but he still clearly wants to protect her - he risked everything to go to her in Jackson and tell her to leave, and even attacked Russell on her behalf. Granted, there's definitely something more going on there that what we initially thought (which I *love*, bill was way too plain for a vampire) but I still think he has a genuine concern for her well being, even if he never loved her.

On the other hand, I also think he is playing his own game. I was really convinced when he renounced Sophie Ann and gave Russell the tip about V being sold at Fangtasia (which ironically led Eric to the King, who later turned against Bill and took Eric as his right hand man). It was only when Sookie got back involved that he started doing things that caused him to fall out of favor with Russell, which tells me that whatever his original plan in swearing fealty to Russell was (killing lorena, building his own power base in Mississippi), he still cared enough for Sookie to abandon it when she was endangered.