There are not a great deal of chapters left in this story; I have a few twists and turns left up my sleeve, but you know me, I can't hold the suspense out for too long - it drives me nuts.

There is a line in this chapter that I borrowed from a wonderful and beautiful movie, "The Wedding Date", maybe some of you will find it.

Thanks for the reviews and for the time you all devote to reading this, and all the other stories I have written or will write...God bless you.

SHOW ME THE WAY TO LOVE

CHAPTER 25 – What You See is What You Get

There was little Christine could do about the giddiness she was feeling; and Anne was not helping at all. One would think it was her own daughter planning a wedding, which had her constantly asking questions and making suggestions. What aggravated Christine the most about the whole thing, was that she and Erik could not find any alone time…somehow, she determined that Anne had planned it that way.

Her joy at the prospect of marriage to him was only hindered slightly by the knowledge that Erik felt obligated to marry her; and thankfully, the events of that day were not public knowledge. She knew he did not do it to insult her, but a part of her could not help but feel disappointed. Would their relationship have reached this point without this development? She felt confident that it would have...although, it probably would have taken a lot more effort.

Christine thought back for a few moments on the "talk" that Anne had given her a few short hours after Erik had proposed. The woman was quite world wise, despite her matronly manner, and knew that Christine wanted nothing more than to give Erik anything and everything he wanted; but there was wisdom in not allowing herself to yield to him just yet; wisdom that sounded good and made sense, but did not appease the aching void and throbbing desire within her.

Despite the circumstances, Christine looked forward to marrying him…love was her motivator, she just did not know if Erik felt the same way. He lusted for her…that was obvious, but she had experienced lust before – from many men as their eyes roved over her lush curves; but they were just as easily disgusted by her tall frame and odd coloring. She wanted more than that from Erik…she wanted his heart.

For the past couple of weeks, she had rarely seen him; he locked himself away in his conservatory and only returned to the house and climbed the stairs late at night. He would repeat the whole process the next day by getting up before anyone else, taking Gage with him, and doing whatever it was he did. It was his safe haven and she knew he did not want anyone invading it. It had been enough of a shock to him to realize that Wesley, Anne, and Christine knew about its existence.

She had found out one thing he was doing, he was teaching Gage the piano and violin as well as anything else the boy wanted to learn. Christine longed to follow them this morning, for she arose early just to catch a glimpse of Erik's form before he disappeared again.

"Erik?"

Her soft, sultry voice called to him and he could not pretend he did not hear it; how could he? It penetrated every part of him, setting his blood racing and his body on fire. Did she know what she did to him...most likely; he certainly had made no secret about his desire for her. He only prayed that her fondness and lust for him would turn into something different...more permanent.

Gage smiled tiredly and came into her arms without provocation. Erik just stood silently as she approached him in the dim haze of the dawning day. Tiny lines etched the handsome curves of his face, indicating he had not slept very well over the past few days.

"Erik, we need to talk about what is going on between us."

In the dim lighting, she could have sworn his shoulders drooped slightly.

"What is there to talk about, Christine? No matter how I look at it, a woman is once again being forced to marry me because of some ridiculously foolish act on my part."

She ignored the stabbing pain in her chest that his words caused and asked Gage to go back into his room until they came to get him. He gladly went, crawling back into this bed for a few more moments of sleep.

Christine grasped Erik's hand and led him into her room, closing the door behind her. She turned up the lamp, filling the room with a subtle glow that mixed with the early morning rays of the sun…the result was a dreamlike halo around the room.

"There is something I wish to show you…and you do not need your eyes to see it."

Erik heard her words, wondering what she was planning on doing. He stood poised for whatever tantrum he was certain she was going to throw, as that is what Lucy would have done under such circumstances.

Instead, he felt soft hands against the thin material of his shirt and before he knew it, his back was against the wall.

"Do not think for one minute, Erik Worthington, that I am being forced to marry you; I was given a choice, remember…and I chose to marry you."

He felt the warm caress of her breath on his lips and knew she was enticing him unwittingly…or perhaps she was not so unwitting.

"Christine…" Erik began, in protest – weak though it was.

She put a finger to his lips, successfully silencing him and moved closer to him, this time pinning him against the wall with the luscious curves he admired and desired so much.

"There are far more enjoyable things to do with those lips than talk…I have missed spending time with you."

She held her ground, but did not claim his mouth. Erik felt this heart beating frantically in his chest and the gentle swell of her breasts against it did not help the situation. Instincts were not something Erik would say he possessed when it came to women, but something deep within him told him she wanted something from him….her body was sending off a signal to his – a silent, salacious song that spontaneously set his repressed passions afire.

"What do you want from me, Christine…what?" Erik begged, sounding every bit as desperate as he was.

Her thumb grazed the fullness of his bottom lip while the fingers on her other hand sensuously skated over the sensitive flesh of his neck.

"I want a marriage, Erik…a lifetime of laughing with you, of waking up next to you; of sharing with you…everything."

Every word she spoke softly drilled into him, granting a shimmer of hope that picked away at the icy coating around his heart; each layer had slowly been vanishing since the day she walked into his life.

She leaned in, placed a gentle kiss upon his neck, and purred, "Stop avoiding me."

He lifted his lips in a strained smile, trying not to read too much into her kiss. She wanted him, he was not blind enough to miss that truth; but what had him in such a quandary was why…why did she want him?

"I am not…I just…" the sun rose over the horizon and lit up the entire room, and Erik startled as her face came into view for the first time, "…Christine…"

He did not finish his thoughts before the image blurred, but he had seen her….not fully, but a haloed vision of her; the silvery mane of hair that framed her penetrating features was everything he had dreamed it would be…and more. He had delicately scanned what features he could make out before they had faded…and committed them to memory.

The open surprise on his face had Christine questioning him, "Erik…are you alright?"

For a moment, he said nothing; he just stood there with a half-smile on his face and a strange, focused glint in his eyes. Although all he could see right now as a blurry vision, Erik reached his hand out and slid it through the sensual softness of her hair.

"I saw you…briefly….just as the sun came over the horizon." He smiled, "You truly are as beautiful as I pictured you to be...perfection through my eyes."

She ran her hands over the hard, solid expanse of his chest, stopping when his heart beat frantically under their gentle possession.

"You saw me…as no one else sees me."

He clasped her seeking hands within his own and brought them to his lips, his need of her was suddenly too close to the surface and he remembered how it had felt to have her beneath him; infinitely warm, intensely passionate, and incredibly responsive.

"Christine…I am not too proud to admit that I need you…more than even I thought possible…" He had placed his forehead against hers and was speaking soft and seductively, making her practically pant in anticipation of whatever he offered. "…but I fear for you."

She pulled back from him, "Fear for me…why?"

He smiled sadly and stood up straight, distancing himself from her sensual lure, "Can you not see it….you deserve so much more; a man that you can be proud to be seen with, a man who is whole in every way…a man far less damaged than I am."

Of all the reactions he had expected, her laughter had not been one of them. It was not a mocking laugh nor an amused laugh; it was a disbelieving laugh.

"Erik Worthington, I will not go through this with you again. I have made it clear to you in every way that I know – short of making love to you – that I…"

Some resistant form of sensibility prevented her from blurting it out; but Erik caught the eagerness in her tone and it took the breath right out of him.

"You what?"

She considered her next move carefully – weighing the good with the bad – and decided there was no time like the present to risk it all and bear her heart to him. She eased her hands up his chest once more and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"I love you, you beautiful man."

His head lifted and the green of his eyes seemed to penetrate her very soul. He did not smile, but furrowed his brow in confusion.

"I do…and I have for a very long time."

Stunned hardly described how he felt; her words had somehow changed everything. Just the fact that she was willing to admit to having feelings for him was more than he had ever bargained for…but she admitted loving him.

"You…love...me?"

His hand rested in the middle of his chest as he questioned the credibility of her words, and doubted the soundness of her mind.

She read the look on this face as easily as if he had spoken his concerns aloud. She wound her fingers into the long fall of his hair, just above the sensitive spot on the back of his neck. His eyes closed at the intimate stroke of her fingers, and his head lulled forward. She gently kissed the corner of his tempting mouth and pulled his bottom lip into the warmth of her mouth before running her tongue over it; begging entrance.

His growl was low and the promise that growl held rode the waves of desire within her as he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her firmly against his impassioned body; she was going to drive him mad with her impatient kisses and eager hands.

Everything around them ceased to exist as they drank from each other. Her questing tongue demanded all that he had to give – demanded that he put aside every reservation that he had – and yield himself to her in every way. Her soft, panting moans hardened him to the breaking point and his body yearned to find solace upon the jutting peaks of her breasts and within the moist folds of her succulent, womanly core.

His logical mind took over, winning the war with his overly stimulated body, and he ended the kiss reluctantly. She would be his wife soon, and her kisses held within them the promise of something he dared not hope for…passion.

"Do you think I kiss every man I meet that way?"

Dear Lord, he hoped not! He recognized the drugging pull of jealousy – and found that he did not like it – not one bit; but the thought of another man tasting the sweetness of Christine's lips or touching the generous curves of her body, had his insides twisted in knots.

There was a dull ache forming somewhere deep within his brain, and his vision suddenly came into focus. He lifted his hand to her face, tracing the slim contour of her cheek and jaw; adoring the full pout of her rosy lips, and the perky lift of her nose.

"You are so beautiful…an angel with silver hair and violet eyes…" he drove his hand into the thickness of her hair and buried his nose in it, dragging her into him like an elixir of which he could not get enough. "…I thought that the images I created in my mind could never be matched…." His smile took her breath away, "…I was wrong."

Christine watched his eyes as he saw her, visually, for the first time; there was no disgust at her odd coloring and no judgment. He seemed pleased with what he saw. Before his sight faded again, he seemed committed to memorizing everything about her.

Hope was dangerously close to conquering the doubts he had lived with for most of his life; and for once, he welcomed it.

"I know that you cared for me during my recent accident; and I know that I have given you an incredibly hard time in the past…arguing and fighting about anything and everything." he gently kissed her lips, barely skimming the surface of them with his tongue before continuing. "I may not know what love is…not really, but I do know this…" he lifted her chin with his index finger and smiled, "…I would rather fight with you, than make love with anyone else."

TBC