"The worst is over now, and we can breathe again
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain
There's so much left to learn and no one left to fight
I wanna hold you high and steal your pain
Cause I'm broken when I'm lonesome
And I don't feel right when you're gone away."
-Seether feat. Amy Lee, "Broken"
Julianna took out what little food she had brought, which consisted of a few pieces of stale bread and the canteen of water. "I'm sorry about the food," she said, handing him a piece of the bread. "I don't usually eat very much when I travel."
"Thanks," he said, accepting the bread. "Don't worry. It's better than what they fed us back in the prison." Of course, even the prison food didn't bother him that much. He was used to eating food like that anyway. That was pretty much all he could have back in his old home under the Opera House. Anything else would almost certainly spoil within a few days. And it wasn't convenient for him to leave the Opera House every couple of days to buy food. Being visible out in the middle of the day wasn't something he enjoyed very much. He hated when people saw him. Just the look on their faces made him cringe. Prison food definitely wasn't that bad compared to what he was used to.
Julianna had been in prison once, under a false name and identification, but she wasn't there for very long. Her father had taken the liberty of breaking her out. He'd had his fair share of years in prison as well, but he felt it was no place for his daughter, even though he knew she could be very unruly sometimes. But in her time there, Julianna found that the food was the absolute worst aspect of prison. Ever since then, she always kept her house well stocked with many different kinds of food. She decided that when they got to her house, she was going to fix Erik a really nice dinner. She was, in fact, a very talented chef. She cooked for the pirates on her father's ship as well as being their doctor.
She watched as Erik gobbled down the small portion of bread in a rather unmannerly way. God, he must be starving, she thought. She was quick to offer him the other two pieces of bread, knowing he needed the food more than she did.
"Aren't you going to eat any?" he questioned. "You really should. You need your energy especially now since you're injured."
"I'm fine," she insisted. "You take it." In truth, she was a little hungry, but she learned from back in her pirate days that you couldn't let a little hunger stop you. Besides, Erik really did need the food more than her. He hadn't had a decent meal in over a week and she had just eaten a rather large lunch at the Viscomte de Chagny's house that afternoon with Christine.
Erik stood up and crossed his arms. "You know I'm not going to let you go hungry, while I eat all of your food." He grinned, mischievously. "Now either you eat a piece of this bread on your own or I won't hesitate to force-feed you."
"You wouldn't," she said, grinning broadly, secretly hoping he would. She longed to know what he was capable of. She needed to know.
"You think?" he asked, slowly stepping closer to her, like a predator stalking his prey. He knew he could never force her to do anything. Nor would he want to. She was strong, and he feared that getting on her bad side would have dire consequences. He didn't have any intention of doing any such thing. But was he mistaken, or did she seem to be encouraging him.
He raised an eyebrow, and stared into her beautiful green eyes. He remembered the first time he looked in them; he saw no emotion at all. This time though, he saw her eyes sparkling with mischief. He sat down close beside her. Very close. "Maybe I can just convince you to eat," he whispered into her ear, tenderly caressing cheek. "That way I won't have to force you to. Hmm?"
Julianna didn't know if he was trying to be so seductive, or just trying to get her to eat, but she felt her body respond immediately to his actions. She wanted him, but she knew she couldn't. He was Christine's. Not hers. Besides, this was business. And what did her father always say. Never get involved emotionally in business matters. And she didn't plan to … even if her heart told her otherwise. She wouldn't let it show, no matter what, she promised herself. She wouldn't let him see her attraction, her arousal. She would show him only that she cared. She would take care of him. Nothing more.
"Okay, okay," she said, eventually. "I'll eat if it truly pleases you so."
"It does," he said, suddenly smiling. He handed her a piece of the bread. "Let's save the remaining piece for breakfast in the morning. We can split it."
"If you insist," she said, nibbling on the piece he handed her. When she was done eating, Julianna suddenly realized just how late it was getting. She knew she couldn't sleep, but Erik needed to get some rest at least. They had another hard day of travel tomorrow. "Erik, you should get some rest," she said, tossing him the small blanket she brought along.
"What about you?" he asked.
"I'm staying up," she said, "to make sure we aren't located by the guards." She frowned. "They'd kill us both, you know. Without even a fair trial."
"Yes, they probably would," he agreed. "So, there's no way I can convince you to get some sleep, as well?"
"No," she said. "I'll be fine. But if it makes you feel better, I wouldn't mind laying with you until you fall asleep." God, why did I say that, she thought. You know you can't lay with him. Do you know what kind of torture you'd be putting yourself in? Pure heaven. Pure untouchable heaven. She knew she couldn't take back her offer now.
"If you want," he replied. He had never had the pleasure of lying with any woman before. He knew it would be torment knowing he couldn't do certain unspeakable things with her. He hated to admit it, but he had been thinking about that quite a lot lately, ever since he became acquainted with Julianna. She was beautiful, intelligent, strong, kind and caring, and a pirate … everything any man could ever want. Well, a man like him, anyway. He was guilty about his feelings for her. He knew very well that he wanted her sexually. But then he thought of Christine and knew that she was the one that loved him. Not Julianna. So why the feelings? He just couldn't help it. Julianna was very attractive; and he couldn't help but admit that to himself.
Julianna layed down on the ground next to him, knowing it would be a mistake. She was sure he could hear her ragged breathing and pounding heartbeat. He covered both of their bodies with the small blanket. She made sure she was close enough for the blanket to cover both of them but not too close, just barely touching him. She could barely take it anyway. He just smelled so good. Looked so good. She found that being next to him made the ground a lot less uncomfortable. At least that was one good factor of being so close to him.
Julianna listened to the sound of Erik's rhythmic breathing until she was sure that he was asleep. She picked herself up, trying desperately not to wake him, while ignoring the sudden sharp pain in her ribs. She stumbled over to the rather large rock that she had been sitting on earlier. She found that standing was almost unbearable because of her injury. She didn't know how she was going to be able to ride tomorrow. She just hoped some of the pain would be gone by the morning.
She carefully examined every inch of the forest that she could see in the immense darkness. When she was quite sure the area was free of any form of danger, she let her eyes wander to the sleeping form of Erik.
She smiled. He looked so adorable when he was sleeping. Not that he didn't look adorable when he was awake. He did. He just looked so peaceful … so carefree when he was sleeping. She watched the steady rise and fall of his perfectly sculpted chest. She imagined what he would look like with his shirt off. Probably absolutely gorgeous.
Apparently, Julianna had gotten lost in her thoughts and drifted off, almost to sleep, but not quite, because the next thing she knew, there was a strong hand on her shoulder and the feeling of a warm body next to her.
She opened her eyes, surprised to find Erik there. "You should be sleeping, Erik," she mumbled, groggily, looking deeply into his vivid blue eyes. She found his eyes fascinating to look at in just the firelight. They seemed so alive, like the flames of the fire were dancing in them. His radiant blue eyes immediately entranced her, and she couldn't help but stare.
"So should you," he said, running his thumb over her collarbone. "Come to sleep," he said, in a hauntingly low voice.
It wasn't a request, she noticed. It was more like a demand. And she was too tired to refuse. She allowed him to lead her back to the blanket. He helped her down gently, hoping he didn't cause her ribs any more pain. They he layed down next to her and pulled her into his arms. The feeling of his warm body comforted her, and without hesitation, she wrapped her arms around him, too.
Her affection warmed his cold heart. He listened to her heartbeat until she was asleep, and then he allowed himself to drift off into a deep sleep as well, holding Julianna protectively in his arms. He wanted nothing more than just to hold her at that moment. Nothing more.
Well, that's all of Chapter 10. Hope you liked it. Thank you all for reviewing. I'm actually going to try to get some sleep tonight. : ) PLEASE REVIEW.