a/n Okay, you all have to bear with me here. Again. Did you notice the rating change? I've never written anything with actual sexual content before today, and I don't have a beta reader (speaking of which, if anyone wants the job, e-mail me—I'd really like someone with some writing experience) so this very well could be EXTERMELY bad. I don't know. I'm relying on my own "whore"-ific high school experiences to do this. I'm writing this before I do anything else, and at this point I think it's to kill time. Okay. Brace yourselves and grab a puke bag.

CHAPTER 6—ONCE AGAIN SHE RETURNS

Her mind made up, Christine turned away from her bed and toward the door. As she entered the hallway and began walking to his room, she could not believe herself. In twenty-four hours, she would be married to Raoul, but her feelings right now were telling her to go to Erik's room.

She was there before she was ready. Taking a deep breath, she knocked twice. When he didn't answer, she knocked again. With still no answer, she opened the door and hesitantly stuck her head in. He was not there yet. She stepped inside and looked around.

His clothes had been tossed carelessly onto the bed. On a desk in the corner, his wig had been placed on its manikin's head and his mask rested next to it. Just off the center of the desk was a picture frame. Christine was surprised to see it—she had half expected to find a cold room with no sign that someone sometimes lived here. It must have been taken shortly after Eva made contact with Erik. She was sitting in a chair in an elegant dress Christine had never seen before with Jean sitting on her lap. Erik stood behind them wearing his white mask and resting a hand on his sister's shoulder. Christine lifted the heavy frame in her hand and smiled at the image. Erik had a family. Just then, she heard the door click open behind her and she quickly put the picture back on the desk before turning to face him.

He walked in the door wearing nothing but a towel wrapped around his waist and stopped dead when he saw Christine. She felt her face heat up at the sight and she quickly averted her eyes. "I'm sorry," she stammered. "I didn't realize—I didn't know you were…" She trailed off and smiled pathetically.

"What are you doing here?" he asked blankly.

"I thought…" How could she say this without making a fool of herself? "It's just that… I'm not married yet," she said lamely. "And I thought…"

The look on his face had changed from confused to mischievous. "What did you think, Christine?" he asked, advancing on her slowly.

She was frozen to the spot, legs and arms immobile. "I thought we could… we could…"

He was so close now. "We could what, Christine?" Damn him, he knew what she was thinking of.

"You know what I'm talking about," she whispered. He was right in front of her now and she realized that she had forgotten how tall he was. She started to repeat what she had just said when he took her face in his hands, leaned down, and kissed her gently. Her brain screaming in protest and her body in need, she wrapped her arms around him and kissed him back hard. Strong arms lifted her up and carried her across the room to his bed. Laying her down gently, Erik began to untie her dressing gown. She raised a hand to stop him.

"Lock the door," she gasped.

He smiled at her. "Your wish is my command." He stood and crossed the room to lock the door. As he did so, Christine sat up, removing the robe. She took a deep breath and leaned back on the pillows. When he returned to the bed, he stood for a moment, looking at her.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" he asked.

Christine nodded, reaching for his hand. "I think I've always wanted to." She pulled him down next to her. "Make love to me."

Never in her life had Christine experienced a kiss like the one he gave her at that moment. She felt the hair on her arms rise and her toes curl. She pulled him down on top of her, wrapping a leg around his waist, and he moaned into her mouth. His hands left hers to seize the bottom of her night dress, pulling it up and off. Christine was left in only her drawers, and she blushed again as he slid them off of her. He sat back on his heels to look at her, grabbing her hands again when she tried to cover herself up.

"You're beautiful." His face look mesmerized. "I've never seen anyone…" He shook his head and smiled. "You're an amazing woman, Christine Daae."

Smiling shyly, Christine rolled under the blankets and between the sheets. She poked her head out at him and said, "Aren't you going to turn down the lights?" When he shook his head, she gave him a quizzical look. "Why?"

"You can't see anything when the lights are off." And without any warning, he dropped the towel.

Christine was at a loss for words as he slid under the covers beside her. For a long moment they simply stared at each other before he kissed her again. This time, though, he didn't stop. His lips moved across hers, then down her jaw line and neck until he was brushing her collarbone. As he began kissing lower, Christine felt her breathing speed up. When his lips moved to her breast, she felt her back arch up of its own accord and she moaned loudly. He eventually stopped, however, and she pouted until he kissed her lips and moved between her legs.

"I'm sorry if this hurts you," he whispered, and before she could ask what he meant, he slid inside her.

It did hurt. She gasped and dug her fingernails into his shoulder, tears brimming in her eyes. She felt his hand stroking her hair back from her forehead. He placed a gentle kiss there. After a minute or two, he began to move inside of her. It did hurt, at first, but the pain quickly became a pleasure the likes of which she had never seen before. She felt a beautiful, liquid heat inside her and knew she was reaching her release. Her eyes flew open, looking up at Erik as he moved above her. He looked back at her for a moment before crushing his lips to hers. Suddenly, the heat became more intense than it had been before and her back arched up again. She screamed into Erik's mouth and felt him begin to shake. A minute later, he tumbled over after her and crashed on top of her.

For several minutes neither of them moved. Then an irresistible urge to giggle overcame Christine and she dissolved into child-like laughter. She curled into a ball on her side, shaking from head to toe with delight. Erik looked at her, obviously amused. "What has you giggling like a school girl?" he asked.

She rolled onto her back to look at him. "That was amazing," she said, still smiling.

"If you think that was amazing," he said, that mischievous glint back in his eyes, "wait until I'm done with you after this."

Then he proceeded to kiss his way to her thighs and between her legs and make her scream.

Several hours later, having made love again, Christine lay awake in Erik's arms with her head pillowed on his chest. As she twirled the hair there between her fingers she lost herself in her thoughts until she felt him stir. Looking up at him, she asked, "How did you come to know Nadir?"

For a moment, he was quiet and she wondered if he had heard her. She started to ask him again when he answered. "I spent a good deal of my younger days in Persia with him," he said. "I've known him since I was a much younger man." He smiled down at her and kissed her hair. "What made you think of that?"

"I don't know."

They were quiet again for some time while Erik rested his chin on the top of her head, toying with her curls. Christine was lost in her thoughts again, wondering what would happen now. She was not going to her marriage bed pure. She thought she might be falling in love with a man she was not going to marry. She was…

Unfaithful.

Erik seemed to know what she was thinking. "Don't think about that, Christine," he murmured. "Just try to sleep."

Propping her chin on his chest, she leaned up to kiss him. He kissed her back, then leaned over to turn down the lamp. She snuggled beneath his arm, closing her eyes, and falling asleep almost instantly.

After what seemed like less than a minute, she was awakened by a knock on the door and Eva's voice. "Erik?" she called. "Erik, have you seen Christine?"

Christine sat bolt upright in the bed. Erik had already jumped out of bed and was quickly pulling on clothes. He pressed a finger to his lips and tossed her her nightgown, shouting, "No, Eva, I forgot she was even here."

"You're sure?" Eva sounded suspicious.

"Positive." When she did not respond, Erik turned to Christine. "She's probably gone off to look for you, so go straight to your room and get dressed—say you went for a walk."

As she finished pulling on her nightgown, he made to leave, but she grabbed his arm. "Erik," she said quietly. She paused, trying to think of something to say. "Thank you."

He cupped her cheek with a loving hand. "I will always love you, Christine," he said quietly, and he drew her into his arms for one last passionate kiss before leaving the room.

Christine looked around before rushing back to her room and dressing hurriedly. Less than a minute after she had pulled on her shoes, Eva opened the door. Her face registered surprise to see Christine. "I couldn't find you," she said. "Where have you been?"

"Walking," she said hurriedly, but she knew that Eva knew she wasn't being honest.

Eva's eyes softened a bit. "Christine," she said quietly. "You don't have to get married today."

Looking out the window, Christine whispered, "I know." She felt tears come to her eyes. "But I can't leave him."

"Who, Christine?" Eva took Christine's hand. "You can't leave Raoul, or Erik? You have a choice, Christine. You don't have to marry Raoul."

"You could never understand, Eva," Christine said, "what it's like to be loved by two men. Raoul can offer me a safe future, and Erik…" Christine felt tears begin to run down her face. "There would be the risk of someone finding out who he is. We could never have a family and be truly safe."

Eva face was a blur as she pulled Christine to her. "I know," she said gently. "But you don't have to marry him. No one can make you."

"I know, Eva," Christine said. She forced a watery smile for her friend. "You're a good friend."

That night, she left France on her honeymoon.

a/n I'm sorry about the wait for this lousy chapter—school's back on! I worked as hard as I could between classes to do this just for all you guys! And don't worry, this isn't the end—you think I'd leave it like this? Nope. Not me!

Ah. I forgot to mention. You may now throw away those barf bags—chapter's over.