Christine was a mess, every time she saw Erik, she would go completely giddy. She had no idea what this man was capable of doing… especially to her. Shaking the thought from her mind, she descended the stairs. Today she was accompanying Maryanne and Meg in the garden for lunch. Christine absolutely loved Maryanne, and thought of her as strictly a dear friend, not as a servant. She met Maryanne and Meg at the bottom of the stairs, and laughed when she saw their faces. They were hiding something…. And Christine was determined to find out.

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"I am an absolute mess"

Erik pronounced as he paced his study. An amused Nadir sat near by watching his anxious friend; he had never seen his serious friend so worked up about something. Erik had mentioned to Nadir yesterday the prospect of asking Christine to be his wife. Nadir being the man he is could not keep his secret to himself…. except of course to Christine.

"Erik, man calm down" Nadir sighed and leaned back in his chair "You'll never be able to hide this from her" Nadir added.

Erik ran a hand through his slicked back hair, "Yes, I need to relax"

Nadir chuckled and murmured that Erik definitely "Needed" something.

Receiving a glare from his friend at the comment, Nadir continued "Have you something in mind?" Nadir asked his extremely anxious friend.

Erik stopped pacing and stared at the carpet. He stood there for a long time until Nadir cleared his throat quite loudly.

Erik began his pacing again; "Yes" he stopped "No".

Nadir raised an eyebrow "Which is it?" he asked much to Erik's aggravation.

"I don't know!" he said rather loudly, before Nadir had a chance to open his mouth Erik continued "I do have something, I presented her a ring that night… the night in my lair" he ran another hand through his hair "I'm not sure she would like that one though, because of the circumstances". He walked over to his desk and picked up the delicate ring. He had managed to take it from Christine while she was sleeping; he wasn't sure at the time if she wanted it. Now he thought differently. Erik continued pacing and stopped suddenly, fear coming across his face.

"What if she doesn't want to be my wife?"

Nadir raised a hand to stop him, "Don't even go in that direction, she loves you Erik and you and I know that".

Erik nodded, silently agreeing with him. He looked at the bookcase in front of him, smiling to himself at the idea of Christine being his wife.

He turned back to Nadir, "It is decided"

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Later that evening, Christine sat in front of the fire place. She starred at the flames, dancing widely and licking the logs in fiery passion. She blushed at her use of wording, wondering what it would be like to have a passion as fiery as the one she now gazed upon. This afternoon she had succeeded with no success, Maryanne and Meg seemed to know something but would change the subject when Erik was mentioned. She frowned, her face covered in the faint glow. She was alone for now, not having seen Erik at all today. She huddled closer into the chair, loving the way the velvet warmed slightly with the nearby fire. Sleep soon found her.

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Erik stood above his sleeping angel, watching how the glow from the fire made her skin seem ablaze. He could die a happy man now, watching his one love look so beautiful. He sighed; he would love her for eternity. He bent down and scooped her into his arms, being careful not to wake her, he loved how perfectly she fit into his embrace and savored each moment she was in his arms. He laid her gently on her bed and began to walk away when he was stopped by a single word.

"Erik."

Christine's voice was sleepy and filled with a different emotion Erik had never heard before. He turned to see she was sitting up on the bed, her eyes blazing with this unknown emotion. He walked back toward her, and sat on the bed. He said nothing to her as his hand began to trace the line of her jaw very lightly. She lifted her hand and placed it on top of Erik's.

Starring into her eyes, Erik saw the love this woman was capable of, and leaned in and took her lips gently. After a moment, passion began to stir inside him and his tongue demanded access into her mouth. She opened her mouth and was greeted with his roaming tongue. He brought her closer to him on the bed, and wrapped one arm around her waist. She moaned into his mouth when his tongue twirled lightly around hers, dancing the dance of ages. He felt himself getting rather excited and pulled back. Christine starred into his eyes and brought her lips to his in a passionate kiss.

Erik responded in full, loving the way her tiny frame fit against him so well. Feeling himself getting "rather excited" again, Erik pushed Christine gently back. She fell against the pillows, her chocolate brown curls spilling out around the pillow case.

"Your beautiful" he told her as he captured her lips in another kiss.

Christine blushed slightly and was taken aback when Erik gently crawled on top of her, his arms on either side of her head and his torso half on top of hers. Erik took her lips again, this time a little more ravenous, His hunger for her building at an extreme level. His mouth left hers and began to roam around her neck, finding spots that made her tingle with desire. She gripped his shoulders as he buried his head into her neck, kissing her ever so lightly. She arched her back in pleasure as a moan escaped her mouth, causing Erik's hips to lightly grind into hers. Erik stopped what he was doing and looked down at his love. Her lips were swollen from passion and her face a rosy shade of pink. Her eyes held lust and passion. He ground his hips again and heard another moan escape her mouth. He bent down and took her lips again, his tongue thrusting into her mouth, causing her to arch her back against his now aching arousal.

"Minx" he said against her lips.

She giggled and went to his neck, laying kisses as he had, causing a mixture of emotions to appear across his face, or what she could see of it.

"Erik" she moaned into his chest as one of his hands found the top of her breast.

Erik stopped at the sound of his name, once again looking down at her. He was just as inexperienced as she was, and he wanted their first time to be special together and hopefully after they had officially committed themselves to each other. From the looks of it now, it was going to be extremely hard. Regretting his decision, Erik slowly made his way off of her. She let out a moan of protest, but understood his actions. She suddenly felt embarrassed at her actions and turned away from him. Erik, understanding her emotion, knelt down in front of her.

"Christine, I… I don't want to disrespect you"

She nodded in agreement, not wanting to say anything just yet.

He turned her chin toward him and lay a kiss on the corner of her lip.

"You are beautiful, and I love you" he murmured quietly to her.

She smiled and kissed him once again, he turned to leave when she grabbed his arm.

"Stay with me tonight?"

Erik thought for a moment, knowing leaving would be the smartest idea. She tugged gently at his arm and he reluctantly gave in. He nodded and began to take off his waistcoat and shoes. When he was in his simple white shirt and pants, he crawled into bed with her. He brought her into his arms, and she snuggled into him, loving the feeling of having him in bed with her. He kissed her ear and saw that she was already sounding asleep.

"I love you" he whispered into the night.

He lay there for a moment before sleep claimed him, wondering what would have happened if he hadn't stopped. He knew if it happened again, he wouldn't be able to stop.

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-AesSedia