Heart's Desire Ch 26

Chapter 26

EPOV

I probably should have said something in the car when they suggested After Dark, but honestly the conversation hardly lagged enough to bring it up and when it did, the right words seemed to fail me. But when Carol, one of the waitresses, greeted both me and Selah by name, the look on Sookie’s face made it clear that this was not something we could just wait and talk about when we got home.

“What the hell Eric?” I cringed at the tone she was using.

“Sookie, I can explain.” I regretted the word selection as soon as I said it. What female ever wants to hear “I can explain”, but before I could make a correction she was off and running.

“You can explain? Explain what? How aside from work you never really socialized yet everybody in this place seems to know you by name? How they even know Selah by name and seemingly expect to see the two of you together but yet you never dated? Which one would you like to start with first? Huh? Pick one!” Her voice was getting louder, but she was still trying to keep the conversation private.

My first reaction was to be pissed. Pissed that she obviously doubted my word and pissed that she was willing to jump to a conclusion without hearing me out first. But the look on her face was not one of anger, but rather one of hurt and that made me hurt. I grabbed her and pulled her to me, wrapping my arms around her and putting my mouth to her ear.

“Sookie, I own the damn club.”

I allowed the words to sink in before pulling back to look at her, when I finally did she had a tear sliding down her cheek.

“Oh my god…Eric, I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you tell me?” She asked softly.

“Once Jason said this was where he wanted to come, it’s not like I could just announce ‘Oh, by the way I own that club’ could I? I wasn’t trying to hide it; I just couldn’t come up with a way to mention it without sounding arrogant. But I think the bigger question is why did you just assume I had lied to you?” I tried to make sure my tone wasn’t accusatory, but damn it we needed to get this shit straight.

That question was all it took to turn that single tear in to a monsoon. I didn’t want to do this in public, so I told Amelia we would be right back and I ushered Sookie back to the office. Once we were inside, I guided her over to the couch where we sat until she composed herself.

“Eric…I can’t begin to tell you how sorry I am.” She said between sniffles.

“Sookie, you’ve already apologized. I just want to know why? Why did you doubt me?” Now it was her turn to flinch at my tone. I wasn’t trying to be hateful, I knew she was hurting, but damn it so was I.

“Eric, I don’t know. I guess I’ve just been so happy lately that I can’t help but think that this is all too good to be true. I mean nobody could really be as perfect as you seem so I guess subconsciously I have been searching for a flaw.” Her usually suppressed insecurity was rearing its ugly head again.

“Sookie I can assure you I am far from perfect, I can give you a long laundry list of my flaws, but I told you from the beginning, I don’t play games.” I could feel this conversation spiraling out of control so I took a second to regain control.

“Look, I can be a real bastard when it comes to business dealings, but when it comes to us, I have not and will not lie to you. What I have told you about my past relationships is the God’s honest truth and as far as owning the club…well if it will make you happy, when we get home I will gladly make you a list of the various companies and businesses I own. But in the future I would appreciate not being punished for sins committed by others.”

There was nothing more she could say at this point; there was no way to undo what had been done. I cupped her face in my hands and wiped her tears away with my thumbs before I pulled her to me and hugged her tight. I wasn’t mad, just hurt by her lack of faith in me until I recalled the old adage, ‘trust is not given freely, it has to be earned’. The realization that the strange circumstances that we had come together under that had made our relationship stronger than most in so many ways had probably left it more immature in others. Obviously my word was not enough; I was going to have to prove my loyalty to her.

Aside from this weekend and the two hours we spent at my office earlier this week, we had not been together as a couple in normal social situations and tonight, as evidence, our little bubble of bliss popped!

Then it came to me.

“Sookie, would you go out with me one night next week?”

Sookie looked confused for a minute and then a big smile broke out across her face.

“Yes. I would like that very much.”

“Perfect, I’ll call you later this week and we’ll iron out the details.” I joked.

She smiled and I could see the light returning to her eyes as she reached for another embrace.

“I love you Sookie and the sooner you accept that and all that goes with it, the happier we’ll be.” I whispered as I kissed the top of her head.

The desire to take her and bend her over my desk and christen this office as I plan for us to do to all of my offices was almost unbearable, but make up sex is about reconnecting after an argument; it shouldn’t be the apology itself.

I looked at my watch, and although it felt like we had been in there forever, we were really only gone for a few minutes but we needed to rejoin our guests. Sookie used the private bathroom to freshen up and repair the tear damage to her make up while I called the hostess to make sure the loft was available.

We joined the others on the floor and I caught a few wary looks from Amelia, Tara and Jason which I returned with a reassuring nod. Seconds later Carol came to tell us the loft was ready so we placed our drink orders and made our way upstairs.

The second floor consisted of two lofts, one on either side overlooking the bar and dance floor below. On nights where we have a capacity crowd, one side is usually opened around midnight for the overflow while the other was reserved for private parties and such. As it was still rather early, I instructed the whole loft area remain closed for our group, opting to take the hit financially to insure privacy.

”So Northman, how did you manage the VIP treatment with such short notice?” Hoyt asked, apparently impressed with the accomplishment.

I stilled myself trying to find the right way to approach the topic when Sookie decided to assist me.

“I arranged this for us.” She announced. I looked at her trying to determine her angle.

“You?” Jason asked her doubtfully.

“Yep. It’s amazing what you can get done when you’re sleeping with the owner.” She said giving me a wink.

“No shit? This is your place Northman?” He said.

“It is.” I said with a small nod.

“Well fuck me.” He yelled over the noise. I relaxed at his stamp of approval.

The earlier tension was finally gone and everyone seemed to be enjoying the drinks and music.

“Alright Hookers, let’s go show these city slickers how it’s done.” Sookie announced throwing her arm around Tara and Dawn. Each one grabbed their drinks, took one last swig and made their way down the steps to join Hoyt and Selah who were already on the floor.

Jason, JB, Tray and I all walked over to the rail to get a better view of the dance floor below. The girls seemed to be getting in to the music and were apparently oblivious to the attention they were receiving from those around them.

“Your sister’s a good dancer.” I practically shouted to Jason in order to be heard over the noise.

“Yeah, it’s gotten me thrown out of more than a few bars.” He shrugged.

I hadn’t even had time to consider is words when noticed a group of eager frat boys had circled our dates. Oh hell no! As I turned to move toward the steps, Jason put his hand on my arm to stop me.

“Hold on there, Lancelot…you go charging down there like a knight in shining armor and you’ll be polishing your own sword alone tonight.” He grinned. “Sookie can usually handle herself in these situations…give her a chance.”

“Yeah, she and Amelia together are quite the force to be reckoned with on the dance floor.” Tray added. “They’ll let us know if they need us to step in.”

I considered at least going downstairs to be closer if she did need me but decided the view from upstairs provided a better vantage point. After a few minutes I saw one of the cretins step behind Sookie, place his hands on her hips and lean in to whisper in her ear. I could feel my grip tightened on the hand rail as I watched her expression become guarded and her smile change to a forced attempt to be polite. I couldn’t make out what she was saying to him, but she inclined her head toward the loft and as his eyes looked up and saw the four of us looking down on him he quickly removed his hands from her hips. When the song finally ended Neidermeyer and the rest of the boys of Delta House made a swift exit. That’s my girl!

We all laughed, danced and drank until the 3:00 am last call rang out and again I marveled at the friendship shared by this group and their inclusion of others. Selah seemed to be enjoying herself, she and Hoyt had spent most of the evening on the dance floor and surprisingly her cousin had taken to Malcolm as well which diverted his attention away from Sookie sufficiently enough for me not to plot his death.

With the exception of Tara and JB, who admitted parenthood had left them more exhausted than they had anticipated, everyone was still going strong when we arrived home.

“Aw Pooh… come on, let’s get you to bed.” Tara said wrapping her arms around a worn out JB trying to help him into the house.

Out of everyone, JB had probably gotten the most inebriated and it became apparent when we ran in to the frat boys again and he told them in no uncertain terms that the “bat rastards” had better not so much as “lay a retina on our babes again” or he would “call down the thunder”. Fortunately everyone else was still sober enough to think it was funny and brush it off.

“Woman, why do you insist on calling me a nickname that is just euphemism for shit?” JB complained as his wife helped him up the stairs. Apparently his vocabulary improved with alcohol.

Sookie had gotten really quiet by the time we said our goodnights and made our way to the bedroom. I figured her melancholy mood was because her weekend with her friends was coming to an end. I pulled her to me and kissed her passionately in a selfish attempt at thwarting any homesickness she maybe having.

“God, would I sound like a horrible person if I said I would be glad when everyone went home and I had you all to myself again?” She said breathlessly when we broke from our kiss.

“Shit Sookie, do you realize how much I love you right now?” Her revelation surprising the hell out of me.

“It couldn’t possibly as much as I love you.” YES! YES! YES!

Simultaneously my heart did a flip, and my dick got rock hard, a sensation while pleasurable, was still unnerving. I never doubted that she loved me, but I seriously underestimated the impact of hearing those words out of her mouth.

“Well that’s an argument we will just have to have another day. Right now I just want to hear you say it again.”

“I love you. I, Sookie Stackhouse, love you Eric Northman.”

“And Eric Northman loves you, Sookie Stackhouse.”

TBC