Chapter 23

"I looked away, then I looked back at you

You try to say the things that you can't undo

If I had my way, I'd never get over you

Today's the day; I pray that we make it through

Make it through the fall; make it through it all."

-Avril Lavigne, "Fall To Pieces"

Erik and Julianna sat there, holding each other for quite a long time, just enjoying the feeling of being in love. Even in the peacefulness of Erik's embrace, Julianna suddenly remembered that they had guests, who were probably up already, waiting for their breakfast. Julianna and Erik needed to get cleaned up and go downstairs before their guests started to get suspicious. Not that they probably weren't already, but still.

Strangely, Julianna had the desire to take a shower, not a bath, for once. She didn't take showers often… mostly only when she was in a hurry, which was just about never. She wasn't even in that much of a hurry then. She just felt like taking a shower instead of a bath. "Erik," she said happily. "Let's take a shower."

His eyes open wide. And he was just starting to think that nothing she said could shock him anymore. "Together?" he asked, uncertainly. But Julianna could easily see the longing in his vibrant, blue eyes.

"Yes," she answered, grinning at him. God, she wanted to take a shower with him so bad. She remembered reading something that said water was one of the few sexually stimulating elements. So…, she thought. Erik plus steaming hot shower equals pure heaven.

"Are you sure?" he asked, not convinced that he'd understood her correctly. Did she want him to take a shower with her? The two of them together … naked? He knew he wanted to, but did she?

"Of course, I'm sure," she said, practically dragging him out of the bed. He gasped, and then took a deep breath. Seeing her naked in the candlelight was nothing compared to seeing her in broad daylight. Immediately, he could feel a tightening in his groin. God, he wanted her … again.

She smiled at his instant reaction to seeing her naked in the sunlight. Poor sexually deprived Erik. I'm just going to have to fix that for him, she thought, feeling a sudden wetness between her legs. God, I think I'm sexually deprived, too. He gasped at she pushed her hips against his, moaning as his erection pressed into her stomach.

"Come on…" she breathed, pulling him into the large bathroom. "Shower…"

"Right," he said, voice full of need. "Shower." He pressed his lips to her neck passionately, sucking at the tender flesh. She moaned softly, encouraging Erik to suck harder. Then he moved up to her mouth, kissing her fiercely. His tongue hungrily massaged the inside of her mouth, and hers eagerly did the same to his.

Julianna halfheartedly pulled apart from his ravenous kiss and went to turn on the water to the shower, so it could have time to heat up. "Erik, go get a couple towels from the closet," she said, tenderly.

He opened his mouth to protest, but she quickly pressed her finger to his lips. "Go," she said, replacing her finger with her mouth for a quick, innocent kiss. "Don't worry. I'll be right here waiting for you."

He managed a smile, even in his present state of arousal. That was the exact same thing he had said to her last night. He was surprised that she remembered… and him too for that matter, both of them being oblivious to everything around them except each other. So this is what it feels like? he thought. She must have hated me when I told her to go change her charmeuse last night.

So, Erik reluctantly went over to the bathroom closet and picked out two huge, ivory bath towels. Julianna quickly snatched them from his hands, and hung them by the now steaming shower. Then she slid open the beautiful, etched glass door, and stepped into the huge shower, pulling Erik with her.

Julianna stood under the steamy flow of water, letting it fully saturate her long, brown hair. The sight of her taking pleasure in the warm water was more than Erik could bear. Before she knew it, Erik had her body pinned forcefully to the cold tile wall, and was showering her wet body with greedy kisses.

She immediately pushed him away, not wanting to surrender her control quite yet. "Erik," she said, kissing his cheek softly. "Not yet. Let's get cleaned up first, hmm?"

"What's the point of that?" he asked, grumpily.

"Oh, don't worry," she said, smiling sweetly, almost innocently. "I'll make sure you enjoy it."

"Oh, really?" he said, crossing his arms defiantly. "Couldn't we do that after…?"

"No," she said firmly. "Don't argue with me, Erik. You'll enjoy it…I know you will." She caressed his cheek gently. "Trust me," she said, taking hold of his elegant hand and kissing it softly.

"Fine," he said, clearly pouting. He agreed with some hesitation though, seriously doubtful that he could wait much longer. He already felt like he was about to burst.

"Good," she said cheerfully. "Which kind of soap would you prefer… rose or lavender scented?"

"God, you're trying to make me smell like a woman," he accused, noticeably complaining about the choices of soap available to him. One way or another though, he knew he was going to end up smelling like flowers.

"Just pick one," Julianna said, impatiently. She desperately wanted to touch him, to give him pleasure. If only he weren't so damn stubborn. He was worse than she was sometimes.

Erik seriously considered the options. Which flower would he rather smell like… lavender or roses? When he thought of lavender, he was immediately reminded of Christine. She always used to smell of lavender… Maybe, it was the soap she used. But Erik didn't want to be reminded of Christine… or the pain she inflicted upon him without mercy or compassion. Perhaps, he thought, I could live with the embarrassment of smelling like roses. "I guess I'll have the rose-scented soap then," he said, quite unenthusiastically.

Julianna smiled. "Good choice," she said happily. "I always loved the smell of roses… much more than the smell of lavender."

Erik smiled back. He would have to buy her some roses sometime then. He was sure she would love to get dozens of beautiful, fragrant roses as a gift from him. Perhaps, he could pick some from her gardens, since he couldn't exactly go into the city to buy them. He'd probably be shot down before he could take two steps into Paris.

He watched her pour a moderate amount of the perfumed soap into her hand, and gasped as she started to massage it onto his chest. The smell was heavenly. But even more heavenly was the feeling of her small hands mixed with the slippery soap on his body. He couldn't help but let a small moan escape his lips. This really was pure heaven.

"Turn around," she commanded in a low, sultry voice. Erik turned slowly, taking a deep breath at the sound of her voice. It was mysterious and sultry… dark. It even sounded evil, in a way. That voice reminded him of characters he'd read of in horror books. He knew it was only passion triggering this change in her, but secretly he wondered if, deep inside, she was just as cynical and mad as he. Just the thought made him want her even more.

Erik moaned again as she worked the sweet-smelling soap into his shoulders and upper back. Julianna smiled, feeling the tension drain from his perfect body. Once he was completely relaxed, she worked her hands down to his lower back and hips, watching as the foamy soap enveloped his smooth skin. He gasped and gulped in a deep breath of air, when her hands rubbed the rose-scented soap over his bottom, then down his long, well-muscled legs, and then his feet.

Julianna stood up and turned him around once again, rubbing the soap down his strong arms and then his graceful hands. She stopped for a moment to hold his hands tenderly, and he closed his eyes in pleasure. She gazed at him lovingly, and quickly kissed his cheek.

Then she went back to cleaning his body, first massaging the soap over his stomach and sides, then his hips again. She moved her hands down and held his throbbing erection, gently cleaning it with the fragrant soap, and was extremely pleased when he moaned loudly.

He hesitantly pulled her hands away. If she'd kept that up, he definitely wouldn't have been able to wait. "My turn now…" he said huskily, letting the stream of water wash the soap off of him and then pouring a good amount of it into his palm. "Come here," he growled softly, and grinned as she willingly obeyed.

He gently massaged the soap over her shoulders, then her neck and chest. She moaned in pleasure as his hands caressed her breasts with the aromatic soap, and she cried out as his rough fingers brushed her erect nipples.

Julianna grasped his hips and violently pulled him against her. "Need you…" she moaned, grinding her hips into his. "Now…" she breathed. "Please now…"

Though Erik wanted to wait and finish bathing her, he didn't believe that he could wait any longer, so he gave in to her wishes. He pressed her against the wall, relishing in her warmth. She eagerly wrapped her legs around him, allowing him to slide his violently throbbing erection into her tight, warm passage. They both cried out in pleasure, enjoying the feeling of becoming one with each other again. Erik pulled back and plunged in again and again, encouraged by her frequent moaning and crying out for him. She arched her back and slammed her hips into his, meeting him at every stride.

Very soon, they both came hard, crying out in pleasure, holding on to each other for support. Both were finding it rather difficult to support their own weight at the moment, so they slumped down to the smooth tile floor, Julianna on top of Erik. After a few minutes though, she rolled onto the floor beside him, sure that she was hurting him by crushing him into the hard floor. He gently pulled her into his arms and pressed his lips to hers adoringly.

"I love you, Julianna," he whispered into her ear.

She melted into his warm body, feeling so much love for this beautiful, amazing man. "I love you, too, Erik," she managed, voice cracking.

Erik looked at her face, surprised to find tears rolling down her cheeks. "What's wrong?" he asked tenderly, kissing the tears from her face, and hoping that he hadn't caused her to cry.

"It's nothing…" she said, burying her face into his warm and inviting neck. "I just love you so much … so much that it hurts."

"I know the feeling," he said softly. "I'm so lucky to have found someone like you… truly blessed. I didn't think I was ever going to find someone to love… that loved me just as much."

"Oh, Erik," she sobbed. "I'm lucky I found you. I've never met anyone as amazing as you are." She slipped her arms around him, and hugged him tightly. "I love you. I don't think I'm ever going to get tired of saying that…"

"Me either," he said, happily. "I love you."

She brought her mouth up to his and kissed him, as passionately as she could. He really does love me, she decided. And I definitely love him. God, I love him so much. He's truly incredible. The thought crossed her mind that she might actually get to marry her beautiful Erik, maybe even raise a family with him. That was so much to hope for, but she couldn't help it. She would gladly settle down if Erik asked her to. She would do absolutely anything if Erik asked her to.

Suddenly, an urgent knock at the door brought her out of her thoughts. Erik and Julianna both immediately panicked, and rushed to dry off with the soft, ivory-colored towels. "Just a minute," Julianna called to whoever was outside her door. "We'll be there in just a minute."

After they were finished drying off, Julianna slipped on a beautiful, deep red, silk robe, and Erik just put his pants back on from the previous day, barely remembering to put back on his mask. They were both moderately decent… Julianna's robe was a bit thin and Erik didn't have a shirt on, but they decided it would be all right. Besides, whoever was at the door must have something very important to tell them. They knew that from the repeated pounding on the door.

Julianna opened the door, revealing a very startled looking Elaine. Julianna saw her glance at Erik's bare chest for a moment then directed her eyes back to Julianna. "Elaine…" Julianna said.

Elaine tried to smile. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, nervously. "I didn't mean to interrupt… er- disturb you, I mean." Elaine moistened her suddenly dry lips, and glanced back at Erik, who was rather enjoying her discomfort. "I wouldn't unless it was very important… and it is."

"What is it?" Julianna asked, giving Erik a knowing look. Elaine was attracted to Erik, and there was no way in hell Julianna was letting Elaine get close to him. Not like that. Erik was hers. But she knew by the amused look on Erik's face that he wanted nothing to do with Elaine. She almost laughed out loud. Poor Elaine… she probably could handle Erik anyway. Erik wasn't a bit like Elaine's very dull and unexciting husband.

Elaine faltered, trying not to look at Erik, who was successfully attempting to look very sexy. "It's Adora," she said, painfully. "She's sick… with a fever and she can hardly get out of bed. Would it be too much trouble to send for a doctor?"

Julianna frowned, hoping Adora's condition was at least stable for the time being. "No need," she said. "I am a doctor. Well, at least, I used to be. But I know I can help as much as any other doctor."

Elaine smiled, relieved that there was hope. "Could you come and find out what's wrong with her?" Elaine asked. "I would be most appreciative."

"Of course," Julianna said gently. "Let me get dressed. And I'll be right there."

Elaine nodded, and rushed back down the hall to her daughter. Julianna and Erik quickly got dressed in casual attire, having no need to get dressed up. Julianna glanced over at Erik while she was getting dressed. "Erik, did you see the way she was looking at you?" she asked, grinning.

He laughed softly. "Yeah, she thought I was pretty sexy, didn't she?" he said, smiling cheerfully. It really had surprised him though. Women just didn't look at him like that. Well, not until now anyway.

Julianna pressed her lips to his cheek lovingly. "Yes, she did," she replied, putting her hand on his chest. "Do you believe me now… that you are undeniably very, very sexy?"

He grinned. "I guess so," he said, still a little doubt in his voice, but not nearly as much as before. Perhaps, Elaine's attraction to him was a good thing, as long as she didn't try to seduce him or anything. Julianna was doubtful though that Elaine actually could seduce Erik. He wasn't attracted to her in the least. To make it worse, he thought it was funny. Well, it is a little funny, Julianna thought. I just hope William doesn't find out. Then again that would be amusing too, if only the children weren't involved.

She suddenly remembered the reason she was rushing and looked up at Erik. "Do you want to come?" she asked, not knowing if he wanted to be exposed to a sick child or not. But of course, he did care for Adora greatly, so he probably would want to come.

"Of course, I do," he said, a hint of irritation in his voice. Did she honestly think I wouldn't want to try to help little Adora? he wondered. He loved that child almost as much as he would have loved his own.

Julianna smiled. "Good," she said, grasping Erik's elegant hand. "I thought you would want to. I was just making sure. You know, there's a chance that the illness she has might be contagious. I wouldn't want you to get sick…"

"Don't worry," he said, squeezing her hand affectionately. "I don't get sick that often. I'm sure I'll be fine."

Julianna nodded. "Well, let's go. Elaine probably is waiting for me."

Erik snorted loudly when Julianna said 'Elaine,' which made her start laughing, practically until she cried. When she finally controlled her laughter, she looked up at Erik's handsome face, and kissed his lips tenderly. At least, she didn't have to worry about losing Erik to Elaine.

Julianna pulled him to the door, and gave him one last quick kiss, before they started down the hall to the children's bedroom to find out what was causing Adora's illness and put a stop to it.

Well, there's Chapter 23. Hope you liked it. Please review. : )