I will not be able to put another chapter until the middle of next week…I am truly sorry, but here is some Karlie and Erik fluff to hold you over…

HAVE AND WONDERFUL AND BLESSED CHRISTMAS - FROM MY HOUSE TO YOURS…GOD BLESS.

CHAPTER 22

Erik lay in his bed completely oblivious to anything but his aching body and raging mind. He could not believe that Karlie actually wanted him…him…this shell of a man who did not even know what life was until she captivated him with it.

Erik contemplated on what she could possibly see in him…and came up blank…every time. She had allowed him to touch her with his ungloved hands and she had kissed him with a passion he never knew existed, mating with his tongue as though she could not get enough; just the thought of those kisses made his body stiffen with desire.

She had gently removed the mask and touched his horrid face with her pure skin…and no revulsion was evident in her eyes; she had even put her sweet lips to his scars and tried to kiss away the pain that still lingered after so many years.

It was one o'clock in the morning and Erik could not sleep, music called him on the night wind, making his fingers yearn to express his new found happiness; he rose from the bed and threw on his black silk, floor length robe and quietly left the room and crept down the stairs to the parlor.

He shut the door, creating a barrier, which he hoped would allow him play without waking the whole house. He opened the lid to the piano and eased himself onto the bench.

The first song that came to mind was one he had always loved but could never see the joy behind the music. Joy had been something with which Erik was not familiar…until now. He played Beethoven's "Ode to Joy" with such passion and emotion, that he could have sworn the spirit of the great musician had taken over his being.

He had not sat behind a piano to simply enjoy the beauty and joy of playing for years. He had been so intent on manipulating the opera house and making them miserable by forcing his compositions on them, that he forgot the sheer joy of just playing for the fun of it.

Karlie and Demi both heard the music as it quietly drifted through the house, if not for the knowledge of who played it, Karlie would have slept though it; its beautiful strings of melody drifting into her mind and lulling her to sleep.

But she knew it was Erik's expertise that made the chords come to life and create such an exquisite sound. She saw Demi extend her head out of her room and they exchanged looks. Demi indicated with her hand for Karlie to go on down into the parlor, and "keep Erik company"…so that is exactly what Karlie intended to do.

Karlie silently approached the closed doors of the parlor, not wanting to disturb the man within. She waited until she heard a louder stanza of the music and turned the door knob quickly, as not to extend the sound.

The door moved and Karlie pulled it open. Erik was seated on the bench with his perfect left profile facing her…he had not realized she was in the room. Karlie just stood there and drank in the sight of him. He wore only a pair of black silk sleeping pants and the black robe, unbelted, over the top of them.

His god-like chest was exposed to her hungry eyes as she raked them over his perfection. His body matched his music – breathtaking. His eyes were closed as he played note after note and she could see tears falling down his face; but the most beautiful sight before her was the smile of pure joy that graced his features.

She knew that she was the source of that joy and it made her heart leap in her chest. Slowly and majestically, his eyes opened and he focused on her figure, as she stood straight across from him, behind the piano.

His deep, emerald green eyes watched her as she came around the piano to his side and rested her hand on his broad shoulder. He had not stopped playing, and as her hand rested there, his eyes closed from the pure bliss of her touch.

Karlie stood there for a few minutes, relishing his playing. She moved behind him and eased her hand down the front of his chest as she pressed her bosom into this back. She eased the lapels of his robe open and caressed the naked flesh of his chest. What paradise she found in the feel of him beneath her hands.

Erik's heart sped up and his mouth went dry as she touched his sensitive skin with her tiny hands. He was finding it more and more difficult to concentrate on his playing, as Karlie tickled the expanse of his chest with her fingertips.

She turned her head into this neck and placed gentle, wet kisses along the curve of his neck and shoulder. She eased the robe from his back and let it fall to the bench, draping over it like a tablecloth. Her hot breath found the treasure of his ear, nestled in the curls of his black hair, and she blew gently into it.

Erik bolted from the extraordinary swell of desire that raced through his body at the intrusion of her breath on this ear. He groaned, deep in his chest as he felt his body swelling from her attentions.

Karlie smiled a triumphant smile into his neck as she ran her tongue along the edge of his ear and then pulled the earlobe into her warm mouth. Erik could take no more and stopped playing. He leaned back into her warmth and pulled her mouth around to claim it in a passionate, deep kiss.

Karlie eased herself into his lap with her back against the piano. She rested on Erik's thighs, and was enthralled at the power she felt in their muscular width. Erik eased his hands around her sides and they rested just above her backside as she stroked her tongue against his and held his precious face in her hands.

She could feel his reaction to her and the knowledge of her power over this magnificent man made her breathless…he was putty in her hands. She pulled from the kiss and skimmed her lips over his warm cheek and down his neck. She touched her hands to his chest and felt Erik's intake of breath.

Once again, she smiled in feminine triumph and trailed her way down to his chest with her mouth. She raked her palms over his erect male nipples and heard him hiss as the pleasure burned through him. He firmly placed his hands in her hair and pressed her mouth against his heated flesh, begging her for more.

She teased his nipple with her tongue and watched it grow even more erect from her teasing. She drew it into her mouth and sucked gently on its pursed tip, and knew she was pushing Erik over the edge with her mouth; the poor man was moaning so loud, she was sure it would awake the house.

Erik could take no more, he pulled her mouth from his chest and claimed it, hard and furious, in an open mouthed kiss; his tongue jousting with hers for dominance and his body demanding release.

He pulled from her mouth and kissed her jaw line and neck, placing seductive bites along the sensitive curve as she bent her head back to receive everything he offered. She longed to feel his hands caress the aching mounds of her breasts and ease the throbbing deep within her woman's core; but she knew he would not cross that invisible boundary…at least…not yet.

She took his hands in hers as she once again took his mouth in a searing kiss. The placed his hands on her sides and eased them down to rest on her hips…and then she urged them further as she eased them onto the swell of her backside. Erik jerked from her mouth and saw the grin that graced her features.

"I want them there, Erik; they will help ease the ache you are causing within my body." She whispered, "Touch me, darling… squeeze me with your large, articulate hands…that's it." She moaned into him as he took her words to heart, it was a poor substitute for his hands on other parts, but it would have to do…for now.

Erik tried to calm his raging hormones and bring his body back under his control, but he was losing the battle…quickly. The feel of her plump, shapely backside within the flesh of his hands was heavenly and he did not want to let go…but he had to.

He moved his hands back to her sides, and rested them below the swell of her breasts, aching to cup them and caress them, as he had her backside; but Erik knew the proper behavior of a gentleman…he just wished he weren't one…at this particular moment.

"Karlie, we must stop…or I may not be able to." Erik crooned.

He pulled back from her and stood up, bringing her to her feet and placing her on the floor. He turned around to pick up his robe, and Karlie saw the scars on his back…and tears stung her eyes. There would always be reminders of the atrocities that had been performed on the body and mind of the man she loved…but she would help him to move past the darkness of the past and face the light of the future…with her.

Erik took her hand in his and led her from the room. He walked her back to her bedroom and opened the door to let her in. He placed a gentle, loving kiss upon her lips and playfully eased her into the room…and then…he blew her another kiss and walked up the stairs to his room…he wasn't sure he was in any better shape for sleeping than he had been when he left his room to go play the piano…but he knew that he would never forget how he felt at this moment.

To Be Continued…