Of course – to no ones real surprise – Bill showed up again, all covered in dirt with a wistful look in his eyes, surrounded by an air of urgency.  And of course, I was in the way of their spectacular reunion.

I had toyed with the idea of shouting, 'Get a room!' to them, but then it occurred to me that I was technically the one standing in their rooms, so I, unnoticed by the two of them, decided to make my way home.

The very first thing I did (other than Bill) was take a hot shower. Dried blood flowed from my hair into the drain, staining everything around me deep red. Luckily, I had spent half the day almost dead in the garden, therefore missing a few meals as a result, so when my stomach revolted at the sight, I mainly dry heaved and shuddered. A metallic smell spread throughout my entire bathroom no matter how much soap I used, so I took shallow breath and hurried my shower along to leave the room as quickly as possible.

Despite my near-death experience, the late hour and the nauseating shower, all in all, I felt surprisingly refreshed. My normally lazy self was actually considering going for a run. At half past 3 in the morning. Well I kind of was already dressed for the occasion...

Since feeling far too wired to crawl into bed and therefore my pajamas, I had opted for my three-quarter sport leggings and sports bra, which were used much more as a chill outfit than for their actual purpose, a workout. In general, I had been neglecting my combat training quite a bit over the past few weeks, but after the events of said weeks, I couldn't really blame myself. It's not like I didn't have other things to do – like die and be resurrected or some shit. I shuttered at the thought for multiple reasons. one or two of them maybe being a result of a millennia old vampire blood pouring through me. I felt restless and guilty, so I sat angrily on my rundown sofa, the remote already in hand. My plopping down on the sofa rewarded me with a fit of coughing, triggered by a cloud of dust rising from the cushions.

"Okay, that's enough!"

I turned all the lights in my little bungalow on, turned up the music, and filled a bucket with water and cleaner. Since all my hair ties seemed to have disappeared again, I wrapped the next best thing, a checkered cloth, around my head to keep my hair out of my face. And then, looking like a 1950s housewife, I actually started a three o'clock in the morning deep-clean.

In hindsight,  I should have noticed that my behavior was completely unlike me, but there were still too many other thoughts flying around in my head like ping pong balls. The adrenaline-induced dream of my parents just wouldn't let go of me. Plus, I was worried about what Sookie had promised Eric in return for his rescue. God, the girl needed to learn to keep her mouth shut!

What I initially promised myself what I should do with Eric was slowly becoming an overwhelming task, and the more I saw of him, the more opaque he became. I caught myself trying to explain and excuse his behavior, and I didn't like where this was going at all. I could practically see my feelings toward him changing. I had never been a cold-blooded killer, but I had thought that my months of distorted hatred would take me there. However, my hate, the fuel for my vengeance, was withering away more and more with each passing day, while my inappropriate fascination with the man, the vampire, grew stronger.

And then there was still the problem of James, which I had almost completely forgotten about. Although he behaved quietly for the moment, I knew him well enough to know that this would not remain the case. James was cunning, dangerous, and ruthless. He always got what he wanted. And he, unlike me, would gladly kill for that.

I sighed heavily and intensified the almost manic scrubbing of my sofa. Maybe it would be wiser to pack my things and just disappear. To abandon my plans and start a new life... again. Maybe as a Megan. Otherwise, I had always liked the name Charlaine...

More intensely than intended, I scrubbed a dark spot on my, as I found out while cleaning, not actually gray but once light blue couch. The fabric tore and a couch spring unexpectedly jumped out at me. It should have jumped straight into my face. But despite the speed caused by the pressure on the spring, it moved in front of my eyes as if in slow motion, and I had the opportunity to deliberately move my head out of the way. When time seemed to "flow" normally again, I held my breath in amazement.

Holy shit, the blood had given me superpowers!

So much for no side effects, Sookie! My heart raced as the air around me seemed to vibrate, and I felt dizzy. I decided that I had scrubbed enough and that the fumes were apparently getting to my head, so I went back to the bathroom to pour the remaining dirty water into the toilet. Or so was the plan.

"Good evening, Ms. Simmons!" I heard a voice I was all too familiar with. I closed my eyes, hoping to dismiss him as a hallucination or motivate him to disappear, but even though he didn't speak further, I felt his presence all too clearly. When I angrily opened my eyes, he tilted his head, presenting me with an image that burned itself into my brain.

"Already dreaming of me?"

I think my mouth must have been open. Candles were distributed throughout my entire bathroom, and the scent of roses and lavender filled my nose. Which was weird in and on itself, since I hadn't bought any of the stuff. Which had me catch flies however was that in the middle of my bathroom inside my filled bathtub, completely carefree and deeply relaxed, lay my favorite Viking.

Uhm, Eric I mean.

More or less, I found my voice again and tried not to let my gaze wander away from his face. Which was hard (pun intended) as he was sprawled in all his greatness in my tiny bathtub, sticking out from the sparsely filled water at more than one corner. I swallowed hard.

"Yeah, but the nightmare seems to be ongoing. You're still here!"

Eric ignored my attempt at a heavily breathed and somewhat breathless insult and turned a little further in my direction. The water rippled around his naked body. He closed his eyes contentedly.

"I wrote to you three times. Why didn't you answer?"

It was so completely surreal to see him here in my own four walls in my bathtub that I didn't know what to answer. My brain had checked out the second I discovered him. He was so tall that his presence made my already modest home seem even tinier.

While he, on the other hand, scrutinized my home, he seemed subtly disgusted. "So, this is where you live?"

"Not everyone can live in a villa with marble floors and red silk sheets!" I grumbled, feeling instantly offended. It wasn't much, but it was mine. He had no right to judge me!

He raised an eyebrow. "But you haven't seen my red silk sheets yet." He rested his elbow on the railing and grinned dirtily. "Although that can certainly be arranged!"

I groaned and leaned back, rolling my eyes, before I busied myself so as not to have to continue watching him enjoy himself.

"What do you want, Eric?"

"Oh, so many things, my dear!", he leered in a suggestive tone that did the weirdest thing to my insides.

Don't react, Ash. Stare at the ground. You can do it.

Slowly, he rose from the bathtub and gave me an involuntary, though not unwelcome, view of his entire naked body. Almost artistically, the water ran in streams along his muscle-defined body, highlighting every beautiful and appealing detail, which  made my mouth go dry and my gaze almost lascivious.

Holy shit.

Hoooooly shit.

I quickly turned to my bathrobe hanging behind me on the door and handed it to him, with the vampire grinning cheekily behind me.

"How on earth did you get in here? What are you doing in my bathroom?" I tried again. Had he already answered that question? If he had, it wasn't my fault my brain wasn't well... braining! Christ on a cracked, man weren't suppose to look like that. Eric wasn't suppose to look like that. It was like someone had crawled into my head and created a version of my most secret and darkest desires and made them into flesh. 

"I'm wearing your bathrobe, you can turn around again. Although you didn't have to turn away from me on my account. I like feeling your gaze on me."

I blushed. Clearly the intention behind his statement.

"After my heroic rescue of your person," he raised an eyebrow in my direction, "I had a slightly..." he frowned, "more necessary matter to attend to in the area. That's where I'd ruined my clothes and wanted to take a bath!"

"But that still doesn't explain why I find a 6'5 Viking with bath salts in my bathroom!"

"You're only renting without a real lease, which kind of is like squatting so the house is freely accessible for vampires."He shook his wet hair out like a dog."Not very smart, by the way, if you ask me!"

I looked at him warningly, and he was wise enough to know not to push it any further... and did so anyway, with a big grin on his lips: "And since I saved your life a few hours ago, I was sure a bath would be worth your while!"

"Does that mean we're even then?" I asked snarky, yet not very hopeful.

"No."

I sighed, but I hadn't expected anything else.For the first time, he seemed to really look at me.His eyes lit up at my 1950s housewife get up, and he seemed to have to suppress a laugh.

I raised my index finger warningly. "If you laugh, I'll-...", I glanced at my watch, "damn, it's almost 4 in the morning! I hardly expected any visitors at this early hour. Or you!"

"If you'd expected me, would you have thrown yourself back into your little black dress for me?"

Maybe...

"No!"

Liar!

"Hm, too bad... Although I also like the current ensemble..."

He examined me again. That book idea about sexual harassment from me for Christmas felt more and more like a great idea

I snapped my fingers in front of his eyes.

"Eric. Up here! So, what are you really doing here? I'm sure there are much better and prettier baths you could have access to."

His gaze became more serious, and he looked me sincerely in the eyes, which I hadn't expected at all. "I'm leaving the city for a few days!"

Ooookaay. And why was he telling me this now?

"And during those days, I'll need to focus all my attention and concentrate," he explained, completely incomprehensibly to me. 

I furrowed my brow.

"You're confused."

Crossing my arms, I shrugged."I don't understand the necessity of your visit."

"My visit is the request for you not to put yourself in dangerous or suicidal situations over the next few days!"

"Your request?"

He nodded seriously.

"YOUR REQUEST?!"

"You're angry."

"Stop telling me how I feel. Why do you think you can dictate how I should live?"

Admittedly, not getting into dangerous situations would probably be wise anyway, and what I had planned to do was, but that wasn't the point here. What did this Viking think he was, trying to tell me what to do? With what right, no, with what audacity-

In my anger, I leaned forward and began poking his muscular chest with my index finger. A mistake, because he grabbed me and pinned me against my bathroom door, my heart making a startled leap.

"If you're in danger, I can feel it," he explained bluntly. He took the hand, with which I had just reprimanded him, and placed it on his chest. At the level of his heart. Surprised, my eyes widened, given this unexpectedly open gesture. Under my trembling fingers, I felt no heartbeat beneath his skin, slightly warmed by the warm bath. Whenever I made the mistake of briefly thinking he was human, he proved me different.

Eric leaned further forward. His eyes glowed, his teeth protruded. I breathed in sharply.

"If you're afraid, I can feel it!" he became more insistent.

What did he mean by that? How could he feel me?

He leaned further forward, pressing me so hard against the flat door that I wasn't sure if I was even still standing on my own feet or if he was holding me upright.

With my almost laughably small and thin bathrobe pressed against me, which he had only provisionally wrapped around himself, I felt every delicious inch of him. Even his delicate fingers, which were wrapped around my forearms, holding one hand and one on his chest, were almost too much for me. His long legs, entwined with mine, carrying our combined weight as if I were no heavier than a feather, threw me off balance. His hips pinned me as another fixed point against the door and there was no denying his strained, hard erection pinning me against him, as I breathed heavily. I felt him, his arousal, his body heated by the warm bathwater, pressing against me as if he wanted to possess me. Even though I was fully clothed, I felt as if I were naked. My brain short-circuited for a second and an involuntary shutter wrecked through me like a tiddle wave as my nipples tightened and muscles clenched in a visceral reaction to him that I had tried to deny my body. 

Eric, whose head towered over mine, leaned down further and moved us while whispering deeply into my ear, "And if you're aroused, then I can feel it!"

My heart somersaulted, I gasped for air, and pushed him away. Although it was clear from his little show of power that I couldn't really push him away from me with my physical strength alone, he nevertheless retreated and gently set me back on the ground.

I breathed deeply and ignored my burning cheeks and racing heart as my body felt like it was being dragged in two completely different directions. It was confused, why we weren't giving into the temptation that had been offered to us repeatedly while simultaniously wanting to crawl out of its own skin because of the shame that the attraction to him brought along with it. 

"Okay, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and why exactly do you think you possess those ominous abilities?" I mocked him in an attempted to play down his spot on assessment of my feelings earlier. 

He tilted his head. "Are you suggesting I was wrong?"

When I didn't respond and just continued to stare at him, trying to appear less impressed, he sighed and took a step back.

Apparently, my glare was more effective than expected because he actually started to explain. "Our blood exchange has connected us!"

I made a move to interrupt, but he raised his hand in a pleading gesture to let him finish.

"When a vampire gives their blood to a human, they form a blood bond."

Uh-oh.

"At any time, I know where you are..."

Oh, shit.

"And I know how you feel!"

I. Was. Screwed.

So many thoughts raced through my head at once that it made me dizzy. I slid down the door behind me to the floor and just stared at him with wide eyes.

He knew how I felt. He would see right through me. I would die. But somewhere, I was partly to blame. I had gotten myself into this situation. I had been arrogant enough to think that a little martial arts training and the right attitude would turn a tough New York girl into a Buffy the Vampire Slayer and that I could take on a thousand-year-old vampire in my sleep just because I had taken care of a few unruly baby vampires along the way. Instead, I had completely overestimated myself, let myself be charmed by the good looks of this psychopath, and got myself into an involuntary blood bond with him in my desire to help a friend, which would now be my downfall.

God, how naive I had been to think that none of this would have consequences. Why hadn't I learned by now that you don't get anything in life for free?

My racing heart slowly fell back into rhythm as I gave up and resigned myself to my fate. I picked myself up and brushed the dirt off my pants.

Obviously irritated by something, Eric tilted his head again and furrowed his brow. Was he considering the quickest way to rip my head off?

He came closer, towering over me, but I didn't dare to look him in the face. I tried to steel myself internally. Still, I flinched as he spoke again and took my hand in his once more, his voice surprisingly not angry but rather lost in thought.

"However, it seems, I can only perceive you when I touch you..."

My head shot back, and I met his confused gaze, just inches from my face. His eyes almost sparkled with delight, which scared me more than anything he had said before. And suddenly, as if a barrier had been broken, I felt it, felt HIM too. He was practically ecstatically happy, and it transferred to me. I looked down at my hand in his and jerked it back in shock.

Instantly, the fire in his eyes extinguished, and he looked equally surprised.

His gaze turned sharp, his voice cold and cutting, and he growled at me again, this time making sure to keep clothing between our skin. "What did you do. What the fuck are you!"