell from the ladder. I had screamed, more like shrieked, and my voice had caused Eric to stop and cover his ears.

Of course, his hearing was undoubtedly heightened and sensitive, but was that all there was to it? I was certain he had more than enough victims scream in his presence. Did he always react that way? I couldn’t believe that was true. How would he ever eat?

Just a human? Bloodbag? Victims?

When had I accepted these truths so effortlessly when just a day or two ago, I was freaking out about the mere possibility?

On some level, it seemed strange that I wasn’t afraid of Eric. It seemed logical that I would be. Anyone else would have been. Even when he was staring at me with obvious distaste and trying to, I don’t know, make me cower when he glared at me, I laughed it off.

The same could be said for Pam. She pissed me off from the start, but I had never backed down. Tonight, going in believing what she was, I still taunted her and stood up to her through my song. Fortunately, that proved to be a good thing since she seemed to now be more or less on my side. She would stay in my good graces until she was a bitch to me again, and then we’d see where our new and possibly precarious relationship went.

I knew I was probably just asking for trouble. I rolled my eyes and laughed out loud. It echoed in the night and I stopped walking.

I looked around and realized that I had been unconsciously just walking home instead of driving. What the fuck is wrong with me? It’s one o’clock in the morning! Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!

True, we only lived a short distance from Dan’s, but it was still the middle of the night and there I was, casually strolling down the backroads in heels. Normally, it would not take more than twenty minutes or so to walk home. It was only a few miles, but in heels, it would take a bit longer. I hadn’t even stayed on the main street! We always walked the backway home when we walked to town and I must have been on autopilot. My internal musings at the fucked up ways my life was changing had now put me into a potentially bad situation.

I felt like a complete moron for not paying attention to what I was doing or where I was going. I was closer to home than I was to going back uphill to get my car, though I still wasn’t close enough for my comfort. I stood there for a moment deliberating before deciding to push onward and finish walking home. The sooner I got out to my house, the better. I looked up to the sky and saw the full moon had passed. Thank God! Being chased down or followed by a werewolf again would just cap off the fucking night! I listened and there was nothing within earshot, so I just started walking again.

I picked up my pace as it further settled into my bones how stupid I was. It would be another half mile before I hit the next neighborhood street to turn down. Of course, I was on a side road with no houses around! Now that I was nervous, my calves started to ache due to my shoes and walking as quickly as I was in them. It probably didn’t help that I was still very sore and bruised.

I couldn’t run unless I took the shoes off, and there was no reason for me to run like a crazy person down the street. Not to mention, I would probably injure the bottom of my feet or in my case, fall face first on the ground. I hadn’t been hurt yet today. It was time, right? I could take them off and walk through the woods where the ground would be softer and the distance would be a bit shorter, but fuck that!

You fucking idiot! I chastised myself in my head.

I continued my brisk pace, beginning to breathe heavily until I heard a thump somewhere behind me. It startled me, and I stopped for a second before I continued walking more quickly.

No! Whatever it is, just no fucking no! I’ve had enough of this shit! Either kill me or leave me alone!

I kept my head down, looking at the road to make sure I didn’t step on anything and trip. It must have moved along the road to the side quickly, because I didn’t realize I was getting closer to it until it stepped into my path.

I stopped moving and looked up just at the same time I felt the warm feeling of peace wash over my whole body settling in my stomach.

He was standing there a few feet in front of me.

Eric!

The moon shone down on his face and arms like an angel, white, blue, and beautiful as if he was glowing. It was a stark contrast to the black muscle shirt and jeans he was wearing. His hair was tousled, and his expression was full of anticipation and determination.

I briefly breathed a sigh of relief until I thought of how we left things.

He stood there looking at me without saying a word, but there was no apprehension on his face. I opened my mouth to speak, but I didn’t get the chance.

In one, long, stride he was suddenly in front of me, and his lips crashed down on mine forcefully while he simultaneously wrapped one hand around my waist and the other fisted into my hair.

The shock and surprise that I felt only lasted a second before I gave myself over to the moment. Butterflies filled my stomach, fluttering along with the tingling sensation erupting all over my body. It was like a warm caress coming from the inside out.

I barely registered my bag dropping to the ground, and I lifted up on my toes and wrapped my arms around his neck, kissing him back just as fiercely. He took advantage of the fact that my mouth was open to plunge his tongue inside. His heavenly scent filled my nose as I realized he tasted as sweet and pure as nature, and it reminded me of being near the ocean on a cool day or walking through the woods in the rain.

My hands ran through his silky hair and he moaned softly when I scratched my nails along his scalp. I couldn’t pull him close enough to me. Kissing him made me feel like I had never been truly kissed before. Never had anyone touched me so simply, but with so much passion. I never wanted it to end.

More! More! My mind screamed.

He molded his body to mine, pushing my chest and legs flush to his as he stepped closer. I had no thoughts other than him, his hands, his mouth, his eyes. It was like we were trying to devour each other, both of us trying to savor the moment. I felt his hold on me tighten as he deepened the kiss impossibly more.

We stood there on the side of the road making out like teenagers until I finally needed to take a breath. Even then, he only released my lips. His grip on me didn’t loosen. He kissed along my cheekbone and simply moved his head to the side of mine to whisper in my ear.

“I’m sorry.”

It came out in a rush along with a sigh, and I felt the heaviness in his voice as much as I heard it.

I pulled back from him and released his neck, instantly feeling guilty. I didn’t know why, but his words and the way he said them caused me to pause before I pulled away from him entirely. I looked up into his face and saw sorrow in his eyes. I steeled myself.

“For what? Kissing me?” My voice was tinged with sarcasm.

Here I was again. In one instant, I had dropped my defenses and now I’d made a fool of myself. I would not let myself cry again.

“Stop it!” he said forcefully as he grabbed my hand and pulled me back to him.

His arms encircled me and he held onto me tightly, burying his face in my neck as if it was an unconscious need he had. I tried to pull back, but he wouldn’t let me go.

“Eric, it’s OK, really, it is,” I said with a slight tremor in my voice while I patted his arms trying to push him back slightly. He only lifted his face to speak in my ear again.

“No, Chelsea. I am not sorry for kissing you. I am sorry that I did not do it earlier,” he added tenderly.

Wait! What?

It was then that he pulled back enough to look down at me. I was taken aback by his statement and it left me dumbfounded. He was watching me for my reaction. The look on his face was that of a child full of trepidation. The slight fear in his eyes mixed with hope caused my mouth turn up slightly at the corners. He was just too cute for words when his face relaxed, and he smiled. I could see it all the way to his eyes.

He reached up with one hand and ran his finger along my lower lip, pulling on it. The action caused my mouth to open slightly, and he gently leaned down and kissed me again. It was soft and tender. It was by far the most beautiful kiss I had ever received. When he pulled back, his smile grew wider, and I knew it matched mine.

He stepped back slightly, and brought both hands up to cup my face where he laid another sweet and perfect kiss on my lips.

“May I walk you home?” he asked as he held his hand out for me to take.

~~~

I leaned down and picked up my bag with one hand, then slid my other hand into his. Our fingers intertwined and he looked down at them before bringing them to his mouth and kissing my knuckles softly. I stood there just basking in the joy of the moment. His whole face lit up when he smiled at me. I had never seen this look on him before. I liked it.

There was no hesitation in his expression, no thought provoking words under the surface. No tension was on his face.

There was just him. God, he was breathtaking!

He kept an easy hold on my hand as we began the rest of the walk to my home.

“You should not be walking alone out here at this time of night,” he said.

“I know. I don’t know what happened. I was walking to my car and my head was full of all kinds of thoughts until I realized where I was. I’ve made this walk so many times that my body just started heading home.”

My phone signified a text was coming in, and I was embarrassed when it was his voice on my phone announcing it. I stopped walking and tried not to look at him as I fished the phone out of my bag. I shrugged my shoulders before opening the phone to read the text. His response was a small chuckle as he reluctantly let go of my hand.

• Where are you!? Your car is here and you aren’t! What happened!? Are you OK!? Call or text ASAP!!
• On my way home. Decided to walk.

OK, so that wasn’t the entire truth, but it is what happened even though it was an unconscious choice.

• WTF?!?!
• IDK…I wasn’t thinking, but it’s OK now. Eric’s with me.
• Oh? And?
• And nothing! Btw, what time are you coming home?
• LOL!! Hoping that I make a late night of it or were you hoping that I wouldn’t come home at all? Bet you’re glad now I decided to stay out!
• FU! Just curious, but yeah, feel free to stay out as long as you like. (or at least until right before sunrise)
• OK, hussy…glad to see you’re back! Have fun and don’t do anything I wouldn’t. LOL
• Really? Is there anything that you wouldn’t do?
• LMAO See you later…and by later, I mean tomorrow. Love you!
• You too! XOXO

I closed the phone and put it back in my bag. I couldn’t look at Eric. I was still embarrassed from him hearing his own voice being used as my ringtone. I would have to change it so that it only sounded when a message came from him. But seriously, who would have thought there would ever be a time when he would be with me like this to hear it!

He reached over, tucked a hair behind my ear before placing his fingers under my chin and stepping closer to kiss me on my forehead.

“Ready?” he asked.

“Yes, thank you.”

I couldn’t keep the ridiculously large smile off of my face as he laced our fingers together again and we started walking. We were quiet for a few minutes before he spoke again.

“How are you feeling?”

“Honestly?”

“Of course.”

“I’m really achy and now that tonight’s over, being on my feet all night didn’t help.”

“I could carry you.”

“No, that’s OK. You should give your arms a rest. You have been carrying me off and on since we met!” I laughed.

“I like having you in my arms.”

Seriously, what do you say to that? I mean, come on, was he really this charming? When I took a second to think about it, I realized that yes, yes, he was. I blushed from the compliment, and kept my face forward as to not embarrass myself again acting like a school girl with my idiotic grin.

“Uh huh. Well, be that as it may, I’m OK to walk. Thank you, though,” I added sincerely.

“If you change your mind, let me know,” he said with a wink when I chanced a glance at him.

“Besides, it’s nice to walk like this. Don’t you think?” I said, swinging our arms slightly.

“Yes, it is quite enjoyable.”

He raised our hands to his mouth once again, and kissed the back of mine before looping my arm through his. He kept our fingers entwined together, resting them close to his chest as we continued to walk. I looked over at him.

“So, how long will the rest of the filming take?”

His brow furrowed before he answered.

“I do not believe it will be much longer. There are only a few scenes remaining.”

“Oh,” I said in a small voice.

He stopped and turned to me once again, taking me in his embrace before bending his head forward to rest our foreheads together.

“It will be all right.”

“I know. It’s just…” I could feel the lump in my throat start to grow and I swallowed it back down.

“I know,” he whispered before leaning down and giving me another chaste kiss on my lips.

I took a deep breath before taking his hand again and tugging on it to start walking. I wasn’t ready to think about that yet. Though I knew we would probably be having the conversation before he left at the end of the night.

We walked quietly, both lost in our own thoughts the rest of the way home.

~~~

We arrived at my house quicker than I would have liked. I had really been enjoying our time together. I just found him, and already I was thinking about how soon I would have to say goodbye.

He took my keys from me and unlocked the door holding it open for me. I stepped inside while he waited in the doorway.

“What are you doing? Don’t you want to come in?”

His answer was a smile as he stepped over the threshold.

“I was being polite and waiting for you to invite me in.”

“You’ve been here before.”

“I am still a gentleman.”

I had a wicked thought in that moment and stopped near the door. He was standing right in front of me and had begun caressing my upper arms gently.

“Oh, Eric?”

“Yes, Chelsea?” he said in a low, sexy voice.

“I forgot to tell you something.” I whispered as I looked up at him.

“Yes?”

“I rescind your invitation.”

We were so close to the doorway that he only was forced to move back about a foot to reach the porch. The look on his face was all at once confused and slightly hurt until I started laughing.

“I knew it! I fucking knew it!”

He braced his hands on the sides of the doorjamb unable to get any closer to me as I stood nearly nose to nose with him on the other side laughing. His eyes turned dark and his face grew serious. For a second I wasn’t sure if he was upset that he had been discovered or mad that I had just kicked him out.

“That was not a very intelligent thing to do,” he growled.

I stopped laughing and swallowed audibly.

“I was…I mean, I was just…I was only playing. I thought or at least guessed that you knew I knew or suspected,” I was starting to fumble over my words.

“You will regret that when I get my hands on you,” he said severely before waggling his eyebrows.

That fucker! He was playing with me!

“Oh stop it! You know you’re not going to do anything to me,” I giggled.

“Oh really? Step out here and find out.”

“No thanks. I’m good in here.”

I grabbed the front of his shirt and poked my head through the invisible barrier to give him a peck on the lips. He growled at me, and his sexy smirk grew onto his lips.

“Chelsea?”

“Yes, Eric?”

“May I come in?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Of course, Eric. Please come in,” I said innocently.

His growl became louder as he stepped in, causing me to walk backward, closing the door behind him as he did. I guess he didn’t want me to try that again! A shiver ran down my back and I shuddered from it. It ran all the way down to my girly bits. I continued down the hall to the kitchen, keeping my eyes on him as he stalked me.

“So, you want to play, hmm?”

“Um…no?” I squeaked.

“Too late.”

He was looking at me predatorily as his fangs snapped down. He licked his lips as his smirk grew into a wide grin giving me a good look at them. Oh shit!

I bumped into the counter when I ran out of room to move. He was in front of me in an instant. Placing his hands on my waist, he lifted me up, and set me on the counter stepping between my legs. I leaned back.

I was fascinated and extremely turned on by him in that moment. I reached my hand up and touched both of his fangs with my fingers running them down the impressive length. Somehow I didn’t expect them to be so long in real life. His eyes rolled back into his head, he let out a low moan, and his hands moved to grip the outside of my thighs. Guess he liked that!

Taking advantage of the moment while his eyes were still closed, I leaned forward and ran my tongue up one and then the other.

I felt his hands move to the tops of my thighs, his fingers curling in as he held on. His moan grew deeper and he opened his eyes to look into mine. The storms were swirling as he took in my face. I was in awe of him.

“Chelsea,” he breathed in warning.

“Thank you, Eric,” I said.

For a split second, confusion came over his face and he stopped short of whatever he planned to say. One eyebrow quirked up in question. I knew I only had a moment to say this because I could already feel him starting to tremble where his hands were holding me.

“Thank you for showing me who you are. Thank you for saving my life. Thank you for choosing me to be the first one to know you. Thank you for letting me in, Eric,” my voice became thick with emotion at the end and it was barely audible, but he heard me.

The look on his face changed. He smiled again, but it was different. Instead of attacking me with his mouth as I’d expected, he wrapped me in his arms and held me tightly.

I circled my arms around him and rested my head against his shoulder, my face pressed to his neck where I breathed him in. We stayed there holding each other for a few more minutes. I kept my tears at bay. All of my earlier bravado was gone.

I had given him the key to the door.

I wasn’t sorry at all.

~~~

Aurelia Gliwiski as Chelsea ‘Cricket’ Kerrigan

Alexander Skarsgård as Eric Northman

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A/N: Thank you MsBuffy for your editing and encouragement! This story wouldn’t be what it is without you, my friend!! Also, thank you to Gyllene for the perfect banner! 

So, I know that some of you might not be too pleased about what just happened in this chapter since it’s not our telepath, but hopefully MORE of you are happy that these two are finally acting on the tension that has been growing between them.

For those E/S fans, all I can say is that Sookie’s not out of the picture…she’s simply not in the picture, yet.

Sookie is still dating Bill. ‘Truly Bloody’ is filming Season Two. I am loosely following the already familiar timeline, so there is no history between Eric and Sookie romantically at this point. Just go with it.  🙂