Chapter Thirteen

The new production was announced to be Romeo et Juliette and, with Marie leaving for Italy to study with a world-renowned opera teacher, Christine was eager to audition for the part of Juliette. The audition piece was Juliette's short "Dieu! Quel Frisson". Although she knew the piece inside and out from working on it with Erik in the past, she had a plan. She had a hunch that, though he had stayed away last week, with the auditioning for the new production, he'd be unable to stay away now.

Towards the end of the third day of preliminary notes and audition rehearsals, Christine knew he was there. She didn't see him, but she could feel him: feel his eyes on her. And so she stayed late until everyone was gone and sat at the piano on stage, plucking out a few of the notes in the melody and humming a bit. When she felt certain he was there, just out of sight, she began singing the piece, purposely making the same, small mistake each time she ran over it. It was the third time she made the mistake that finally drew him out of the shadows backstage.

"What are you doing to this piece?" He demanded, unable to maintain his patience any longer. He stepped towards her, frowning in irritation.

Christine looked up, trying to hide her excitement at having his attention. She was desperate to tell him everything: how she had finally realized she loved him and never should have gone to Raoul. But she knew she had a lot to atone for right now and baby steps would be needed in order to win his trust once more.

"You know I had problems with it before. As short as it is, it's difficult," she replied, her voice shaking a bit in anticipation of him coming closer.

"That's absurd! We worked it out months ago. You sang it flawlessly for me several times," he countered, still standing at the edge of the shadows.

She had to draw him closer. "I can't seem to remember this one spot, 'Oh Love! Revive my fond devotion.' It's still so awkward," she commented. "Will you show me?" At that, Christine slid to the end of the piano bench to make room for him, beckoning to the keyboard.

He hesitated for a moment, knowing how difficult it would be to be that close to her and still refrain from touching her, confessing to her that Genevieve meant nothing and it was only Christine, ever Christine, who was always in his thoughts. But….that peerless instrument of hers had gone untutored for too long and she had gotten sloppy with her exercises. He could not allow that. Huffing in annoyance, he came to the piano and sat next to her. Their shoulders touched as he took command of the keyboard and accompanied his voice as he correctly sang the lines Christine had purposely flubbed.

As soon as he sat near her, Christine felt her heart begin to pound. She closed her eyes as his amazing baritone wrapped around her, seducing her with its velvety tone. Where before she had been scared of how his voice affected her, now she reveled in the heat it brought to her chest. As it spread downward, Christine leaned in closer to him, his scent of sandalwood and patchouli acting like an aphrodisiac on her.

Erik's voice had gone hoarse as she leaned closer to him. She smelled of lavender and her familiarity with him was something new and disconcerting. Where was the girl who used to shrink at his touch? And suddenly, this new woman next to him placed her head on his shoulder and he found himself barely able to continue playing the piece.

Christine reveled in her new found courage and could hear Erik's breathing become ragged at her touch. She had always been fascinated by his hands: long, slender fingers that commanded such magic from any instrument he touched. And then, her thoughts slipped to what magic those hands could create if they touched her. Her face flamed a brilliant red and she was shocked by the sudden image her mind conjured of him touching her face, throat, breasts. Her body was on fire just thinking about it and subconsciously she inched closer so that now their legs touched as well.

That was all Erik could stand. His body had a mind of its own and was responding in ways he was totally unprepared for. Having her sitting this close to him, willingly allowing their bodies to touch….he didn't trust himself not to lose control and take her for his own right there on stage. And that was when he realized she had orchestrated this entire scene. She could sing the piece; they both knew it. Somewhere along the way, his Christine had found a side of herself he had not known she possessed. She was trying to entice him. But he couldn't allow it to be that easy: not after what he had been through. Taking a deep breath, he stood up and moved away from her, missing their physical contact immediately.

"Now that you heard the correct way, sing it for me," he commanded, barely keeping his voice from shaking.

Christine felt as though she had been ripped from a dream when he stood up. Her disappointment showed on her face but when she stood up to comply with his direction, she saw the look on his face. He was not an easy person to read, but she had been with him long enough to recognize some of his moods and emotions. She had only seen this look once before and that had been when they had just finished singing the duet from Don Juan Triumphant. And with that recognition came the knowledge that she still affected him and he still desired her. She stood up straight and smiled as she caught and held his gaze while singing the audition piece flawlessly.

At the end of her song, Erik cleared his throat. Her singing always affected him but this new, bold side of her was nearly more than he could handle; and it intrigued him. Getting a firm hold of himself, he put his teacher mask back in place.

"That was better. You would do well to run through your vocal exercises before tomorrow's audition. They will help loosen you up more so that you can perform better. Do not overshoot that high C." They both knew those words were unnecessary, but it gave Erik his power back in a situation that he'd lost control of nearly immediately. He turned to leave.

Christine was desperate to keep him there. She had finally made progress and wanted more time. "I'm not sure about one other part…."

Erik stopped and turned back for a moment. "Then you should rehearse a while longer." He saw the disappointment on her face and was again amazed at her transformation. Not wanting to be the one responsible for disappointing her, he added, "I will listen to your audition tomorrow." The smile that blossomed on her face was what he took with him as he turned and left.

As he disappeared from sight, Christine sat back down on the piano bench. She couldn't help the smile that was still there: and it grew larger as she remembered the feel of his body next to hers. She turned her head to her shoulder and could still smell his cologne there where they had touched. She thought again of his powerful hands and relished the odd feeling that erupted in her stomach, sending shockwaves down low. She was frustrated that he had left, but she knew now that things were on the right track. Christine only had to keep them there.