Erik's POV

I was a complete anxious wreck when I returned home. All I had wanted was to feel like a human being, but I couldn't bring myself to go inside the whore house. I had returned home late, for both Christine and Gustave were nowhere to be found. Christine had left me some dinner on the stove, but I wasn't hungry enough to eat. After returning to my room, I closed the door behind me and paced the floor. There were things a man needed in life and a woman was one of them. I had been on this earth a long time, and not once had anyone ever taken me to bed. This horrid face prevented me from getting anything and everything I wanted in life and I had finally reached my breaking point. Knowing that I wouldn't be able to sleep until I spoke with Christine, I threw on my robe and headed down the stairs. I took a deep breath before knocking on her door. I waited, hoping that she would answer, and when she did, I sighed in relief.

"Erik, it's late," she yawned, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. "What are you doing here?"

"I…I was hoping that I could talk to you. I…I can't sleep, for there is a lot on my mind. It won't take long…"

The girl held her robe tightly against her chest as she nodded. When she stepped aside, I walked into the spare bedroom that had become her room and looked towards the bed.

"You can sit on my bed if you wish," She stated. "You don't have to stand there."

"No, I'd rather stand," I said. "I…I don't think I could bear to sit down."

"Good, then I will."

When Christine took a seat on her bed, I was left standing there and I knew she was waiting for me to speak.

"It's…It's not easy being me," I began. "As the most successful businessman in Coney Island, I have a reputation that I must uphold, that reputation being tough to handle at times. I…I can't see women, for the press would be all over me. There's not a day that goes by where there isn't at least one article about me in the New York Times. It's frustrating…"

"I can imagine," Christine said. "I know how hard you work at keeping yourself, Erik."

"I…I didn't know what came over me tonight, but…Oh, I couldn't help myself. I never thought about going there before, but tonight, I couldn't stop thinking about women and how long I've lived without having one. I…I left the house tonight and ventured to the Coney Island whorehouse."

Her eyes went wide, and I wasn't sure if it was out of embarrassment or jealousy. Of course it wasn't jealousy, for why would this woman care what I did? She was my maid and nothing more…

"You what?" she gasped.

"I know…I…I hated myself when I was standing in front of it. My body was screaming yes, but my mind took control and I began to think about what would happen if I went inside. I knew the press would spot me and my picture with the whores would be on the front page of tomorrow's newspaper. I couldn't bear the thought of it, so I turned around and came home. I need it, Christine… I want a woman so badly, and sadly, there is nothing I can do to stop my urge for one. You wouldn't know how I feel day after day…Living all these years and never once experiencing the joys of the flesh. I live in light but am surrounded by darkness. What joy is having money and my own park if I can't even come and go as I please?"

"Erik, you're doing so well… Plus, you have Gustave and I to keep your home clean and keep you company when you're lonely."

"I need more than that, Christine. I…I need to ask something of you, something that I hope you won't find distasteful."

She seemed a little scared, but continued to stay seated.

"As you know, I pay you fifty dollars a week for your services. I've been extremely happy with the way you clean my home and your cooking is some of the best I've ever had. I…I will pay you two hundred a week if you agree to serve me in other ways as well."

"What? Other ways? What are you talking about?"

"I will pay you two hundred dollars a week, Christine, if you agree to be intimate with me. No reporter would ever dare come here. This is my home and it's the only place I feel safe to roam around and do as I please. No one would ever suspect anything…"

The moment I said those exact words, the woman slapped me in the face, causing my mask to fly across the room. This went just as I had suspected it would…

"How could you wake me up in the middle of the night and speak to me in such a way? I can't believe you make me out to be nothing more than a whore."

"I do not see you as a whore, Christine. I'm…I'm…" I dropped to my knees, not caring that the metal brace around my leg was pressing up against my flesh. "I'm a desperate man, and I don't deserve your friendship or anyone else's. All I ever wanted was to love and be loved in return and I know that no woman will ever look on me and love. Forgive me for ever speaking such things to you. I am ashamed for even expecting you to agree to something so degradable. You're too perfect and beautiful for someone as hideous as me. No, only a king should have permission to say something like that to you."

"But you are a king," Christine cooed. "You are the king of New York… A king should never say such things."

"We were friends long ago, and yet, I don't remember. Forgive me, for I'm sure your once friend and tutor never spoke to you like that. If only I could remember what I was like back then… At least you would smile in knowing that he was still here…not this perverted stranger that's replaced him."

"I will forgive you, Erik, on one condition."

"Anything… Name it and it shall be done."

"Agree to have a cup of tea with me… I will make it and be up in your room in a few minutes."

"Done…"

And without another word, I left the girl, afraid that I would hurt her again.

Christine's POV

When Erik was gone, I couldn't help but jump up and down in excitement. Erik wanted me… I had done my best to seduce him, and it seemed to have worked. Over the past few weeks, I had spent as much time with him as possible in hopes that his cold heart would melt, and I believed it had! He went to the whorehouse but couldn't bring himself to go inside. Erik never thought about women in the past…No, his only thoughts were of me, and I could only hope that's how it was now. He was ashamed of himself and offered to pay me two hundred dollars a week to sleep with him, when I was willing to do it for free. I would not be making tea tonight…No, I only said that to get him to leave my room so I could get myself ready. When he was gone, I worked quickly at removing my nightgown that was beneath the robe before slipping the silk garment back over my bare shoulders. This would help our relationship grow, for after tonight, I knew he would never be able to let me go again.

Warning, this part below is rated M so if you don't want to read it, skip to the next chapter...

Erik's POV

When I was back in my room, I removed my shirt and placed my robe back on. The summer heat was getting to me…or at least that's what I thought. Perhaps it was Christine…She certainly made me feel strange, but it wasn't a terrible strange…No, it was one that filled my body with joy and warmth. I waited anxiously for her to return with the tea she had promised to make, spending the next several minutes staring out the window. When I heard my door open again, I kept my back turned, not wanting to face her just yet. The room was silent expect for the sound of her feet walking across the hardwood floor. I expected her to speak up about our tea, but she didn't say a word, not even when I felt her presence right behind me. No, instead of hearing her beautiful voice, I felt her hands place themselves on each shoulder, her fingers lightly massaging my aches away. I found it comforting at first and didn't think anything of it, not even when they began to slowly creep down my arms. Something began to course through me, something I had never felt before… When I felt her fingers prying my robe open, that's when I spun around to face her.

"Christine?"

I looked into her beautiful eyes and became hypnotized… They were beautiful, and yet so familiar… Her fingers felt like fire as they slid the robe from my shoulders and ran over each scar I had covering my abdomen. It was as if they had done this before…Though, suddenly, something happened that hadn't happened to me in a while… Every few moments, I would leave her and find myself standing somewhere else. I wasn't sure who I was with, or where I was, but I could see a girl's hand running over my scars, just how Christine was doing it now. When I returned to Christine, she jumped up into my arms and pressed her lips against my own…A kiss! God, this was amazing… But once again, I left Christine and found myself kissing another woman. Something returned to me, something I had been missing for a long time. It was as if I had done this before and my instinct took over. I was soon back with Christine, my mind blank as I feverishly kissed every inch of her neck, her voice calling for me as if she had been starved for far too long. Her fingers tore off my trousers and searched endlessly for my hardened core. The thought and truth about knowing that I had never made love to a woman before instantly faded away and was replaced with a new memory…The moment her hands began to stroke me, everything faded away and I was left in that damp lair again, the same hands pressing against my hips.

"Ange…" the voice begged. "Please, I want this more than anything in the world."

That voice…It was so familiar. I tried to look down at the body that was beneath me, but I couldn't focus on her, for all I could see was a pair of red bed sheets and the stone walls of my lair. But still, I was like an animal, pressing endless kisses to her neck and thrusting my hips into her hand. When I couldn't take another moment of torture, I plunged deep into her body…The first sensation swept me away, and I was no longer in that lair… No, I was back in my room and Christine was beneath me as I took control.

"Oh, Erik…Yes…Yes…"

This wasn't my first time… I had done this before, for I had just seen it. I needed this more than anything, and the moment I joined myself with Christine, everything came rushing back to me. I knew how to pleasure this woman, for I had done it before. Maybe not with her, but I knew I had done it with someone. I thrust deep and hard, only lasting a few moments, but oh, how wonderful they were. And when we finished, I plopped on top of her, attempting to catch my breath.

"Christine?"

"Yes, Erik?"

"I've done this before, haven't I?"

She smiled and pressed her lips against my neck. "Qui…"

"With who?"

"Must you ask?"

My heart suddenly ceased within my chest as I looked down at her. My mind left the room once again, and I found myself in my lair with a naked girl beside me… But that girl was not a stranger…No, she was Christine! I had lost my virginity to Christine! She had been the girl I had been seeing in my dreams…It was her! That's why she wasn't too angry when I asked her to make love to me a little while ago. No, we had already done so in the past! There were so many things I wanted to ask her, but instead, I pressed another kiss to her beautiful lips. Tonight would be a memory, but right now was a gift, one that I would cherish for the rest of my life.

Well, at least he not only got what he needed, but a memory did indeed stir! Whoo hoo... Well, now that he is filled with questions, lets see what Christine can tell him without hurting his feelings or making him go nuts.