Chapter 14
"Christine!" Gently Erik shook Christine's shoulder. "My love, the morn is upon us." His voice was low against her ear as he bent over the bed where she lay sleeping. The sound of it lifted away the veil of dreams enshrouding her mind in slumber and her eyes slowly fluttered open. His face hovered above hers. She smiled and slipped a still sluggish arm around his neck.
"Good morning, my love," she said, her voice still husky from the effects of sleep.
His long fingers slid across her cheek to push the wayward curls out of her eyes. "Are you not yet ready to awaken?"
"Your kiss shall awaken me." She closed her eyes and waited.
He bent down closer and touched soft, yielding lips to hers. Now both her arms encircled his neck and she held him close. The morning was always a precarious time for him since he was less resistant to her charms, and she took full advantage of it.
"Your kiss, like the sunrise, warms and brightens my day," said Christine as she breathed in deeply.
"The horses await. I have a gentle one for you. The air outside is crisp, but not cold, and the sun promises to shine brightly. Do you still want to go?"
"Yes, and I will be ready to don my riding attire as soon as you touch your lips to mine in a kiss and hold me close."
Her eyes danced as she unfastened the cloak at his throat and watched it slide from his broad shoulders onto the bed while he bent over her; he knew there was no other way to please her, nor did he mind. He slipped off his leather gloves and then cast both the cloak and the gloves to the foot of the bed before lingering above and dropping down to her other side while pulling her soft, warmly blanketed form against his. She melted into his embrace.
The crisp outside air still clung to his clothing and permeated her flimsy gown. "Oh, you are cold!"
She slid the warmth of her thighs between his and pressed soft breasts against his chest while she showered butterfly kisses at the corner of his mouth where his lips came together in a gentle curve.
"Christine, you will make me your prisoner if you don't stop."
"Will I? I want to then, I'm yours."
"Are you my love?" He drew back and studied her with the eyes that glittered like precious stone.
"Yes, a willing prisoner, forever and ever."
"A wise man would not take such a declaration lightly."
He slid his hand slowly up her leg and then rested it against the curve of her hip. Her eyes opened wide and she shivered. "Brrr, your hand is cold too!"
"Your skin feels like warm silk." His voice was smooth like the purr of a cat. His willpower melted like snowflakes on warm cobblestone. She pressed her lips against his neck and breathed in deeply the scent of candles intermingling faintly with leather and the crisp morning air of Paris.
"Mmm, I love how you smell. It is intoxicating." She tickled the warmth of full lips against the skin of his neck and then tasted his skin with her tongue. "You're making me tipsy."
He threw his head back and laughed. "So early in the morning? We can't have that; you know how it would shake the foundations of propriety."
Their laughter helped quell the fires that had flared into existence at the touch his hand to her body and the kiss of her lips against his skin.
She propped herself up on her elbow. "Erik, I love singing with you, but I'm excited not to do it today. I can't wait to go away from here with you, my love! Though, I confess, I'm worried about riding alone."
"I'll not ask you to do anything you don't want to."
"Does that mean you won't make me get out of your bed?"
"Except that," he said flatly.
She sat and then paused to watch him don the heavy cloak that swirled about his ankles and pull on the leather gloves that molded perfectly to elegant hands. Suddenly he met her eyes, staring, and the blade of self-consciousness cut into his awareness. She continued to stare boldly. He walked toward her and said with his eyebrow cocked, "What is it my love?" and then reached long fingers to her cheek in a caress. She brought her hand to his and held it against her cheek.
"It's you."
His eyes sparkled with affection as he stared back, unflinching, into the shining eyes that followed him, riveted. He offered his gloved hand; she slid from the bed and her feet touched the floor.
"You'll be riding as a boy today. Too dangerous otherwise with bands of miscreants roaming the countryside. Mme. Giry pilfered a riding habit from the costume closet. It should be about the right size, and it will be much more comfortable to learn in than a skirt."
He handed soft pants of quality workmanship to her as she nodded, staring at the pants. "Today, is about safety not fashion," he informed her brusquely, though one would not know that to look at him.
"Yes, I don't want to risk having my skirts caught over a horse's head as he navigates blindly," she mused aloud. He chuckled at the image her remark conjured up.
She shed her nightgown within a few feet of his proximity. Her skin glowed with a satiny sheen, her waistline plunged inward, and her breasts were round and firm. His eyes drank in the sight of her. He wasn't sure whether she did it to dazzle or tease and torment. No matter, it did both. She slipped on the riding habit and he helped her with the strange placement of the buttons and lifted her heavy hair aside to straighten the unruly collar around the back of her neck.
Together they sipped hot coffee swirled with a mixture of heavy cream and honey and then left through the dark corridors to exit through a side hideaway. They burst into the cool crisp air of the breaking dawn and Christine saw Erik for the first time in the stark light of day. It did not diminish his beauty though she saw that his skin was beginning to show the first faint webbing of maturity, which lent a distinguished air. The skin was radiant and firm, and sculpted perfectly against the chiseled bone structure, his hair dark, thick and glossy. Only his mask hinted at things in contrast to the rest.
The air around them was charged with an exhilarating sense of excitement and freedom. Erik readied the horses that waited where he had tethered them earlier that morning and then lifted Christine to the back of Philippe.
"You don't carry a whip" she remarked.
"No living thing will ever be whipped by me," he retorted and anger flashed through his eyes. He stretched his hand to the other horse, his face calm again, and said "This is Beauty. She is very gentle, and Philippe tends to behave around her."
He tethered the reins of Beauty to Philippe and swung up behind Christine and then clicked Philippe's reins to start off at a steady canter. Christine felt the warmth of Erik's body pressed against her back and heard the soft stirring of his breath against her ear. Suddenly the sun broke over the horizon and sent its rays blazoning across the whole earth, chasing away the grey and infusing color into all of creation. Shining dewdrops burst into crystal sparkles that clung to twisting vines and the slim branches of bushes and trees. Misty veils rose like ghosts into the sun-warmed air from fallen tree stumps and choked gnarled branches. A sudden sense of adventure gripped them and Christine exclaimed "It's so wonderful to be out here with you! Erik, let's never go back."
"Don't tempt me my love," he said with his voice half serious as he gave her waist a squeeze with the large hand that rested across her abdomen. Beauty trotted contently alongside. Exhilaration surged through her. Though Erik held her tightly against him, she felt completely free.
They continued along the trail, which melted into the low lying drumlins that zigzagged across the countryside and concealed it from unsuspecting eyes. "I didn't even know this trail existed," Christine remarked.
"Most don't since it's a roundabout way of getting to town, once used strictly for military purposes."
"Where are we going?"
"To a large glade situated nicely between the drumlins in the distance," he pointed to the left, "about two hours out."
"Behind the hill to the right about an hour away from the clearing is a shallow cave situated in recessed rock that I once used frequently for shelter. No one ever disturbed me," he said almost absently as his mind traveled to the years past.
"The way the hills and valleys meet seems to stir up the atmosphere and make it vulnerable to storms, so I found myself in need of it on more than one occasion. As a matter of fact, if I remember correctly, I left a large fur folded between rock reliefs in the cave several years ago. It must still be there I would think. The last time I used it was around three years ago, about the time a certain young girl began to grow into a beautiful woman." His mind flew back to the present and he marveled that this same beautiful woman now traveled with him.
"Oh I do hope it happens today! What a grand adventure" she said.
"It's not so grand when it actually happens to you my love. Very cold and wet. Besides, not much chance of it today." He swept his hand to the crystal clear sky. Not even an inkling of white reposed against the brazen blueness of the sky.
"I intend to get you home well ahead of dusk, which is the time of the greatest turmoil since the setting sun seems to agitate the air currents that flow between the hills."
Lost in conversation, the two hours melted away quickly and a large thicket arose before them and then abruptly parted to reveal a spacious area large enough to allow a horse to run free. Erik led Philippe to a dense area, brought him to a halt, and then swung down. He glanced around to assure himself that they would all be secluded if necessary before he tied Philippe to the tree within the copse that surrounded them. Christine slid down into Erik's arms.
After feeding Beauty and Philippe apples and grains he left them to graze on the thin grasses that still remained before turning to the matter of lunch for himself and Christine. He pulled the ground cover from the pack and spread it above a thin tarp and then brought out wine and dried fruit, bread and cheese. Christine assisted him where she could.
"I assure you, my love, the percentage of alcohol is low. There will be none of your mercilessly dismantling my composure as you pit it against the match of your womanly wiles." She glanced at him and her dimple suddenly appeared as laughter escaped from her lips. She delighted in seeing a man of his stature and intellect completely discombobulated from time to time as a result of her teasing, since so often he unwittingly did the same to her.
The food was no generous feast but it tasted like it to Christine, who by now was ravenous, though her excitement curtailed the amount required to satiate her, which was already scant. "Are you sure that's enough?" Erik's face showed concerned but he stood and offered her his hand when she nodded, lifting her lightly to her feet so they could begin.
Erik helped Christine mount her horse and she took the reins. He led her horse beside his into the field and it trotted around in a large circle. Before long he lifted the rope from her horse and set her free. Her fear quickly subsided and turned to confidence and then exhilaration. Christine showed herself to be a quick study, which proved fortunate for them later. The horse bent easily to her will and soon they were riding as one. Christine laughed as the crisp air blew against her skin. Erik delighted in her delight as they both galloped in the sunshine across the open field until, breathing heavily amidst their laughter, they reined the horses to a stop. The novelty of freedom and the outside air both uplifted and intoxicated them and made Erik forget the time.
"Wonderful my love! You are a natural."
He exulted in the accomplishment of his cherished protégé and watched her with eyes that glowed with pride. Suddenly he became aware of the soft peaks of white that had begun to gather above the dense thicket of trees. "Christine, the day is waning, we must prepare to depart." He gestured above. "I see clouds moving this way." He nodded toward the copse, "we'll go water the horses and load them up where we ate earlier.
Once they reached the outlying area of the dense growth of foliage and tortuous branches near where they had eaten earlier Erik could see beyond it by way of the path that widened their purview as it led back the way they had come. Erik's eyes suddenly widened as he exclaimed "I'll be damned if that's not the same rider I saw before on the way to Juste's." He recognized the distinctive markings on the horse.
"What? A rider?" Christine turned her eyes in the direction of his gaze just in time to see a rider that diminished as he flew into the distance away from them. An alarming thought entered Erik's mind as he remembered what had happened before and fear chased across his features. Pure fright gripped him when his eyes fell upon his beloved.
"Christine, this could mean danger, we must leave in haste. Do you want to ride with me or can you ride Beauty alone? That may be quicker for us." His smoldering eyes penetrated hers and she sensed the seriousness in them.
"I can ride alone," she said with conviction.
They dismounted and both speedily packed their provisions after they led the horses to water. He helped her up into the saddle as he silently congratulated himself for making her wear a male riding habit but cursed himself for letting this happen at all and then mounted his own horse. Quickly they rounded the edge of the dense growth of trees and shrubbery in time to be greeted by the sound of thundering hooves pounding the ground; both drew their horses back in alarm. An onslaught of men of single purpose and determination bearing straight ahead and riding hard carried huge packs that weighted their horses. Erik turned in the saddle and waved Christine back with one arm.
"Go back Christine! Go back! We're going to have to wait them out. Let's go back to where we were when we ate, it concealed us well."
Once again they waded into the dense thicket of trees and tethered the horses. The clouds continued to gather and had begun to darken. Erik peered up toward the sky and said ardently, I hope you don't get your wish Christine, because for now we are trapped and the clouds are gathering quickly."
"I'm not scared as long as I am here with you." Erik wished he felt as confident.
He pulled her against his chest and dropped his cheek to her curls while he rubbed her back with one of his hands and held her tightly with the other. She slipped her arms tightly about his waist and laid her head against his chest. They held each other and then he finally said "Let's eat something while we wait; I have a feeling we are going to need it to sustain us later."
They sat on rocks and a jutting tree that had fallen to fill themselves – though the pleasure in it was replaced by a touch of trepidation. When he had enough to eat, Erik rose to his feet and said "I'm going to see what's going on" and then held his finger to his mouth before he walked steadfastly away from her. He picked his way through the dense pines and low bushes and hid behind a large trunk widened by the rings of many years while he watched silently. Marauders. As before, they were in the process of dividing the booty and spoils amongst themselves. Who were these men that though disorderly, were so well organized he wondered? Voices volleyed back and forth in arguments as the men threw their spoils to the ground and pushed each other's shoulders, waved their arms and finally snatched up their desired treasures. Fear for Christine blazing through Erik's heart propelled him to slip back quickly and quietly to assure her safety. He didn't want to alarm her, nor did he want to keep the truth from her so he told her what he had witnessed but kept the trepidation he felt out of his voice. Her eyebrows lifted in alarm and her eyes were round but she remained silent.
When the sun was low in the sky and a light misting of rain had begun, the men finally cleared their camp. The silence compelled Erik to spy once more from the spot he had used before to assure himself that none were left. The grasses were flattened and debris was strewn everywhere but no men remained. Erik zigzagged and jogged through the congested trees and brush back to Christine.
"They're gone. Let's go! Quickly!"
He cupped her chin, "Are you sure you are all right riding alone?"
"Yes, I'm sure," she said confidently.
"Follow me my love." He took the path that led off in the opposite direction.
"Where are you taking me?"
"To the shelter that is recessed in rock like a small cave behind the mountain's face I mentioned earlier, I'm afraid we have no choice. It's much closer than the opera house. While woolen cloaks will keep us warm, they won't keep us dry."
They set off into the lightly misting rain and a gentle wind began to blow. The sun seemed to drop right out of the sky. Dusk was upon them and began a slow bloodletting of color from the thinning trees and shrubbery that soon fell behind them and morphed into a trail littered sparsely with grey rocks. The ride would have been an adventure had it not been for the race against time. As they approached their destination, the clouds grew heavy with their watery burden and a crack of thunder heralded a deluge that dumped Christine and Erik with huge whipping gusts of rain.
Christine began to shiver and she thought it felt as if she had been on Beauty for an eternity, though it couldn't have been more than an hour since a ghostly light from the sunset still infused the night sky, but she didn't complain. The rain pelted the skin of her face and made it difficult to see. Erik was only a dim shadowy figure moving on the trail ahead of her. A dark outcropping began to grow from the ground ahead and Erik turned and shouted through the din of pelting rain to Christine "It's not too much farther, only a few more minutes!"
She sighed grateful that the trip would soon come to an end since she shivered from the cold and her muscles ached with fatigue.
He shouted through the pounding rain and rumbling thunder "Are you doing all right?"
She shouted back "Yes, but not for too much longer my legs are very shaky!"
He nodded and pressed ahead. Finally he led her around and behind a tall rock face into an overhang that arched into a shallow impression carved in the rock hidden behind the wall that as he had promised was like a small cave. It was recessed about twenty feet and provided perfect shelter from the wind and rain. The overhang that preceded the mouth of the cave would shelter the horses very well. The rock face misled all but the most careful observers to believe nothing remarkable lay behind it.
Erik swung down, tethered the horses and then lifted his arms to Christine to help her down. She slipped down and collapsed in his arms, her legs shakily giving way beneath her. She was shivering so hard her teeth nearly chattered out of her head. Swiftly, he lifted her and carried her to the mouth of the cave where she slid to the ground and leaned her back against the rock wall. He pulled off his wet cloak so he could move around quickly and freely.
"I'd give you my cloak but it is soaked. Wait here while I get our supplies." She nodded, wordless. He ran with long legs outstretched to the horses and pulled the saddles away to gather up the heavy woolen blankets he always put there in case of an emergency and then grasped the packs each horse carried and ran back to the cave to drop them near Christine, who sat with her arms hugging her knees to her chest. He opened one pack and drew out a candle and lit it with the matches he had packed in the tin to keep them dry. The cave leapt to life with a larger-than-life shadow of Erik elongated on the wall that was surrounded by the candle's glow and jumped from one side of the cave to the other as he turned with the candle held high while he walked inside. She watched as he disappeared into the recesses of the cave turning from side to side to inspect it. Clean, dry and uninhabited.
Christine struggled to her feet and walked up behind him; he turned to her when he heard the sound of chattering teeth that grew louder as she approached. He gathered her in his arms and ardently kissed her wet face and lips.
"You are so beautiful and so cold!"
She clung to him, sodden, and cold to the bone, wanting never to release him.
"I must hurry and build a fire."
Reluctantly he loosened her from him, ignoring the fire in his heart, while her eyes followed his every move. "Erik, can I help?" she said through chattering teeth.
"Yes you may help by ensuring you don't help to the point of collapse!"
He strode quickly to the wall and felt along it with his hand until he recognized the area that broke and jutted at an angle. Suddenly he exclaimed "I don't believe it. It's here!"
"What's here?"
"The fur I told you about." He gave it a swift tug with his free hand and it came out and dropped open in a huge thump. Christine looked down and saw that the floor of the cave was sand cut through with smooth rock. He held the candle up to the fur rug.
"Devoid of any living thing," he stated matter-of-factly.
He spread it on the sand. It was barely large enough to hold two people. Right now it looked as plush, warm and inviting as a billowy feather bed to Christine. He walked further into the cave all the while beseeching providence they would still be there. They were, just as he had left them, years ago when Christine had just begun to grow into a woman: a pile of logs and desiccated tinder for making fires. He began to gather several to take near the mouth of the cave.
"Here my love, take the candle."
She took the candle from him and held it high and then led him toward the mouth of the cave where he planned to build the fire. He dropped the logs and covered them on top with a pile of tinder and pushed clumps against the sides. He lit the tinder and eerie shadows leapt and writhed on the walls of the cave. The wind whipping in and out of the cave whistled shrilly and made Christine shiver and stand closer to Erik. Erik glanced quickly at her and then back to the fire as he stood, hands lazily on hips, and surveyed the burn, willing intensely for the contagion to spread to the logs. His hair hung in wet streams and his face and mask were bejeweled in crystal beads of moisture, his clothes hung wet and cloying against his skin. Suddenly the logs hissed to life and burst into a ball of writhing flames. A huge pang of relief flooded through Erik, and Christine's happiness grew with each flame that licked higher.
Erik sprinted to the mouth of the cave and then brought the packs inside and dropped them next to the fire. He bent to open one and pulled out the spread he had used for the picnic. He glanced at the sodden Christine and the image of a wet kitten jumped into his mind and made him smile. She stood with her hands clasped together as if in supplication and her body was shaking uncontrollably.
"What makes you so merry?" she asked between chatters.
"You look like a soaking wet big-eyed kitten," he said walking toward her. The sculpted muscles beneath the skin and the sway of his broad shoulders captivated her.
"You look like a stallion."
"Don't upset Philippe my love."
Her dimple jumped out with her smile.
"I'm sorry to do this my love but I fear for your well-being. You must get out of these sodden clothes immediately." He held the cloth up to the fire until it was warmed and then turned to her and said as he began to undo her buttons, "Do you object?"
"Not – at – all" she chattered out. His mouth was set in a firm grimace. She tried to help him with the buttons but her fingers were too cold and stiff. The buttons held fiercely but by dint of perseverance he pulled them through. He tugged the jacket and blouse from her wet skin in one direction while she pulled opposite to help him. After the wet fabric had released its hold on her skin in jerky segments he finally dropped the blouse and jacket to the ground in a sodden wet clump. Then he dusted the fire-warmed cloth over her skin until the moisture was gone and her skin gleamed in the flickering radiance of the fire. His hands felt loving, warm and wonderful. Devotion laced with apprehension smothered the ardor that flickered in his heart.
As soon as she was dry he lifted the woolen blanket and smoothed it around her shoulders and then began to peel away the pants. She bent to help him and then stepped out of the pant legs at her feet. He rubbed down her legs quickly so he would not embarrass her and then straightened to pull the woolen blanket tightly together to keep in her body heat all the while staring vibrant trails into the shy eyes brimming with love that watched him from under veiled lashes. He marveled at how lovely she looked despite the frightening and arduous events of the day. Curls made wild by the moisture in the air framed the pale, flawless skin of her face as it glowed in the firelight.
He ached to hold her in his arms and kiss her mouth but was afraid to make her wet again. His gaze rested upon her a moment longer before he gathered the discarded garments and said "Stay here by the fire while I hang your clothes." She snuggled into the blanket and nodded; she was already beginning to feel better. He took the twine that had joined the horses together and strung and tied it across the opening to hang the clothes next to the fire so they would be dry by morning.
He returned and said "You may want to look the other way" and then began pulling off his wet clothes.
"No I don't." She continued to stare boldly, her eyes wide and filled with curiosity.
"Suit yourself my love, but let it be said that I gave you fair warning."
He pulled his shirt over his head and was clad only in black riding pants and boots. The vision of him mesmerized and compelled her to come near. She knelt to the cloth he had thrown next to the fire and clasped it in one hand while she held the blanket shut with the other and then stood and began to rub it over his back and then walked around his shoulders to dry his chest before she slowly turned her face up to his. Their eyes met and locked with lightning intensity, reflecting in them their love for each other and the glow of the fire.
Suddenly he pulled her close against his chest and his arms encircled her tightly while he slid his hands along the contours of her back and against the warmed blanket. His lips were hot as they feverishly parted hers with an insistence that rivaled the events of the day. She could hardly catch her breath as he covered her lips over and over in the soft, insistent warmth of his. The blanket slowly slid down and caught between them at her ribcage. He bent her against his arms and his lips pressed kisses in a gentle path that gathered at her throat and then traveled down to the tender flesh of her breastbone. She felt his arms tremble against her back and she clung with both hands against his head while she wound his damp hair through her fingers. Heated trails of pleasure exploded through her body like streams from a firework and her breathing quickened. Erik felt the pulsing of her heart against his sensitive mouth. He turned his cheek to rest against her skin and steeled himself to stem the flood of passion that threatened to overwhelm him. He listened to the rhythmic pulse of her heart, allowing it to cool his ardor and then lifted her with him as he straightened. She was beginning to shiver again, as much from the ministrations of his gentle hands and exploring mouth as from the cold.
"My love," he began as he again pulled the woolen blanket around her shoulders, "we must lie together tonight, skin to skin, if we are to stay warm in this cold. I fear we have no choice if we want to live. The temperature is dropping precipitously." Though his words were true and he delighted in the thought of it, he wished these were not the circumstances that required it. Christine looked at him shyly, but anticipation flickered within her eyes, which made him wary.
"Christine," his voice was serious, "You must promise you will be my ally for tonight I have not the power to resist you. I give you my word, I will not say no." His voice was gentle but firm as it carried in a low timbre throughout the cave. "Will you give me honor when I have none?" She looked confused and then disappointed and shook her head slightly but did not answer, wondering if it also meant she couldn't kiss his warm mouth or hold him close.
"Christine, please, you must say you will do this for me! Tonight, your beauty and your charms will make me their captor; I am defenseless." His voice held in it an element of desperation.
She dropped her head and stared at the ground before she said, "I want to hold you in my arms and kiss you, that is all I ask. May I?"
He watched her unmoving, his eyes betraying a bare flicker of yearning, and then said "Yes my love" and his eyes glowed with affection and relief. She turned her eyes back to his and the love that burned within them bathed his heart in contentment. Her mind turned back to the time when she was apprehensive about his loving her and now so great for him was her desire that if she hadn't experienced it herself she would disbelieve she had ever felt that way. But she would not go against his wishes; she loved him far too much to dishonor his request.
Erik continued to disrobe and Christine continued to stare. How much she loved him! She watched as his dark silhouette straightened and bent while he pulled off his boots and then peeled off the sodden pants. She saw for the first time how well-muscled and beautifully shaped his legs were.
He grasped the cloth he had used on Christine and finished drying himself off and then wrapped it about his hips. The firelight flickered off his skin. He bent and scooped up the clothes that littered the ground and hung them on the twine next to Christine's clothes. He came back to stand by the fire and did something that shocked her. He removed his mask and dried his face and then replaced it gingerly as if it hurt to do so. Though she could not see his face since the side afflicted faced away, still, he had never done such a thing before; she stood horror-struck and dumbfounded a moment before she regained her composure and said, "You needn't replace it."
"I'll remove it when I come to sleep since it's much darker in the shadows away from the fire. It feels raw tonight. I fear the fury of the elements pelting the mask along with the stinging cold took their toll."
She could see him wince slightly in pain.
"Come my sweet," he extended an arm and long fingers to her, "let me hold you a moment near the flames before we retire to our bed," and then an afterthought, "such as it is."
He led her toward him as she took his hand and then wrapped her in both arms while he breathed in deeply and sighed. His fire-warmed arms caressed her and his lips brushed her hair. They held each other awhile before he finally led her to the bed and covered her with the heavy woolen blanket as she snuggled against the fur.
"I'll grab the other one too." He came to her and covered her with that one also, and then went back to the fire.
"Erik?"
"One moment my love, I want only to warm my skin before I lie next to you so you won't freeze." She watched as his silhouette turned slowly before the fire while he warmed his skin. He rubbed his shoulders and his arms. His limbs were shapely and firm, his torso taut, and his shoulders and chest broad, which contrasted to slim hips. A beautiful masterpiece wrought by the hands of nature she mused to herself.
He came back and dropped his mask and the cloth at his hips beside the fur and knelt down to slide beneath the woolen blankets where she tumbled eagerly into his arms to warm her now cooling skin against the fire-warmed downy smoothness of his. His body came alive with the fullness of hers pressed boldly against every fire-warmed inch of him, though she did not tease beyond any movement of hugging him close, while sliding her palms across the warmth of his back.
She turned her face toward his and saw the barest outline of his face without the mask. It held no horror for her. She reached up to touch him where his mask had been but he grabbed her hand and stopped it along its trajectory. His body went rigid and she felt him cringe.
"May I, my love? After all, we are to marry. Certainly you shouldn't have to sleep in it. Also, it's dark and as you once said to me 'silently the senses abandon their defenses'…"
He loosened his grip but kept his hand around her wrist for assurance and she didn't question it. Gently she traced her fingers across the terrain of his face that typically lay beneath the mask and was surprised to find that though the texture was uneven, it felt just like skin.
She said "It's uneven but it is smooth and soft just like skin, you need not fear. There is nothing in it that is unpleasant to my fingers."
His body seemed to grow less rigid and the outline of his countenance relaxed. She slipped her arm around his neck and nuzzled her nose against him as she said "I love you so."
The shadows rose and fell in a mesmerizing dance on the cave wall with each flicker of the fire. The silhouette of Erik shown like an apparition and for a moment she thought he was as she floated in his arms in the twilight that comes before slumber takes its full claim. True to her word, she did not press beyond the bounds of his request and she fell asleep with her lips grazing his cheek, her arm wrapping his neck and her legs entwined in his. Erik lay awake much longer basking in the pleasure of her affection with his fingers dancing softly in her curls against the silk skin of her back until sheer exhaustion took his will and forced his eyes shut. The air in the cave hovered above freezing but they were warm and toasty as they held each other tight while they slept.
Christine blinked heavily with eyes that scratched like sandpaper, when she opened them the next morning. She sat up, the warm blankets following with her, when she saw that Erik had already left the bed. He was fully dressed, including his mask, and stood near the fire pulling on the last boot, the only thing that was still slightly damp, when he realized she had awakened.
"Good morning my sweet," he said as he advanced toward her and then stood hands on hips staring. Her hair tumbled wildly about her shoulders. He ached to hold her against him as he had the night before and the eyes that returned the gaze betrayed the same sentiment.
"You left me in naked loneliness," she said.
"My will is no match against your beauty and your charms. They disarm me in a moment's notice."
"Yes, my love, but I gave you my word, have you forgotten?"
"No, I have not forgotten. Your honor was above reproach last night, but it is I who worries me."
He dropped his hand to the nape of her neck in a caress and she reveled in the bliss that flowed into her from the warm fingertips.
"You wear your mask?" "Yes, my love, of course, I always do."
"You took it off last night."
"In the dark when you couldn't see!" His eyes flashed and he drew back his hand.
"But I love you the way you are," she said gently.
"Then you love a man who chooses to wear a mask. That is the way I am. You see men who wear patches over their missing eyes do you not? Why should I be any different?"
"You shouldn't be if that is your desire, but it's important to me you know I love you either way."
The anger in his eyes evaporated and he caressed her neck again. "Yes, and I love you for it. But I also love you for accepting that I choose to wear it."
She reached for his hand and held it to her cheek and replied "I do. You look quite dignified in it."
"Do I?"
"Yes, I've grown to love it actually."
"Truly?"
"Yes, my love, truly."
His gaze lingered on her in silence a moment before he changed the topic.
"I'll gather your clothes."
He walked toward the twine where the clothes hung suspended and then tossed each item of clothing over his shoulder.
"We must make haste today. The day is clear now but I fear that yesterday was only a dress rehearsal for what is to come."
He returned with her clothes and asked "Are you all right to travel?"
"I think, though my thighs are so awfully sore!"
"I was afraid that would happen," his eyes at the corners drooped slightly with the pain of hearing it was true. "Christine, you astonish me. You caught on to riding like a duck takes to water. Persevering with nary a complaint!"
She felt suddenly shy, but basked in the warmth of his compliment. "Thank you my love."
"Shall we begin separately and then join together on Philippe if you grow tired?"
"Yes. That's a wonderful idea." She began to dress and he turned away to pack since he was determined that all of his energy should go into the matter at hand – that of going home, rather than resisting the myriad charms and womanly wiles she possessed, which plucked raucously at his heart strings.
Going home was easier and quicker than Erik expected. The day was grey and gloomy, but the clouds pregnant with rain cradled every drop to themselves until the opera house was within sight when a light misting began. Christine wanted to make it alone on the horse all the way but her legs were so shaky she could barely stay in the saddle and so was grateful when Erik took her in his arms on his horse. Drowsiness nearly overtook her while clasped against him, the back of her head lolling against his chest. When they reached the opera house Christine wanted to jump off the horse and kiss the ground but she could barely stand.
Erik dropped her at the secret entrance and took the horses to the stable while Christine walked gingerly back to her room where she flopped down on the bed and dropped immediately into a dark slumber.
Christine's mind struggled toward wakefulness but her chest and arms felt as if they were being pressed heavily against the bed. Hot breath blew against her neck and impudent lips feverishly whispered of ardent love. She tried to turn and respond, thinking at first it was Erik, but she was pinned. The air became heavy and she could not replenish her lungs. A black curtain floated down around her and she felt herself spiraling into a numbing black gloom that sucked away awareness. She heard a surge of fabric as she wrested herself awake and drank in a long draught of air. "Erik?" Silence. "Erik!" Still silence. Had she only dreamed? It must have been a dream; she was so deathly tired.
She went to the mirror and the face that stared back at her was disheveled and smudged with dirt. She pulled her hair aside and looked at her neck to see if there were any traces of evidence that it wasn't a dream. The collar was pushed down inside her blouse and she couldn't recall having done that herself. She wished for Erik. Anger at Erik's delay flashed through her, but she calmed quickly since she knew he wouldn't be late without worthy cause. But where was he? An hour had crept by. Chills slithered down her spine. The mirror slid open and Erik appeared, still disheveled himself.
"Oh my love where have you been? Something strange and terrible happened, but I'm not sure whether it was real or a dream!"
"I was intercepted by Mme. Giry, and I have news. Juste forwarded a missive asking that I contact him. He held up a slim envelope and waved it back and forth. He has reason to believe he has discovered information that will pave the way for us to marry."
"That's wonderful my love!" She rushed to him and he whirled her around in wonder barely allowing himself to believe it could really be true.
Her feet touched the ground and he held her face in his hands. "You look like a little urchin all smudged with dust and soot. Come home with me where you can bathe in luxury." She pressed her lips to his slowly, softly. Once again. And yet again before she said, "I'd like nothing better."
Unseen eyes hidden in shadow watched from behind the glass in horror and words hissed from startled lips, "So she cavorts with a demon and must be saved!" The figure backed away swiftly and ran from the terrible sight to plot what steps must be taken to ensure Christine's deliverance.
Erik slid the glass to one side and they stepped through. All Christine's troubles flew from her head as soon as they started down the path toward Erik's magical world.