Ch 7: The Cat’s Meow

Sookie

Sookie and Brandy were riding in the backseat of a luxurious limousine on the way to some upscale dance club and grill in downtown Dallas called “The Cat’s Meow.”

Their driver was a vampire who introduced himself gruffly as Pierce. He didn’t say much but she could have sworn she saw his eyes twinkle at them in the rear view mirror several times on the way there.

The girls had spent two hours getting ready while Christopher barked orders and fussed over them to make sure they were perfect. Sookie wore a light rose-colored dress that made her look cheery. “Vampires like that,” Christopher had claimed. It had some sort of black material around her abdomen. The dress went to right above her knees and Christopher had fixed her hair in waves down her shoulders.

Brandy, on the other hand, wore a green strapless dress that flared a bit down her legs and was hemmed with black lace above her knees. Christopher said the green brought out the dark red ginger color of her hair.

Sookie was glad that they had their very own fashion expert to help them because she had no clue when it came to that stuff. If she had her own way, she would have shown up in a simple summer dress with her hair pulled in a ponytail. But Christopher had given that a big thumb’s down.

“I can’t believe I let you talk me into this,” Brandy said bitterly, but when Sookie looked at her she could see a hint of excitement in her friends green eyes. She was also drumming her fingers on her knee nervously. “I should not be doing this.”

“What is Godric like?” Sookie asked. She couldn’t remember him from her night of shame. She couldn’t remember anything after stumbling to the back office and in Eric Northman’s arms. How was she going to face him tonight?

“Intense,” Brandy said with a grin. She looked at Sookie mischievously. “Maybe you should ask Eric tonight what happened in that office before Christopher and I showed up.”

Sookie’s cheeks flushed so red she could feel the heat on her face. Unfortunately, that was the moment they pulled up to “The Cat’s Meow.” The two vampires were standing on the sidewalk waiting for them. Both of them wearing black suits that somehow made them look hip.

Eric opened her door and she was met with a pale hand that reached in waiting for her to take it. She reached out putting her palm in his. He expertly pulled her out and she was standing face to face with the… sin… gorgeous… ah!

“Miss Stackhouse, if I wasn’t already dead I think I’d die now. You look absolutely delicious.” He purred noticing the blood that had come to the surface of her cheeks. Unaware that it was her friend that purposely made her blush seconds before arriving.

“Oh… uh… yea… I mean thanks. You look delicious too… I MEAN… that is to say… you look nice,” Sookie stammered.

A grin spread over his lips, and his eyes filled with amusement. “Did you receive my gift?”

“Oh yes. It was lovely. Thank you,” she said in a complete daze.

“Was it over six feet of pleasurable sin?” He raised one eyebrow dramatically.

“Yes,” she breathed leaning toward him. “Wait… What?”

He chuckled, tucking her hand in the crook of his arm, and followed Brandy and Godric into the club.

When they stepped inside, the hostess looked up at Eric and started batting her eyelashes. Sookie clamped her jaw tightly. Couldn’t this woman see he was on a date? She looked over at Eric who was staring down at her with a glint in his eye. He hadn’t even bothered to look at the hostess. His mind was completely swarmed with thoughts of Sookie.

“Mr. Northman… Mr. Godric,” the hostess gushed. “What a wonderful surprise. Will it just be you two tonight?”

What. The. Hell. She had her hand tucked in the crook of Eric’s arm, and Godric had his arm around Brandy’s waist. She noticed Brandy was trying to look affronted about it. But if she didn’t know better, Godric looked like he was doing it just to get a rise out of the red-head.

Sookie glared back over at the hostess who hadn’t taken her eyes off of Eric. She was about to open her mouth to say something but Brandy spoke first. “I know with your level of education it must be difficult to count, but there are four of us here, not two.”

Godric’s lips twitched in a barely noticeable smile.

“Oh, I apologize.” The hostess looked Brandy and Sookie up and down. “I thought you two were donors.” She put a menu beside her face and spoke in a hushed voice. “Vampires still do that sometimes.” For cheap thrills, the woman broadcasted from her mind. Sookie cringed a bit at the woman’s words and thoughts.

Sookie felt Eric stiffen as he turned to look at the woman through narrowed eyes. “Is there any particular reason you are being rude to our companions?”

The woman visibly cowered away from him. “I… I apologize. I didn’t mean to be rude. Please follow me and I will take you to our best table.”

Eric reached for Sookie’s fist with his free hand, which was now clenched around his arm and he squeezed it reassuringly. She looked up at him, and he winked at her. She figured he was probably used to all the female attention, which made her even more curious why he was so interested in her.

They were seated at a booth with a semi-circle leather cushioned seat that would easily seat all four of them and probably two more. It faced the dance floor which was already full of smartly dressed people, both human and vampire.

Eric and Godric both stood to the side to allow Sookie and Brandy to slide in the booth so the sneaky vampires could trap them on the inside.

“Do vampires really still use donors?” Sookie asked Eric.

“It happens more often than you would think. Though many vampires are still cautious about drinking straight from the source.”

“Why are they cautious?” Sookie was curious. She knew that New Blood has only been around for a while.

“There was a disease outbreak about twenty years ago. A lot of vampires died. New Blood cures it but it can still be an agonizing experience to go through. There are still many infected humans out there that refused treatment. Hep-V has no side effects on humans other than turning them into walking carriers.”

“I guess that would make you think twice about who you drank from.” Sookie looked over at Brandy who was talking a million miles a minute to Godric in a hushed whisper, while the boyish looking vampire silently listened, his eyes darting back and forth from Brandy’s eyes to her lips. Sookie smiled slightly at their antics. Godric looked as if he wanted to kiss his date if only to stop her incessant talking.

Eric looked at her teasingly. “Don’t worry Miss Stackhouse.” He leaned closer. “Unless you have been letting vampires feed from you most likely your blood is pure.”

“Oh,” she said nervously. “No… no vampire has ever bitten me.” She wasn’t sure if the idea of being bitten appealed to her. It sounded painful. Fangs were slicing through the skin after all.

“Really?” If she didn’t know better, she thought his eyes became slightly dilated at this piece of information.

“You seem surprised?” She raised an eyebrow. Did he think she was just another fang banger?

“I have noticed that you don’t wear contacts. I am surprised you haven’t been a target before…” His eyes darkened. “Before the incident the other night.”

She closed her eyes. Oh no. He brought up the other night. “To be honest, I really don’t remember anything after I walked in the back office the other night. I hope I didn’t make a fool of myself.”

“You were a…” Crud please don’t say floozy, skank, trashy. “Picture of perfection.” Phew… wait perfection? She smiled shyly at the compliment.

A nervous waiter walked up with a tray, interrupting what Sookie thought was an awkward conversation topic. “Hello my name is Jackson. I’ll be your server. Mr. Northman, Godric, it is nice to see you again. I have brought you some NB-O positive. And a bottle of our best house wine for the ladies.” Eric nodded at the waiter. He was well known all over Dallas and this place was no exception. “Would you ladies like to order any food?”

Brandy spoke first. “I’ll just take a salad and whatever soup you have tonight. And maybe some of that cheese fondue for an appetizer.”

“And I’d like a salad and the crab stuffed shrimp. “Sookie said looking at the menu, not sure if the smell of food would bother the vampires. Hey if it did they shouldn’t have brought them to a grille.

The waiter smiled and promised to have it out soon, leaving the four to talk a little more.

“You never did answer about the contacts Miss Stackhouse.” Oh no! He wasn’t going to let her get away with anything.

“Oh… well… yea I don’t wear them. You can tell?”

“Oh yes; vampires have very good eye sight.”

“Hey I like this song,” Sookie grumbled as a new tune sounded over the dance floor. She watched Godric as he stood and held his hand out to Brandy for a dance. His eyes were glued to the red-head so intensely she feared Brandy might burst into flames.

She thought about throwing her glass of wine on her friend. That would take Eric’s attention away from the issue of the contacts and maybe save her friend from being seared by the heat filled shameless gaze of Godric. Now she thinks she knows where Eric got it from.

“Miss Stackhouse, I think you are an expert at deflecting.” He was persistent. It was probably why he was a zillionaire. She knew he was a thousand years old; everyone knew that. He probably was used to getting everything he wanted.

“You don’t like this song?” She said in a high pitched voice. “Please call me Sookie.”

“Sookie,” he said reaching for her hand and bringing it to his nose so he could inhale the sweet aroma of her scent. “Your avoidance of the question only makes me more curious.”

She looked up into his eyes, trying to think of how to explain. She learned a long time ago it wasn’t a good idea to let vampires know about her gifts. She usually didn’t have a problem because she came in contact with so few and those she did weren’t nearly as curious as Eric. She felt a mesmerizing and tempting tug at her mind when their eyes locked.

“Did you just try to glamour me?” She said her eyes going wide with shock.

“I knew it.” He muttered with a smug smirk.

Fudge! She was so busted. This can’t be good. He tilted his head slightly to the side and looked at her curiously. Her hand still held by his under his nose as he breathed in her scent. His other arm had reached around the back of her seat making her feel like she was in some sort of protective cocoon, or rather a cocoon of deadly attraction. Or both!

Ah… her traitorous body would not do as she said. She felt a distinct gnawing ache between her legs as a response to his closeness. Not now! She squeezed her thighs closed almost instinctively as he stared down at her. He ever so slowly and deliberately glanced downward to her lap in response to the slight movement of her legs and the corner of his mouth turned upward in a devious grin. That mouth was going to haunt her dreams. Dammit! Could she not do anything without this sinful creature knowing? She looked into his ocean-blue eyes. He started waggling his eyebrows at her suggestively. She gasped and her eyebrows slanted down. The nerve! He scooted even closer to her when he saw her outraged expression, a look of pure seduction and mischief etched on every inch of his face.

A/N: Eric stalks toward you like a hungry predator. “You are allowed to touch.”
He purrs. “Start by putting your hand here.” He moves your hand to the review button.