Chapter rating M

PLEASE note rating for this chapter is M. It is not necessarily integral and
for those of you that don't read it I will make a summary at the start of
the next chapter. I like to think that this is not irrelevant smut, I think
it's necessary. Please be assured before you read it that it is not
completely X rated and there are moments that provoke thought for both
parties in the chapter. If you don't want to read it or you are too young,
please don't. I promise an update very soon and you won't miss any important
plot moments.

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this websites rating reading this piece of fiction. I have set out a warning
and cannot be held accountable for anyone's actions but my own.

'now that we're here,
it's so far away
all the struggle we thought was in vain
all the mistakes,
one life contained
they all finally start to go away
now that we're here its so far away
and i feel like i can face the day i can forgive
and i'm not ashamed to be the person that i am today

these are my words
that i've never said before
i think i'm doing okay
and this is the smile
that i've never shown before

somebody shake me 'cause i
i must be sleeping' - So Far Away- Staind

Chapter 42- With Dreams and Angels

The kiss lingered on her lips, like a droplet of water to a rose. She closed her eyes and imagined all of the times she had been desperate for something to feel so right. It had never felt like this with Raoul.

He looked down at her, his arms still tightly around her body, and into her eyes. Their chocolate brown were sparkling, so deep, so young. He couldn't stop looking at her, he couldn't tear his eyes away. And she couldn't take her eyes away from him.

He brushed his lips softly over hers and she pushed her body against him, trying to hold him tighter, trying to get him closer. He slid his hand to the centre of her back and pulled her up so that she was light on her feet and completely as his mercy as he kissed her deeply.

His lips tingled from the sensation. This was right.

She pulled back, cheeks flushing a gentle pink as she glanced up at him, embarrassed. She smiled and then for the first time since she had been there so did he. Properly.

'Are you okay?' he said, his voice quiet and low. So soft.

'Yes,' she whispered and stepped back away from him, taking his hand in hers and leading him to the corridor. When they stopped he looked down at her and became suddenly aware of himself. His sword at his side, the mask on his face, his out door wear, his heart. He let go of her hand and shook his head from side to side. He sighed.

Turning away he walked to the stairs leaving her to watch him.

She turned, stepping into the bedroom and slammed the door behind her as her eyes filled with tears. She collapsed to the bed as the tears streaked down her face, the kiss still playing with her mind. Erik always played with her mind.

She lay there, bed wet from her tears, with her hand over her chest clutching her heart, fighting the sobs that threatened to rack through her body. She tried to breath but as she did, her chest pulled and she wanted to scream. She turned over and pulled her pillow around her ears, she cried hard into the fabric.

She cried so hard that she didn't hear the quiet creak of the door sliding open behind her and she didn't hear Erik slip in, wearing no sword nor jacket. He walked slowly, gingerly to the bed and sat by her side. She didn't look up, she didn't want to look at him.

He placed his hand on her back, rubbing softly, he could feel her crying. His hand moved up to her hair and he stroked it, moving it from her ears. The pillow was still hiding her face and so he leaned forward and kissed the top of her ear, and then her ear lobe. His lips moved down to the back of her neck as his hand shifted her hair carefully to the side. He kissed her neck slowly, until she relinquished the grip on the pillow and turned to face him.

As she did, he didn't move, instead, when she turned, he continued to kiss her neck until he was at her throat. He grazed his teeth lightly up the side of her neck and rested his lips on her jaw. She closed her eyes and took a long, deep breath, before moving her hands around to slowly unbutton his shirt, she took her time, revelled in the feel of his skin, the pressure of his lips on her cheeks, on her lips...

This was somewhere neither of them had been before, this was new territory, it was a new place. Their lips pressed together, their hands on each other so... intimately... perhaps this was the way it should have been all the time. Perhaps what had happened before was wrong. Christine knew now that she had married the wrong man. No, she knew it before but this simply confirmed it.

Erik's hands were gentle, more gentle than they had ever been with her before, they flitted over her skin with the tenderness of butterflies, his lips touched her in places she never realised could feel so awake. Even the backs of her knees ached for him.

His shirt fell to the floor beside them as he knelt on the bed, over her body, his hands moved slowly along her sides to the base of her night dress and he lifted it slowly, letting the back of his hands sweep across the warm skin of her thighs. Christine propped herself up on her arms and kissed his mouth hard and he kissed her back with equal fervour. When they pulled away she lifted her arms over her head allowing him to slip her dress off and throw it aside.

He kissed her again, letting their mouths melt together, warm and soft, gentle then firm. His hands drifted up her sides as she ran her nails gently over his chest and down to his belt, which she fumbled with before blushing and giving him a sorry look. He smiled tenderly and helped her, removing his belt and then his trousers before turning his attention back to her. He had waited so long.

There had been moments in their mutual history where this had been possible, it had been felt but never voiced nor acted on. When they were alone in the cellars of the opera house, faces lit by candles, looking at only each other and hearing only one another. He had wanted for her to touch him so many times, he had longed for her hands, her lips, the feel of her skin... Never had he dreamt her skin could feel like this.

This time she kissed his neck, bit his collarbone, let her lips brush over his skin with only the faintest of touches, his fingers felt the grooves of her naked back, tickling her until she couldn't bear it any more. Her warm breath painted his skin, made his hairs prickle and his eyes close.

Her hands felt the muscles in his arms and chest, moved around to his back as she once again found his lips with hers. His mask was different, not hard but a soft material, she wanted to take it off but she knew he had left it there for a reason. And she remembered what had happened the last time she had taken it away from him. His mouth covered hers, kissed her, made her feel warm, his lips made her forget the past.

Then she lay back down, under him and gazed up at him, caught his eyes with hers, watched the dimming light from the window reflect in them, dance in them. They were glowing bluer than she had ever seen them before, bluer than the ocean, the sky... they drank her in, her face and her body. He lowered himself over her, kissed her face, all over.

She wrapped her legs around the back of his thighs, used them to pull him towards her. He yielded, letting himself press against her, she kissed his chest and he touched her stomach, let his fingers trickle up her body, touching her breasts gently. She clenched her teeth, shuddered at his touch. He kissed her jaw, touched her body, felt her skin and warmth and as he moved forward to rock against she gasped quietly into his ear, making his spine tingle.

The rooms darkening light allowed them to see each other in ways that they had only dreamed, merged together they breathed in rhythm. Erik fought hard to control the urge to grab her and let all of the passion out at once, the years it had built up, the nights he'd spent dreaming about her, about this. But he didn't, he gritted his teeth and took his time, he kissed her and rocked slowly. He felt her move against him.

They remained together for what could have been hours or even days, it felt like it should have been eternity as her hands gripped his back. The room was silent, for the whole time it was silent, except for Christine's occasional gasps and their irregular breathing. There were no words, no yells, no groans simply the sound of them together and the sound of their breathing. It seemed right that way. Sound would have taken away from the
feeling, it would have taken away from the atmosphere that they'd both craved for so long. They wanted to hear each other breath and feel each other's
hearts... tonight they wanted to be with dreams and angels.