Prompt by Kwat01 on tumblr: "a kiss of jealousy"
"I could fetch my carriage at any moment and we could be in Perros in a few hours! Just like old times." Raoul quipped as though he had spoken in jest and reached out to her face to push a stray hair away. The hope in his eyes revealed what they both knew: he wanted the time of their youth back when he was free of responsibilities and she was hanging on to his every word. However, those days were long past and she had no desire to return to her frilly younger self; if only to hug her Pappa one last time.
She giggled in response, hoping Raoul wouldn't press the issue further. He was always approaching her with tales of their past together, leaving her tired of the same old stories. After all she was a better, wiser person than she was back then. But Raoul wasn't interested in this mature Christine which was why he only wanted to talk about their past; whenever she tried to converse about their present life - her everyday life, her hopes and dreams - he would find an excuse to leave or change the subject. Was she that tedious to listen to?
M. Reyer's bell chimed, alerting the cast that their break was over. Christine was relieved to leave the conversation with Raoul and quickly waved apologetically before heading for the stairs to the stage. The sandy-haired was already behind her, no doubt planning to watch the rest of her rehearsal. She sighed as she started to ascend the stairs, wondering when Raoul would take a hint and leave her be. Her actually refusing his courtship hadn't been enough. Maybe he would continue this charade till the day she married! Christine wasn't even sure she wanted to be married; her career was much more important.
Raoul's footsteps sounded faster than hers and as she reached the last flight of stairs, she began to take two steps at a time to avoid him catching up to her. It worked; soon she was on the first floor, the right wing in her sight with the heavy red curtain half covered in spotlight from above the stage.
She only managed to take a single step forward before a large hand wrapped around her bicep and pulled her sidewards. A scream barely started to form in her throat before another hand covered her mouth as she was hauled away. Her feet tried to keep her steady, a difficult task when she stumbled over ropes tangled on the floor.
The cold hand around her bicep let go and snaked into her chestnut coils as a long, hard figure pushed her against a wall - forcefully, but with intent to keep her unharmed. The large hand that covered her mouth was replaced by familiar lips insistently claiming their territory, teeth clashing against hers, before a tongue plunged into the cavern of her mouth; every spot inside her explored and conquered in a matter of seconds.
It was intoxicating - his kiss - despite the scrape of his mask on her upper lip and the rage he poured into her. However, she never minded when he let his emotions reign in their passionate interactions. How he filled her with his entire being; all the feelings he'd fought to bury for so years finally let loose and granted their focus on pleasing her. Even now as his anger drove him to capture her in such a way, he still took care not to harm her and remembered the things she liked: his hand raking through her hair, another caressing her bare clavicle where the bodice of her gown had loosened. He wasn't too far gone in his emotions; their months together had benefited them both.
She was not pliant in her reaction to his kisses, but gave as good as she got - entangling his tongue with hers and gripping his neck to pull him closer - but she couldn't resist succumbing to him and it wasn't long before she had wrapped her legs around him and let him do whatever he wanted.
His kisses grew messy and his lips strayed from their target, moving across her jaw to find that little spot behind her ear where a single kiss could make her shiver. "You. Are. Mine." he growled between kisses, finally making her understand why he had sprung on her this moment. "No one else touches you," he pulled back and looked at her for the first time since this seance had started; his eyes were like fire in the dim light.
She let a hand cup his masked cheek with a loving touch and he seemingly unwillingly nuzzled into her palm. There wasn't anything about him to be frightened of anymore, even when his temper got the best of him; he just needed a kind touch. "It wasn't my intention to run into Raoul. He just cannot understand that I don't want to be courted by him." She lifted to her toes and pulled him down, so she could rest her forehead against his masked one. Erik sighed in response, the beast tamed for now.
"He should know that you belong to someone else." He mumbled and took her hand from his cheek, cradling it in both of his hands before setting it against his chest where his heart beat furiously, much like her own.
"I belong to myself," she objected. Before she had time to elaborate, or he had the opportunity to argue, M. Reyer's bell chimed loudly and several people called out for her; the opera needed its diva. Erik practically hissed as Raoul used her first name instead of Mlle Daaé like the rest. She smiled ruefully up at Erik who nodded at her, letting her hand go before stepping back. Hearing her sing was always the top priority for him.
Just as she passed him, a spindly hand shot out and grabbed her wrist, pulling her up against his firm frame again. He lifted her wrist so they both could see it and out of nowhere conjured up a gold ring that he effortlessly slid onto her ring finger.
"You belong to me."