Erik: Quite well, I would have you know.
Authoress: I know that love, but still, you never fully explained it to me.'
Erik: Sometime after you've actually paid attention in Biology and you understand how the respiratory system works, then I'll tell you.
Authoress: But it's your fault I daydream in Biol' anyway.
Erik: Of course, now I'm sure your readers are far more interested in the next chapter than our comparative views on paying attention in class, so if you would cede to continuing your narration.
Authoress: Fine, fine…"Once upon a time…"
Erik: I beg your pardon?
Authoress: Spoil all the fun why don't you?
Erik: That's part of the job requirement as your muse, my dear.
Authoress: Hrmph! Whatever. "It was a dark and stormy night…"
Erik: Much better, please continue…
Authoress: I will then…
And A shout out to Phantomluvr for being my 500th reviewer! (hands her a bunch of roses and a stack of pancakes) Hope the mods don't hate me for that one, thanks to you all for the wonderful reviews, they are very appreciated!
Adriana watched the boat until she could no longer hear the splashing of the oars, then went in search of Erik. "Nadir's gone," she said, leaning on the doorway, Erik jumped in shock at her words, "Don't you ever knock?" he demanded, blushing furiously as he shrugged himself into a black velvet robe, embroidered with intricate green designs. (Actually, just picture a moment, the robe, shirt and pants Gerik is wearing during I remember/Stranger than you dreamt it. That outfit…I want that robe so much! I think it's definitely my favourite outfit from the entire movie…sorry, fainted for a moment there runs off to take cold shower).
"Not that I can recall, no" she answered, stepping over to finger the collar of his jacket nervously, "Now I believe that, last time I checked, there was something significantly more interesting on our minds than Nadir's untimely appearance." Erik caught her hand in his, running his thumb over her pale skin. "You…" he started,
"Yes, Erik, now just shut up and kiss me,"
Erik stared at her, hard. Adriana swallowed, for all her bravado, she wanted this to come from Erik himself, not just a response to her. Was a kiss so much to ask? In her time, not really, but then, knowing the consequences half hidden in the shadows before her, the answer was naught but yes. Erik dropped her hand, cradling her face in his long fingers, Adriana fought the urge to let her eyes roll back into her head at his cold touch. Erik ran light fingertips down her throat, gliding his hands over her collar and down to her shoulders and along her arms, making her skin burn with each ice filled stroke. His fingers traced their way back up her arms, running feather light back over her shoulders and down around her heavy breasts and down to her waist and hips. Stroking, touching, caressing, his fingers explored her body as his gaze searched her eyes, locked grey combined with gold he sought out her soul.
Erik felt his breath quicken as he discovered her body, touching her as he had never touched another being before, never breaking her stare. He had more titles than he cared to count, yet beneath it all he was nothing but a man, and as a man, he wanted her.
And in return, she wanted him…
He could see it now, in the endless grey haze of her eyes, she wanted him, not with the blind obedience of a husband to a wife, or the expectancy of a woman who's career it was to entertain men in bed, she wanted him because he was all she dreamed of. He could offer what others could not, she wanted him to possess her, as she had never permitted another to do so…because she loved him.
This realization caught Erik off guard, he stopped, fingers tightening around her waist, golden eyes burning and chest rising and falling, burdened with desire. Adriana lowered her head, unable to stand not knowing if he would demand everything of her, or push her away. Erik slid his hand up to cradle the back of her neck, his breathing laboured, sweat and lake water glistening on his half bare, ghostly pale chest, he forced her to meet his eyes. Then he lowered his head and caught her mouth in a drowning flood of passion, joining his lips with hers in an embittered, desirous, and wanton, arduous embrace.
With a rasp of damp velvet, he felt her shrug out of his wet jacket, and heard it fall onto the ground behind her. Her hands went up around his neck and her fingers tangled in his hair. Her fingertips traced his skin, running through his hair, until her light touch found the edge of his mask, he stiffened and tore away as he felt her fingers take the porcelain firmly in her grasp, fire burning in his gut.
"No," he stopped her she looked at him firmly.
"Yes" she answered.
"Don't," he warned, wrapping his long fingers around her wrist,
"Erik grow up, I can't kiss you with your mask on."
"You've managed fairly well thus far," he retorted. She looked at him calmly, and even a little smugly as her fingers worked their way under the porcelain to brush against his skin until Erik could stand it no longer.
"What is it with these damned women and my mask?" he demanded in fury, "It's who I am!"
"Christine took your mask off out of curiosity," she replied, fingers still poised to remove the white porcelain, Erik winced at the mention of his Angel's name, "I believe that you need your mask off not so that you can stop being the Phantom of the Opera, but so that you can allow yourself to be the man behind the mask as well as the legend whispered by the chorus girls between acts."
Erik groaned in frustration and suppressed desire, "Don't, please," he begged, reaching out to touch her cheek gently, "Let me leave it on, just this once."
"You want to make love with your mask on?" Adriana asked, shrugging slightly "Kinky" Her shrug was causing all sorts of interesting things to start moving under her black slip, with an effort, Erik kept his eyes on her face.
"What?" he managed, breathing raggedly, Adriana seemed to be having the same problem.
"It's uh…erm…n-never mind."
Erik decided to make one last ditch attempt,
"Please Adriana, don't ruin what we have." She smiled at the sound of her name on his lips, "I'm not, she replied firmly, "I'm furthering what we've got." With that, she slipped off his mask and exposed his face to the candlelight. (Ooh! Cant you just feel the cliché? Such drama!)
Adriana had seen the movie (several hundred times), read the books (several thousand times) and pictured him in her mind (several million times) she wasn't immune to the sudden revelation of Erik's face, but it wasn't the torn and distorted muscles that roped around his half lash-less eyes and roiled in waves across is forehead to distort his cheeks and tug at his lips, nor the crags of folded deformation where his nose should have existed, that brought the lump to her throat, but the intense pain in Erik's golden eyes.
Hatred, self-loathing, expectancy for her to throw back his mask and stumble away in horror.
Instead, she kissed him.
Erik froze for a moment as her lips met his, then as desire flooded through him, he grabbed her round the waist and pulled her to him hungrily, matching her kiss with his own.
Later, Adriana would wonder where exactly Erik had learnt to kiss like that. Yeah sure she had been kissed before, actually, it was more her who did the kissing. Guys could get so boring at that "almost there" stage, where you know what's going to happen and there was that 60 second time frame where you just stare at each other and attempt small talk, it always struck her as faintly ludicrous really. And even during the kiss, there was an aura of clinical detachment, an "Oh yeah, so this is how so and so kisses…wish he wouldn't put his hands there…needs a bit of training…" But Erik…damn! The man could kiss! Her knees were going weak and she was having trouble keeping her balance, though it was doubtful she could even think that coherently.
With a growl deep in his throat, Erik twisted her head around to kiss her more fully. Adriana melted under his fierce embrace, running warm hands over his sculpted chest, exploring every piece of skin she could reach. Erik fumbled at the sash around her waist, then giving up, tore it cleanly from the slip, Adriana was too busy tugging him out of his jacket to notice or care. Their lips broke apart momentarily as she pulled the white shirt over his head, (buttons being a little beyond her grasp at that point in time) and he wrapped pale, thin, cold arms around her, pulling her warm body close against his hammering chest. Together they stumbled backwards until Adriana hit the stone walls of Erik's chamber, the cold shock sent goose bumps washing over her body as she shivered in his arms. Instinctively, Erik lifted her up and settled her on his hips, kissing her forehead, cheeks, nose, and eyelids before returning to her lips in desperation and feverish desire…
Authoress: "Burdened with desire"…I think I may just keep that one. (Looks pointedly at the submit review option) Rating's changed, plots appeared, all in two chapters, even if I did have to put you all through 42 chapters worth of scene setting first. And I'm not posting anything more until I get a review from each and every one of you, and I've checked out every single person, profiles and all, whose alert and favourites list I'm on, so you cant really hide. Not to mention my hit list tells another story completely.
Erik: Extortion again?
Authoress: It's one of the perks of my job.
Erik: Oh. Hammering chest? You make it sound like I'm about to have a heart attack.
Authoress: It's an expression, besides, I remember how you reacted the first time.
Erik: (guilty look) You just had to bring that up, didn't you?