Erik's POV

Last night had been the best night of my life. I had kissed a woman for the first time in my life, and that woman had been Christine. Christine of all people had allowed me to kiss her. It was something that would live within my heart for the rest of my life. We had fallen asleep beside one another and I hadn't meant for things to happen that way. It was highly inappropriate, but we couldn't help our exhaustion. When I awoke, the first thing I noticed was that my shirt was off. I covered myself with my blanket and looked around for Christine. My biggest worry was that she was going to wake and regret what we had done… Oh, if she regretted it, I would never forgive myself. Oh, but how I needed pleasure…I wanted nothing more than to do what we had done again. I needed to feel her flesh beneath my fingers, kiss her soft lips and hear her groan into my ear. Her voice was still fresh in my mind, so fresh that it turned me on. God, I needed to find her…

"Christine?" I called her name as I stood to my feet. Oh, if she regretted it all, I would die of a broken heart.

"Christine?"

She wasn't here… she wasn't here and she wasn't in my home. It made me nervous, for I wasn't sure how this day was going to play out. I quickly dressed and made my way down to the auditorium. Rehearsals were already underway, and Christine was nowhere in sight. Oh, but I couldn't get the thought of last night out of my mind. It made me smile for the first time in my life, and Nadir certainly noticed.

"Erik, may I speak to you in my office?"

I wasn't sure why Nadir wanted to see me in my office, but I followed him. Once we were inside and the door was shut, Nadir turned to me.

"Are you alright?" he began. "You're acting strangely this morning."

"I am?"

"Yes, you never smile."

"Maybe because I never had anything to smile about before. Nadir, last night I went on a date with Christine and it was the best night of my life."

Nadir was looking strangely at me once again and I was about to say something, when he approached me and pulled away a little bit of my collar.

"Did the night end with Christine sucking on your neck?"

"How did you know?"

"She left a mark…"

Now I never had a woman kiss my neck before, that being the reason why I never thought about what it could leave behind. I made my way to the mirror and looked at my neck, finding a large red and purple mark.

"What is that?"

"I call them love bites, but the technical term for them would be a hickey. It goes away after a few days, but until then, the world knows what you did."

"Good, let them gawk… I've lived on this earth far too long without a single moment of pleasure and last night made up for it all. Speaking of this, where is Christine?"

"I haven't seen her this morning, but I saw some of the ballerinas heading into the kitchen a while back. Seems as though one of the Manor girls came rushing in this morning to apologize to Christine in front of everyone for spreading some cruel rumor. She seemed frightened... You wouldn't have anything to do with that now would you?"

"Of course not," I lied. "Some things just happen by chance."

"Chance or from a Phantom's push?"

With that being said, I left Nadir and made my way to the kitchen. The moment I entered, the ballerinas gawked at me, but immediately turned the other way. After they gathered up their breakfast I was left alone. Not completely alone, for Christine came around the corner with her cup of tea in hand. She gasped when she saw me standing there, but stopped to speak with me.

"Erik, I didn't mean to leave like I did this morning, but I had rehearsals. I didn't want to wake you, for you looked so peaceful."

I was about to open my mouth to speak, when another group of ballerinas appeared. Not wanting those whores to know what happened between the two of us, I made up an excuse to pull Christine away.

"You were late to rehearsal yesterday…I need to speak with you about your tardiness."

With that being said, I pulled her away and into my office. Once there, I closed the door and tried to control myself, for I wanted nothing more than to kiss her again.

"Christine, last night was… Was more than anything anyone could have ever given me. I…I…I can't thank you enough for those kisses."

"Erik, I…I enjoyed it too, but…But we can't let the others at the opera house see us together like that. Especially when you're trying to help me with my career. It might cause problems for the both of us."

"Understandable," I began. "But if not now, then when?"

"In privacy. We could be coworkers by day, and lovers by night."

Lovers? Lovers? No one had ever wanted to be my lover. I sighed and couldn't control myself a moment longer. I ran to her and pressed my lips against her own.

"Erik, not like that," Christine began. "Not when anyone could walk in on us. Tonight, take me to the cemetery to see my father's grave."

"All right…"

Another snow storm was coming, but I didn't care, Christine wanted to go out with me again, and that was all that mattered. For the remainder of the day, I anxiously waited for the sun to go down so that I could see my angel again. After eight, I gathered up my stallion and met Christine at the stable gate. Being the gentleman I was, I helped her up onto Cesar's back before climbing up behind her.

"How was your day?" I asked.

"All right… Carlotta was rude, but when isn't she... and... and the rumors stopped. The girl from the Manor apologized."

"That's good to hear... Not much longer, Christine. You will be the lead soon enough."

"You don't have to do this, Erik… I'm happy being in the ballet."

"You deserve more, Christine, and I will see to it that you get more."

Yes, I could have said more, but before I could do so, Cesar became spooked over a rabbit, causing him to stand on his hind legs. Christine and I fell to the ground with a loud thud. The snow didn't make our fall any softer, for at first, we couldn't move.

"Erik, are you all right?"

"Stupid beast," I groaned. "Ohhh…"

My back was now killing me and I couldn't move. Christine helped me sit up and I thanked her for it. When I was able to move, I stood and held out my hand to Christine. We were both soaked to the bone now, and it was snowing extremely hard.

"I don't think we should continue our journey to the cemetery," I began. "We might freeze to death if we do."

"You're probably right."

I gathered Cesar up and cursed at him from beneath my breath. Deciding to guide Cesar back to the opera house, I placed Christine on his back and began to guide him through the woods.

"We're going to be back soon. "

We were just approaching the stables when I tripped over a thorn bush. It hurt at first, but when I felt something trickling down my leg and heard Christine's concerned voice, I knew something was wrong.

"Erik, you're hurt."

"No, it's all right…"

When we were back at the stables, I helped Christine down, a small trail of blood tricking down my left leg.

"Come on, let's get you back inside."

I believed Christine thought I was going to die, for she was frantic in getting me in my arm chair and removing my shoes.

"It's three small marks," Christine began once my pant leg was folded up. "It could have been worse, I guess."

"They're thorns, Christine. I've had worse."

"I'm going to wrap your ankle and perhaps get us some tea to warm our soaked bodies up."

"Change, Christine. Anything in my closet is yours to wear. Get yourself dry before you catch a cold."

"And what about you? You're shivering worse than I am."

"I… I'll manage."

Christine wasn't about to listen to me, for she went quickly in working to get my wet clothes from off of my body. What was she doing? She couldn't undress me…

"Christine, stop…I'll undress myself."

But the woman wouldn't listen to me, for she continued pulling away each of my garments. Oh, what was I going to do with her? I wanted to make her the lead diva of the opera house and I was going to do just that. I was going to think of a way to rid Carlotta of this place for good. I wasn't sure how I was going to complete such a task, but it had to be something horrible, something that would make her want to leave.

"Here," I was pulled from my thoughts when I heard Christine's voice. She handed me a dry shirt and I slipped it over my chilled shoulders. Christine worked fast in changing and then preparing us some hot tea. Afterwards, she made her point to leave. Why did my time with her always have to come to an end? When I was with Christine, I was happy… When she wasn't beside me, I couldn't breathe.

"It's getting late," she began. "I have an early rehearsal in the morning."

I walked her to the door, not knowing whether to kiss her goodnight or not. But then, right before she walked away, Christine pressed her lips gently against my own.

"I...I heard what you said to my father the other night at the cemetery...Did you truly mean what you said?"

"I...I don't know... I wasn't sure anyone was listening. Maybe I didn't mean what I said."

Christine smiled. "Of course you did."

"Will you go out with me again?"

Christine nodded. "I would go out on a million more dates with you."

"You don't have to leave, Christine You could stay with me… You could sleep here. It is the warmest place in the opera house."

"That's very kind of you, Erik, but I shouldn't. Goodnight, I will see you tomorrow."

And when I was left alone, I felt as though I were the last person on earth. I needed to do something to make Christine want to stay with me. I needed to figure out how I could make her fall in love with me. Things were going well, but I knew she didn't love me yet. Love took time and I didn't have time. That boy of hers was waiting to swoop in and sweep her off her feet. Kisses were beautiful, but they weren't sealing us forevermore. I needed to seal the bond between us…I needed to make her want me and only me. There were only two weeks left until Valentine's Day; the most romantic day of the year. Usually, I ignored such a day, but this year, I wouldn't. No, I would sweep Christine off her feet with something beautiful, something over the top. I thought a few moments before a wonderful idea came to mind. I would make her the leading lady of the opera house for the Valentine's Day opera! Oh, she would love it, and when the opera was over, I would shower her with endless love. If I was going to pull this off, I was going to need some help from Nadir. I didn't want to ask him for help, but he knew more about love than I did. I was probably going to regret it, but in the end, I would have Christine forever.