Claiming the Heart

God bless me; the night wasn't over yet.
I trudged back to my bedroom and pushed the door open, intending to wash my face or brush my teeth or make some stab at smoothing my hair, because I thought it might make me feel a little less trampled.
Eric was sitting on my bed, his face buried in his hands.
He looked up at me as I entered, and he looked shocked. Well, no wonder, what with the very thorough takeover and traumatic changing of the guard.
"Sitting here on your bed, smelling your scent," he said in a voice so low I had to strain to hear it.
"Sookie . . . I remember everything." 
"Oh, hell," I said, and went in the bathroom and shut the door. I brushed my hair and my teeth and scrubbed my face, but I had to come out. I was being as cowardly as Quinn if I didn't face the vampire.
Eric started talking the minute I emerged. "I can't believe I—"
"Yeah, yeah, I know, loved a mere human, made all those promises, was as sweet as pie and wanted to stay with me forever," I muttered. Surely there was a shortcut we could take through this scene.
"I can't believe I felt something so strongly and was so happy for the first time in hundreds of years," Eric said with some dignity. "Give me some credit for that, too." 

I looked up at him, shocked. Did he really say he was happier than he had been in so long? That was hard to believe, but somehow I knew it was the truth. Something in his eyes, and something inside of me was all telling me that he wasn't lying. I walked slowly over to him, keeping my eyes on his. He stared back with as much intensity as I could have hoped for, the same that I saw in his eyes when he was still mine.
I sat next to him on the bed gently, but kept a few feet between us. He shifted slightly to see me better, and for once I didn't know what to say to him. We only looked at each other, and when I couldn't take anymore I blurted out, "You were happy?" As soon as the words left my mouth I knew. I knew there was no going back, because as much as I wanted to, I felt this inner calm and yearning I had been pushing aside since he left that night so long ago.
He cocked his head to the side, regarding me, and studying my face. "Deeply." He raised his hand and gently ghosted his fingertips along my forearm causing goosebumps to form along my skin. My mouth opened slightly, and my eyes drooped, reveling in the mere touch that ignited fire in me. It seemed he felt my own desire, and his fangs came down, barely peeking from behind his lips.
I panted slightly as his hand went up my arm and to my shoulder, pulling down the shirt a bit before brushing against the spot he bit me the last time we were together. A place right behind my ear, the most erotic spot on my body as far as I knew. He spent many hours enjoying my moans and pleading when he paid attention to said spot. I blinked and took in his eyes; pools of ocean blur staring back at me. How could I have allowed this man to leave, and not tell him what happened, what had built between us? His gaze told me all I needed to know. He was betrayed, yet very soft, inviting me to say what I wanted. What I wanted and needed were two different things at that moment as far as I was concerned.
"Eric..."
"Hmm," he said, the noise coming from what sounded like deep in his chest. He scooted closer to me, and his hand never left my neck as he stroked the skin there. I leaned into his touch and it seemed to encourage him further. "We made love, many times." It wasn't a question; he was simply stating a fact. He knew… he knew it all. "We made love in so many positions..." his voice trailed off while studying my face, and lines on my skin. I was starting to grow nervous, wondering where this was leading. I was so tired from everything that had just happened, yet he was still there, in my room.
"Eric..."
"I told you were beautiful, smart, loyal, creative," he whispered, and though he was saying it out loud, it was more to himself. His hand trailed up to my face and he cupped my cheek into his hand, his thumb tracing over my lips. "Your lips are still as soft as I remember them."
Before I could react his lips were brushing against mine. To my surprise, it wasn't intense; it was tender and loving, something I never thought this Eric was capable of. All the kisses he had given me up to this point, even after his memory was gone, were all full of lust and hard passion. While this one too had the passion, it held in it the one quality I had never experienced from him except for when he kissed me those days he stayed with me.
His hand went up into my hair as his other went to my lower back. He gently laid me back on the bed while his lips tenderly and gently reintroduced themselves to mine. He was so sweet as his tongue lightly traced my bottom lip, asking for entrance. I granted him what he sought and felt his hand come up and rest on my stomach from my back. For minutes, hours, or countless seconds I got lost from his kiss, and the feel of him close to my body once again made me realize it had been too long since I had last had him with me.
He shifted and was over me, pressing his erection against my thigh. I shivered against his cool body pressing over my now thoroughly overheated one. I felt his hand play with the buttons of my shirt, and before I knew it he had all of them undone. His hands palmed at the soft flesh, teasing the nipples that hardened to his touch. I moaned into his mouth as his cool fingers tugged and pulled, massaged and caressed my breast.
"I want you," I said against his lips, and groaned when he pulled back to look into my eyes.
He tilted his head to the side. "Are you the tiger's?" he asked.
"I am no ones," I answered. He pulled back more, and I took hold of his shirt before he could get completely off my body. He fell back against me, and his face was devoid of emotion as always. "Where are you going?"
Eric placed both hands on either side of my head, and smirked. "You wish for me to stay, Sookie?"
I swallowed and felt his thumbs come up on either side of my throat, softly touching the skin there. "Yes," I breathed, keeping eye contact with him.
"Tell me what you want," he asked, his hands moving down my sides, sending tingles through my blood stream. What did I want? I knew at that moment I wanted his hands on me, I wanted the connection I had been denying myself for so many months. His eyes were boring into mine as I internally debated my answer to him. Could I tell him I wanted this to happen, but not think of what he remembered?
"I want you," I repeated and leaned forward to steal a kiss from his waiting lips. He moved his head before I could get there, and I felt his lips against my pulse point, his hair cascading all around me. I felt so secure and loved, as though I was whole. But why wouldn't he kiss me?
"I know," he said, pressing his lips against my cheek, darting his tongue out and licking my face. His frame pressed against my body was starting to move, and I could feel his arousal against me. It was becoming more apparent. I moved myself, and he let out a soft groan, desperate and full of desire. I reciprocated and he kissed me again.
It was so much of what I remember feeling so many months ago. His lips brushing against mine… feeling his devotion for me.. I had missed this affection; I had missed his presence in my home. A place he, at one time, wanted to call his. My hands went up and tangled into his hair, and I gripped him, bringing him down with more force. Trying to show what I wanted, not in words, but through the passion building inside of me. Eric's tongue once again found its way into my mouth and he worked me over as I moaned and arched my back against him, spreading my hips wider, hoping he would get the clue.
"Eric..." I moaned into his mouth once again, my voice growing hoarse with need. He grunted while his hands ghosted over my nipples and down to the drawstring on my pants. He pushed them down easily and within moments, I was bare to him, my legs wrapped around his waist, and all that was between us now was his clothing. I started to take off his shirt, but he lightly shooed my hands away.
His hand went down between my legs as I watched him, panting for air. "Tell me."
"What do you want me to say?" I asked, and he narrowed his eyes.
"Can you not feel, what it is?" he said, his voice straining as his fingers brushed over my curls. I arched into his hand, but he removed it and placed it back beside my head.
"You are confusing me Eric. I don't understand."
He sat up on the bed and took me with him, sitting me beside him. My shirt was still undone and my breasts were hanging freely along with wearing no pants, but I was so absorbed in what he was trying to convey that I didn't bother covering up.
Eric surprised me when he took my hand and held it over his unbeating heart. I opened my hand and looked at him, waiting for him to explain. "Do you feel it?" he asked again, and I shook my head.
His grip on my wrist tightened, and he leaned closer. "What am I supposed to feel Eric?"
Eric's free hand came over touched my cheek gently. "The flow of energy between us."
"The bond?" I asked, and he nodded. "I can feel you, yes."
"What is it you feel right now?" he pressed and I sighed, opening myself up so I could feel him more.
A wave of lust, longing, and also another thing I had never felt before came from him. It was the strongest, and though to some it would feel like love, with Eric it seemed like it was more.
"Lust," I started, and I could feel his irritation come through. "You are irritated."
He snorted. "What else?" he was trying to get me recognize the one part I didn't want to. This Eric couldn't be what I wanted. The one I fell for was long gone, and though he had the memories back, there was no way he was going to come back to me and be who he was. Eric Northman was a Viking, not a sappy man. He seemed to feel my thought patterns and a low growl came from his chest.
"I feel your...longing." His eyes softened hearing me admit to this. Of course I would have preferred talking to him right now, but I knew Eric wasn't going to give up easily.
"And?"
I closed my eyes and listened to the bond, trying to focus on what he was trying to say to me. Eric had always been a man about action, not so much words. "I feel your desire for me, your need to claim me."
A smile ghosted his lips, and it was disturbing with the fangs that popped along with it. I felt his dominance and need in having me say I was his, especially since it had been so long since we had been together. He didn't know what my stand was with him.
"Claim you?" he asked, his expression serious. "No, that isn't it."
I tried to yank my hand back, but he ignored my attempt. "Let go Eric."
"Tell me, do it," he said, demanding me to give in and open the gates to what he wished to speak about. I didn't think I was ready for this conversation. It was so late at night, and he wanted something I wasn't going to give to any man. I wasn't something to be owned. Eric, Bill, and Quinn, they all knew that. I belong to myself. He sensed my defiance as his own and narrowed his eyes. "You do not know."
"I do."
"You will not tell me."
I sighed. "No."
"You would have, if I was still here." The way he said it, I felt my heart break. I missed my Eric, I did.
"Yes," I said, giving in. He placed a finger under my chin and I met his soft gaze.
"Your heart," he said, moving to place a hand over it. "Do you not know?" I gasped, looking into his eyes, wishing and hoping for what he was saying to me. I couldn't think or try to turn from him. I held still as my emotions battled within.
"I do," I answered.
"Then why, Sookie?" he asked, and I felt a tear fall down my cheek.
"I didn't want it to be..." I said, but a harsh sob broke through my lips. He pulled me closer, holding me in his arms. I felt so cherished and protected in his arms. His hand came up and stroked my hair as I calmed down.
"I said I would live with you, give everything up. We would get married, and I would get a job."
I looked up, my eyes meeting his chin. "Yes, you did."
After a moment silence, he said, "Could you not feel it, even then?"
"Then? No, I couldn't."
He set me beside him and without thought I was on my back, his hands roaming over my naked flesh as his eyes remained locked with mine. "I wish you did, then you would be by my side."
His hand came up and rested between the skin of my breast. I closed my eyes, understanding for the first time what he wanted, what he needed from me. It wasn't the sex, or the need for me to be his. In his mind, that wasn't what he required from me. His hearts desire was more to own that one part of me I swore would never be anyone's. Much less Bill, or Quinn. But Eric – somehow he knew it was his, and he was waiting for me to admit it, even to myself.
"It has been yours Eric, it always has," I whispered as his lips brushed against mine, from tender to pure passion. In a moment his clothing was off, and the shirt that was hanging on my body was thrown to the floor. His body covered over mine as I raised my hips, joining with him, making us one.
As he reached the depth in me, and my breathing picked up, he stilled inside me, kissing me with the devotion I hadn't experienced all those months ago. He knew I was his, not in the sense of body, but in mind and soul. He knew it, but now that I did, I had no idea where this was going, or even if he wanted it to.
"This is just the beginning," he whispered, his lips against mine as he pushed forward and proceeded to show me just how much I had always been his.