Chapter 2

Best Intentions

When Gran asked where I was going the next night, I didn’t exactly lie, but I politely skirted the truth.  I told her I was going out with an old girlfriend from high school.  I had every intention of telling her about Hadley’s reappearance, but truth be told, I wanted to know a little bit more about her life before I started explaining things.  Hearing that I was going out had gotten Gran excited, and I squirmed when I picked up a stray thought about me meeting “some nice young man.”  I would probably be meeting men tonight, but I wasn’t too sure how “young” they’d be.  Or if they still qualified as men, even.

I’d gotten some idea of Fangtasia’s dress code from Hadley last night, but no matter how much I might stick out, upscale Goth was just not for me.  I finally picked out a sundress I’d had for a few years.  It was white with little red flowers, sexy but not too short.  It left my shoulders bare and framed my boobs nicely.  I brushed my hair until it shone and left it straight down my back, applied enough make up to make my eyes pop, then headed downstairs.

I could tell by the hairy eyeball Gran was giving me that she wasn’t too happy about my outfit.  I gave a little twirl on my red heels, grinning at her.

“What do you think?” I asked, running my hands down the dress to smooth it out.  I felt excited and super pretty.  Other than church, I rarely got to dress up, and this was definitely not a church friendly outfit.

“Honey, you look beautiful,” she said. “Aren’t you going to be a little cold in that dress?”

“No, ma’am, I don’t think so. It’s pretty warm outside.”

“Wouldn’t you like to wear a nice white sweater over that?” she hedged.  My grin got even bigger, but I shook my head.

“Don’t wait up,” I said, brushing her wrinkled cheek with a quick kiss.

“Ok, honey.  You have a good time.”

The drive to Shreveport took about thirty minutes.  It should have taken forty-five, but I was so excited I didn’t notice I was speeding.  When I glanced down and saw my speedometer, I swallowed a nervous laugh and pulled my foot off the accelerator.  Luckily for me, there were no cops out.

When I got to Fantasia, I leaned against the door of my old car and looked around the parking lot with interest.  The club was in a strip mall near a Sam’s Club and Toys R Us, and the parking lot was packed.  A long line of people snaked out into the night, thoughts full of sex and anticipation.  I shored up my mental shields and studied them, making out the odd vampire here and there.  It wasn’t difficult; just like Hadley, their skin positively glowed white.

I blinked, just blinked, and suddenly Hadley was standing in front of me with a wide smile on her face.  I had no idea where she’d come from.  Super vampire speed, I thought, heart racing.  I searched her face to see if she’d startled me on purpose, but relaxed when I saw her expression.  She looked positively chipper as she caught me up in a quick hug.  I wondered if I would ever get used to how cool her skin was now.

“Sookie, you made it!” she said happily.  Tonight she was wearing a long, crimson velvet dress with a split running almost to her hip.  Her brown hair was curled in fat ringlets that framed her glowing white face, and her lips were painted scarlet red.  She looked beautiful, like a Gothic Gone with the Wind extra.

“Of course I did, sweetie!  I told you I would.”

“I know, but I was worried you were just being nice last night.  I thought maybe you would change your mind.  But I guess you knew that already, huh?”  She looked at me pointedly and I felt myself squirm.

“No, actually.  Hadley…” I said, trying to decide how to word it.  “Hadley, I can’t “hear” you anymore.”  I touched my temple with my fingertips.

Her eyes widened.

“Really?” she said, excited.  “You can’t hear what I’m thinking?”  I shook my head.

“Nope.  Not one bit.  I tried a couple of times last night, but as far as I can figure it, you’re on a different channel now.”

“Can you hear other vampires?”

“Well, I don’t know.  You’re the only vampire I’ve ever met, but I was hoping to find out tonight.”  She studied me, eyes growing suddenly serious.

“I wanted to talk you about this anyway, and you not being able to hear me just makes it easier,” she said, surprising me.

“You did? Why?”  I was having a real conversation, maybe for the first time ever.  Being around vampires sure was going to keep me on my toes.

“Sookie…”  She bit her lip, hesitating, and I realized I’d yet to see her fangs.

“I haven’t told anyone what you can do, not even Pam,” she said finally.  “Vampires are not- we’re not like people, ok?  What you can do is real special, and if they found out, I’m not sure what would happen.  Pam and our master, Eric Northman, they’re not bad as vampires go.  Eric would probably even offer you a job.  He’s real practical like that.”

“You’ve really thought about this,” I said, doing some quick thinking of my own.  Work for a vampire actively using my telepathy?  Get paid to spy on people’s brains?  I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.  I had spent so long hiding what I could do from everybody around me, trying not to be a freak.  What would it be like to actually be encouraged to use my disability, instead of being shunned for it?

“I’ve had reasons to,” she said vaguely.  “But it’s up to you.  I just need you to understand, if you let any vampire besides me know what you can do, there won’t be any going back, not ever.”

Well that was nice and ominous.  I felt my heart speed up.

“It’s a whole different world, Sook.  Not all bad,” she said hurriedly when she saw my expression.  “But dark.”

I was quiet for a long time, considering her warning.  I was grateful and pleased that she’d kept my secret and bothered to warn me, that she’d given me the chance to make up my own mind.  She hadn’t said I shouldn’t tell other vampires about what I could do, but that I should think about it carefully.  I was at a cross roads, I realized, and found myself more than a little excited.

“I guess I should meet everybody before I make up my mind,” I said finally.  I was happy to see her smile return full force.

“Ok then!”  She grabbed my hand.  “Let’s go!”

Hadley practically dragged me across the parking lot, right past the long line of people stretched out from the door.  I ignored all the nasty thoughts about line jumping aimed my way, and skirted around the red velvet rope keeping the crowd back.  We came to a stop at a short hallway leading into the club, where a tall, pretty female vampire was taking IDs.

“Sookie, this is Pam,” Hadley said proudly, dropping my hand to go to her side.

Pam the vampire was dressed in a Gothic black lace ball gown, her pale blond hair pulled back in an elaborate knot.  She had wide blue eyes and full pink lips.  From the neck up, she looked like a suburban house wife.  Pam, the vampire soccer mom.  My face lit up with a happy grin at the thought.

“Well, hello, there Sookie,” she said smoothly.  “Don’t you look positively delicious.”

I watched in fascination as her fangs popped out and a leering expression spread over her wholesome face.  I reached out with my mind, searching, but found Pam just as blank as my cousin.  I guess that answered that.  I saw Hadley looking at me questioningly and shook my head ever so slightly.  Relief flooded her face and she stepped even closer to Pam.

“Don’t you think one Stackhouse is enough?” Hadley teased her with a fake pout.

I watched Pam roll her eyes, but then saw the quick brush of her fingertips on Hadley’s wrist, and felt my heart melt.

“It’s not my fault she’s dressed like a virgin going on a summer picnic,” Pam said drily, and I was caught between laughter and a blush at the dead on virgin comment.  Telepathy made dating nearly impossible.  You try having dinner with a date whose thoughts sound more like he’s reading a playboy than a menu.

“I wasn’t really sure what to wear,” I said, pulling out my ID.  She waved it away, then turned her head and made a signal to someone in the club.  Another vampire quickly came up to the entrance to take her place.

“Oh, you look fine,” she drawled.  “Come on, let’s get you a drink.”

Though it was crowded, we made our way easily through the club; people moved deferentially away from Pam as she stalked towards the bar.  I looked around with great interest, taking special note of the red and grey, Hollywood vampire theme; the walls were covered in cinema vampires, from Gary Oldman to Bela Lugosi.  The music was quick paced and electric and my blood was soon thumping to the bass.

“Longshadow, this is my cousin Sookie Stackhouse,” Hadley said by way of introductions to the bartender, a tall, thin, Native American man.  He gave me a lewd, fanged grin when I ordered a gin and tonic, making it with unnerving speed as I watched.  I would have been more impressed if I hadn’t seen Hadley do something similar earlier.  I took my drink with a polite smile and said thank you.

I was taking my first careful sip when I noticed him.

“Who’s that?” I asked as I studied the vampire seated throne-like on a raised platform at the back of the club.  He was wearing dark wash jeans over impossibly long legs and boots; his muscular chest glowed through a black vest, long blond hair falling over broad shoulders.  He looked dangerous, kingly, like the cover of a romance novel brought to life.  My mouth was going dry just looking at him.

“That’s Eric Northman, our master,” Hadley said.  I knew by the look in her eyes that she could tell what I was thinking, but then what woman in her right mind wouldn’t?  He was gorgeous, just plain gorgeous.

“How old is he?” I asked curiously.  Hadley looked to Pam, who shrugged, before answering.

“Eric’s been a vampire for about a thousand years.”  My breath caught at that, and I stared at him all the harder.  I couldn’t imagine what he’d seen over the centuries, and my mind was flooded with all the possibilities.  He was a beautiful, living time capsule.

“He used to be a Viking,” she added helpfully.

“Don’t you want to know how old I am?” Pam asked coyly, smiling a wicked, fanged smile, and I felt myself blush.  Just call me transparent.

“You want to meet him?” Hadley asked.

“I guess so,” I said, watching as a tall, slender Goth girl with several sets of fang marks on her neck approached him, only to be quickly dismissed.  Looked like he wasn’t hungry.

“Don’t mind him if he’s a little stuffy,” Hadley warned.  “You wouldn’t believe how people act when they come here.  I swear, sometimes I feel like I’m an attraction at Disneyland.”

“Eric?  Stuffy?” laughed Pam.  “Oh, darling, you’re too much.  Eric’s just going to love that.  Sookie, don’t mind Eric if he’s ‘stuffy,’” she mimicked.

“Sure,” I said agreed.

“Oh, Pam, please don’t tell him I said that,” Hadley begged as I gathered up my purse and drink.  Pam just kept laughing.

The three of us made our way over to the platform, stopping a few feet away, keeping a respectful distance.  It felt strangely like I was meeting royalty.

“Master,” Hadley said reverently with a slight bow of her head.  Eric acknowledged her with a slight flick of his wrist, looking terribly bored.  Even though she’d warned me, I felt a frown spread over my face.

“I’ve already eaten,” he said dismissively, never looking up from his Blackberry.  The nerve of the man!

“Well that’s good, ‘cause I’m sure not on the menu,” I said in my most cheerful southern belle voice, before I could wonder whether or not it was a good idea to bait an ancient Viking vampire.  I heard Hadley gasp and Pam snicker.

That  got his attention.  His eyes shot up from his text and settled on me with…  Was that humor?  Surely not.  But there was no mistaking the lust that rose as he scanned me, head to toe.  I felt suddenly, woefully naked in my sundress and wished I had brought the sweater Gran had been so insistent on.  Too late now.

By the time his gaze had settled on my face again, I was grinning a nervous smile so hard my cheeks hurt.  He looked from me to Hadley, then back again, before giving me a sexy smile of his own.

“Hadley.  This must be your cousin that you spoke so highly of.”

“Hi,” I said, trying to ignore my own answering wave of lust.  Fortunately I had loads of practice.

“I’m Sookie Stackhouse.”  My hand shot out towards him and it wavered there for several uncomfortable seconds before he caught my fingers and raised them for a kiss.  His lips were smooth and cool on my knuckles; I felt my heart skip a beat.

“Please,” he said, gesturing to the seat next to him.  “Sit.”

With his help, I stepped up onto the platform and sat carefully on the offered chair, crossing my legs ladylike so I wouldn’t flash the club.  I felt like a doll on display sitting so high up over the club crowd.  I figured if I had to sit up here every night I might affect boredom, too.  That thought warmed my smile to something a bit more genuine as I met his gaze.  Still, I glanced anxiously at Hadley for reassurance, but she was lost in her own Pam-centered world.

Pam noticed my look, though.

“Hadley, isn’t it just ‘stuffy’ in here tonight?” she said with a wink as she feigned fanning herself.  Hadley made a little noise in her throat and I couldn’t stop myself from laughing.

I was feeling more grounded when I looked back at Eric Northman, who was staring at me with a seductive, predatory expression.  I lifted my drink to my lips and took a quick gulp, focusing on the ice tinkle against the glass to try and distract myself from my racing heart.

“So, Miss Stackhouse.  How do you like my establishment?” he drawled.  As he spoke, a human waitress came scurrying up to his side and placed a True Blood on a coaster next to him.  He ignored her, attentions steady on my face.  I felt a blush begin to creep up my cheeks, but I was determined not to embarrass myself or Hadley by acting like a silly school girl.  I shifted slightly in the seat and met his bright blue eyes with renewed determination.

“Well, Mr. Northman, everyone seems real…  efficient.  But I find it a little flashy for my tastes.”  What I really wanted to say was crass, but Gran had taught me better manners than that.  Still, his eyes danced as if I had said that very word out loud.  I cocked an eyebrow at him and his smile spread into a wide, almost boyish grin, remarkably absent of fangs.  My breath caught in my throat at the sight.

Oh, my, but he was devilishly handsome, a warrior of old forever preserved for the benefit of females everywhere.  The bright blue of his eyes sparkled, the muscles in his forearms flexed as he leaned forward on his knees, coming towards me.  I could smell his cologne, some spicy scent that made me want to bury my face in his neck and breath deep.

“Would you like to go back to my office with me, Sookie?  It’s much less… flashy, I can assure you,” he said in an irreverent, throaty voice.  Oh dear lord.

Normally, right about now was when I started hearing crazy lustful thoughts.  I would be right on the edge of wicked kisses, and then suddenly!  Bam!  They would think something I just couldn’t overlook.  Except that wasn’t happening this time, because Eric was a vampire and try as I could I just couldn’t hear them.  How unfair was it that the most gorgeous man I had ever met happened to be the first man I might actually be able to sleep with?

“Sookie?” he repeated softly.  Time had frozen in the club around us.  There was no sound, there were no people.  There was no confused Hadley staring at me with flaring nostrils (I was so not going there) or smug Pam standing there with her arms crossed over her chest like she just knew I was going to give in.  There was no DJ.  There was no pulsing crowd.  There was only his face, those deep eyes and quirky smile.  Shit.  I was in so much trouble.

“No, sir, Mr. Northman,” I managed finally, if a bit weakly.

The sexy leer was replaced by no-less-attractive confusion.  Then his eyes narrowed and the air around me started to tingle.  I could feel a pressure around my head, sort of like the feeling you get when you take too much cold medicine, but other than that, nothing.  Oh wait.  I’d read about this.  It was called glamouring.  Supposedly, it let vampires influence you into doing whatever they wanted….  With that thought, I felt my own eyes narrow, and the nearly impossible lust subsided until I could at least think.  I waited to feel whatever it was he was trying to compel me into doing, but nothing happened.  Huh.

“Are you trying to glamour me, Mr. Northman?”

“I was,” he admitted shamelessly, studying my face with unnerving intensity.

“That’s just rude,” I said primly.  He laughed out loud at that, the boyish grin returning full force.  Breathe, Sookie.

“Rude, yes, but it should have worked.”  Uh oh.  Pam was staring at me now like I was some sort of caged, exotic animal, and Hadley looked nearly desperate.

“Maybe I just got lucky,” I said lightly.

“Perhaps,” he said, his handsome face full of questions as he studied me.

I raised my glass nervously to my lips.  I was surprised to find it empty, and set it down on the table with a slight thud.

“I’ll get it!” Hadley said brightly before dashing off to the bar.

I waited for Eric to press me, but strangely enough he let it go.

“Tell me about yourself, Miss Stackhouse,” he said instead, with seemingly renewed manners.  Relief flooded me and I gave him a grateful smile.

“Well, I’m a waitress at Merlotte’s,” I said as Hadley reappeared with a new gin and tonic.  I took it and was glad to see my hand wasn’t shaking.  Normally, I don’t drink much, because alcohol makes it harder to shield, but tonight my nerves needed it.

“Thanks, Hadley,” I said warmly, before taking a big swallow.

“This would be Sam Merlotte’s in Bon Temps?” he asked.

“Yes,” I said, pleased that he’d heard of us.  “You know him?”

“It is a rather small community,” he said, giving me a rather pointed look.

“The bar community?” I asked confusedly.

“Yes,” he said, but I had the strangest feeling that wasn’t what he’d meant.  Suddenly I wished I could read his mind.  It was unnerving how difficult it was to have a conversation without my telepathy.  Normally, I tried my hardest not to eavesdrop on people’s heads, as I consider it rude, but there was just too much happening here for me to be comfortable with.  Hadley’s warning and my immunity to glamour were not sitting well with me.

His gaze flickered to my left hand, then back to my face.

“Is there a boyfriend?”

“No,” I said, more than a little pleased by the question.

“How fortunate for me,” he said smoothly, and I felt my face growing hot again.  I quickly drained my second drink, but kept it in my hand.  I didn’t need any more alcohol; my stomach was warm, and a soft buzz was spreading under my skin.

“What about you?” I prompted a little nervously.

“Me?”

“Do you have a girlfriend?”  Yup, the alcohol was definitely working.  The mental voices in the bar were getting louder, but strangely enough, I found that I could sort of sift through them absently if I focused most of my attention on Eric.  And in return, the voices helped distract me from my raging libido.

“No,” he said, voice full of humor.  “I don’t have a girlfriend.”  He leaned closer to me and inhaled deeply.  Startled, I looked into his shining blue eyes, which were now a few mere inches from my face.

“You smell amazing.”

“Um, I’m wearing Obsession,” I said breathlessly.  “I got it for Christmas.”

“No,” he contradicted.  “I smell that, but you…  You smell like the sun dropped from the sky and kissed your skin.”

(Un)fortunately for me at that moment, something bad happened.  I stiffened as I caught hold of a mental voice, focusing in on it with some difficulty.  Eric’s face faded from view as images of a feeding vampire filled my head through someone else’s eyes.  The eyes just happened to belong to a cop, who was already calling for back up.

“Trouble,” I managed as Eric’s face came back into focus.  His eyes darkened instantly and I knew he understood that I wasn’t talking about him.

“We’ve got to get out of here.”  I was already standing, my little red purse clutched desperately to my chest.  Eric rose as well; he towered over me, even in heels.

“Sookie?” I heard Hadley ask worriedly, but my eyes were all for Eric.

“There’s going to be a raid,” I said.  Eric’s hand shot out and grabbed my elbow, and the voices faded to a dull hum.  If I hadn’t been so scared, I would have sagged with relief.

“How do you know this?” he demanded.  His lips drew back from his now fanged teeth and the skin on his face seemed to shrink, glowing even brighter; he looked positively feral.  I was terrified by how quickly he had shifted from seducer to monster, but I didn’t back down.

“I heard the cop’s thoughts,” I said.  “He was in the bathroom and saw a vampire feeding.”

He didn’t ask any more questions after that, but barked at Pam in some foreign language, then led me quickly through the bar towards the exit as I struggled to keep up.  The crowd parted around him like he was Moses, and we were out the door in seconds.  Hadley was right behind us.

“Hadley, you and Pam will meet me at my house.  Miss Stackhouse, you are coming with me.”

I wanted to say no and just get in my car and go home, I really did, but I had been drinking.  There was no way I wanted to get arrested, whether for a DUI or from the impending police raid.  I had strong memories of Gran the one time Jason had called her to bail him out.  In the distance I heard sirens.

“Oh!” I said when Eric swept me up in his arms and we practically flew across the parking lot.  I clung tightly to his bare arms, trying to ignore how incredible it felt to be pressed against the hard muscles of his chest.  He stopped in front of a sleek red corvette and opened the door quickly, putting me into the passenger seat and shutting the door.  I didn’t even have my seatbelt buckled before he had the car started and we were turning out of the parking lot, just as a line of police cars turned in.

So much for keeping my telepathy a secret.