Chapter Ten - The Amour

The frenzied, far off sounds of barking dogs was the first thing Bill heard as his brilliant blue eyes flew open. Every sense, every fiber of his being were instantly on full alert. After listening carefully, but hearing nothing but silence in his house, he reached up to unlatch the security lock inside his resting place. He climbed out into the special hidden space behind a wall, a place specially made by Bill's father during the war while Bill was away as a safety precauction. As he reached for the spring latch he could feel a smile start to work it's way up from somewhere inside. "Sookie". Bill smiled again as he said her name out loud. He tried to contain his growing excitement as he remember her promise to stop by his home later tonight. She had mentioned to him last night during their walk that she might be able to be of some help with his contractor issues and said she could drop off the information after she finished her shift at Merlolottes. Just thinking about her, thinking about actually being with her again, made him almost giddy with happiness. He closed his eyes as his memory pulled in the wonderful, intoxicating scent of her soft, tanned skin. He could feel himself becoming aroused as he recalled how her hair felt in his hands, how it gently caressed his senses. Bill suddenly realized that he didn't care that darkness had called him from his sleep of the dead. Until he met Sookie, he had dreaded those waking hours of darkness, those wretched lonely hours of solitude. But now! The night just couldn't come quickly enough and just didn't seem to last long enough.

He knew he would need to feed before she came to visit him. He quickly made his way upstairs to his newly renovated bathroom and stood still for a moment. He was undecided as to what he should do. Should he just drive to the store and pick up a few bottles of TruBlood, or should he change into something nicer and go to Merlotte's? "No", he said to himself "I don't want to appear too needy, too aggressive" . Even though he would have loved to see her as soon as possible, Bill remembered enough from his human days of courting to realize moderation and playing a little hard to get were the rules of a little game called love. As he stood there smiling at the memory, he heard a car pull into his front yard.

Jesus Christ! Of all the vampires in the world, those three who were walking up his front steps were the last ones he wanted to see. Malcom, Diane and Liam. And they appeared to have brought along two of their human pets. A lovely, shapely young man for Malcom, natch. And for whomever wanted her, there was a pathetic hollow eyed drug addict. Yeah, she was really making his mouth water, he thought to himself wryly. Where DID Malcom find these humans? Throughout the years, Bill had grown to despise those three and their horrible, cruel ways. Bill had nested with them a few times over the last century, and each time he grew more and more revolted by their actions. Actually, he had grown more and more revolted by his own actions when he was with them. Bill hated to recall some of the things they had done. In his human life Bill was not a cruel man. He was sweet, kind and gentle. To become something so evil and cruel went against every thing that had once been William T. Compton. Bill knew he had to get away from them, to live alone. He could not and would not let the final vestiges of humanity be destroyed by their evil ways. Malcom was a great deal older than Bill and Bill had actually liked Malcom for a little while. That Malcom had fallen hard for the handsome, dashing Bill Compton with eyes the color of the Caribbean Ocean was no secret. But Bill's constant rejection of Malcom's sexual advances had definately put a crack in the bridge of their friendship. And Bill doubted that there was anything kind or merciful about Diane even before she became vampire. Bill knew very little about Liam. Liam had only been vampire for some 30 odd years and Bill had never really known much about him. But frankly, Bill didn't really care to know anything about Liam. He appeared to have been cut from the same bolt of fabric as those other two.

Bill had no choice but to allow them to come into his home. Malcom was senior to him and in the vampire world the rules were The Rules. All he could hope for would be to get rid of them as quickly as possible. But alas, that was not to be. With a sick, sinking feeling Bill heard the sound of Sookie's little yellow Honda come up into his driveway. There was really nothing he could do but hope desperately that he could somehow manage to steer her away from his house and those three horrors that had invaded his home. But it did seem that Lady Luck was giving him the finger at each and every turn. He heard Sookie walk up on the porch and all he could do was sit in the shadows and watch. Watch and do everything in his power to protect her. He knew he couldn't reveal too much about his feelings or she would become fair game in the vampire sport of baiting and goading. Only by strongly announcing that she was his, she belonged to him and only him, could he protect her. He felt sick in the pit of his stomach as he watched her embarrassed uncomfortableness at the sexual antics of Liam and the one he called Janelle. To sit helpless and watch as Liam and Diane put their hands all over her was almost more than he could endure. But he knew he had no choice. But when it became clear that those two intended to feed on his Sookie, he knew he could hold back no longer. With a rage boiling over, he heard himself loudly announce that Sookie was his. His!

Ah, but that Malcom was crafty. Yes, indeed. He knew that Bill would have a very hard time resisting the fresh blood supply being offered to him and just how disturbing it would be for his little human girlfriend to watch. Bill fought against those natural primal urges of his vampire nature. He did not want to feed in front of Sookie. He couldn't imagine what the sight of him giving in to his pathetic need to drink the blood of this willing human would do to her. He felt so ashamed, but at the same time it was as if something alien, something foreign was controlling his mind and actions. As the scent of the fresh blood of the human Jerry assailed his nostrils, Bill felt his fang click into place and a bloodlust that was as natural to him as a baby's reaction to it's mother's milk took control of his free will. As Bill lowered his mouth onto Jerry's neck, he could feel her dark, disbelieving eyes staring at him. Sadly, there was nothing he could do to stop himself. That is until Sookie read Jerry's thoughts and announced that Jerry was carrying HepD.

Bill gently helped Sookie onto a seat after his visitors had finally gone. Bill couldn't believe that he had reacted so slowly and had allowed Jerry to almost strangle her. If there was any question as to how she felt about the evening's activities, that question was answered when he asked her for a kiss. Her answer sliced through him like a sharp knife lays open an unsuspecting hand.
Even though she felt repelled by all the vampire activities she had witnessed tonight, even though she had repelled his request for a kiss, Bill knew he had to be sure she arrived safely at her home. There was no telling what those three who had visited him tonight would do. They had done worse. Much worse in fact. Moving as quickly as he could, he arrived on her doorsteps just as her car pulled into the yard. It all but broke his heart to see her wipe away the tears from her eyes before she got out of the car. He wanted desperately to go to her and wipe them away with his lips, to take her into his arms and apologize for what she had been witness to that night. To reassure her that he wasn't like them. But somehow he knew that would only make things worse.
God, but she was angry! Bill heard himself trying to explain things to her , to try and convince her that their differences just didn't matter. But it appeared that Sookie was having none of it. Then she said the words that cut through poor Bill's heart like a hatchet. She didn't want to see him anymore. It seemed that the more he talked the worse things became. All he could do was turn and walk away. But he wasn't finished with things tonight. No, not just yet. He had a score to settle with the three vampires from hell. And he intended to do just that.

Isn't it funny how circumstances can fly right over your head and little blessing born from tragedy are just swirling there, ready for you to reach up and pull them down? As Bill made his way into Merlotte's the next night, he really wasn't expecting much. He just wanted another chance to talk with Sookie, maybe to explain things a little better. The thought of not having her in his life any longer was just too sad to think about. He didn't care if he seemed desperate or not. Forget about playing hard to get! He just needed to see her, to hear her voice. Even if she was telling him things that he didn't want to hear. Besides, Bill knew that he could look as sad, pitiful and lonely as the next guy. He wasn't above playing the pity card. Whatever it took. Bill senses immediately picked up on tension and fear in the bar as soon as he walked in. Bill was unfortunately very use to not being welcomed in many public places, but the atmosphere tonight just felt different.

Damn! He couldn't believe she wanted to go to Fangtasia. That was the last place he wanted to go. Ever. But he would do whatever she wanted. He found himself thinking about what kind of music she would enjoy on the drive to Shreveport. He owned a wide variety of music but he really had no idea what kind she might like. He wanted everything to be just right on the drive over. Perhaps something romantic. When he arrived at her home to pick her up, he thought that it would be close to impossible not to become aroused before he could safely hide himself in the darkness of his car. He had never seen anything so lovely! Dear God, the way her body looked in that dress. She was exquisite. And he knew that someone who would be there tonight would also think the same thing. Bill really didn't want to take Sookie to Fangtasia. He knew it would be the beginning of many problems for the two of them and their relationship. But what choice did he have? He knew she would go regardless, and there was no way she would go there without him to protect her.

He wasn't wrong. Eric couldn't take his eyes off her. This was not going to turn out well.