Once the boat was about two feet from the shore of the cavern Erika had outfitted as a home, she jumped out of the boat and started to pull it towards the mooring line she'd erected. Once Christophe stopped staring, he got out to help. They tied up the boat together.

Christophe was amazed by what he saw. There was everything you would expect in a small house, like a kitchen, but there were other things as well. She watched as his beautiful chestnut eyes widened when he saw the pipe organ, the piano, and all the other musical instruments she kept here. "Can you play all of those?" he asked in slightly awed tones.

She stepped up beside him. "Yes. But come on. You haven't seen the best part yet." She led him through the small pathways between her creations and candles until they were in front of a small veiled alcove in the wall. She pulled back the curtain and heard him gasp.

Behind the curtain were two mannequins dressed in wedding finery, and beyond them was a pedestal with a wedding certificate signed by a judge. She went in, picked it up gingerly, and brought it out for Christophe to look at. "Since I can't really get a priest to come down here, I thought this would be the next best thing. Will you do this for me?"

He leaned over the paper and kissed her. "That and more, Erika. Let's change." So Erika showed him to the small bathroom she'd fitted into the cave walls. He wondered how she'd gotten running water down here as he cleaned his face and used some to slick down some of the more unruly curls. Then he donned the splendid suit that Erika had prepared for him.

She met him in the alcove a minute later, beautiful in her own wedding attire. It was simpler than those Christophe had dreamed of seeing her in, but he thought it was better that way. His Erika had never been a fussy countess or self-important soprano. This was how she was, simple, beautiful, and someone who loved him. She picked up the egret feather quill and signed her name. She handed the pen to Christophe, singing.

Say you'll share with me one love, one lifetime
Help to lead me from my solitude.
Say you need me with you here, beside you.
Anywhere you go, let me go too.
Christophe, that's all I ask of you.

He took the pen, signed his own name, and sang in return.

Say you'll love me every waking moment.
Let me be a part of everything.
Say you need me with you now and always.
Promise me that all you say is true.
Erika, that's all I ask of you.

He leaned down and kissed her gently on the lips. They stayed like that for a while as Erika's hands gently tousled his curls and his arms wrapped around her slender waist. Finally, Erika broke the kiss and stepped toward the pedestal. She pressed in the center of the top and a small octagon rose out of the top. There were two hands underneath it, each with a wedding ring on the proper finger.

They were simple affairs. Christophe's was just a band of gold and Erika's had a tiny diamond set in the center. She slipped his onto a chain and went to hang it around his neck. "You can't show this publicly yet. It will cause suspicion and could cost you some of the better parts. Wear it around your neck for now, so that it's always close to your heart."

Then he picked up hers and grasped her left wrist. "You, my darling, do not need to hide." He slipped the ring onto the third finger and captured her lips again as he kissed her.

This kiss lasted much longer than the first. His arms didn't just encircle her waist. They pulled her towards him, mingling their heat and making both their hearts pound. Erika didn't stop in his hair, but let one of her hands reach down to his neck to keep him from breaking this delightful kiss.

When they finally broke apart, panting, both were blushing furiously like the virgins they were. They knew what was supposed to come after this. Erika's mother had spoken of it often before her death during the birth of her little brother, who died the same day. Christophe had of course been teased by his peers for remaining pure and not "enjoying the night," as they had put it.

She didn't look at him as she shoved his regular clothes at him. "You should go change." He took the clothes and practically ran for the bathroom.

Erika retreated to the small bedroom she'd furnished. The bed was her personal masterpiece, a circular mattress framed by swan's wings with a headboard shaped like its beast with the head arching over where they would…she blushed madly at the thought.

Forgetting the bed, Erika walked over to the small chest where she kept the clothes she'd managed to procure. She pulled out the silk nightdress with lace inlays. She breathed in deeply. It was the most daring piece of clothing she owned as well as the most beautiful. Lowly undressed and lifted the fragile fabric over her head. As it fell around her, it hugged her slight curves and left her white arms bare. She wanted to put on a robe or something to cover her arms, but before she could search for one, Christophe came into the bedroom.

He saw her standing there with her back facing him, and the first thing he thought was that she was beautiful.

His second was that she was terrified.

Erika was shaking so hard that she was making the fabric ripple. Christophe was oddly relieved. To tell the truth, he'd been scared of this moment too. He reached out and put his hands on her shoulders. "Erika, let's not do anything tonight. We can just sleep together, and wait for the… the other stuff."

She visibly relaxed and turned to face him. "Are you sure?"

He smiled in return. "Why should we do something we're both afraid of?" She hugged him in answer. They slipped under the soft covers in the bed and slept twined around each other. This was how they should be. And it was how they would be. No matter what happened,

I refuse to write lemons. This is as close as you'll get. And there are people in this world who are terrified of lovemaking, myself included. So it's perfectly fine for me to write my characters the same way.

That said, I LOVE REVIEWS!