Chapter Two

Burn

Disclaimer- As always, I own no one you recognize.

Notes- This is not one of my best or longest chapters but it will help the story, please read and review! Please? Please!

Christine was so conflicted at that moment she was not sure what to think or feel. She was excited to see her dark angel but she was afraid as well, and concerned, about both herself and him. Would he be upset with her? Has he been all right since she left him? The feelings he stirred in her that night came flooding back through her, she felt breathless, could imagine his hands on her and then felt sorrowful, as she remembered that moment he had let her go, that moment he had been sobbing and smiling at once, their kiss had proven to be different than all her other kisses with Raoul, it was filled with yearning and passion, engulfed by a nameless desire which Raoul still could not seem to satisfy.

She smiled gently, the same smile he had watched form on her mouth when she had seen him smile after their kiss, nervous and shy, sweet and resolved. He sighed softly, so softly that she never knew of it. He moved out to the part of the floor in front of her, the railing separated them, and only that, he watched her nervously try to find something to say so he took the initiative to speak first. "You look well."

Her breath hitched in her chest and she felt like slapping herself for what she said next. "What are you doing here?"

He chuckled with a cool stealthiness and shook his head. "It's nice to see you too. . ."

"I didn't mean it to come out that way, it was the first thing on my mind and it slipped." She corrected softly, her eyes meeting his amused ones. "I wish I could say the same for you but I cannot really see you."

"You can see me fine."

"I cannot, sir, you hide behind a mask."

He was very amused now, chuckled again and paced some. "My, my, that is very clever of you, Mme, very clever. You know I shall never remove my mask simply so you can gaze upon my horrifying flesh."

"Have you forgotten so soon, that your face gives me no horror? Monsieur, I beg to look upon you, you yourself, not the mask. Need I remove it a third time?" Her brown eyes were sincere and pleading, she needed to see him but he did not understand why.

"No, no I shall come into there." His voice had nearly broken when he'd said 'shall', but he hadn't let it. He colly moved to the wall separating them and grabbed it, easily swung himself over. She was smiling, excited, her pulse made her breathing sharpen and she knew he could hear the small inhales easily from where he stood before her, he gazed at her for a moment, taking in her beauty, the turned and lowered the curtain of that box, which could be closed for the occupants privacy.

She smiled intently, he half reached for the mask then threw his arms down, half turned from her. "I . . . I can't Christine."

She frowned and stood up, touched his shoulder so he would turn to her. She gently reached up and easily slid the mask away, left the wig so he could make himself presentable more easily. He sobbed when her expression did not change at all when she looked upon his ravished right side of the face, she frowned in pity, reached up and gently caressed the flesh, shook her head. "I'm so sorry for everything that's happened, for what I put you through. But, why did you let me go? I would have stayed, I decided to stay."

"To save Raoul," he added thickly, did not lose her gaze. "I could not hold you only for you to be saving him. I wanted you to come to me out of love. And I knew you never could."

"I'm not so sure," she breathed, laughing nervously. "Since that kiss I haven't been sure of anything but I just, I just went with it, I followed the flow because I thought that when I left you'd have . . ." She shook her head, a tear slipped from her left eye. "I can't even think about it. I never wished you harm and I didn't mean it when I said I hated you, Raoul, Raoul is all I have left of my childhood, of my father and I was so afraid of letting go." More tears began to slip down her face, she was growing hysterical. Both of her hands caressed both sides of his face and he gripped her wrists gently. "Oh God, I don't even know if you have a name so I've been calling you my Angel, no matter what that's what you are because, you taught me to sing and you cared so deeply for me even though it led to . . . Something which I wish not to dream about."

It was becoming difficult to understand her as her sobs built up and finally she let it all go, she feel into his chest and pressed her palms on either side beside her face. "Oh, hold me." She gasped as she let the tears and sobs out, she felt his arms hesitantly rise but then tighten around her waist and his hands soothed her back. She didn't cry long, and when she pulled away and wiped at her face, he felt an odd emptiness. "I'm sorry." She said softly.

"No, don't be. You needed to get that out." He sighed. "But what exactly are you saying Christine?"

She sighed, plopped down again. "I don't know, I do feel something for you, but I. . . I've already married Raoul and I, I could never leave him so, I guess you're just a very fond, warm memory for me."

"Warm," he looked at her in an enticing manner. "Warm is a kiss to the hand and a smile in return Christine, hot is the need to quickly make love and then to discard that person because of lack of quenching, I do not make you warm or hot, Christine." He moved behind her, knelt and moved her hair aside, breathed against her neck until she quivered, his lips rubbed her skin as he mumbled, "I make you burn." against it. She moaned as his lips traced a pattern down the back of her soft neck, then curled forward as he stood and kissed along her jugular. She groaned helplessly but pulled away, whispered fervently. "I cannot, I cannot, please stop."

He paused in his place, she was holding back because of Raoul. He knew, and he ignored Satine's warning. "Do you know where your precious husband is now, Christine? He is paying to seduce a certain young courtesan, so that he can pay for this to be expanded. Satine wants none of this, she is worried about you, but if she doesn't, all her dreams of being famous end. Pity, Raoul seems to end a lot of those such dreams." He moved to leave the box when she hissed. "Wait!"

He turned and looked at her, her eyes stung with tears of indignity and she was breathing unevenly. "Would you make such a story up to seduce me, monsieur?"

"My dear sweet child, he left smiling, didn't he? No, I did not make it up, nor do I plan to seduce you, as you obviously want nothing from me." He continued slipped the mask into place, finished and added. "As for me, if you must remember me from this point on please do not remember me as 'Monsieur' or the Phantom of the Opera, my name is Erik, remember me only as that, Erik, the man."

"So I shall never see you again?" Her voice had calmed but sounded disappointed.

"You shall not ever desire to." Before she could protest, he silently slipped out and made his backstage. "Good luck, Mme de Chagny." By the time she pulled the curtain up he was exiting the floor into the backstage area, she climbed out of the box, hurried after him but when she got backstage and looked around, no one was there.

An hour later Raoul collected her and refused to answer any of her questions, making her heart numb and brain go haywire, Erik had told the truth! And she had not dared believe him, he, the one man that truly cared for her, she was but a lucky possession to Raoul, her mind reeled at this and she became hysterical in the carriage, he'd kissed her, held her and tried to calm her until finally she'd quieted, and when he asked her about her crazy moment, she'd said nothing. They arrived home and she'd gone straight to bed, he enjoyed a scotch and did the same, made an advance to touch her.

"Don't." She hissed.

"Would you deny me my right as your husband?" He growled and pulled her close, feverishly kissed her, let his hands fondle her all over, she wept and screamed, kicked and hit him but he did not let her leave him that night. All the time she lie in his arms, she thought about Erik.

And it made her burn. She burned with sadness, lust and hate, she burned with her weariness that the last two years had played on her, most of all, she burned about her second chance at freedom and her denying it with her proper sociable excuses. Erik loved her, Raoul wanted her as his wife, and she was torn between wanting the normal life Raoul could give and wanting the dark life she knew she needed, what Erik so sensually offered, she glared at Raoul in the midst of her tears as she slept, his long hair and long face, he would be handsome to most women her age but she was different, and always had been so, before her eyes he morphed into Erik for but a moment, unmasked and bare to her touch, she smiled softly and drifted off to sleep.

She decided she would go to Satine for help.

Next chapter is coming soon! PLEASE review!