AN: Thanks go to Erik'sTrueAngel for the beta read again. Thank you to You Are Love, Eriksangelofmusic4ever, and Kryss LaBryn for leaving reviews for the last chapter and to The Golden Phoenix Song, JondretteGirl, poegrrll, and Rupert Bear for putting it on a fav list or on alert. It means so so much to a writer in a new fandom to be able to find some followers who enjoy their work! Thank you for reading.

Again, a rating change will be coming. I just sent chapter 5 to the beta, so I actually think I won't need to change until chapter 6 (hint hint), but we will see what the beta says!

Flirtation

Eyes locked, we simply stared at each other. I was in disbelief. She seemed to be... curious? Hopeful? I was certain I was seeing things. I was seeing what I wanted to see, not what really was. The mind can play horrible tricks on those who are open to the power of suggestion. I know this as fact because I have used it so very often in my deceitful dealings with humanity. Given what Christine was suggesting, I had to assume my own mind was currently misinterpreting things.

"You wish to lie... next to me?" I said in a surprisingly steady voice.

She nodded and turned her back to me. "If you would help me first though, I would appreciate it." She pulled her hair to the side revealing her pale, bare shoulders and the back of her gown.

"Help you...?" I couldn't finish.

"With the buttons," she nearly whispered.

I gave it a moment's pause before looking away. Shaking my head in uncertainty I said, "This is insanity, my dear. I do not want your pity, nor do I expect you to carry on this charade any further. Please, refrain from−"

But it was I who had to refrain from talking, for when I chanced a glance back up at her, she had stood and maneuvered herself into a position where she could undo her own buttons. The back of her gown was open and I could clearly see the top of her corset.

Stunned by the revelation of both her suggestive words and her flawless skin, I quickly turned away from her and covered my eyes. "What are you doing?" I asked in a fury.

"Making myself more comfortable," she answered calmly, as if she were doing nothing more than discussing the weather! "You men have no idea how very restricting a corset can be."

I felt my face flush with heat at the mention of her under clothing. First she dared to show them to me and then she openly spoke about it! Her virtuousness and naiveté where intimacy was concerned was shockingly alluring. I was certain she hadn't any clue as to what she was doing to me at the very moment. If she was aware, then she was being devastatingly cruel to undress near a man who would rip the clothes from her body were he offered the chance.

"You should not... " I started to warn her. "You should go into a changing room."

"This is my room," she said.

"Then you should use the dressing screen!" My frustration was being exposed through my temper.

"But why? I am your wife, now. It's not inappropriate, is it? I would think you would be angry were I to hide myself from you."

Again with her unintentionally evocative words! "It is inappropriate!" I insisted. "You could very well be ruined by this, Christine!"

"And how would I be ruined? Is a wife ruined when she is alone with her husband?"

Yes, she had said the words. Yes, I had repeated them back to her. But that didn't mean... She was merely being kind to the monster who had never known such kindness. She might use words like husband and wife so easily, but I wasn't so foolish to assume those words meant she was comfortable allowing me to see her in any state of undress! And yet, the unmistakable rustle of fabric signaled that she had fully removed the gown, I was left wondering what would happen if I did look? Just one peek. One small glimpse wouldn't totally ruin her, would it?

But it might ruin me.

Maybe that was her intention. Maybe she wanted to push me to the brink of my sanity. Perhaps she assumed that by putting on this sort of passionate display and causing my blood to race that I would simply pass out or die from need. That being exposed to the ever growing fire raging and flooding my body after having lived in a dark prison of abstinence for so many decades would be my undoing. That she wouldn't have to see her efforts through to completion.

She was wrong. I would have something from this night, even if it was only a glance at her exposed beauty.

"Erik?" she said softly. When I didn't answer her, she called my name again. "Please look at me."

How gently and innocently she invited danger into her life! My mind kept repeating that her youth and immaturity were to blame for her apparent oblivious behavior. She didn't know what she was doing to me – the effect she had on me. My mind fought against the primal urge I felt. Yet my body – my lust, more to the point – won the argument and I slowly turned to look at her.

At first I kept my hand in front of my eyes, peering at her through my fingers like a child watching a horror story performed. But this was no horror story! Oh, I was horrific in nature and appearance, that was certain, but the woman that stood before me now was nothing short of perfection.

She was dressed in a simple nightgown made of creamy white silk. I assumed it was silk from the shine of the fabric and the way it lightly fell over her skin, barely touching her except where her figure was full. The neck line was formed from lace and dipped down between her round breasts showing off the smooth, unmarred skin at her neck. The same lace served as a lose waistband that fell just below her bosom and accented the womanly curves of her perfect form. The gown gently danced over her hips and came to a stop at her ankles. She wore no slippers. Her feet were bare with no stockings, which for some reason left just as strong an impact on me as seeing the exposed swell of her chest. I raked my eyes over her figure once more, noticing that there was a small, blue ribbon tied in a bow right at the front between her breasts. I wanted to tug on that ribbon. I wanted to discover the secrets of the skin underneath. It would be warm and soft and flawless. I wanted to touch that skin, to feel that warmth, to behold such beauty! Never in my life had I been so enraptured by the sight of a woman! I had seen gypsy women in various states of undress. I had seen concubines in the most immodest apparel. But never had I seen a woman as pure and as untouched as Christine dressed in something that wholly punctuated her innocence.

She must have come to her senses and realized the danger she had placed herself in by exposing her glorious form to me in such a way because she shivered slightly and tugged a matching robe around her body. The blush that rose to her cheeks was evident even in the dim candle light. Her eyes darted away from my gaze coyly.

My God. She was exquisite.

Her gentle voice broke though my lustful thoughts. "Do you like it?"

I didn't dare put voice to my opinions. I would soil her childlike mind with immoral ideas were I to give detail to the many ways I was imagining removing the night dress. In my mind I imagined her stripping off the garment and succumbing to me, welcoming me to cover her nakedness with my own. Were I to say such things, to explain the deep urge I felt in this moment, she would certainly run in terror. Instead of speaking, I nodded my approval.

"My ladies maid assured me that my husband would approve of his bride wearing such things, especially on the wedding night." The blush on her cheeks deepened, but she finally met my eyes without shame or fear.

And then she moved causing the gown to flutter around her legs and tempt me even more with her figure. My eyes followed her hungrily as she made her way around to the opposite side of the bed from me. My heart leapt in joy and alarm when she pulled the bed covers back and began to crawl underneath. Out of my natural instinct to flee whenever someone was too close, I slid away from her and pulled my own portion of the covers around me in an attempt to hide as much of my body as possible.

The smile she offered me as she rested her head on the pillow was rather sad. I interpreted that to mean she was leery about the choices she had made in the last half an hour or so. I couldn't blame her. As much as I wanted to believe this moment was real, my mind had great difficulty accepting it. She patted the edge of my pillow and muttered a quiet, "Please?" It was a question, but the meaning was very clear. She really did want me to lie next to her.

And so I granted her wish. Or was it my wish being granted? I'd first felt the need of a normal man when I was but fifteen years old. My passion for Luciana was nowhere near as consuming as what I felt for Christine, and yet it was still powerful. I'd felt those stirrings a few other times in my life as a natural response to certain stimulants, but never had I acted on them. I knew for a fact that a woman would rather be killed than lie with me! And yet, here was Christine – my Christine – lying in a bed next to me dressed in barely a wisp of silk. I had to be careful and keep my hand clutching at the blankets near my waist or she would become quite aware of how very much I desired her.

Cautiously, she shifted closer to me. Her hand, hesitant at first and then growing more sure, brushed against my cheek. "Don't you want to kiss me?" she asked.

Dear God! My body ached to give into this innocent temptress! To wrap my arms around her, to seal my mouth over hers, to plunge fervently into her depths! But I held back. How I restrained myself will forever be a mystery to even me, but I did so as to not frighten her away with my fierce need. I hissed out a simple, "Yes," and allowed her mouth to meet mine.

Our lips brushed once, and then twice. Then they held for several thunderous heart beats. And then slowly, excruciatingly slowly her lips sipped repeatedly at mine in blissful agony. I tasted her mouth. She returned the favor. Kiss after kiss grew slightly bolder and stronger until I felt the tip of her tongue softly scrape against my bottom lip. I mirrored her actions a few times, eventually slipping my tongue further inside with each pleasing stroke. All reasonable thought fled from my mind as I pressed myself closer to her, wanting to feel more than just her talented mouth. All thoughts of how hideous I was, how the very mouth she was kissing was deformed and misaligned, how wretched and ugly my body was vanished in that heavenly moment. I leaned in closer to her, pushing her down into the mattress, pulling her under me.

She moaned.

And then she said, "Wait."

Fury. Rage. Hate. It all instantly flooded my mind. I roughly pushed her away from me and bellowed, "GET OUT!"