Disclaimer: I don't own Phantom, but this story is all mine!

Chapter Ten

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Supper was very simple, and Erik finished eating quickly, eager to pick up where they had left off an hour ago on the sofa. The thought of having her softness pressed to his chest, her warm, plump lips against his own and their breath mingling was enough to enflame him entirely.

Standing up from the table, he pushed in his chair and moved behind Christine, resting his hands on her shoulders. He felt her tense beneath him for a moment, then relax and lean her head back against his chest. Looking up at him, she smiled sweetly and took her napkin from her lap, then stood and put her hands against Erik's chest.

"Yes?"

He smiled, bending his head to meet her lips with his own, and he sighed softly as her arms came up around his neck.

"Mmmm. Christine, I do love you so…" he breathed, and she smiled, resting her cheek on his shoulder.

"I love you too." She whispered, and gasped in surprise as Erik suddenly scooped her up, carrying Christine from the kitchen and through the small house. Reaching her bedroom, he laid her down gently on the bed, then sat beside her and ran his fingers through her hair.

"I've been thinking." He said softly, and Christine took his hands, holding them against her chest.

"What about?"

He took a deep breath. It was time, he knew. Christine had been making so many sacrifices for him, for his comfort and his happiness. He had noticed how she looked out the window longingly sometimes when a couple would walk by, arm in arm. Or the way she would put a hand to her chest, cheeks pink with a happy, besotted glow when she would read about scenes of romance in her beloved novels. It was time that he stood up as a man and made some sacrifices, too. His own comfort be damned.

"I have been giving thought to being cooped up here all day. I think… I think that I should go out of the house on occasion."

The smile that broke out across Christine's face was enough to make tears fill Erik's eyes.

"Oh Erik, I'm glad! We could go out for supper tomorrow night, and you could come see me at the Opera! And then we could go for a walk through the bois and… Erik!" she cried, sitting up to fling her arms around him and squeeze him close.

Breathing in the scent of her hair, he held Christine close and nuzzled her neck, before gently lowering her back, so her head rested on the soft feather pillow. Instead of sitting back up, he braced his weight on his forearms, positioned on either side of her head, and remained over her, their faces mere inches apart.

"That sounds wonderful," he murmured, kissing her shoulder and delighting in her soft gasp of pleasure. Her obvious joy at the thought of his company, of being on his arm in the city emboldened him, and he smirked as he gave the fleshy place where shoulder met neck a nibble, "do you like that?" he whispered, voice husky, and he watched her nod.

"Yes, but you should stop…" she replied, and Erik shook his head.

"Stop? But Christine, I've only just begun." He rumbled, moving his lithe hands over her back, then trailing his fingertips across her flat stomach, before stroking down her strong, dancers legs.

"Oh… Erik, please. We can't." Christine breathed, pulling her head back as much as the pillow allowed and looking up him with pleading eyes.

He swallowed hard, nodding, and he placed on last peck on her forehead before sitting back up, folding his hands in his lap to hide his obvious pleasure in her body. "You're right. I'm sorry, I just-I'm not used to being able to touch…"

She nodded, sitting up in order to lay a finger over his lips. "Someday, I promise you. But not yet. Not now."

He nodded shakily, and laid back on the bed beside her, smiling as Christine folded herself into his arms and rested her head on his chest.

"Rest now, Christine…"

And as her eyes drifted closed, comforted and contented to be pressed against his warmth, Erik too shuttered his gaze, and drifted off into a peaceful, dreamless sleep.