Sookie Takes Charge, Ch. 24

**A/N:  *evil grin*  Enjoy!**

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En route to their Bon Temps destination, Eric felt Sookie’s mood take a turn toward the somber. Considering their intentions for the evening – all their intentions – he figured her reaction was to be expected and so he held his peace as he stroked her knuckles lightly with his thumb.

The catch-phrase of an old ad campaign, “You’ve come a long way, baby”, crossed his mind. Mentally he smirked – his “baby” truly had come a long way, but even so, this night was a tremendous turning point for her…for them.

In the recent past she had gained and perfected significant powers and her perceptions of the people in her life had reached a new level of clarity, but in the end, she was still Sookie. Exposure to and learning about her “other” heritage had naturally been helpful, but still…for all those years, she’d been that odd little girl then that odd teenager and then that odd waitress in that bigoted backwoods little town where progress and tolerance went to die.

It worried Eric that there were undoubtedly still some parts of that insecure, vulnerable little girl in his Sookie, a part of her that would always remember being more than human in a determinedly clueless human-centric world. He hoped tonight’s closure would help tonight’s new beginning proceed more easily for her.

His Sookie deserved a new life filled with excitement and peace and adventure and, if he had anything to say about it, copious amounts of sex, but she needed to put Compton and the threats he posed in her memory and to her future to rest first.

Compton definitely needed to be put down.

As he glanced over at her, he silently mocked himself for having such a difficult time not staring outright, and was glad he’d had the foresight to put his driver and limo to use instead of trying to drive himself. This way he was free to take in the beauty of the fairy-hybrid beside him, and if the vehicle was conveniently well-equipped with luxurious sofas, well, it came that way, right?

Now, however, wasn’t quite the time.  Eric kept tabs on her mood as he admired how well she had repaired her appearance after their exchange. Her cheeks were still flushed and her eyes still sparkled, and a low growl escaped as he remembered the passion they’d also exchanged.

Sookie patted his hand where it rested atop her own then sandwiched his hand between hers. She knew he must be wondering what had happened to her mood but wasn’t sure she could find the words to voice how she felt.

Tonight wasn’t just the closing of one door and the opening of another, oh no… Tonight she would be slamming one door shut with such furious finality that the house would likely collapse and then yanking another door open so vigorously it would likely fly off its hinges!

And both were more than fine by her.

She remembered back to the days before she’d known about her heritage, to her “pure human” days, and knew that the Sookie of those times would be both horrified and grievously disappointed in the actions she was willingly about to take.

She had been such a judgmental bitch in her naivete, but she couldn’t fault herself for it, not really.  That’s just how she’d been raised.  That was also before she understood that part of her that was “other”, and that was before she had truly accepted just how horrible people, regardless of species, could be.

Now she worried, if only minutely, that she wasn’t worried enough about the fact that she was knowingly and willingly going to end Bill’s miserable existence, but knowing that she was helping prevent any other girls, or guys for that matter, from being used and abused by the likes of that asshole made her firm resolve even stronger.

She lowered her head to look at Eric’s hand held between her own. She wasn’t the Angel of Death or some sort of Avenging Angel or anything so noble. She was just a girl who had been through enough who wanted a little of her own back, and wanted to keep a known bastard from hurting anyone else.

Her anger at dear Adele had calmed somewhat but she wasn’t sure if she could ever forgive the old woman for keeping such life-altering information hidden from her for so long.  If she’d known then…

Fucking Gran…

She had a feeling that her grandmother would agree in a way with her reasoning behind her plans to end Bill but that the old lady from a dead and gone era would whine at her to call the police instead then practice giving her “guilt glares” when she followed what she knew to be right and offed his ugly ass anyway.

Well, Gran could go eat a bag of economy dicks.

That phrase reminded her of Lala, and she couldn’t help but grin. Lala would approve and then some, and would probably want pictures…of which act she wasn’t sure.

“What?”

She started at Eric’s deep voice and turned to better face him.

“I was just thinking that Lala would approve of tonight’s planned activities,” she answered with a twinkle in her eye.

Eric could tell through the strong bond that whatever had caused her somber mood had passed, and was glad. She needed to feel the reality of the situation but didn’t need to dwell on it.

“Yeah?”

He thought about the former V dealing ex-cook who now had a little shop selling magical supplies, a small clothing line designed to appeal to any and all genders, and makeup of all sorts. After Sookie’s disappearance, in passing he had eventually heard from his sources, who had been keeping an ear out for information about Sookie, about the cook sliding quickly into what Eric could only think was a depression…a bad depression at that.

Remembering how his Sookie had cared about the rambunctious, gaudily dressed but loyal friend, he had done some investigating of his own. His respect for the sparkling gnat had skyrocketed when he learned more about how Lafayette had willingly accepted the financial and emotional burden of providing care for his mentally ill mother.

With Sookie in mind, he had spoken once again with his investigators, and together they had discovered that the missing Tara, who Eric hadn’t realized was actually missing at all, lived in New Orleans…and that Lala wished to move down there.   Late one evening Eric had paid a visit to the cook’s hideously decorated home and, upon sensing the true depths of the man’s depression, had handed over a stuffed envelope.

The dry cleaners had given up on trying to remove the glittery eye makeup smeared into his jacket from an extremely enthusiastic hug but he now owned 51% of Sparkles & Things. At least Lala’s first naming suggestion hadn’t stuck – It’s Twinkle Toes – Now Buy Something You Hoes…

“Yeah,” Sookie’s answer interrupted his thoughts. “I do wonder sometimes what happened to him. I called down to Merlottes the other day but no one had seen him in a while.”

Eric ran the forefinger of his free hand around his collar as though trying to loosen it and Sookie thought he looked vaguely embarrassed. She remembered the new bond and accessed it…yup, he was.

“What?”

He cleared his throat then proceeded with much halting to tell the tale of his kindness. Not understanding why being caught being generous to someone would discomfit him so much, she raised the hand she still held and kissed the back of it.

“Thank you, Eric. Lala is a great person and I’m so glad you did that for him.”

The tearful appreciation in Sookie’s lovely eyes made him wish he’d given the sparkling gnat even more.

He just shrugged and ducked his head, though, but Sookie wasn’t having any of that. With barely a thought she popped into his lap.

“Nope, you’re not getting away with that, young man,” she teased, then kissed him thoroughly, and loved how his hands slid up her back before cupping her sides.

Limos, she decided after ensuring that the privacy window was still up, were definitely the way to travel. The bar and the tv screens and all that were definitely overkill, but the butter-soft leather sofas instead of actual seats were a plus.

With a wicked smile she decided that regardless of what he had planned after the party, his unexpected kindness to her friend – a friend he had a past with at that – deserved an unexpected kindness from her…and if it involved a party in her mouth, then all the better.

“Why Sookie,” he growled against her lips a few moments later, “why am I detecting a great deal of deviousness coming from you?”

“Because I’m thinking devious and potentially delicious thoughts, oh Viking my Viking,” she grinned impishly.

She leaned back a little without lowering her hands from his shoulders.

Eric caught a fleeing expression of contemplation as it flashed across her face.

“What?”

He tucked a stray hair behind her ear before she shook her head.

“It’s nothing. I just resent having to spend even one more minute around Bill, that’s all. This is our night, our time, and he’s just a ball of slime left over from our past who has no place in our future. I just…resent having to even see his ugly sideburns again.”

Eric kissed her temple.  He understood exactly how she felt but knew the necessity of their plans.  Still…

“We don’t have to go, you know. We can go anywhere you want on the planet. Just say the word and I’ll call my pilot. We don’t have to go to fucking Compton’s if you don’t want to.”

Bright stars filled her eyes as she obviously thought about his suggestion, but then his stomach fell when she firmed her chin.

“Nope. You’re required to attend, and Bill’s time has more than passed.  It’s time for him to go.”

She stopped speaking but Eric could tell she was still thinking.  He rested his forehead against her temple and savored the simple pleasure of having his Sookie in his arms on his lap.  In so many ways it was a miracle turned real.

“You know I could blast him from here, right? We’re close enough and I could easily make it a killing blast, but damn it, I want to see with my own eyes that he’s gone, that he’s met his true death.”

Eric chuckled, a low, throaty sound that bordered on being evil.

He reached to the side of the sofa and opened the top of a hidden pocket and withdrew a remote. After pressing a couple of buttons, three of the screens in the interior of the vehicle came on, each showing a different public room…in Bill’s “palace”.

“Ohhhhhh…”

Sookie’s dawning realization flooded her face with glee. She watched as early guests milled around, the fake smiles plastered on their faces too obvious to miss.  Bill was nowhere to be seen yet.

“Can they record what happens?”

“Yes,” he answered with a feral grin. “Sound and visuals.”

He watched as she scanned each screen and hoped beyond hope that she would decide that ending the bastard from the safety of the vehicle was the most appealing option.  He finally had her not only in his life but in his lap – hell, they had finally done the first of what he hoped would be many exchanges that very night…damned if he wanted to risk her in any way.

She was far too precious to his existence…but it had to be up to her.   Compton had been a nasty little thorn in his side for far too long, but for his own part simply removing the burden of his head from his shoulders would be fine.  The ways he’d hurt Sookie, however, demanded lengthy, painful retribution that spanned years…decades…hell, eons…but in the end, it had to be up to her since she had suffered the most at the bastard’s hands.

Sookie absentmindedly ran her fingers through Eric’s hair as she ran all the options through her mind.

In one way taunting Bill by letting him see her arriving on Eric’s arm, letting him smell his nemesis on her skin and in her veins, appealed on a surprisingly deep level, but on the other hand…

On the other hand Bill had already taken up far more of her and Eric’s time than he was worth. The idea of zapping him with one of her pretty lights from the safety of the vehicle, not to mention the comfort of Eric’s lap, was vastly appealing in its own way.

The thought of watching Bill’s true death occur from afar, of knowing that he had met his end without her having to hear him or smell him, or even really look at him…but the thought of seeing the expression on his face when he realized that he had not only lost her but lost her to someone he loathed…

Oh, the choices…the tasty, tasty choices…

She glanced up and caught the smoldering emotion in Eric’s eyes.

“What do you want to do?”

He read her feelings and knew she was truly torn between choices, so he answered honestly.

“What do I want to do?”  He focused his gaze on her lips.  “I want to kiss you senseless, until you’re so wet with need that I can slide into you and give you only pleasure.”  He lowered his gaze to her chest.  “I want to peel this cloth from your beautiful breasts so I can see with my own eyes their pale mounds and pink tips.  I want to touch and taste you, I want to see your nipples harden from my stare and I want to feel them harden even more beneath my tongue and between my lips.”  He glanced down even further.  “I want part your legs and see proof of your need for me, and I want to taste you, and hear you gasp and moan your pleasure as I suckle your clit.”

He raised his head and she could have sworn his blue eyes were almost glowing.

“And then I want to fuck you until we’re both beyond spent, and after you recover, I want to make love to you for the rest of your life.”

Sookie could almost feel the heat of his adoring gaze as he scanned her aroused features.

Then he smiled faintly and quirked that brow.

“About the Compton thing, however, it is entirely up to you.  How do you want to dispose of his ass…ets?”

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**A/N:  *fans self and grabs iced coffee*  So, what do you think Sookie will opt to do?  What do you think she *should* do? **

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