Disclaimer: I only own the story but sadly none of the characters used in it. If I did I'd release them from their ALW spell and let them run free!
~Chapter fifteen~
When Erik returned to the room with some bread and cheese he found Christine sound asleep in the couch. He put the silver plate with the food on the dinner table. She looked so peaceful when she was asleep, almost as if she was dead. But she wasn't. When he went closer he could see some strands of hair that had fallen down her face. He slowly took his white glove off and gently brushed them away from her eyes, careful not to wake her.
She was so fair, so beautiful. But he couldn't let her stay here for the night. He would have to move her to her bed. Would he dare? Yes, after all he was the Ghost was he not? Ghosts can move silently, and he had practiced his skill at moving without making a sound for so long that he knew that wouldn't be a problem.
He took off his gloves and coat jacket and lifted Christine up in his arms. Feeling the sensation of her warm body against his own, with only his shirt between them was almost too much. But all of a sudden her eyes flickered and he heard her mumble something. He leaned his ear closer to her mouth so he could hear her. He almost thought he was mistaking, but it sounded like her words were
"Remember when I said you have my soul? You still do…" He couldn't tell if she was dreaming or not.
He laid her down on her bed, carefully took off her small, black shoes, but then he had another inner struggle with himself. Could he? No he argued with himself, what if she woke up? He left and got some chloroform to make sure she actually stayed asleep. Putting the damp cloth over her mouth he heard her breathing growing even slower, and he knew she wouldn't wake up in a while.
He now dared to unleash her hair from the bun she had, the high fashion of the day. He let her blonde hair slide through his fingers before he let it rest on her pillow. After that he started unbuttoning her bodice. The small buttons were no match for his deft, nimble fingers, and when he was done he took the bodice off her. After the bodice he went back down to the hem of her dress skirt and touched her small, precious feet.
She was still wearing her socks so he followed them up underneath her skirt until he found the edge of the sock and then he rolled it off her leg, first he did her left foot and then he did her right. The skin on her thighs felt like silk under his fingertips.
After that he carefully took off her skirt so now all she wore was the corset and petticoat she used as underwear. He folded the rest of her clothes neatly and placed them on a stool near the bed, but before he did he enjoyed pressing the expensive fabric against his neck and smell the very essence that was uniquely her.
He looked at his pocket watch and saw that she would be asleep for at least another hour so he dared to take off his own shoes and lay down on the cover next to her. He even laid his arm around her and closed his eyes for just a moment. This was what paradise was like.
He wouldn't stay for long, he just wanted to enjoy her body heat for a moment, just a brief moment.
And so he fell asleep.