Disclaimer: I own nothing of Phantom of the Opera.
Chapter 7: True Passion
Christine lay on the bed, starring into the darkness. Raoul lay next to her, his arm wrapped protectively around her waist. His hot, calm breaths lightly caressed the back of her neck. He had returned form his business trip, and as always upon his return they would dine at his apartment and make love. He could profess his love to her and she to him and then fall asleep in each-others arms.
It had become a routine, a passionless routine. His kisses no longer ignited that fire in her. His touches no longer send her over the edge into pure ecstasy. Their love making was nothing more than a release, to her at least. She knew that Raoul loved her. Did she love him?
Her eyes traveled to the alarm clock. The bright red numbers were the only source of light in the room. 2:30. That meant that in six hours and thirty minutes she would have to report to work. Strangely, the idea of seeing Erik again caused a smile to tug at the corners of her lips.
Christine hated the man beyond reason. There was not an ounce of doubt about that. But he was the only person who would engage her in the most ludicrous debates. She had never had someone to fight with, verbally, that is. Talking to him allowed her to release all her emotions, rid her body of bottled up anger and frustration. She had never been able to do that before.
The man was fascinating and incredibly intelligent. Usually she found herself intimidated by people who had a higher level of education, but with Erik it did not matter. Even though she was his housekeeper, he treated her more as an equal. Yes, he ordered her around, but when they spoke, he actually placed into consideration what she thought and then proceeded to prove her wrong. He was so stubborn. But then again, so was she.
And those eyes.They were so hypnotic, overflowing with passion she had never witnessed before. She had caught herself starring at those amber eyes. Fortunately, it did not appear that Erik had noticed.
Shifting on the bed slightly, she made herself more comfortable and closed her eyes. I wonder why he wanted me back. A week had passed since her return, and that question still remained unanswered. Though she would never confess it, Christine was glad he had forced her to return.
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At 7:30 the alarm clock sprang to life. The voice of a man came out of the speaker of the clock. Christine reached over, shutting off the man who was talking about the weather.
"We have to get up, Chrissy,' said the man who lay next to her.
Raoul pulled away from Christine and disappeared inside the bathroom. The sound of water springing free from the showerhead soon followed. There was a time when she would have followed him into the shower and they would passionate love as the water sprayed over their bodies. Now, all she wanted to do was get cleaned up and out of the apartment.
What is happening to us? What is happening to me?
Christine snuck into the bathroom of the guest room and took a two minute shower. She did not even allow the hot water to fully wash her body. She just wanted to go. No. She needed to go, to leave Raoul as soon as possible.
She emerged from the bathroom fully dressed. Raoul was in the kitchen making his morning coffee. Coffee. The dark liquid reminded her of Erik. He was probably up as well, in the kitchen getting his first cup of coffee.
"Where's you ring?" asked Raoul with a slight frown.
"Oh. At home. I can't really wear jewelry while I work." Christine put on a fake smile to try to pass the lie off as the truth. She could not bring herself to wear that ring. Every time she looked at it she felt slightly ill.
Raoul walked up behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. His head rested on her right shoulder as he spoke to her softly: "Once you become my wife, you will never have to worry about working again and you'll be able to wear all the jewelry that you want."
Christine turned to face him. They had never discussed what was going to happened after they were to be married. Christine had no intention of leaving the work force and become a housewife. She knew Raoul was only trying to be kind by saying that, but it made Christine's stomach turn.
"You do not want me to work after we get married?"
"Of course not. I will not have my wife clean the houses of other men."
"What will you have your wife do?"
"Take care of our house, and later our children."
After a gap of utter silence, Christine opened her mouth. For the first time she refused Raoul's decision.
"I don't want to stay at home."
"What?" he asked with a confused smile.
"I want to work, Raoul."
"That is ridiculous, Chrissy," he said as he moved away from her and returned to his cup of coffee, dismissing what she had just said.
Christine felt that familiar build-up of anger at the pit of her stomach. It was the same feeling she got when she spoke with Erik, only this time she would not be able to release it. She had never raised her voice at Raoul. She had never had reason to. Christine needed to exit the apartment before she said something that would end up hurting him.
"I'm going to be late."
"Will I see you tonight?" he asked, not noticing the change in Christine's voice and body language.
"No," she said sharply, "I'll be home late."
With that she retrieved her things from the nearby table and left. It was easy to be angry around Erik. It was easy to unleash that anger around him as well. But with Raoul…it was so different. She did not think he would even be able to handle her if she broke into a fit of rage as she did with Erik.
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"You're early," said Erik as he came down from his office with the black mug in hand, as he did every morning. Only this time, Christine found herself starring, gazing upon this dark man who was unlike anyone she had ever encountered.
"Yeah," she said, tearing her eyes away from him. "I just couldn't stay away."
Christine put her things away in the hallway closet before turning around to go and take his mug. Of course he would need a refill by now. She reached for the mug, but found Erik holding on to it as he studied her with a frown.
"You're mad,' he said. "But not with me."
Christine pulled the cup away from his hand, breaking eye contact with him. How was he even able to tell to whom her anger was directed? The man truly scared her sometimes. She turned her back to him, and began heading for the kitchen, but was stopped in her tracks from his next words.
"I am guessing a boyfriend, maybe a fiancé. Definitely not a friend or family." She turned around, her blood drained from her face. This was becoming…well freaky. "I'm right, aren't I?"
The silence was enough of a response for him. He smirked at her before turning around and walking upstairs. Christine was an enigma to him. She had been working for him for nearly three weeks now, and he still did not know much about her, besides the apparent fact that she was quite capable of holding a debate with him, the one thing people had never been able to do.
Christine came up to his office moments later with the fresh cup of coffee. She always left it on the desk and quietly exited, but not this time. She wanted answers.
"How did you know?"
"Which part?" he asked as he looked up at her from the computer.
"All of it."
He reclined on his chair with a smile of pure satisfaction. He had been right. Erik thrived in the feeling of knowing he was right.
"Stop smirking and tell me how you know!" she demanded.
"I knew it was not me because when you are mad at me, you make it your priority to inform me. Since you are not married, a fiancé or boyfriend is the only possible solution."
"How do you know I'm not married?"
"For one thing, you do not have a wedding band." Christine was going to tell him she was not wearing an engagement ring either. Why had he guessed a fiancé? But what he said next erased the question from her mind.
"And I had Antoinette send over your file,' he responded without missing a beat. He did not care if she found out that he had been looking at her background information.
"What?"
"How did you think I found out about the complaints?"
"You had no right.' The background information in her file was not for her employers to see, only the manager of the agency. Of course Erik had gotten his hands on it. It did not contain that much information. He had found it quite useless.
"It was necessary."
"What does my marital status have to do with this job?"
"Christine—"
"No. You listen to me,' she said as her hands rose, swaying in the air as she spoke. "You think you are entitled to everything! You can't always get what you want, Mr. Rousseau!"
A few days ago, when he began calling her by her first name, which he justified as saving time, Christine began calling him by his first as well. Only during their arguments did she begin to call him Rousseau.
"I always, always get what I want, Ms. DeMarco."
"I beg to differ," she said as she leaned in on his desk, challenging him.
His eyebrow rose high on his forehead. He got up, meeting her challenge head on. Erik's eyes were glued upon hers, refusing to break contact. God, she was so gorgeous when she looked like that, so fired up.
Christine felt a slight shiver run down her spine from the way he was looking at her. When he rose from his chair, she straightened herself up, trying to make herself appear taller, more intimidating. Then she watched as he moved from behind the desk, walking toward her. Christine's breath caught in her throat.
Erik came closer, stopping but a breath away from her. His amber eyes scanned her face, landing on her full, pink lips for just a few seconds. He wanted to kiss her. No. He wanted to taste every inch of that mouth of hers, of that intriguing mouth that he could no longer do without.
"Keep your distance," she warned him as she took a step back.
"No," he said as he continued to advance on her until she was trapped between him and the office wall. "Tell me," he whispered in her ear, "What exactly is it that I am not entitled to?" His hot breath was tickling her ear lope, causing sweet electric shocks to spread throughout her body.
Erik's hand rose from his side and began to travel up her thigh. Christine's hand immediately ran to cover the invaliding hand with the objective to stop it from continuing its exploration.
"Well? Tell me?" He closed whatever bit of distance that remained between their bodies.
"Stop," she whimpered as his hand continued to travel higher. She found herself unable to stop him, or rather not wanting to stop him. Her heart was racing, slamming against her ribs like a raging demon. Her blood was on fire, burning hotter then the flames of the sun. Christine closed her eyes, relishing the emotion he was igniting in her.
Erik's wandering hand made its way up her delicate arm and across her shoulder, finally reaching its destination: the smooth surface of her face. When his strong, elegant fingers grasped her chin, Christine opened her eyes. She had never wanted to be kissed as much as she did at that moment.
He moved closer, his lips a mere hair away from hers. Christine could feel his breath against her lips, and was anticipating his kiss.
It never came.
With a smirk, he moved away, leaving her pressed against the wall, burning with desire.
Christine closed her eyes, trying to get her emotions under control. It was a task which proved to be quite hard. It had been ages since someone had made her feel so alive.
By the time she had reopened her eyes, Erik had his back tuned to her and was nearing his desk. Christine watched as he moved further away from her. She felt her fingers ball up into fists. She peeled herself off the wall and began to walk toward the door.
"I despise you," she hissed as she turned around to look at him one last time before she stormed out of the office. But before she could make her exit she felt something captured her arm and spin her around. She felt herself being pulled forward, her chest colliding with solid muscle.
One hand wrapped around her waist as the other wove itself in her luxurious curls. Erik's lips came crashing down on hers, demanding full submission. Christine felt her eyes widen at the feel of his lips, then fluttered shut as she willingly gave into his kiss. She had never felt anything so glorious, so demanding. The emotions Erik had brought out in her just moments ago came back in full force. Her loins were on fire, and she did not wish this exquisite fire to be put out.
Erik parted her lips with his tongue, finally able to sample her mouth. At the feel of his exploring tongue, a moan emitted itself from deep within her throat. The sound of it caused Erik's grip to tighten, pulling her closer to him, needing to feel her body against his.
He had thought that the kiss would have quenched the thirst he had developed for her the last few days, but it only made it stronger. He did not know if he would even be able to pull away. And he had never dreamed that Christine would be kissing him back with such passion, such ferocity. God, he wanted her. He had not realized just how much until that moment.
But he could not show her just how vulnerable he felt around her. So, he pulled away. Erik gazed down upon her passion filled violet eyes, traveling down to her slightly swollen pink lips. All he could hear was her sharp intake of breath and her drumming heart.
"How much do you despise me now?" he asked with a smirk before turning away from her.
Christine would have answered his question, but her mind was still trapped within the world of ecstasy Erik had created. She could still feel his velvety lips on hers, still taste his tongue in her mouth. She felt so…empty once he had pulled back. She allowed her body to calm down and silently left the office.
She could not yell at him, after all she had kissed him back. She had kissed him back and would have continued kissing him if he had not pulled away. God, she had kissed another man. Raoul. What had she done? She should have never allowed Erik to kiss her. You're engaged, Christine!
Yes. Engaged.
When she reached the bottom of the stairs, she found herself looking up, starring up at the doors of the office. Her fingers rose to touch her lips. Though she knew it was wrong, at that moment she would have given anything to have him kiss her again.
