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6

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"Do I think Raoul is okay?" The Phantom repeated, wincing as he pronounced the detested man's name. He regretted ever even letting it touch his lips.

"Yes. Do you think he's handling it well? Do you think he's safe? I think he went in after me. Perhaps he's hurt? I could never live myself knowing that it was because of I that he was no longer living. Do you think any of these could be a possibility?" Christine asked, drawing in a shameful breath of air after finishing. She didn't want to burden the Phantom with such questions, but since there was no one else to ask, she needed to.

Erik pursed his lips together, trying to find a reasonable answer for her questions that would not make her perceive him as an uncaring savage. He would not at all mind learning that the little pretty boy had lost his life in the burning rage of the opera house, but for Christine's sake dared not to reveal such a thought to her. He'd say anything to make her happy and keep her that way.

Finally he answered, "Raoul is no fool. I would hardly think that he'd be defenseless in the fire. He's probably alive and well somewhere. Yes. Alive... and well... and...

And the little bugger's looking to find you and I so he can kill me and have you all to himself, Erik thought to himself.

"and Raoul is perfectly safe from all harm."

That is, safe from all harm until I get a hold of him, he thought.

Christine pulled the cape closer to her body and smiled brightly at Erik. After all the quarrels Erik had had with Raoul he'd finally put them behind. She was proud of Erik, knowing it was hard to do something like that. It took a big man to do so.

She reached an arm out from under the cape and placed her hand on Erik's masked face. "I hope you're right," she said softly. "I really hope you are." Her hand stroked the side of his face, then descended slowly, moving along his chin, then onto his throat and down the neck, then along his chest and down until she reached his waist.

Her hand lingered there and she raised her eyes up to his, innocently. He stared down at her with a look so powerful it sent a tremble throughout her entire body. In that moment, she pulled herself to him, eliminating all space between, and embracing him fiercely. She needed the comfort of a man. Desperately. She could not bear to think of anything unfortunate happening to her dear childhood friend.

The Phantom held her close, a hand moving up to grasp onto her shoulder. Both breathed deeply, the fog of exhalation visible in the cold winter air. Erik lifted his hand from Christine's shoulder and parted her hair away, then as he had parted the hair, began parting the cape away slowly. He continued parting, now parting the delicate cloth of her dress, and exposing the milky white complexion of a fragile shoulder.

He tentatively ran his hand along her smooth skin, admiring its soft texture. He wanted to be closer to it, wanted to explore it further. He removed his mask, tossed it aside, bent his head and caressed her bared skin with the undamaged side of his face. A warm sensation ran through his body.

Christine wore a smile, allowing Erik to explore the features she held, inviting him to do so freely. After finding out how she felt against his hand and face, Erik wondered what her silky skin would feel like against his lips. There was no hesitation when he closed his lips around her skin, sliding them around, testing and experimenting, observing how the surface of his lips and her shoulder differed so greatly in texture, yet when were united made each one of them feel a certain tingle within that could not be explained using words.

He began repeating his testing process over and over, trying different areas, different levels of application. His lips moved all along her bared flesh, back and forth, up and down. Without even realizing, he began parting the opposite shoulder of Christine's dress from its resting spot as well. But in not as gentle of a way as he had done previously. He tore at the material, lustfully, with a sharp tug and a piece came off in his hand. He let it go and it fluttered to the floor, neither one of them really noticing or caring. His cape, which had only been draped across her shoulders, now without resting spot fell to the floor in a black heap.

Christine closed her eyes, letting Erik work his way about her. Her hand cradled the back of his head and she gently stroked some fingers through his thinning hair. Her dress hung away from her shoulders loosely just above her breast, her smooth skin divulged. Erik's exploration began wandering to parts previously unexplored as of yet, his lips moving down her chest and roaming to the point where her dress lay. His lips then slid under the beginning point of the dress, his nose against this more sensitive skin tickling her.

She giggled and his hand smoothed along the fold in her back as he continued to cover every inch of her with his lips. Christine let out a long pleasurable sigh and a whisper. "Oh... Raoul..." She murmured in her gratification.

Erik pulled himself away from Christine and looked at her, appalled. How could she have dared to speak that man's name while they had been so intimate?

Christine's eyes fluttered open and she stared back at Erik with the same appalling look, but it was not he who she was appalled at, it was herself for being so foolish and cruel while she had been in one of the most sensual experiences of her life.

A tear ran from the corner of her eye as she observed how hurt Erik looked. "I... I'm so sorry. I-I-I--"

Rather than lashing out, Erik pulled Christine to him and petted her hair softly. "We're going to have to have a long talk..."