Pertie, Thanks for your consideration! Lol. I know chapter 17 was kinda short, but I..hope this will make up for it ;)

Enjoy chapter 18...

Lovephantom83

She had fallen deeply asleep in a small armchair. Édmond watched her for a moment: she looked like she had had a sleepless night, planning her flight from the residence and the search of another safe place. But now he had guessed who she was not unlike he had discovered who he was. Damned his mother, who never had the guts to tell him the truth until it was, perhaps, too late to assume it but early enough to leave a deep sense of revenge inside him. And in meeting this girl, his chance had come at last.

He saw her move her head slightly, as she opened he reyes. When she realized what had happened she sat up straight, quite embarrased for being caught in such an unlady-like and awkward position.

'Oh, Édmond…I must apologize. I'm so sorry… I must have fell asleep after taking some of the food you had kindly offered. I would not want you to feel I abuse your trust'. Christine was fighting nervously as she tried to fix the shawl with which she had covered her hair and whose knot had got loose overnight. Eventually she removed the cloth and freed her curls

He laughed. 'Please, do not burden yourself with that. Feel free to consider this as your own home. Besides, I'm sure that you've had too many hours of thinking and had to gather up a great amount of courage to come out of that place. It doesn't seem that you've been treated well. Not at all… You cannot imagine how sorry I am...', he came close, leaning a gentle hand on her shoulder. 'Right now no one can be at peace in Paris'.

He caught the shadow of sadness hovering over her dark eyes. She was beautiful, there was no doubt of that. He could easily understand how the Viscount had decided to marry her and how the family with the best reputation of France had allowed that marriage to take place.

'Come on', he helped her stand up. 'Now, resting is the only thing you must worry about'.

She looked at him. There was something in his chestnut hair, in his blue eyes and in his ways that were strangely familiar...but, ah...she was too exhausted and had no desire to think anymore about it. The only thing she cared about was that that person was the only one who had been kind to her for a long time.

With that, Édmond showed her the door of the guests' room.

'If you have any problem do not hesitate to consult me. Most of the time, I'll be in my study, which is next-door', he pointed the door with a slender finger. 'Tomorrow will be another day, Mademoiselle'.

She nodded and entered her new room closing the door behind her.

Darkness had fallen and, as usual, Angie climbed the steps to the apartment in order to hand some things to Erik before calling it a night. She did what she did every other day, left the things on the table and went looking for him to say goodnight. And there he was, sitting in a chair, a strange expression in his eyes, which turned a beeper green under the dancing flames of the lit fire.

'Precisely the person I was hoping to see...'.

She turned to him, surprised with his demand. He wanted to see her? Now? He hated but loved with all her heart the unbelievable way he had of intimidating her, leaving her frozen in place, hopelessly at his will with a single word. She had been thinking about that and she was aware that he was the pure incarnation of danger, the kind of man she would never, ever, let near her but it was absolutely inevitable. She recognized the glimmer in her eyes when she looked herself in the mirror and couldn't repress a smile when she thought of his voice and dreamt of his touch, of kissing his lips. She had fallen...into dangerous territory or not? She couldn't care less.

She offered him a half-smile. 'I was about to go home. What's the matter?'.

He stood up and came to her. She watched him with tremulous eyes. He was always so unpredictable.

Erik touched her shoulder delicately, releasing a chuckle. 'There's no matter... why can't I use some of your time for me?'. He pulled her to him, making her blush due to their new and intimate nearness. 'Come with me, there's something I want to show you...'.

She nodded and followed him.

'Wait a minute and...', he whispered into her ear. 'Close your eyes'.

Listening to his voice whispering so near sent a shiver through her body. She obeyed, impatiently looking forward to seeing what he was up to and to discovering why he did not want her to see whatever it was that he wished to show her.

No more than two minutes had passed when she heard his steps in front of her again.

He cleared his throat discreetly. 'You may open them now if you want…'.

There she was, just in front of him, eyes firmly shut, anxious to see the surprise he carried in his hands. It was hard for him to admit it but she looked quite adorable...and he preferred everything would continue like that for the moment.

Angie opened her eyes. Her lips opened wide in surprise when she saw what Erik held in his hands. It was a simple yet beautiful dress. It was not like those elegant, unpractical, impossibly wearable dresses high-society ladies loved to put on but...more according to her own style. Long-sleeved and warm, the dress had a ribbon to adjust and tie at the waist and the hang
of the skirt seemed to dip so graciously... She could not believe her eyes.

'This is…Erik', she stopped, unable to assimilate the meaning of the present. 'Is it for me?'. Her smile was incredulous, yet hopeful.

'Try it on and then you can tell me if it's for you or not...'.

She closed the distance between them very slowly and took his hand gently, looking into his eyes. 'Thank you. I did not expect…'.

'It was nothing, Angie. I think you deserve it for all the hard work you've been carrying out lately. And I hope you won't mind if I tell you that I'd like you to wear it for the first time on a stroll with me'.

She looked at him again with undisguised surprise and disbelief. 'Now?'

He nodded, waiting for her to go change clothes. Angie gave him a big smile as she entered the nearest room to put on her present, the present that would be her most precious possesion from then on.

He did not have to wait too long, for a couple of minutes afterwards she came out of the room. Well, well, he said to himself. She looked different, very different from her usual self. She hadn't put her hair up but let it hang free down her back. He arched an eyebrow in a sign of astonishment while she searched his eyes to find out his reaction.

'Weren't we leaving?', she said nervously.ç

Xxx

Moonlight bathed the park beautifully. There weren't too many people there at the moment, even though Erik knew by heart which were the less crowded areas, so it was easy to avoid the inconvenient stares of strangers. They walked a good section of the magnificent gardens until they reached the perfect place to make a halt on their way. From there they enjoyed a splendid view of the city around them.

'I'm convinced that you had never been here before', he signaled the breathtaking views.

She wore a flabbergasted look on her face. Yes, she knew Paris since she was a little girl but she had never really noticed that park or the views. Everything seemed more special than ever when the man that haunted her thoughts was next to her.

She did not answer. Just smiled, hugged him and kissed him out of impulse. A kiss as deep and passionate as the fire burning in her soul and body from inside out. Erik, of course, did not expected that reaction but hugged her back, pulling her tight against his body and corresponding the kiss. He tried with all his might to restrain the force of the small woman which was enveloped in his arms but it seemed impossible.

Finally, she moved away, without removing the smile of her lips. 'Thanks for everything, Erik'.

He looked at her, not really knowing how to react. 'Do...do not mention it', he smiled. 'I think we'd better return. It's getting late...'. She nodded in response.

On their way home, Angie leant her head comfortably on his shoulder but she would look at him every now and then, as if she wanted to make sure he was not an illusion.