Chapter Text
Chap 15
Jane’s POV - Thursday, July 9th & Friday, July 10th, 2009
“You’re looking lovely as ever,” my silver-eyed friend said as we sat on the bench, his eyes running slowly over my form.
I smiled over at him. “Thank you. I’m feeling well.”
“Have you figured out what you’re looking for?” he asked, gaze shifting from me to looking over the ridge.
“Not really, but I keep finding hints of it. Maybe that is enough?”
He made a tsk sound. “Like your explorations with Eric, are those enough?”
I shifted uncomfortably. I didn’t like that he knew about Eric. “Why do I keep dreaming of you?” I asked him. “I didn’t have your blood.”
“No, you must miss me,” he drawled and smiled at me charmingly.
“You changed me,” I accused him. “I was fine before I met you.”
“You weren’t living before you met me.”
I woke up gasping. I knew that I had been dreaming of my silver-eyed friend, and I was only able to hold on to the last bit of our dream conversation. Most of my dreams were nightmares, so when I dreamed of my lost friend, it was always a pleasant surprise. I grabbed my sketch pad and wrote it down, and began to sketch him. I pulled the necklace he had given that night from my jewelry box, and I held it in my other hand while I drew, and I feel like I was on the verge of understanding. Like I was almost there. He was trying to tell me something - give me a clue. When I finished the sketch of my mysterious vampire, him giving me that ridiculously charming smile, I looked at the clock, surprised to see that it was well into the afternoon. I looked at the little hammer and put it back in my jewelry box.
It felt wrong to me somehow to wear it, now that I was Eric’s.
My phone didn’t have any messages, and I decided that I would go to Merlotte’s and see if I could get some food and check-in with Terry on his break. I dressed in a comfy floral sundress and a light cardigan and drove over. It wasn’t too busy, and I sat at the bar even though I could have gotten a booth just to catch up with Tara.
I asked her if she was okay after her whole getting a DUI incident that happened the night of Arlene’s party, and she explained to me that she was staying with a woman named Maryann Forrester, who was helping her get on her feet.
“That sounds nice,” I told her as she made me a non-alcoholic drink called an Arnold Palmer, which was a mixture of ice tea and lemonade.
“It’s kind of her thing. Helping people,” Tara said. “How are you doin’ since everythin’ that happened?”
“Fine,” I replied, not wanting to talk about killing René. “I’m going to be teaching an art class at the community college in the fall. I’m trying to figure out what I can do between now and then to make a little money,” I explained.
“You could always wait tables here,” Tara said. “We’re always short-staffed.”
“I don’t have any experience. I only worked at the bookstore throughout college.”
“It’s not like you need a Master’s degree to wait tables. Maryann says that people who make excuses are just looking for reasons not to be happy,” Tara replied.
I got the impression then that Maryann had the personality of a cult leader.
“I’ll think about it. I’m not sure Sam would even want me to work here,” I said, thinking of Sam’s fearful face the last time I was here.
Just then, Sookie came over, she looked completely healed from her beating, and I assumed that Bill must have given her his blood. She seemed extremely happy and perky. “Hi Sookie, how are you?” I asked.
“I’m just peachy, thanks for askin’.” She smiled ridiculously and looked...a little out of it. “Did you want to order any food?”
“Can you have Terry make me a milkshake? He knows how to make it without dairy,” I asked. She wrote it all down and bounced away.
“Is she always so...bubbly?” I asked Tara.
“She’s been like this since Bill’s been living with her. Everything is in technicolor now. The hills are alive with the sound of music. Love will do that to you, I guess.” Tara rolled her eyes, clearly still not a fan of Bill.
Sookie reminded me of the time I found out that one of my college students was taking drugs before coming to class in an effort to ‘improve their creativity.’ Sookie’s friends were writing it off as the effects of her being in love with Bill, but...something wasn’t right. I decided that I would try to investigate and figure out what was going on with her.
Terry brought my milkshake out to me, and it was nice to chat with him for a bit. We made plans to go fishing on his boat tomorrow, which made me happy. He went back to the kitchen as a rush started.
Sookie came over to chat with Tara, and I found an opportunity to talk to her as Tara went into the back of the restaurant to get more ice tea.
“Sookie, I know that you and I haven’t always seen eye to eye, but I was hoping that we could be friends. You’re the only other person I know that has any kind of relationship with a vampire, and I thought, I don’t know, it would be good for us to have each other's backs. Do you want to come over after your shift and hang out?” I asked. I had never been too good at making friends, and it was probably a lot of information to dump on her all at once, but I didn’t really know any other way.
She looked a little stunned for a moment and then agreed. “Yeah, okay. Bill’s out of town on business for a bit, so I can come over after work.”
I smiled, and she did too, and I thought about how nice it would be to have a friend that I could chat with about vampire weirdness. She laughed, and I realized that she had read my thoughts before she walked away.
Terry’s milkshake was excellent, and I appreciated it, considering I had been living on canned soup and fruit for the last couple of days. I didn’t think that Eric had any clue that it would be nice for me to have food options that didn’t have to be in a tin. I chatted with Tara and some locals some more.
Suddenly a handsome, seemingly confident guy with a bit of a swagger came in and sat next to me at the bar. Squinting a bit, I stared and tried to think of where I had seen him before. He seemed familiar, but I couldn’t quite place him.
Noticing my stare, he grinned and dipped his head toward me, “I’m Jason Stackhouse,” he introduced himself with a flirty grin.
I nodded. That’s right, the waitress that was dating him had pointed him out to me at the engagement party.
“Nice to meet you. I’m Jane,” I told him.
“Really?” He slapped his knee. “Get outta town. People said that you were too pretty to be a kill—” He stopped realizing that what he was about to say was insensitive. “I mean, people said you were pretty.”
I tried not to roll my eyes. Too pretty to be a killer? That’s what people said about me? As if pretty people couldn’t kill. As if people considered me pretty.
“Thanks. I guess.”
“Yeah, uh, no problem. Hi Tara,” he said, trying to break up the awkward moment.
“Hey Jason, you want a beer?” she asked him, trying not to laugh.
“Yeah, thanks.”
She cracked a bottle open for him, and he took it and left.
I exchanged a look with Tara, and we both busted up laughing.
“He’s definitely got more looks than sense,” she told me.
I shook my head. I finished off my milkshake and decided I would take off. I paid, leaving a good tip for Terry and Sookie. I snagged her and found out she would be over to my house around 1:30 am, which wasn’t a problem for me, considering I had been on vampire hours for a while now.
I stopped at the store on my way home and made sure I had some beverages and snacks if Sookie wanted anything. Then I got home and tidied up a bit. Feeling a little gross, I took a bath, and I got a phone call from Eric while I was in it.
“Hello,” I said.
“Hello.” I heard the din of Fangtasia around him.
“Working?” I asked.
“I decided to take a break to see how you are,” he replied. “Are you swimming?” he asked with a bit of an edge.
“No, I’m in the bath. I was just getting cleaned up before Sookie came over. Eric...there’s something off about her, I mean, more than usual.”
“Off how?”
“I don’t know, I just...I’m worried about her, so I invited her over.”
“Bill will not be with her,” he said as a statement that he wanted me to confirm.
“No. She said Bill was out of town on business,” I told him. “What do you think that means?”
“I have a suspicion, but I don’t know for sure.”
“Hmm...well, I’m going to try to be her friend,” I declared. “Which I’m not super good at, so it will be hard for me.”
Eric chuckled lightly. “Good luck with your endeavor. I found her to be rather irritating, although extremely useful.”
“Thanks. I’m going to go with Terry on his boat tomorrow. My goal is to sketch a gator,” I told him.
“Be careful. Their teeth are just as sharp as mine,” he warned.
“I imagine that I would far prefer your bite to theirs,” I retorted, and he chuckled again. “Did you get everything set up at the house?” I asked vaguely.
“It is secure once more,” he replied.
“Good,” I said, getting out of the tub and pulling the plug. “I’m going to get dressed and ready for Sookie to come by.”
“Very well. I will speak to you later then.” We bid each other goodbye, and he hung up. I got dressed in comfy lounge clothes and braided my hair into two side braids. I went downstairs and made some tea, and Sookie arrived while the kettle was whistling. I turned it off and quickly let her in. I made her some tea, and we sat in the living room drinking it.
I imagined that it was hard for her to make friends as well. Always knowing what people were thinking, even the unkind thoughts that they would never give voice to. It would be difficult to separate those things out from what they actually said and did.
“It is hard,” she said, and I realized that she had been listening.
“I’m not very good at making friends either,” I told her. “I find people to be a bit overwhelming, and I don’t hear their thoughts.”
She laughed. “I’m glad you invited me over. I’m sure Bill won’t ever warm up to you, but I actually really like having him live with me, and I guess I owe that to you.”
I smiled. “Happy to help.” We both laughed. “Bill must love you,” I told her, thinking of him burning in the sun for her.
“He does,” she replied simply. “How does Eric feel about you?” she asked. I thought back to the way he looked at me in the firelight. I didn’t know.
“I think he cares for me, in his way,” I told her. “He’s not...my boyfriend, we’re not dating. He’s too vampire for that.”
She nodded and seemed to repress a bit of a gloat. “Bill is very in touch with his humanity,” Sookie said.
I thought about Eric’s mouth rimmed in blood. About the look in his eye as he took his ax from my hands.
No, not so much.
“Does Bill bite you?” I blurted.
She smiled widely. “Oh, yes. I like it. We exchange blood almost every night.”
“Exchange?” I asked.
“Yes, he takes my blood and gives me his.”.
“Are you worried about how his blood will affect you?” I asked her.
She shook her head. “No, I mean. It’s wonderful, and we’re so connected, you know? I mean, I can sense him right now. And he can sense me even though we’re apart.”
I nodded. “You have a blood bond, then?” I asked, remembering that’s what Eric called it.
“Yes, Bill said it would protect me further.” I nodded. I could imagine that was true.
“I’ve only taken Eric’s blood once. I’m not sure I would take it again unless I had to,” I told her.
She shrugged. “Well, you’re not dating him, so I guess that we’re just different.” I got the feeling that she thought she was better than me. That I was just a fang banger and that she had the real thing.
“I guess so,” I agreed.
We chatted a bit more, some about Bill learning how to live with a human; I didn’t say much more about Eric. Sookie was fine. I realized that we didn’t have a lot in common other than our vampires. She wasn’t overly annoying, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to spend a lot of time in her company without being irritated.
When we both started yawning, she took her to leave and invited me over for dinner one night. I accepted, and I was glad that I was on good terms with her. I took our teacups into the kitchen and washed them, and set them out to dry. I was thinking about her and her blood bond, and about being able to sense her vampire’s feelings. I wondered if that would feel intrusive or comforting. I couldn’t decide. Yawning again, I decided to put myself to bed.
Checking the time on my phone, I decided that I would call Eric. I wanted to tell him what I had learned from Sookie. I buried myself under the covers and let the phone ring through.
“Hello, lover. Going to sleep?” he asked.
“Yes, I’m in bed,” I told him.
“I’m done with my business tonight, but I’m still at Fangtasia,” he told me, and I realized he was trying to tell me not to touch myself.
“Oh. Okay. I wanted to tell you what I learned from Sookie,” I said, changing the topic.
“What did Cotton Candy Barbie tell you?” I could hear his smirk.
“She said that she and Bill have a blood bond now. That they exchange blood every night.”
“Every night?!” Eric said alarm colored his voice.
“I asked her if she was worried about the effects of the blood, but she didn’t seem to be.”
“She said they exchange every night and meant it literally?” he hissed his question.
“Yeah, he drinks from her. She drinks from him,” I explained. “Is that bad?” I asked.
“It is highly manipulative. In a normal blood bonded pair, the vampire drinks from the human and then would heal the human’s bites, with maybe a few drops of blood. To feed her the blood every night… it would influence her to a degree I cannot imagine. She is most likely addicted to the blood, and her feelings for him would border on obsessive.”
I knew there was something wrong.
“That’s terrible! Eric, what can I do?” I asked him. “She may be irritating, but she doesn’t deserve this.”
He sighed. “Do nothing. If Bill finds out that we’re aware of his treachery, he will abscond with her.”
“You’ll figure out a way to help her, won’t you?” I asked.
“I will think. I will try to figure out what Bill’s plan is. I cannot see his motivation other than her skill and her corn syrup blood. Did she say where he was on business?”
“No, she didn’t. I didn’t even ask, though,” I replied.
“Hmm... I think he may be with the Queen. I will see what I can determine.”
“Okay. I just think that I would hope that someone would do something for me, you know, if I were in Sookie’s place,” I tried to explain.
“Your compassion is endless,” he said as if it was a problem.
“I just don’t want to see others suffer.”
“My Maker would say that to live is to suffer.”
“How would we know what it means to suffer if we don’t experience joy and pleasure? And isn’t it a far more noble cause to try to increase those feelings than that of suffering?” I argued in response.
“You’ll have to say that when you meet him, he’s coming next week.”
“I will,” I said stoutly. My next thought was interrupted by a yawn.
“Sleep, angel. I will see you tomorrow,” he said, and I agreed.
I buried myself into my quilt deeper and found that I missed Eric’s arms around me. I wondered if he could feel that, and I tried to suppress the feeling. I was already so tired that I drifted asleep quickly. I had disturbing, dark dreams of shadows and a lingering touch of evil that I couldn’t quite shake when I woke. I checked my phone and found I only had an hour until Terry was coming to get me, so I showered and dressed hastily, and I found a banana that was speckly and needed to be eaten, so I made that my breakfast.
When Terry pulled up, I went outside to greet him, and he was pleased to see my jaw doing so much better. He played country music in his truck, and I learned the song and sang along and made him laugh. He took me to a different spot with different plants and new things for me to sketch. I loved riding in the boat, and it always felt a bit magical to me the way we moved so smoothly through the water.
We had an excellent laughter-filled afternoon that bled into early evening, and Terry had packed us some food, and we snacked and listened to the quiet.
“Where do you go when you’re not home?” he asked me suddenly.
“I’m with my vampire,” I told him. “He’s the one that’s making sure I keep my house.”
Terry processed that. “He called when I was taking you to the hospital.”
“Yeah.”
We sat in silence for a bit longer. I wondered what Terry was thinking.
“Jane. You shouldn’t do anything you don’t want to do. No house is worth that,” he told me, and then I realized that my bite marks on my thigh were visible. My shorts had ridden up with the way that I was sitting in the boat.
“I know Terry. He’s...nice to me. He doesn’t hurt me, and he doesn’t make me do anything that I don’t want to do,” I tried to explain.
Terry looked out over the water. “World takes all kinds. If he’s nice to you, an’ you like him. Then that’s good enough for me.”
“Thanks, Terry.”
*****
Eric’s POV - Friday, July 10th, 2009
When I woke up from day rest, I immediately felt out my bond to Jane. She was feeling strange. Achy and also happy. I wondered if I would ever grow tired of feeling her, of trying to understand her. I decided to go out to her home to see her after putting in my time at the club.
Pam was in a good mood, she had planned to go shoe shopping early this evening, and I took baby vamp to the club.
“Why can’t I feed on whoever I want?” Red complained. “Ugh…”
“Jessica. You must learn discipline, control. Did Pam talk to you about your other urges?” I asked her as we drove over.
“Ew. Gross,” she said.
Fine. I didn’t care to discuss it with her, and if Jessica seemed to be taking care of her needs herself, then so be it. Perhaps my turning and Pam’s turning were different than others in that regard. I had always been a highly sexual person, even as a human. My need was nearly unbearable when I was first turned. Pam, a sex worker, had been much the same. I supposed I could ask Godric’s advice on the subject. It was my understanding that all newborns were under the torment of such sexual needs, but perhaps it was just a heightening of what was already present when they were human.
We entered through the back of the club, and Ginger had already opened. Jessica went to the stock room and did inventory. I busied myself in the office and placed a few courtesy calls. I came out of the bar and found Jessica doing very well, controlling her impulses, and I decided I would let her feed tonight. The pierced and tattooed young man she had fed in before was back, and I would order Pam to let Jessica feed on him at the end of the night. And more, if Jessica was interested. I would be curious to find out the result.
I put in my time on the throne. I replied to emails on my phone, so it wasn’t entirely wasted time. I texted Jane to see if she was amenable to me coming out to her later in the night, but I didn’t receive a response. She didn’t keep her phone with her. She was often in her own world and would forget to take the phone with her or charge it.
Chow bounced some people who were getting too rowdy, and I had to toss out two younglings interested in the same human. It was the same trivial things that I had to deal with all the time, but it made the night go fast. Once Pam had arrived, looking delighted by her new pumps, I told her about feeding Jessica, and then I took off. I flew to Bon Temps, and I could feel that Jane was not at her house. I followed the feeling, and it led me to a creek, and there in the water floating on her back was Jane.
I stopped and watched her for a while, just observing her. Her long blonde hair was floating around and behind her, making her appear ethereal, the color glowing in the darkness. Her breasts were peeking above the water, perfect, shapely, and pert. Fangs aching, I felt myself drawn to her. I could not have stopped myself, as if I was caught in a gravitational pull.
“You don’t think it’s dangerous to be out here all alone?” I called out to her, and she looked over at me.
“Of course,” she said. “I think you would know by now that I like to live dangerously.”
I laughed. That was not what I expected Jane to say. I had been sure that she would deny it, that she would say she was okay, that it was safe.
“Shall I swim with you to keep you safe?”
“Why, Mr. Northman, I think you would be the most dangerous thing in these waters.” She was in a playful mood. It was very endearing.
“I most certainly would be, but I am not a danger to you,” I said, and I stripped my shirt and took off my shoes. My boxer briefs and pants came off, and then I was in the cool black water with her.
“You’re far more dangerous to me than you realize,” she said, wading in place, her hair slicked back from her face, and I saw that she wasn’t playing anymore. I paddled over to her and pulled her body into my arms.
“I will never hurt you,” I promised her.
She smiled mysteriously and shook her head. Then out of nowhere, she splashed me and slipped from my arms.
“You minx!” I said and splashed her back.
Our behavior quickly devolved into a water fight of splashing and me catching her and letting her escape. I tickled her ribs and made her chime out her little bell of a laugh until she cried for mercy. Once we had calmed, I just held her in my arms, listening to her heart rate settle.
“You must love the stars,” she whispered. She was looking at them on her back as I supported her with my arms.
“I do. Why do you think that?” I watched her more closely. How did she know?
“They don’t really change; if they do, it’s not by much. They’re basically the same, even after a thousand years. You can look up there and still see them shining brightly down on you. The same as they did when you were human.”
Chuckling fondly, I stared down at her softly. What was this creature? I held her a little closer.
“I used to use the stars to guide my ship as a human. I spent a great deal of time looking at them, and you’re right. There is something that is comforting in that. One of the few constants in an ever-evolving world.”
Jane smiled at me like she had a secret, and then she leaned up and kissed me. Something in her kiss said more than words ever could. I felt her through the blood that she was feeling content. I kissed her back, marveling at the feeling of her small plump lips pressed against mine.
“Let’s go to my house,” she said, breaking the kiss, and she swam to the dock and pulled herself up. Water dripped from the curves of her body, and I waded, transfixed. Her nipples pointy from the cold, the small tight nip of her waist that darted to her hips, and magnificently rounded spheres of her ass. She was unbelievable.
And she was all mine.
I swam and pushed myself onto the dock and kissed her, and stroked the wet glistening expanse of her body.
“You’re beautiful,” I told her.
She smiled and leaned her head against my chest. I could tell she didn’t accept that, but I would keep telling her every night until she believed it. She turned away and put her clothes on her damp body, and I did the same. We went to her car, and I got in the passenger side, and she began to drive us slowly to her home.
“Do you always drive this slow?” I asked her.
“Yes. I’m a terrible driver,” she admitted. “I’ve dinged this car on practically everything. If I don’t drive slow, I’m likely to hit something.”
“It’s because you’re always in your head, or daydreaming, or noticing the flowers, isn’t it?” I guessed.
“Maybe it’s because I get distracted by my passenger that criticizes my driving,” she retorted.
“I could be much more distracting if you wish,” I joked.
“Of that, I’m sure. But you’d survive our fiery crash, and I would get blown to bits,” she joked back, but it didn’t seem humorous to me. There was a moment of silence.
“If you’re ever injured again, I will give you my blood,” I told her.
“We’d still have one time before a blood bond would form, right?” she asked.
“It depends on the level of injury and how much blood I had given you,” I said. “If you were dying and I had to feed you a large amount, it could form a bond.”
She thought about that a while longer.
“Okay,” she agreed, and I wondered why she said it so simply. I forced myself to be satisfied with that acceptance because I doubted that I would be able not to heal her even if she had not agreed. I didn’t let my mind go down that path. We arrived at her house, and she surprised me.
“Want to get in my tub with me?” she asked. “It’s big enough to fit us both.”
I agreed quite readily, and she led me up to her master bath. The tub was enormous, and even I would be able to stretch out in it. She started the taps and then began to strip off her clothes, throwing them in the hamper.
“Your cycle is almost over?” I asked her.
“Just a couple of spots now. I don’t even bother with the pad, and I just wear my darker panties.” She tossed the navy blue pair with a little white bow on the front in her hamper.
I lost my clothes as well, and I saw her watching me.
“You get in first,” she asked, and I did. She climbed in and pressed her back to my chest, leaning her head against me. I couldn’t help the erection that I had, feeling her curvy body sluicing against mine. She proceeded to ignore the fact that it was pressed tightly against her ass.
When the tub was full, she turned off the taps and then turned around to face me. I felt her curiosity and arousal through the bond, and the look in her eye was that of someone facing a great task.
“Can I touch you?” she asked me, looking down at my fully erect cock in the water.
“Of course,” I said, trying not to sound too excited.
Her small hand wrapped around my girth.
“It’s...hard and velvety,” she said, in a tone of wonder. “I’ve...seen naked men before, for my art class. They were all circumcised,” she explained. I gritted my teeth against her teasing touch.
“It was not the practice of my people. Does it bother you?” I asked.
“No, I just...this is the first time I've ever done this,” she explained, and I heard her heart pound. “Show me how to touch you?” she asked, and I nearly died. She was so innocent, yet so eager.
“Grip me as you did before.” Slowly, she moved her hand over my cock, as I brought my hand on top of hers, beginning to move it up and down. Cursing, I clenched my teeth together as I forced myself to hold still for her - her touch felt fantastic.
“Like this?” she asked, so sweetly pleased.
“Faster,” I asked, and she increased her pace, watching my face. I was her science experiment. I certainly felt like a mock volcano, ready to blow at any moment.
When she twisted her hand, she realized how sensitive the underside of the head of my cock was, she continued to rub it, and I was done for. She destroyed me utterly, and I came calling her name, swearing to the old gods.
I opened my eyes to see her examining the pink liquid of my release dotting the water.
“Is it blood?” she asked, rubbing it between her fingers.
“Blood and dead seed,” I explained. “Why did you decide to do that?” I asked her out of curiosity.
“Well...it was poking me.”
I couldn’t help but laugh.
This woman. I couldn’t get enough.