Chapter 34: Inhabiting

Chapter 34: Inhabiting

Love is composed of a single soul inhabiting two bodies.—Aristotle

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Eric was relentless as he built her up, and once more, the coil inside of her was in his masterful hands as if he were in the very core of her, squeezing that loaded spring to the point that it would explode.

And explode it did.

She did.

“Mmmm,” Sookie murmured lazily. “Did I black out? I feel like Jell-O?”

Eric chuckled as he finished enjoying the taste of Sookie’s release; the vibration of his laughter caused her body to convulse once more.

“Oh God,” she mumbled as she shook.

“I take it you liked that?” he grinned like the devil himself as he moved so that he was next to her and then took her into his arms

“That was one epic orgasm, Northman,” she sighed dreamily. “You should teach classes.”

“I think I’ll be sticking to private lessons. Plus, I was just returning the favor,” he said, playfully, nudging her ribs to remind her of her earlier comment.

She rolled her eyes a little, but then looked at him with surprise. “Did I do something like that to you?” she asked with wonder and a little disbelief in her voice. “Did I make you feel like that?”

“Yes,” he said, taking one of her hands and lightly kissing each of her knuckles in turn. “You might not be that experienced with giving blow jobs, Sookie, but you’re hired—forever.”

She giggled, even as her face flushed red. “I’ve ‘heard’ a lot of things about giving them.”

“Hmmm?”

“From lip reading. You’d be surprised by how often girls whisper about techniques.” She grinned. “But I think the best advice I ever got was when I ‘overheard’ a conversation between Tara and Lafayette during my junior year of high school. Tara called him her guru.”

Eric chuckled.

“And—also—before trying to give one to Bill, I read a lot about techniques for giving them. But—um—he didn’t think I was good at it.”

Eric worked hard to quell his anger for Sookie’s ex. It wasn’t that he was jealous of the fact that Sookie had given him blow jobs either. Far from it! He was angry that Sookie had so clearly tried to please Compton—only to be met by derision that seemed designed for only one purpose: to make Sookie feel ashamed. The way Eric saw it—Bill’s loss was definitely his gain. But he still wanted to kick Bill’s ass for hurting Sookie.

Eric calmed himself in order to keep the mood light. “Remind me to send Lafayette a gift then,” he said, pulling her closer. “You should never doubt yourself in the oral sex department again.”

Her grin was immediately back where he wanted it. “I’m glad it felt good for you.”

“Good isn’t the word,” he purred, nuzzling her hair.

She looked up at him. “And we haven’t even—uh—done it yet.”

“I know,” he chuckled, tickling her side lightly, which caused her to wiggle in his arms. “I’m pretty sure that you’re going to be the death of me, woman,” he growled playfully.

“Just returning the favor,” she joked as she tickled him back.

Immediately, he crumpled into a laughing mess and moved to the other side of the bed defensively.

“Ticklish?” Sookie asked with a giggle, even as she realized that it was the first time she’d ever tickled anyone in her life.

“Whatever gave you that idea?” he asked, trying to sound as if he hadn’t just scurried across the bed as if it were lit on fire.

“Oh—nothing,” she answered with a wicked grin.

He rolled his eyes. “How about a bath?” he asked, obviously changing the subject.

“A bath?”

“Yes—because of someone in this room, I am very, very dirty.”

It was her turn to roll her eyes. “Well, dirty boy,” she giggled, “I guess we’d better get you clean.”

Eric leaned forward and kissed her on the nose before jumping out of bed. He didn’t bother with clothing as he went into an attached room that was clearly a bathroom. Moments later, Sookie’s suspicion was confirmed as she heard water filling a tub.

He sauntered back to the bedroom.

“Do you always walk around naked?” she asked.

He chuckled. “Well—I am half Scandinavian.”

She giggled. “Well—we’ve already established that you look like a Viking.”

“Then I’d better get to pillaging,” he purred as he stalked toward the bed.

Before Sookie knew what was happening, she was slung over his shoulder and being carried toward the door Eric had come through moments before. Once inside the bathroom, he seemed to be looking for a place to put her and finally decided on the counter opposite the double sinks. When she was finally set upright, she gasped as she took in the master bathroom, which easily put the guest bathroom to shame.

“Wow!” she exclaimed.

“Now—this room,” Eric said proudly, “I designed myself.”

Impressed, Sookie looked around the space. Across from her were two pristine white porcelain sinks, both of them square-shaped and rising from the countertop. The silver fixtures for the sinks were mounted to the wall, which was made of gray tiles of more than one size. Large rectangles made up the upper portion of the room’s walls, while narrower rectangles made up the bottom half.

Looking into the mirror confirmed that her hair was doing it impression of a rats’ nest, but Sookie didn’t bother to try to fix it as she continued her assessment of the room. She looked to her left and saw that there was a huge shower, the kind that was so big that it didn’t need a door. She couldn’t see the entire size of it, but she figured it was as wide as the room. She could see no fewer than five nozzles from where she was sitting and wondered if she’d even be able to figure out how to use it.

Her eyes next went to the other side of the room, which was dominated by a very naked—very gorgeous—man, bending over the tub to make sure that the water was the right temperature.

She must have made a noise out loud because Eric turned to look at her over his shoulder. “Do you like the room?” he asked with a mischievous grin.

“Yes,” she blushed, having been caught ogling his perfect bottom. “The décor is quite—um—stimulating.”

“Well—then feel free to continue enjoying it,” he chuckled as he turned back to his task. After giving his ode-worthy bottom another good leer, she finished examining the “tub side” of the room. The floor of the bathroom was made of large square gray tiles of a slightly darker shade than the walls. There were small white shelves on one side of the large white bathtub and red towels to accent the gray and white in the room.

“Wait!” Sookie said, looking at the window above the tub. “How is there a window in here? I mean—I know I was out of it when you carried me back here, but isn’t this room part of the inside of your floor?”

Eric grinned. “It’s a fake window. The realtor gushed that it gave the space a ‘homey and open feel.’ She said fake windows are all the rage now in buildings like this.” He shrugged. “In truth, I thought about removing it, but it actually has a light fixture as part of it, so I designed around it.”

“Fake windows?” Sookie asked as she shook her head and chuckled. “Rich people really are weird, Eric.”

“You’re not telling me anything I don’t know,” he laughed as he turned off the water. He came back over to Sookie and picked her up.

“You know—I can walk.”

“You feel better in my arms,” he said matter-of-factly.

“And how do you know how I feel?” she asked playfully as he set her into the tub and proceeded to climb in behind her.

“Let me rephrase, lover,” he said. “I feel better when you’re in my arms. Now—lie back so I can wash your hair.”

She looked at him over her shoulder with a question in her eyes.

“I’ve always wanted to do this—wash someone’s hair,” he said with a loving smile lighting his face. His eyes looked past Sookie as if seeing into the past. “When I was a kid, Morfar would sit in front of the fire for hours brushing and braiding Mormor’s hair. It was obvious that he liked taking care of her—that she was the most important part of him. She has always been so independent, but in front of the fire at night, she put herself into his hands completely.” He sighed. “When he died, she cut her hair short—really short. It’s been like that ever since.”

Sookie turned around into Eric’s arms. “You’re one of the deepest people I’ve ever met, Eric Northman,” she averred before kissing him lightly on the cheek.

He shook himself out of his memory and smiled at her. “Only with Sookie,” he said, leaning forward to kiss her lips chastely before turning her back around.

She sighed contentedly as she put herself into his strong hands. He moved her forward a little and then tipped her backwards into the deep tub in order to wet her tresses—all the while careful to make sure no water got into her eyes. Then he sat her upright again and opened some shampoo.

“Mmmm,” she sounded, “that smells good.”

He smiled as he began to lather the shampoo into her hair. “I’m glad you like it.”

“Is it lavender?”

“Yes—I noticed that you had some lotion with this scent, so I asked Thalia to pick this up.”

“Thanks,” she sighed as he rinsed her hair with a spray nozzle. Next, he rubbed some conditioner into her tresses before rinsing that out as well.

“Now you?” she asked. Eric nodded, and then Sookie used the nozzle to wet his hair. She took her time massaging in the shampoo before rinsing his head.

After that, they spent a good deal of time making sure that they were clean—with Eric being especially conscientious of what had apparently been a build-up of dirt on her breasts.

She didn’t complain at all, even though she couldn’t see the offending “mud.” In turn, she bathed him, making sure that every inch of him that she could reach was squeaky clean as well. She may have spent a bit of extra time washing certain things more than others, but he didn’t complain either.

Once they were rinsed, Eric used one of his very talented toes to unplug the drain, but when Sookie went to get out, he stopped her and got out first so that he could lift her from the tub. Without a word, they dried each other off. Sookie couldn’t help but to notice that his cock was ready again, nor could she ignore the fact that the wetness settling between her legs was not from the water of the bath.

“Eric,” she whimpered as he moved the towel over her aroused folds. “I need you.”

He nodded, quickly dropped his towel, and picked her up bridal style before taking her back into the bedroom. Carefully, he laid her onto the bed and began to kiss down her body, but she stopped him and pulled his lips to hers.

“Eric,” she said huskily, “you promised that my next orgasm would come from your,” she paused, “dick. I loved your hands, and your mouth was amazing, but I am ready for you to keep your promise to me.”

He panted passionately above her. “I’ll never break a promise to you, Sookie. Never.”

He crashed his lips into hers in order to seal his vow.

“Eric,” she whimpered his name again as she felt his engorged member rubbing against her slick folds. “Condom,” she managed. “Now. Please.”

He nodded and reached toward the bedside table before fumbling with the contents inside. She watched with lust-filled eyes as he opened the foil package he retrieved from the drawer and put the condom onto his penis.

He moved so that he was hovering over her, supported by his forearms. He looked into her eyes and sought permission one last time. “You’re sure?” he asked.

“Yes,” she said, raising her hands to his cheeks. “I want you, Eric. So much.”

He nodded. “I’ll go slowly at first, but tell me if it’s too much. Promise?” he asked almost desperately.

“I promise,” she said.

He nodded again and then kissed her tenderly, before balancing on one arm and testing her readiness with his fingers. She was dripping with desire. “Sookie,” he growled, “so wet—just for me.”

“Yes,” she returned passionately, “just for you, Eric.”

Once more he felt the burn of tears in the corners of his eyes as he looked down at her. She was so lovely and so ready for him. And she was his—for five percent of his life.

His mind screamed for him to tell her that he loved her, but he pushed that thought to the side, knowing just how dangerous saying it out loud would be. Even thinking it was dangerous enough. Instead he kissed her tenderly and let his eyes speak for him as he lined himself up with her opening.

He had felt how tight she was earlier when his fingers were inside of her, so he eased forward, trying to concentrate on the expression on her face rather than on the exquisite feeling that being sheathed inside of her was giving him. He crept forward and watched her eyes go from passion to ecstasy as he moved into her a few inches before pulling back out. With each agonizingly wonderful invasion of her body, he went further and further—losing himself more and more.

He was surprised that Sookie’s eyes never registered pain as she relaxed and stretched around him, opening herself to him. He was so concentrated on her reaction that he was taken off guard when he realized that he was fully inside of her. She was warm around him, her inner walls clinging to him as if they had been plastered to fit him. No other woman had ever felt so right before. He’d been with some women who were too narrow for him to fit inside comfortably. He’d found others whose channels were too wide. And most women couldn’t take all of his length—no matter how wide or narrow they were. But right then, he felt like Goldilocks because Sookie was just fucking right! He paused for a moment to memorize the sensation. The tip of his cock just brushed her cervix, though—from her throaty moans—it was obviously not causing her pain. Her walls seemed to touch every inch of him—perfectly—and he could feel the warmth of her even through the condom.

“Sookie, detta är bäst. Detta är rätt,” he whispered in Swedish as he began to move in slow thrusts, focusing again on Sookie so that he could make sure she was okay. [“This is best. This is right.”]

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Sookie was in absolute bliss as Eric entered her a little at a time, managing to touch—and stroke—nerve endings she’d never known existed. He was moving in careful stages, delving further into her with each gentle thrust. She wanted to tell him to go faster, but his agonizingly slow rate was already strumming the coil within her, and she didn’t want her orgasm to come too soon. She wanted to wait to fall over the edge with him.

Once he was fully inside of her, Sookie was able to appreciate just how good he felt—just how right. She’d never felt such exquisite pressure before. Every bit of the organ that made him male was touching the bits that made her female, and, in that moment, she knew that she was made to be his woman—that what she was feeling right then would happen with no one but Eric Northman. She wanted to cry and scream from the realization—from the pleasure of the physical and mental epiphanies she was experiencing. But all she could do was look into his eyes and recognize that the same things that she was feeling were also happening to him.

It was—in a word—beautiful.

When he finally did begin to move, the coil inside of her tightened even more.

“Sookie,” he muttered, along with words from a language she guessed was Swedish.

Her ears didn’t understand those words at all, but her eyes had become familiar with the cadence of his lips during their week together, so she was able to discern the tenor and the tenderness of his words without knowing what they meant. He was telling her that what they were experiencing was amazing and astonishing—a miracle. He was telling her that she was beautiful and his. He was confessing that he belonged to her—now and forever—no matter what the future held for them. He was celebrating the present and lamenting the future all at once.

No. Sookie didn’t need to understand Swedish to know that those mysterious words were saying the very things that were in her own heart as he continued moving in and out of her, stimulating her entire passage with his length, as well as her clit when his pubic bone brushed her with each stroke he made.

She became aware that she was moving to meet him, matching him thrust for thrust. Her legs wrapped around his bottom and he grabbed her thighs, changing the angle slightly and stroking upwards.

And that was when she saw stars.

“Eric!” she cried as his pubic bone struck her clit harder, even as the tip of his shaft massaged her G-spot. Almost immediately, she was lost in an orgasmic tide that pulled her out into a sea where only his eyes could keep her from drowning. She stayed focused on them as she pulsed and pulsed and pulsed.

He yelled over her cries of ecstasy a few seconds after she was swallowed by her pleasure, and she felt him throbbing inside of her again and again and again. He closed his eyes as he grunted out his final release.

After that, they both drowned for a while.

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It was at least ten minutes before Eric was able to get up and go to the bathroom to throw away his condom. To say that sex with Sookie was the best he’d ever had would have been an insult to her because nothing else was even comparable to it. Making love to her—and he could admit to himself that that was exactly what they’d done—had been exhausting and invigorating all at once.

He warmed a wash cloth and took it back in with him so that he could clean her up. She was ethereal as she lay there waiting for him to return. Her eyes were closed and her lips were turned up into a contented smile. He closed his own eyes and recorded the memory before climbing into bed with her and cleaning her up. That done, he pulled her to him and sighed contentedly as she nestled into his chest and settled her hand over his heart. He drifted in and out of sleep until he heard her own breathing even out.

He whispered, “Jag var dålig förrän jag hittade dig. Du är min skatt.” [“I was poor until I found you. You are my treasure.“]

With those words, he allowed himself to fall into a deep slumber as well.

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Sookie woke up quickly, every fiber of her being crying out that something wasn’t right. She sat up in bed, orienting herself to the still-new place. Sometime in the night, she and Eric had drifted apart from each other. She remembered falling asleep on his chest, but now his body was near the edge of the bed. He was turned on his side, his back to her.

The room was illuminated slightly by city lights, and she could make out Eric shaking his head in his sleep. When she looked closer—felt closer—she realized that he was trembling all over.

“No!” he whimpered as he thrashed a little. “Don’t take her too. Please. Not Sookie. No. Father. Not her. Anything. I’ll do anything. Not her.”

As soon as Sookie realized that Eric wasn’t awake—that he was having a nightmare—she reached out to sooth him.

“I’m here,” she whispered. In his sleep, he rolled toward her voice and sighed as she took him into her arms.

“Sookie?” he mumbled. “Stay. Please. Stay.”

“I’m not going anywhere,” she assured again and again until he settled against her body and finally returned to sleep. She pulled him closer, knowing that his nightmare would be the same at hers for as long as they were together: it would be Appius Northman, holding their hearts in one hand and a stopwatch in the other.

A/N: Good morning! Thanks for all the nice reviews and comments about the last chapter. I wish I could get the new chapters up with more frequency and respond to you all personally, but I’m doing the best that I can, given my work obligations. I appreciate how understanding you all are! And—even more—I appreciate that so many are still following this story. My goal for getting the next chapter to you is Sunday, though I’ll try to work on it tomorrow—so fingers crossed.

Sorry about any mistakes I made with Swedish, and-if you know better-feel free to let me know, and I’ll make corrections. I do my best, but my trusty dictionary is limited by my own knowledge of the mechanics of the language. I try not to use the online translators anymore-as they are disasters waiting to happen. So-again-if you know better, let me know. I do always include what I “meant” for Eric to say in italics.

If you feel like it, tell me what you think of this one. Writing lemons is always difficult for me, but this sex scene was even more difficult because I wanted to infuse it with a lot of love and even a “magical” kind of quality. This is an “all human” story, but the characters from the books/show are so much a part of the inspiration that I don’t want to fully lose the supernatural roots. Also, you will notice that some of the words spoken echo the books—”This is best; this is right.” That line is such an iconic moment in the books for E/S. (By the way, the Eric that says that would never have behaved as he did at the end of the series unless there was more happening than Sookie knew about—I’m just saying.)

Anyway, I hope you liked the latest chapter.

XOXOXO,

Kat