A/N: Thank you to peanutpup, BabyNake, and Phantomgirl24 for the reviews on the last chapter, they really do mean a lot to me!

As Christine started singing, she could feel Erik's eyes on her, even though she hadn't seen him since she arrived at the opera house late that afternoon. She let her gaze sweep over the balcony as she sang, wondering if he was up there, before an inexplicable feeling pulled her gaze over to her right. Sure enough, there he was, standing in the shadows on the edge of the stage, out of sight of the audience. They made eye contact for just a slight moment, but seeing him sent a jolt of energy through her, and Christine returned her attention to her performance, feeling Erik's regard almost as a physical sensation.

She had forgotten how it felt to sing in a setting like this with Erik present, but it was all coming back to her in a rush, that feeling that only he mattered, that she was singing only for him. As she worked her way through her setlist, Christine gave in to the feeling, reveling in their connection, in the things that only Erik seemed able to draw out from her voice. However, when she reached the end of the songs on the program, she hesitated, knowing that if she was going to sing Erik's song, the time had come.

Should she give him this power over her? Or did he have it already, whether she sang or not? Conflicted, Christine turned her gaze to her right once more, locking eyes with Erik for a charged moment. Tearing her eyes away from his intense golden stare, she blindly looked at the crowd in front of her before looking at Andrew, who was patiently waiting for her cue. After another second, Christine gave in to what she suspected was unavoidable anyway, and gave him a slow nod.

As she sang Erik's beautiful music, Christine felt as though pieces of a puzzle were clicking into place. She was tired of denying this strange connection between them - although with the euphoria coursing through her as she performed his song, she couldn't even if she wanted to any longer.

Once she sang the last notes, the crowd remained silent for a moment, and then burst into thunderous applause, but Christine only had thoughts for Erik - who, when she turned her head to look for him again, was gone.

Undeterred, she acknowledged the crowd, knowing she had to return to the auditorium in a few minutes for a small reception with the Opera's biggest donors, before exiting the stage with only one goal on her mind - finding Erik and basking in this triumph with him.

xxxxx

Acting purely on instinct, Christine found herself practically running down the hallway to her dressing room, throwing open the door and feeling a brief moment of relief as she saw Erik standing next to the vanity. He turned to face her, and for one electric moment their eyes met as they both froze, before Christine swiftly crossed the room to him, moving straight into his arms as he opened them for her.

There was no hesitation, no feeling each other out, just an instant rise of passion as they each sought the other's mouth with their own. Christine found herself pressing against Erik's body, leaning up toward him as his arms encircled her tightly, making her think he was as desperate to be close to her as she was to him. Lost in each other, their embrace only grew more intense the longer it went on, until finally they both gasped for air at the same time, her forehead pressed against his masked one as they both inhaled deeply.

Erik reached down and grasped her hand, reverently pulling it to his lips for a kiss before speaking. "Christine, you were magnificent. Never have I seen such a performance."

Touched at the honest admiration in Erik's voice, Christine let out a breathless laugh as he kissed her hand again. "It's because of you, Erik. Your song…it was so beautiful. I can't even describe how it felt to sing it."

"You're beautiful," he whispered, lowering his head toward her again, but just as their lips met there was a knock on the door of the dressing room. Pulling back, still smiling up at Erik, Christine called out, "Come in."

As she expected, Mamma and Gustave entered the room at her invitation. Christine turned toward them, not seeing Erik taking the opportunity to catch his breath behind her, hunching over slightly as he tried to process what had just happened.

Gustave provided an excellent distraction as usual, as Christine knelt down to hug him, noticing Mamma give a knowing smile in Erik's direction as she did so. When Gustave moved on to say hi to Erik, the older woman turned her smile in Christine's direction.

"My dear, that was excellent, as always. I am so proud of you."

"Thank you," Christine whispered, grateful as always that she had this amazing woman in her life, before Mamma continued speaking.

"And now, this young man and I better go so we can catch the last bus back to the hotel."

Ignoring her son's entirely expected protests over leaving, Christine looked at Erik. "Actually, maybe you two can take the car? That is, if Erik doesn't mind giving me a ride home after the reception?"

He looked surprised, but Erik nodded, ever the gentleman in his unique way. "Of course, Christine. I'd be happy to."

This time, Christine was the recipient of Mamma's smile, before the other woman pulled her into a quick hug. "Goodnight, darling. We'll see you in the morning."

Blushing at the implication in her foster mother's words as she watched the other woman lead Gustave from the room, Christine turned back to Erik, who was now seeming much more his normal uncertain self as he stood awkwardly by the vanity.

"Well, I suppose I should get out there," she said, expecting him to cross the room to her, but instead Erik stayed where he was.

"Yes, of course," he replied. "Should I wait here until you're done?"

Christine stared at him blankly, until the meaning of his words clicked in her mind. Did he really think she wanted him to hide away in here while she socialized with the Opera's donors?

Crossing the room to him, Christine reached out and took his hand, looking up at Erik in what she hoped was an irresistible manner. "You can, if you really want to. But I was hoping that you'd come with me."

Feeling her heart clench as he looked at her hopefully, Christine tried to hide her feelings with a smile as he nodded hesitantly. "Great!" she exclaimed as she led him from the room. "And I'm sure you'll have fun - Nadir is going to be there, you know."

Her teasing tone seemed to work as she intended, because she saw Erik's shoulders relax slightly before his mouth curved under the mask.

"Christine, I thought you were trying to convince me that this was going to be fun."

Laughing, she squeezed his hand, leading him down the hallway back to the auditorium, where the sounds of the party were already audible.

xxxxx

"Are you having a good time, Erik?" Christine asked as she took a champagne glass from a passing waiter, smiling up at him with an almost unbearably adorable expression on her lovely face.

"I am," he replied. Unbelievably, Erik realized that that wasn't a lie - even though he normally avoided social situations at all costs, it turned out that attending one with Christine by his side made a world of difference, and he was actually enjoying the evening.

Although that was probably a tremendous understatement. The truth was, the entire night seemed like something Erik might have dreamed up, and it was hard for him to believe that it was all truly happening, so much so that he could barely process it all.

While the kiss he and Christine had exchanged in her dressing room had been wonderful, Erik thought that the feeling of her hand in his or on his arm while they navigated the reception might have been even more sublime. The knowledge that she apparently wasn't embarrassed to be seen with him was a boost to his self-confidence that he hadn't anticipated - in fact, he could almost picture them as an actual couple, even though nothing like that had been settled between them, of course.

In fact, the only time Christine left his side for the entire party was when she and Rookheeya went to the restroom together shortly after the two of them had joined Nadir and her for a longer chat than the brief greetings that they had exchanged with the Khans earlier.

Sensing Nadir's shrewd gaze on him, Erik tried to deflect the line of questioning he feared was coming. "They seem to get along well," he said, motioning to the two women as they walked away.

"Yes, they do," Nadir replied. "Rookheeya told me that she felt they could easily become friends after the boys had their playdate the other day."

Just as Erik wondered if Nadir had actually taken his bait, the other man continued speaking, quickly disabusing him of that hope.

"Speaking of Christine, it certainly looks like you two are getting along much better tonight, yourselves."

Trying to ignore the knowing smirk on his friend's face, Erik rolled his eyes behind his mask and silently willed Christine to hurry back. "I don't know what you're talking about," he prevaricated, but of course Nadir wasn't deterred.

"I don't know Erik, it could be the way the two of you can't stop staring at each other. Or the fact that she can't seem to stop holding on to your arm."

Before Erik could reply - not that he had any idea what to say - Christine and Rookheeya returned, effectively saving him from trying to come up with one. To Erik's delight, Christine instantly slipped her arm back through his again, without even pausing her conversation with Rookheeya, although he did have to studiously avoid looking at Nadir, sure that he was once again smirking at this evidence that he was right.

He had to wonder if it was possible that Christine was feeling the same pull between them that he was, even after the rush of passion between them in her dressing room had faded. His normal course of thinking would be to assume that she wouldn't want anything to do with him once she came to her senses, but so far her behavior seemed to be saying differently - and apparently Nadir had noticed her behaving warmly toward Erik, as well. Could it be that Christine might want to continue what they had started earlier after the party ended?

A short time later, the reception had wrapped up, some of the members of the opera board giving him curious glances as they bid Christine good night, but for once Erik couldn't have cared less what others thought of him. If they wondered why their star guest soprano was leaving with the Opera's biggest donor, that wasn't his concern if it didn't bother Christine.

And once they were inside his SUV, Erik had the answer to his earlier question. After he held the passenger door open for her, he circled the vehicle and sat behind the steering wheel, but before he could start the short drive back to Phantasma, Christine leaned toward him with her face raised to his in an unmistakable invitation.

Helpless to resist her, as always, Erik met her lips with his, and soon they were kissing just as passionately as they had been in her dressing room. Part of Erik's mind knew they were parked on a public - although thankfully practically deserted - street, and he tried to tell himself to stop, but the temptation of Christine's sweet lips overruled any slight claim to common sense he might have clung to. He had the woman of his dreams in his arms once again after thinking this would never happen again; it was going to take a stronger man than him to put an end to their embrace.

Finally Christine pulled away, tongue darting out over her lower lip as she peered up at him, looking slightly disheveled. Erik couldn't help a surge of pride when he saw that she was breathing more quickly than normal, but when she spoke it was him who lost his breath entirely when he saw the intense look in her blue eyes.

"Let's go," was all she said, but Erik was more than happy to obey. However, he quickly discovered that his Christine wasn't done surprising him for the night.

"Oh! I just realized - do you have any condoms at your place?"

Thankfully, Erik was driving slowly on an empty street, because he thought he may have blacked out for a few seconds at her words. Desperately fighting to get control of himself after this confirmation that Christine fully intended to be intimate with him this very night, Erik collected himself enough to answer her in what he hoped was a reasonably coherent manner.

"Ah, no, I'm afraid I don't."

"Okay, we better stop and get some then."

Wondering if he had finally lost touch with reality - one possible explanation for the scenario that was playing out inside his SUV - Erik answered, "There's no place to stop, Christine. All the stores are closed."

"What?"

If he felt an inordinate amount of satisfaction at the frustration in her tone, Erik decided he didn't feel too badly over it. After all, it wasn't every day that the woman he'd loved for years - the only person he'd ever loved, romantically - seemed so eager to have sex with him. And, thankfully, he had an answer to their dilemma.

"It just so happens that Phantasma has a vending machine with…those types of items, for when patrons need access to them and the hotel shop is closed."

"Oh, good," she answered so fervently that Erik couldn't help but let a huff of laughter escape his lips at her words, which caused Christine to giggle in return.

"I guess that's very responsible of you," she replied in a flirtatious tone, and Erik felt his lips curl even further underneath his mask.

"It's both very responsible of me and very profitable for me," he offered and was rewarded with another giggle from the seat next to him, but a moment later the grin faded from his face as he realized that they had arrived back at the valet stand at Phantasma, and the enormity of what was about to happen hit him squarely in the chest.

A/N: Thank you for reading, as always. Any comments are greatly appreciated!