Eric and I stood there and watched Alcide, while he talked into his cell phone. I felt impatient. I was dying to know whose account it belonged to. I glanced down at Eric, who was still seated in his chair behind the desk. He looked like he was keeping his cool, like his usual self. But I could feel the tension inside of him.
“Do you know who it might me?” I asked him, silently, inside my mind.
Eric shook his head. The only sign that I knew that he’d read my mind. He reached his hand out and clasped mine in his, then gave me a reassuring squeeze. I squeezed his cool hand back and hoped that I was reassuring him, like he was to me.
Alcide was talking in a hushed whisper. I could barely make out a few words here and there. I let myself into his mind, which was hard to do with Supes. It was a fuzzy blur, but I could make out that Alcide was dealing with something to do with his pack.
I wondered what it could be. I stared at him, curiously and hoped that everything was alright. Alcide had had a rough year, losing both his father and his girlfriend, both violently. As well as the numerous other issues that he’d had to deal with in his pack.
Alcide ended his phone call, turned back towards us and apologized. “I’m sorry, that was something important,” he explained. He sighed. “I may as well tell you, since you’re going to find out anyways, but…” he paused, trying to come up with words to explain it, “we’re coming out soon,” he explained.
I looked at him, surprised and amazed. “You mean…?” I couldn’t finish my sentence because I wasn’t sure how to put it into words. “That the Weres are coming out?” I lamely finished.
“Yeah,” Alcide nodded his head. “We’re…us, Weres…are going to admit to the world that we’re here too,” he explained, shrugging his shoulders.
I could tell in his mind that he wasn’t sure if it was a good idea or not, but didn’t have any choice in the matter. I glanced down at Eric, to see his reaction. I could tell that he didn’t care one way or another. It didn’t matter to him or to his world. He was used to dealing with them for centuries, the only difference was that humans would know now too.
I waited for Eric to say something encouraging to Alcide. “Well?” I prompted and nudged him with my arm and squeezed his hand. “Aren’t you going to give him some advice?”
Eric had the audacity to laugh. “No, I don’t think Alcide wants it.” He turned to Alcide. “Do you?” he asked him, just to be sure.
Alcide shook his head. “No, it’s okay,” he agreed with Eric.
Talk about two stubborn male minds. They both held a lot of pride and refused to admit to any kind of help. I rolled my eyes, not really understanding why they wouldn’t help each other out.
“Well, congratulations,” Eric replied instead. “I hope it works out for you.”
I knew that Eric meant it, although begrudgingly. Which kind of eased my mind somewhat.
“Back to the business at hand…” Eric spoke up, changing the subject. I could tell that he didn’t care what the Weres did, as long as they didn’t mess with Eric’s business. “Whose account does it belong to?”
Alcide sighed. “Have you ever heard of anything called, Victory Holdings?” He asked, curiously.
Eric frowned and shook his head. “No, have you?”
Alcide shook his head. “No, but that’s who it belongs to,” he explained. “I’m not sure if it’s a business or a person or what have you, but that’s what the bank records show.”
Eric sat there, silently, thinking to himself. I tried to read his thoughts to see what he was thinking of but he’d shut his mind off from me again.
You know, that was getting to be tiresome to me. What was the point of being bonded, when he shut me out half of the time? After Alcide left, we would definitely have to have a little talk about that, I decided. Relationships lasted longer if a couple were able to communicate and be honest with each other.
Not that I had very much experience, but I’d been burned before and figured that Eric might be different. Although, I thought to myself, I shouldn’t be surprised either. Eric hadn’t been in a relationship for a long time now and probably didn’t remember being in his last one. He might be rusty.
“I do have some ideas of what it could be,” Eric offered, as a way to thank Alcide. Which he should because he did give us information that brought us a little bit closer than we were before. “Thanks for looking into it,” he nodded his head in approval at Alcide. “I’ll remember this,” he added, reminding Alcide that he now owed Alcide a favor.
“Don’t mention it,” Alcide was quick to wave it off, with his stubborn male pride. “I know that you’ll come through when it comes time to collect.”
I could tell that while both men, weren’t crazy about each other and would never be friends, there was an air of mutual respect and intelligence in the room. It warmed my heart because I was close to both men.
“I’ve gotta run, sorry again about not finding out anything more,” Alcide apologized to Eric. He looked at me. “I’m glad that you’re back, safe and sound,” I knew that he meant it.
Eric nodded his head, then we both watched, while Alcide gathered up his briefcase and headed back out of the office, closing the door quietly behind him.
Eric and I were silent, both of us, lost in our own thoughts. Eric let me in now, so I knew that he was trying to figure out who Victory Holdings was and what it wanted with us. I moved behind him, reached down and began massaging his broad shoulders.
“Don’t worry,” Eric tried to reassure me. “I’ll find out whose behind this, then heads will roll.”
“I’m not worried, I know that you’ll take care of it,” I replied back, sure of it. One thing I knew about Eric, was that he always seemed to take care of me. He wouldn’t let something like this go. It just wasn’t in him to ignore it.
“Hey,” Eric looked up at me, with a sweet smile on his face.
I looked down at him, from behind his head. His features were upside down to me. “What?” I asked, curiously. I could tell that he was in a better mood and he wanted to think about something else for a change.
“Want to stay the night?” He asked, hopefully. His eyes twinkled up at me.
I smiled down at him, charmed by his gaze. I looked around his office, with a wary expression. “Here?” I asked, incredulous, bewildered and amused that Eric would want to spend the night with me in his office.
Eric laughed. “No,” he replied, shaking his head. “Not here…” he laughed once more. “I mean, at my home, my lover,” he laughed again. “But if you’re feeling kinky, we could stay here too,” he winked at me.
I laughed and shook my head. I rolled my eyes. “Maybe some other time but not tonight,” I replied.
Eric was disappointed. “No?” He asked, as the grin left his face.
I quickly realized that he had misunderstood what I had meant. “I didn’t mean it like…that,” I tried to explain. “I meant about…doing it here in your office…some other time.” I smiled at him, encouragingly. “As for your offer at your home…” I let the sentence hang, knowing full well that he could fill in the blanks.
Eric grinned a very naughty and happy grin. “Good,” he stood up, grabbed me by the hand and pulled me out of his office, anxiously.
I laughed at his exuberance. I followed along behind him, trying to keep up with his fast pace.
We paused when we walked out into the bar area. There were some patrons, fangbangers, who were flirting with some vampires that were there, as part of their duty to make an appearance every so often. For the life of me, I knew what the bangers were feeling because I was feeling it too.
No one could make love like a vampire, I thought to myself. Especially Eric. I knew that I was going to have a fun-filled night, filled with heat and passion. I couldn’t wait. Yikes. Yahoo. Yum.
Eric walked over to his table where Pam was still seated, looking over papers.
“We’re heading out. Don’t expect us back,” he tersely, explained to her.
Pam grinned up at us, knowingly. She had the audacity to wink at me. “Okay, have a good night,” she replied, teasingly. “Try not to have too much fun,” she winked at me when she said it.
Eric gave her a stern look, after which, her teasing grin quickly left her face. “I need you to look into something for me. Find out who owns. Runs. Whatever the hell it is and does…something called, Victory Holdings. Then get back to me. I don’t care what time it is,” he issued his orders.
Pam glared at him, as if he hadn’t given her enough already, but she knew better than to oppose or refuse her maker. “Yes, master,” she replied. The look in her eyes told me that she wasn’t happy about it.
I tried to smile in understanding towards her. I could certainly sympathize. “We think they’re behind my kidnapping,” I explained, hoping that it would help explain why the urgency.
Pam nodded her head at me. I could tell that she understood the importance better now. “I’ll see what I can find out,” she replied.
Eric turned still holding my hand in his. “Come, my lover,” he pulled me along behind him, towards the door of Fangtasia. I happened to glance around the bar along the way. I could see fangbangers looking at me with both envious and surprised expressions on their faces. I didn’t have time to really listen to what they were thinking. I wasn’t sure if I really wanted to know either.
We walked outside and I looked around for his car. “Which one is yours?” I wondered, since Eric was driving a temporary loaner until his car was fixed. “We could take mine if you want,” I suggested.
Eric shook his head. “We’re not taking a car,” he replied, looking up at the night sky.
It reminded me of the time when he’d waited for me to get off of work. The night I’d saved both him and King Felipe. The sky looked the same that night too.
“We’re not?” I asked, surprised and alarmed. “Where is your home? Is it close? Can we walk there?” I asked, puzzled and confused.
Eric laughed and shook his head. “No, it’s too far to walk. We’re going to fly there,” he explained.
I remembered that he was able to fly. “You mean…?” I asked, staring up at him, incredulously.
“Yep, buckle your seatbelt. Put your arms around my neck. I’m going to give you a view of Shreveport that you don’t see everyday,” he explained.
I tentatively wrapped my arms around his shoulders and back, holding on for dear life. I hoped that nothing bad happened to us, while we were flying. Did he have to check and make sure that there were no planes flying overhead? I wondered.
I had to grin at the thought. Probably not, but it was kind of funny to think about it. I could picture it in my mind. He would need to contact air traffic control…check the air for wind currents…he would be wearing goggles and a scarf…you get the picture. I tried to hold in the laughter because it would be kind of hard to explain to him. He might not see what was so funny about it, since it’s about him.
Eric lifted us off the ground, up towards the sky. It was a starry night. Perfect for romance. He flew us towards his home, though I couldn’t tell you which direction we were flying in. I looked down at the street lights that were lit up. Eric was right, it wasn’t something that I had ever seen before, let alone everyday.
Before I knew it, we landed outside of a huge Victorian mansion. I was surprised. I didn’t think that Eric had been that rich to be able to afford a house such as that.
It was white. With porches, steeples and gables. The moon shone on the outside of the house, making the structure visible to me. It looked stately, from what I could tell. The inside lights were all off, so I couldn’t make out anything more as of yet.
“You live here?” I asked, incredulously. I gazed at the structure, trying to come to terms. This wasn’t the kind of house that I’d pictured Eric living in. Not at all. It was too quaint. I’d always pictured him in one of those glass houses with an ultra modern interior design.
“Yep,” he nodded his head. He looked down at me, trying to see my reaction. “Do you like it?” he asked, hopefully and anxiously. “When I bought it…I knew that I wanted you to like it,” he explained.
I turned to look at him, speechless. “When did you buy it?” I couldn’t help asking. I was surprised that he would want me to like it. Then, a sudden thought hit me, had he bought it for me?
“Oh, awhile ago,” he paused and shrugged his shoulders. “I think I bought it shortly after we met. I think it was before we went to Dallas in fact.” He frowned, trying to remember.
I was astonished. That was when I was with Bill, I thought to myself. I stared at him, puzzled and confused.
“Wha?” I couldn’t even finish my question, I was so shocked.
Eric looked down at me and read the expression on my face. I could feel him prying into my mind too, but I kept it closed off from him. He stared at me, suddenly unsure of himself.
“You don’t like it?” he asked, surprised. I could feel his disappointment. It was evident on his face as well.
I shook my head. “No, it’s not that,” I’d finally found my voice. “I’m just surprised. Why would you want me to like it, if I was with Bill at the time?” I asked, curiously.
Eric shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know,” he paused. “I just knew that when I was looking at houses to buy, I wanted to make sure that it was something that you’d like too,” he explained, unsure of his reasoning.
I stared at him, amazed. “But I was with Bill,” I repeated. “Why would you want me to like a house that you bought? Why would I care?” I asked, still trying to figure out where Eric had been coming from.
It amazed me, because at the time, I hadn’t a clue as to how he had felt. I knew that my feelings had been the complete opposite of what they were now. At the time, I’d thought of him as an acquaintance, someone who wanted me to do work for him. Someone I’d feared, but also as someone who I’d considered a friend. He was also someone who had tried getting me to sleep with him numerous times, but I’d always thought of it as something that would go away after awhile. I’d never taken him very seriously…until now.
Eric shrugged once again. He frowned. “I’m still trying to figure it out,” he replied, puzzled and confused. “I went with what my gut was telling me and I just followed it,” he explained, at a loss.
It was a weird thing to see. Eric, someone who I’d always thought of as someone who was strong, full of confidence, come-ons and jokes; this confused and unable to explain himself. It was a whole new side to him. It made me feel a bit better because I’d thought that I was the only one who was this confused and full of mixed emotions.
The beat of my heart sped up, as a thought suddenly hit me. Had he been in love with me that long now? Had it been love at first sight for him? I stared at him, with new eyes and a new perspective. I’d always thought that his flirting was just a way to make me not scared of him. That while he may have been physically attracted to me, that he hadn’t thought anything more of it; other than someone would a one night stand.
I looked towards the house, seeing it as someplace that Eric had picked out just for me. I did like it. How could I not? It looked graceful and well-kept. It was huge. It brought me a huge amount of pleasure, that he would buy me something that extravagant. It also scared me as well. I wasn’t sure if moving in with him would be a good thing for us or not. It seemed like we were moving way too fast. I loved my Gran’s house and didn’t want to leave it all alone without anyone filling up it’s warm space with laughter and sounds.
I wondered in the back of my mind, if Eric was going to ask me to move in with him or something. Why else would he buy a house with me in mind? I was afraid to voice my opinions because I wasn’t sure how well he’d take it. I didn’t want to hurt him, if I told him that I couldn’t move in with him.
“Come inside, lover,” he ushered me towards the house. “It’s getting colder outside and you’re beginning to shake.”
Until he’d mentioned it, I hadn’t noticed that I was shivering because of the cold. I followed, hesitantly behind him. I was afraid of falling in love with this house, like I was in love with the man. It seemed to be coming at me too fast. I was afraid I’d get burned. It seemed too good to be true.
He opened up the door, allowed me to enter first. It was dark inside, until he reached over and flicked on a light switch. The foyer was impressive with it’s mahogany staircase. A chandelier hung from the ceiling up above. There were doors leading off from the foyer into different rooms, that were still dark. I couldn’t wait to explore the old house, just so that I could find out more about Eric. I wondered if he kept any close, personal belongings there because I wanted to learn more about him.
Eric looked down at me, to see my reaction. “What do you think so far?” he asked, curiously. He looked around the foyer, proudly. “I had that chandelier delivered not too long ago. It’s straight from Paris,” he explained.
I couldn’t imagine how much that would’ve cost. I stared at pictures of artwork that hung on the walls. There were various paintings from some world famous painters. I wondered if they were real or fake, though I wouldn’t be able to tell the difference.
Eric’s wealth was staring back at me. No wonder, he hadn’t ever batted an eye when I’d buy too many clothes for the trips that he’d require me to go on for him. It made me feel insecure. I wondered what Eric saw in me, that would attract him to me in the first place. It was all too much to take in all at once.
“You look tired,” Eric commented, staring down at me with concern. “Maybe we should put off the tour until tomorrow,” he suggested.
I nodded my head. He was right. It had been a long day.
He swept me off my feet and carried me up the staircase in his strong arms. I wrapped my arms around his neck, while his arms supported underneath me. When we got to the top floor, he walked down a hallway towards a set of double doors at the end of the hall. Opening them, he walked into the room.
He turned on the light, since it was pitch black inside. It was what could only be described as a master bedroom, complete with a fireplace and a sitting room.
He placed me on the bed and I looked around the room. I could see that the furniture was made of a deep mahogany. There was a canopy above me on the four poster bed. The walls were tastefully painted in a light beige to compliment the dark wood. The fabrics were rich in color. They were coordinated in an interesting palette of red, emerald green, orange and brown. I, briefly, wondered who had helped him decorate it and (figuring that it had to be a woman) felt a little bit jealous.
He stood there, looking down at me, laid sprawled across the bed. There was an inner sparkle in his eyes as his eyes roamed over my body. “You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to see you laying here like this,” he told me, hoarsely.
I was too overwhelmed by my emotions to respond to that. Eric knelt down on the bed and leaned down on his forearms. His body now covered mine and I hungered for him so much so, that I had to clench my palms into fists. He grinded up against me, so that I could feel his arousal.
His lips came down hard on mine, taking my breath away. I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. I let the master swallow me up and take control. I liked it like that from time to time. His tongue swept in, taking away my very last breath. Now, all I could do was breathe him in. He was my oxygen. The air that I breathed. The only reason why I was alive and I would die without him.
His hands weren’t idle. They were busy removing my clothes the best that he could in our position. He raised himself up off of me and pulled my jeans and panties down my legs to my ankles. I kicked them off the rest of the way. Eric stood next to the bed, gazing down at me, while he pulled his own jeans and underwear off.
He grabbed a hold of my legs, pulled me by my legs towards him. He wrapped them around his waist, then easily thrust inside of me. I gasped with surprise and pleasure.
I guess I didn’t need very much foreplay when it came to seeing a half-naked Eric standing before me, with his burgeoning erection.
He drove inside me repeatedly over and over again, driving me ever closer, until I found myself losing control and panting, while my world exploded all around me. I was just returning back to earth once again when I felt him thrust one deep final thrust, making me come all over again. He collapsed down on top of me, but careful to not lay on me with his full weight. He raised himself and rested on his elbows on either side of me. He grinned wickedly down at me.
“I knew that it wouldn’t take me long…knowing that you’re finally here…where you’re meant to be,” he explained, softly, in the aftermath. “You’re my heart’s desire, my lover,” he rasped, while sudden emotions caught him unawares. He looked down at me, suddenly afraid and unsure.
I was surprised and stunned to see blood beginning to streak down his face. He was crying. I reached up and wiped them away, smudging the blood so that he looked a mess. But it was a beautiful mess to me.
“What’s wrong?” I asked, curiously confused. “Why are you crying?”
Erika's Not-So-Secret Diary 