This chapter is rated a strong PG-13. Enjoy. ;)

Their kisses were wild and reckless. For so long, even when they allowed themselves to get lost in their passion for a short while, they each had an unspoken boundary that hovered over them. Either Erik would pull back or Christine would pause and that was that. Their feelings were forced to remain in check. But not now. This was their moment. This was their second coming. A chance to relive their love and go the distance. It wasn't a stolen night of uncertainty. It was a conscious decision on how they would rebuild their lives and start fresh together.

They kissed, caressed and every touch was an exploration of delight and wonder. They moaned and sighed, and their shortness of breath was replaced by whimpers of panting. The look in their eyes were hungry and yearning for more.

"Erik…." She bit down on her lip as he massaged her neck with his tongue, He kissed and sucked, but then stopped suddenly. "Erik, why did you stop?"

"I might leave a mark." He said apologetically.

She kissed him deeply. "Don't stop. Mark me with your love. I want you so badly. I need you…."

Erik carried her as if she weighed nothing and was moving towards the couch but then thought twice. He looked up, searching for the bed.

"I want our bodies to be free to roam all over one another." He growled.

When he laid her upon the bed and carefully lingered over her, he noticed her smile.

"What?"

"I love how you are always so prepared for anything." She motioned to the bed.

"Well, a man can hope, can't he?"

He claimed her lips with vigor as he reached for the lantern.

"No!"

"Christine?"

"I want you and I have to be able to see you. All of you and I want you to see me, remember? I won't compromise on that."

He swallowed hard. "You are a vision but…."

She kissed his lips to silence him. "You are beautiful and for far too long true beauty as gone unseen. Not tonight. Not ever again."

"In your eyes, I feel like Adonis." He bent his head down and began to suckle her fingers. He then whispered low. "I'm going to love you until you beg for me to stop."

He kissed her, and she allowed him to explore her mouth with his tongue. All the while his fingers were finding the clasp of her dress and he took pride at how good he had become at undoing it. While he would never trade a moment of their first night together, he knew he had been inexperienced and clumsy. Although, she was the only woman he had ever been with, he seemed to be more masterful this time around. He took great comfort in that. She at least deserved a man who would satisfy her completely, even if he wasn't her equal in appearance.

With the gown loosened, he let his hands slowly pull it down and each piece of fabric revealed freely exposed flesh. He began covering her skin with his tingly kisses. He could tell she liked it and it only made him do it for every other piece of fabric and material he stripped from her body. He roamed her frame freely with his hands and his mouth. When she was completely bare, he began fondling her porcelain breasts with his hands and then used his finger to trace every outline of her frame. When is finger trailed down to her thigh, Christine jolted up.

"Angel, what is it?" He knew her reaction wasn't from pleasure.

"Erik…."

He took a closer look at saw the faintest markings of a scar. He looked at her with tenderness in his eyes.

"This couldn't be from childbirth…" He studied her eyes.

She shook her head but didn't say anything.

Erik instantly knew that this was caused by Raoul. He hurt her. He wanted to know everything, but she grasped his hand and guided him to the spot, gently allowing him to touch her. His eyes began to water. Even in a moment that obviously brought her a memory of pain, she wanted to replace it with a memory of love. He brought his lips down to kiss the mark and didn't stop there. He traveled lower to her womanhood, determined to make her only have happy memories from now on. He kissed and kissed and kissed.

She tried suppressing her moans but didn't think she could hide the ecstasy his pleasuring brought her.

"Er…Erik!"

"I'm not even close to being done, angel." He went right back at it, he continued to her inner thighs and left a pool of warm, wet kisses down her legs. He was so hard from their intimacy, but he didn't care. He had to make sure she was fully sated by his oral devotion before he took her any other way. He brought his head back up to her lips, licking them ever so gently. He then murmured in her ear. "Ready for more?"

She surprised him when she rolled on top of him. "Not yet. It's my turn. I still haven't seen you yet."

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Although Erik was nervous, he knew he couldn't deny her. As if he wanted to deny her. He knew this would be the closest he would ever get to heaven, but he wished he was able to offer her more of a view. Nevertheless, he trusted her, and he vowed to not fear her. This was about love and when you love someone, you surrender to them, heart and soul, body and mind.

"Christine, I am yours. I surrender to you."

She had wanted to play the passionate paramour but when she heard him speak to her with such love and his eyes so full of trust…. He is so vulnerable. He is allowing me to see him like this. Her heart overtook her. She brought her hands to his cheeks and peppered kisses to all over his face.

"I love you so much, my love. Thank you for never giving up on me and for letting me show you how much I cherish you."

She began working on the buttons of his shirt and payed him back for each kiss and suckle he applied on her body before. She let her hands trace his scars and then bent her head down to kiss each crisscross pattern. She had felt each one that long-ago night and even then, she had longed to see them. She knew they were not due to his deformity. They were a punishment for no mortal sin, but for simply being born with his face. A face that she is unable to live without. A face that she associated with love, passion and beauty.

"You are so beautiful, Erik." She then let her hands massage his muscles and pressed her feverish body to his perfectly chiseled form. She could feel his member and knew he needed release. She lowered her hand and began unbuckling his belt.

"Christine…"

"I need to see all of you."

She kissed him tenderly and whispered she loved him in his ear, while freeing his manhood. She then lowered herself down to him, so she could see him and feel him.

Erik wondered if his size would be acceptable. Long ago, they were too busy expressing themselves to really care but it had been 10 years and he was sure she had seen Raoul's…. She would obviously make comparisons… Would he measure up?

However, he really didn't have time to think about it for very long, for he soon began to relish in Christine's sweet touch and not long after that, her warm, incredible mouth. He was so overcome with passion, but he didn't want to let loose completely. They had yet to fully consummate their love and he would not allow himself to finish anywhere but inside her properly.

"Angel…. I think you need to stop soon."

She began to worry. "Why? Are you not enjoying it? What do you like, and I will…."

He leaned up and brought her toward him, as he leaned back with her on top of him.

"You are sweet intoxication, but I want you properly tonight and I'm afraid if you keep at it, I won't be able to make that happen…. At least not right away."

She laughed so loud, she snorted. "God, I love you!"

He shook his head. "Thank God!"

They kissed and soon began their renewed coupling. Slowly they teased and moved and caressed. Then as if by magic, their kissing and touching unified them into becoming one.

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Afterwards, they were lying with their legs entwined one another, sharing sweet kisses and happy thoughts.

"We need a home." He said quietly.

She smiled as she nuzzled up again them. "I want one that reflects both you and me, okay? Don't just design something to make me happy. I'd be fine living in your quarters in Phantasma."

He stirred for a moment. "You haven't really seen my place. Besides, I think we need something new to reflect our new life and if we are going to have something that expresses both of us, I want to go on record as to say, no separate rooms."

She moved her head to look at him better.

"I always hated the idea of separate bedrooms. Raoul and I had that. In the beginning it felt so cold, of course later it was a blessing." She looked at him with regret in her eyes. "I'm sorry. He has no business in our thoughts or words tonight. He's already stolen too much from us."

"Hey." He traced her cheek and kissed it. "He's not anywhere in my thoughts right now, I assure you."

She leaned in to kiss him properly. "Good. Because I think we have much better things to discuss and think about."

"As I was saying, our room needs to allow for intimacy."

She arched her brow. "As in…."

"The sharing of secrets." He kissed her. "The ability to provide comfort from a long, hard day." He squeezed her hand. "The simple joy of holding one another while we rest." He pulled her towards him. "And to have the ability to take part in spontaneous lovemaking." He winked.

She giggled.

They kissed.

And soon the couple took advantage of having the ability to take part in exactly that.