Chapter Twenty-One

Compromises

"Gentlemen," Erik murmured. Both Anthony and Raoul turned to look at Erik, who had somehow managed to get into the room and was standing, shrouded in shadows. Raoul flinched slightly but Anthony held his ground.

"You have a lot of nerve coming here," Anthony said, turning back to the game of chess he was playing with Anthony. Erik was silent for a time. Anthony Daae was a strong man, and though Erik would never admit it to him he admired him for that strength. He had been doing a lot of thinking lately and had realized Emma's words had been true. He was going to end up alone because he did not see Christine as a woman...more of a possession. He would never be able to win her heart if he did not stop thinking that way. The only one really hurting here was Christine...and he did not like it.

"Indeed...but you men should count yourself lucky that you are not dead," Erik said softly. Raoul swallowed and glanced at his good friend, who did not seem affected by his words.

"I understand why you let your rage go with my sister and Raoul but that does not mean I think you should have done it," Anthony said, deciding to simply get to the point. Erik's eyes behind the mask were glowing as he clenched his fists and did everything he could not to lose his temper. Think of Christine, damn it!

"I told Christine I was sorry for what I had done. I will not apologize to him, or you" Erik said, nearly spitting at Raoul. But Anthony had stood up.

"When did you speak with my sister?" he demanded. Erik grinned.

"Last night...in her room," he said. Anthony growled and took a step towards the masked man. Erik grinned. Let the man think what he wished.

"Easy, Daae, I was told it was not good to let my temper go, I think the same rule applies to you as well," he said. Anthony's hand clenched in anger as he reluctantly made a step back.

"If you hurt her-"

"Save your breath. I did not touch her, I promised myself I never would again," Erik interrupted. He did not have to tell these men any of this, it was none of their business, but he felt slightly better having told someone.

"Very noble," Anthony sneered. Erik shrugged casually and said nothing. Anthony studied the man in front of him for a moment, thinking about what he wished to say to him.

"I am not here to tell you what is going on between Christine and I," Erik said, interrupting Anthony's thoughts.

"Indeed, then why are you here? The last time I checked you were not welcome," Anthony said.

"Touche...I am here to give you a warning of sorts," Erik said. Anthony's gaze never left the other man, he refused to show any weakness in front of this man, his pride would not allow him to.

"A warning? Pray tell, what is this warning you come to give us?" Anthony asked. Erik stared at Anthony a long time before answering.

"Your love for your sister is something I will not deny but this love for her will get you killed, mark my words. You will never meddle in affairs that have to do with my wife and I, I do not take the insult of you taking her lightly. For the time being I will allow her to stay here with you until she is ready to leave, and I will leave you in peace, with your word that when she chooses to come back to me you will not stop her," Erik said.

"You talk highly for a man who slapped your wife and drove her away with your temper. What makes you so confident that she will return to you?" Anthony demanded, not liking how confident this man always seemed to be. Erik merely smiled a rather dark smile.

"She will, Daae, I can tell you that much," he said. Anthony was quiet for a moment. Could he accept this compromise?

"Alright, I think that is fair, if she decides to go back to you then I will allow it," he said with more reluctance then he had ever felt in his life.

"How dare you!" Christine cried. All three men turned to look in surprise at Christine, who was standing by the doorway. Her face was flushed in obvious anger and her hands were clenched.

"How dare all of you!" Christine continued.

"Christine, how good of you to join us," Erik murmured. Her look could have sent daggers straight to his heart.

"What is wrong with all of you? You talk as if I am a possession which can be given to whoever you all see fit!" she cried. She had a score to settle with every one of these men, and she planned on getting it out tonight. If they thought it was right to have a discussion about her why she was not there then she could very well tell them what was on her mind without feeling guilty about it. She decided to confront her brother first, he was the easiest.

"Anthony, I love you dearly for wanting to protect me but I do not think it was right for you to take me away from Erik, regardless what he had done. I need to be able to handle things myself. And I can speak for myself, you do not have to," she said. Her brother said nothing, knowing he had been wrong in some things but taking her away from her husband had not been one of them. Christine looked at Raoul.

"Raoul...I am sorry for kissing you, it was not right. I did not want to give you any false assumptions that I felt more for you then I do. That was not right and it was very childish of me. I do care about you, but more like a sister to a brother, like I feel towards Anthony. I am sorry that it took all of this to happen for me to realize it," she said. Raoul nodded. Deep down he had known that she would never love him like he loved her but he had just not wanted to admit it.

"And Erik...God, I could rant and rave at you but I need you to know that it is not you that is allowing me to stay here until I am ready, I am making that choice, no matter how hard that is for you to swallow," she snapped. Erik held in a curse when he felt his body stir in desire. Why the hell did he find her so arousing in moments like this when he should be thinking about what she was saying? Everything that had happened since their wedding had made her a stronger woman, and he was just beginning to see that. He said nothing, looking at her, knowing she could see his desire and he could see the anger that crossed her eyes.

"Could I speak to you in private, Erik?" Christine demanded. He grinned, having seen that coming. He followed her out of the room and into her own room, the one he had been in what felt like mere hours ago. She turned to look at him and he knew that if he was not careful this might turn into a very heated argument.

"I know that you can be a chauvinistic jerk sometimes but why do you find it so hard to listen to anything I am telling you?" she demanded. He leaned back against the door, trying to look like he was interested in what she was saying.

"Perhaps because I already know what is on your mind and what I have on my mind sometimes is more appealing," he answered. One finely arched brow rose in question.

"Really, and what is that?" she demanded.

"How beautiful you look when you turn from the calm and sophisticated Christine to my little spit-fire," he answered. She sighed, knowing that he was trying to confuse her once more. Did he mean what he said or did he just want her to forget about what they were arguing about?

"And what about that is so terribly distracting that you cannot listen to me for a few moments?" she asked, becoming annoyed. Perhaps this was why she could never take anything he said seriously, she never knew what he meant by his tone because he was always so hard to read.

"I find it very arousing," he murmured, his voice becoming slightly husky. Christine turned away from him, knowing this was a trap of some kind. He wanted her to trust him again and would probably do anything to gain that trust.

"What I am talking about is serious, Erik, you need to work on your temper and the way in which you view woman," she said.

"I know. But you need to know that I am not the only one who needs to win back trust. You lost my trust when I found you kissing Chagny," he murmured. Christine swallowed and said nothing, knowing he was right.

"I do not want to discuss this any more tonight, I think it is better if you go," she said. She gasped when he came up behind her and wrapped his arms firmly about her, pressing a kiss to the skin of her neck. She tried to pull away but he held her fast.

"We do not need to discuss anything, perhaps we should simply let our bodies do the talking?" he wondered. She tried to say no but her mouth did not seem to want to cooperate. He turned her around to face him and pressed several long, torturous kisses to her mouth. The first moan she hears brings her back to her senses and she pulls away, turning away from him in shame. Why could she not say no to him?

"Please, Erik, you need to leave," she whispered. He says nothing and she turns to look at him, only to find him already gone. She collapsed on the bed, millions of thoughts whirling in her mind.

xXx

Erik sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He had realized several things that night, the first being that it was not going to be easy to get Christine back, and though he liked a challenge this was one challenge he would be happy to skip. He knew her weakness, she wanted him. She might be a virgin but she wanted what he promised, and he hoped that he might be able to use that to gain her trust. A sexual type of relationship could draw two people closer together and perhaps he could learn something from it as well.

"You know, you really should learn to get better locks, you never know who might show up," a voice said from the shadows of Erik's study. He looked up and the man he saw was the last person he wanted to see or deal with at the moment.

"If you value your life I warn you to tread lightly with whatever reason you came here with," Erik said. The Persian sat down across from Erik and crossed his legs, a calm and collected look on his dark features.

"I was told that you are in a bit of a predicament..."