Disclaimer: Erik has been stolen and I will keep him forever, so he is ALL MINE! Deal with it. Btw. I LOVE reading your comments so keep them coming!

~Chapter seventeen~

Oh if only the Daroga could see him now!
Erik tried to ignore the tears that ran down his face, because they were itching his skin underneath the mask. But they were tears of happiness, pure happiness! He had first thought the feeling of Christine's lips against his skin was only a fiction of his imagination. Sometimes the music made him forget where he was and made him daydream so he would end up in another place. But when she had kissed him the second time he knew he hadn't been mistaking, and he had abruptly stopped playing, which was totally out of character for him. He was afraid to turn around. He! The ghost, found himself scared of a little girl. But she wasn't any girl. She was his Christine, his wife. And right now she was kissing his neck. How should he react to that? He had no idea!

"You make such sweet music it´s intoxicating…" Christine mumbled against Erik's neck. He almost started shivering underneath her mouth and her warm breath against his skin felt like silk.

"You are my muse, Christine. My Euterpe, my muse of music… The flute you use is your voice and I am but your humble servant in this world."

Erik nervously collected the old note sheets that had been left of a ballet piece he had written a week back or so, just to try to have something to do with his hands, but he still didn't want to get up from the piano stool, he was nervous and he silently cursed himself for showing it so clearly.

"Erik…" Christine spoke in a very low voice, almost in a whisper, but she was standing so close that he could feel her breath against his ear when she spoke.

"Yes?"

"What are you afraid of?"

Erik's mind had been prepared for almost any question on any subject, but not this! What was he afraid of? Did he even know? This part of life had been so excluded from his entire existence that he didn't even know what he was afraid of. Everything!

"I… I don't know…" He cleared his throat and tried to shrug his shoulders like it was nothing, but Christine knew she had hit the nail on the head.

"There's nothing to be afraid of Erik, turn around."

He did what she asked, if she had asked him to lick the ground she walked on he would also have happily obliged. His yellow eyes, still a bit wet and gleaming from his tears earlier met her blue for the second time that morning. She had put her hair up in a quick bun but he could still see some strands of hair sticking out, and she still looked a bit sleepy. She was so beautiful!

Erik had the mask on which made him look ordinary. It fitted him very well even though she didn't like masks or anything else that was fake, and masks had always made her wonder what there was the wearer was hiding behind one. She knew now what Erik was hiding behind his mask, and a part of her could understand him now. The walk they had the other day in the park would have been impossible if he hadn't worn that mask. And if she was being honest with herself she found it easier to talk with him when he was wearing it. It made her see him as normal, and almost made her forget where he lived and what a genius he was. His eyes was still his special feature and the way they were shining now, looking straight into hers made her wonder what fears, experiences and secrets were hidden behind them.

She felt a bit afraid herself. What she was about to do was just not right or common for a woman of her status, but then no one would find out, would they? And she had to, not only because she owed him so much, or because he was so special, but because she had found herself thinking about It more and more. What would it feel like to kiss Erik?

Maybe after she had found out she could join the "New women" suffragettes who fought for their rights and whom she had seen in the streets of Paris more than once, because what she was about to do should be the man's first step. She took Erik's hands and gently pulled him off the stool so he was standing in front of her. Then she hesitated for just a second before she threw her arms around his neck and kissed his lips. It felt a bit weird to kiss someone wearing a mask but when he opened his mouth in shock she saw her chance to make it grow deeper. He was hesitant at first but then his tongue replied to hers and they started tasting each other and she felt his arms go up around her waist and back, pressing her towards him. When they both stopped kissing from lack of air his eyes had the intensity of fire and passion and she bet hers looked the same. When she had taken a deep breath she started kissing him again, this time with her eyes closed, giving into the feeling of passion that she had. Erik raised his hands to her hair and then found himself caressing her cheeks, as if he was trying to touch her everywhere all at once. She smiled and when she pulled away for air again it was as if Erik was embarrassed for touching her boldly like that, because he pulled away and released her. She wanted to ask him to kiss her again, but at that moment her stomach made a growling sound and reminded her that she hadn't had breakfast yet. She blushed at the embarrassing sound and wondered why life never was as easy as it was in romance novels. They never had hunger disrupt any kisses in those books!

"I'm so sorry Christine, I forget myself. You haven't had breakfast yet!" Erik led her to the kitchen and she sat down while he put some bread, fruit and ham on the table and prepared some tea.

"I hope you will make me company Erik."

It looked like he smiled when she said that.

"If you wish." They both had breakfast and discussed the latest issue of Epoque and the art of the day. What they thought of the new piece from Debussy and among other things Sarah Bernhardt's latest trip to Stockholm.

"Do you miss Sweden Christine?"

She nodded in reply.

"Sometimes. To be honest I don't remember that much about it anymore. I was there once a couple of years ago to visit my family. You should have seen my mother! She was so nervous about what to offer a 'fine lady' like me to eat! I told her to just put another salted herring on the stove. My family has never had any money, and I haven't forgotten where I came from. It was strange to see them all having aged so much since I went away. I then happily paid for my father's trip over here to France so he could come with me. I was always closer to my father than my mother, since he, my brothers andI used to go singing on country fairs until I was discovered. It feels like such a long time ago now."

"I see."

"But something I do miss is the fresh, clean air you can only get on a midsummer night in Sweden, and being close to the forest. Believe it or not but I've never really fit into the whole 'city girl' role one gets when living in Paris. But I am so grateful that I got the opportunity to be something special. And you were a big part of that, thank you."

"You're welcome."

After breakfast Christine decided to take a bath. It had been too long since she had had one and she wanted to relax for a while in the big bathtub that Erik owned with lions feet on it. Since Erik had offered to clean up the table after breakfast, Christine went to the bathroom.

She started filling up the tub with steamy hot water. She had always loved really hot baths. Then she started to undress herself. When she was naked she turned to the big mirror that was above the sink. She looked different, she thought. Was that the red glow of love on her cheeks? The one Meg and the other small ballet girls made people fun of for having if they had met someone special in their life? Maybe… She undid her bun and let her long blonde hair fall down her shoulders, and then she thought of what had happened during the morning. What would have happened if her stupid stomach hadn't stopped them? If they had both given in to the passion that they so clearly felt for each other? She closed her eyes and started caressing her own breasts, thinking it was Erik. If he was there would he dare to touch her like that? When she was standing there all wrapped up in herself, she heard a small noise. Nothing more than what a small rat could have made, but she knew there were no rats. It was Erik.