Author's Note:

I beg you all with the utmost sincerity to excuse the length of time it took for me to complete this chapter…given my age, I hope that you all will realize WHY it took me so long with this, without me having to spell it out to you. wink wink nudge nudge That and I was gone on vacation…and then Harry Potter 6 came out...SO…ANYWAY…

This chapter SHOULD change the rating of my story, but I figure that if I warn you all a head of time, (this will be a chapter onto itself and if you do not want to read about the aftermaths on a wedding night HINT HINT you will be able to skip the chapter without feeling like you missed a whole lot…) then I wont have to change the rating…or at least…I hope not…J Well…for those of you who want this as much as the characters seem to, enjoy!

What Rich Desire Unlocks Its Door

My blood was raging inside of my heart, forcing the heat of my body to rise rapidly as Erik and I made for our bedroom. My mind was smothered by a dense fog that wouldn't allow me any other thoughts but those of Erik and soon we were both standing in front of our bed, suddenly becoming quite shy. I blushed as I noticed him glance up at me then down at his feet again. How could he abruptly become so timid when moments before he was so acting so seductively? It then dawned on me, slowly at first but then spread like a wildfire. He has never known any other woman…never let anyone, besides Christine, into his heart…he has never been loved before…he doesn't know what to do… I blushed again but decided that I would have to take the dominant role in this; at least to begin with.

I slowly walked towards him and he swiftly lifted his gaze to mine, his eyes burning with hope and passion. My heart constricted at this look within his skeptical heart. He was so uncertain and hesitant that it nearly made me giggle like a school girl, but I quelled the desire to audibly laugh at his expense and instead lifted my hand to his face. The depths of his eyes grew dark and I could feel the skin beneath my hand grow hot. I smiled at him and he tentatively reached for my hand that was still resting against his cheek. I gave him a reassuring smile and he took my hand in his, gently stroking it with his fingers before lifting it to his lips. He placed an openmouthed kiss on the top of my hand and then began to move up my arm. The heat of mouth had me gasping. I flicked my eyes open and gave him an expectant look, but he seemed frozen in place, his gaze blazing into mine.

I removed my hand from his grasp and slowly walked towards the bed and sat on it. He still didn't move and I was becoming frustrated, but I loved him all the more for his apprehensiveness. I rolled my eyes inwardly and got up once more.

Walking to him leisurely I spoke, "My love…we cannot very well continue if you refuse to actually MOVE…" For the first time, I saw his face grow scarlet and I couldn't suppress a laugh at this. He growled playfully and lunged at me, taking my mouth with his. That's better! The movements of his mouth on mine created a hazy fog around my brain and my stomach knotted eagerly as I gently led him to the bed without his acknowledgement. Once he broke the contact, he realized what I had done and raised his mouth in a knowing smirk.

"You are a wicked little thing…"

"Only sometimes…when you are looking at me like that…" I returned.

"Touché!"

Our faces were nearly inches apart as we sat, side by side on the edge of the bed. With baited breath, I took his hand and moved higher so that we both were actually near the center of the mattress. He obeyed willingly and I soon had him on his back, beneath me. I pressed a kiss on the marred side of his face before moving down to his throat. His breathing grew deep and then turned to soft shudders as I moved my mouth along what little skin was exposed to me.

It didn't take long for me to grow irritated by the many layers of clothes that he had worn for our ceremony and I began to quickly get as much of them off as I could. I had slight difficulty with his cravat and he had to help me with it, but soon enough he was in nothing but his trousers and his white linen shirt. I sighed and let the irritation caused by the clothes be overridden with my fervor returning. I took a deep breath attempting to resurrect my long since depleted wits, but it was useless, so I began to unbutton the last remaining garment that veiled his form from my eyes.

As I unfastened the last button, he sat up slightly so that I could slide the impediment from him. I let my hands follow behind the fabric as it slid off his bare shoulders and off of his vast frame. His chest was broad and firm under my fingertips as I used my hands to press him gently down once again. The muscles that lined his unyielding body were pleasantly defined and I couldn't resist running my hands along them. My tongue suddenly felt awkward in my mouth and I leaned over to caress him as I had so badly wanted to before his clothes were removed. He took in a raspy breath that turned into more of a moan and I smiled at the effect my touch had on him.

I had never truly known what effect I could have on a man. When I was married, Christophe had always told me that what happened in our bedroom was to be looked at as an act of labor rather than pleasure through my eyes. On our wedding night, he had explained that this act was to be for his own enjoyment and I was not to do anything unless he instructed me to, or risk having the experience be a painful one. I had always obeyed, lying beneath him, quelling any desires I had to touch him and or take control. I had justified this by ignorantly thinking that that was how it was for all married couples. Little did I know that it was one of the biggest farces he could have concocted. He was always striving to control me and now I realized that our nightly rituals were nothing more than that…a domination of my body and soul.

Erik's responses to my caresses had me staring at him in awe. I continued to gently explore his body with my mouth, tongue, and hands until I could take the heat coiling in my stomach no longer. I studied the graceful curve of his neck as his head tilted back for a moment before throwing all nervousness to the wind, and reaching for the closure of his trousers. He quickly reversed our positions so that he had the control. I gave up the reins to him with gratitude, shifting slightly so that I was situated comfortably under his full weight.

"Oh no, my dear…not until I've had my turn…"

I felt my heart quicken it's pace at these bold words coming from his sensual lips. I soon felt his large, powerful hands roaming over my body with an unexpected gentleness. My eyes fluttered shut as he kneaded my stomach and I longed to feel his touch on my bare skin. As if he had read my mind, he gently slid his arms around my back and lifted me into a near sitting position. I felt him searching for the first closure of my dress and I quickly took his hands with mine behind my back and led them to the first clasp. He smiled down at me and I let my hands fall back down onto the mattress.

It wasn't long until he had it fully unhooked and he reached for the bottom of my gown to pull it up over my head. I felt the bare skin if my legs and thighs encounter the somewhat cool air around me as he moved the dress higher on my figure. I lifted my arms and he slid it over my head, his hands lingering on my shoulders before pulling the dress completely off. I watched as his eager eyes looked at me and then suddenly grew annoyed as they encountered the corset I was still wearing, concealing the rest of my body from his hungry gaze.

Immediately his fingers began to unlace the ribbon, which ran from the bottom of the corset to the top. The backs of his hands brushed my breasts and my cheeks grew flushed but he didn't notice. He was too busy raging a war with the laces across my chest and stomach and I couldn't help but note that he was losing quite dreadfully. He looked at me for a moment with frustration in the pools of his eyes and I could think of no other response than a shrug of my shoulders. He growled and threw his hands up in the air out of complete aggravation.

"Damn these contraptions! What kind of demon invented such a cruelty? And why is it all women are expected to wear the damned things…It's not even like you are in need of one…at all!"

Through my laughter I said, "It was a man who invented them…"

"Is he dead? Because if he's not…" He joked, still irritated.

I rolled my eyes at this gorgeous disaster of a man before me. "You are a piece of work…you know that?"

He smiled maliciously. "Well…if you have any suggestions for this little…dilemma…I would LOVE to hear them…"

I thought for a moment and then got up from the bed and went over to my armoire, reached into a drawer and pulled out a pair of scissors. I turned to them and held them up next to my face and gave him a wicked grin, before returning to my bed and taking up the same position on the middle of the mattress. I held the scissors out to him and he took them in his hand gingerly. He seemed to enjoy the thrill this situation created and his eyes became turbulent, waves of gold washing over those of green.

"My resourceful, Gabby…coming to the rescue." With that he snipped the one of the strands of ribbon in the middle of my torso and then with all his might tore the two halves apart. He then ripped the remains of the corset out from underneath me and threw it off to the side. He watched with hate in his gaze as the corset fell to the floor in shambles and then turned his attention back to my bare body.

I had never been confident in my figure although I had been told it was flawless and so the thought of seeing his reaction to me, in such a vulnerable state horrified me. My eyes instantly shut as my heart raced, waiting for some sound or movement from the man staring down at me. I was all nerves as I waited for his reaction and my stomach rolled with the emotion.

His hands on my neck stilled my fluttering heart. I trembled as his fingers traced my collarbone and then slowly made their way down through the gap between my breasts and down my stomach and stopping on my lower abdomen. His other hand joined in and began tracing the lines of my stomach muscles and then moving up to outline my ribs. I nearly yelped as his hands cupped my breasts and began enfolding them within his fingers. The sensation of his hot mouth joining in was so sudden and intoxicating it made me arch my back beneath him.

We continued like that for a long time, or so it seemed. Neither of us would take a single moment, a single kiss or a single touch for granted. It meant such a great deal to me, to be loved by a man that would never so much as grab me too harshly, and for him to be experiencing such intimacy with a woman was nothing less than a miracle in his eyes. We savored all; the tastes of our kisses, the outlines of the other's body and the gentle but frantic touches we shared.

I didn't think it possible, but when he finally took me, riding me slowly and deeply, I felt as if I would die from the feeling of immense love that he created within me. I hadn't known such pleasure and he was responsible for the complete contentment I felt. With one final thrust from his powerful body, a flash of colors sparked in my vision and then he rolled off of me.

He then pulled me close, all the while murmuring how much he loved me. It didn't take long for us to fall asleep in each other's arms, flesh against flesh, heart beside heart.