A/N: Yes, our lovers are happily in each other's arms at last. Ah, but what of the other woman?
GerrysJackie: Ha! Ha! LOL! I am glad it worked for you. As I can tell by your screen name, you will appreciate that Erik as I picture him for the purpose of this story is in fact Gerry's Erik. I am sorry to say that there aren't any more scenes like this one in the story, but there will be lots more romance, action, and angst to come. Stay with us! We are only maybe a little over halfway through.
romancebookworm4ever: Yes, our Erik can definitely be harsh when provoked, and Christine tends to bring that out in him. Perhaps it's as they say – there is a thin line between love and hate. For Erik, Christine is the person before whom he is most vulnerable. He has to learn to trust her all over again. Thanks for your continued comments!
Ch. 32 – There is Only You
The next morning, Christine awakened to the sunlight from the window pouring across her face. She could hardly believe how deliciously good she felt on this fine morning, and she knew at once the reason. Sitting up on the bed beside him, she stared adoringly at him, a vision in his dark, masculine beauty. He was sprawled peacefully, the sheets wrapped enticingly around his waist, with his upper body entirely visible. His strong jaw was relaxed in sleep. Impulsively, she bent to kiss it. He stirred slightly, but did not awaken, and she continued staring at him with unabashed curiosity and pride that he was hers at last.
But something suddenly troubled her, something she had forgotten in the passion of the night before. She turned away from him. What of the woman to whom he had meant to become engaged last night? Her hands trembled as she thought of what it all could mean. Perhaps there would be no future for them as she had dared to hope, only one magical night to remember the past before moving on. At the thought, she could not contain her tears, and she lay weeping silently alongside him for many moments.
Sensing her distress, even in sleep, Erik's eyes drifted open, surprised and concerned to see her tears. He quickly folded her into his arms, holding her securely against him. "My darling, what is wrong?"
He thought for a moment, wondering if she regretted her decision to spend the night with him, and cursed himself for rushing her when she might not have been ready. His voice was hesitant as he asked carefully, "Christine, do you...regret what happened between us last night?" He kept his voice even, so she would not think him angry if it were true.
At his words, she spun around to face him, her eyes wide, vigorously shaking her head to reassure him. "Oh no, Erik! Never! What happened last night was all I had dreamt of for the past three years, and even before," she added with a maidenly blush. He raised her head to face him, "Then whatever could be the matter, my love?" She turned her face away, not wanting him to see her reaction lest what she was about to say proved true. "Before I came here, you were planning to announce your engagement to another woman last night at the party." She dropped her head in sorrow and shame. "It occurred to me that she had been here caring for you, all those years after I had turned you away. I have no right to barge in on your happiness, Erik. You have every right to move on." Though it nearly killed her, she added in a whisper, "And if you choose to return to her, even after last night, I will understand." It had taken all her courage to say those words to him, and now she waited in agony for him to either accept her love, or to reject it and return to the arms of the one who had cared for him in her absence.
Erik was moved by her uncertainty, and he took a moment to consider his words carefully. Her breathing was ragged as he set her away from him so that she could see his eyes as he said what he was about to say. But at the utter terror in her expression, he paused to smile reassuringly, taking her hand in his. As gently as he could, he explained. "It is true that I had planned on announcing my engagement to Helena last night," Christine's eyes closed in pain, "And it is also true that she has indeed been a very dear friend to me, though I have not known her for very long, only a matter of months." He sighed knowing this would be difficult to explain.
"I recently discovered some very intriguing information about my family background, information that had before been unknown to me. I discovered that I was a titled man, a Comte in fact, and the last of my family line, with the exception of Helena, who would be my paternal cousin. Helena made me an offer of marriage, meant mainly to ensure the survival of our family bloodline and to secure its vast wealth, although I will admit I knew she wished for it to be more. After a great deal of thought, I accepted."
At this, he dropped his head as if in shame. Christine braced herself for his next words. "I was lonely, Christine. I was tired of living with only memories to keep me company, tired of sleeping alone at night, tired of having everything and nothing all at once. Helena knew of my feelings for you, but she was willing to marry me anyway, in the hope that over time, I might come to love her as she knew I loved you. I was both happy, and yet torn at the same time. I felt that I had been disloyal to you somehow, and yet I didn't believe you wanted me." His strong voice faltered, and his eyes held enormous guilt at his imagined sin against her.
Christine considered his words for a moment, and then very softly asked him simply, "Erik, do you still wish to marry her?"
Erik looked up at her incredulously, gathering her into his arms he whispered into her hair, "No, Christine, of course not! How could you even think such a thing?" He released her slightly, holding her arms in his hands. His eyes sought hers with a fierce devotion, determined to make her understand. "Christine, I have always been yours, from the first moment I saw you. There has never been room in my heart for any other, for it is so filled with you, I can scarcely contain it inside my chest. There has been no other in my heart, my mind,...or in my bed. Only you, my love, for so many years now that I have lost count."
The expression of relief on her face let him know that she believed his words. But he wanted to show her, to make her feel the depth of his love, lest she doubt him. He began once more to make love to her; this time slowly and gently, murmuring his adoration and devotion in her ear over and over as their bodies entwined once again.