"So what the hell do we do now? We've looked everywhere!" Garridan snapped before downing the rest of his beer. "We've asked hundreds of people it seems like. I'm starting to wonder if you're making the whole thing up!"
"Why would I make it up?" Cato asked in disbelief. "What do I have to gain by lying?"
"I don't know," his brother admitted. "But if we don't find her soon, I think we're just going to have to give up."
"Look she wasn't far from here, maybe if we keep searching…."
"Then what?" Garridan demanded. "We've been searching for over a week now! I'm getting sick and tired of this ghost hunt."
"Hunting ghosts eh?" a man sitting down the bar said before taking a large gulp of his own drink. "I've had more than my share of run-ins with ghosts, phantoms, and spirits. One killed my brother almost six years ago down at the Opera Populaire. We was stagehands down there. He murdered Joseph and took off with one of them ballet girls. Set the whole place on fire."
"Seems like an awfully odd ghost," Cato commented. Garridan glared at his brother, not wanting to bother with this drunk.
"Twasn't really a ghost y'see," he continued. "A man lived underneath he place. Had a mask white as bone he wore on one side cause he had a face t'would frighten Lucifer himself."
"A white mask you say?" Garridan asked as his interested peaked. "Where did you say this man was?"
"The Opera Populaire," he replied. "Jus' down the street, 'round the corner."
"That's not far from where I found her," Cato whispered excitedly to his brother. "We found the bastard! Come on!"
"Do you have everything packed?" Erik asked Katja. She nodded. "Is there anything else you will need before tomorrow?"
She shook her head. "No, I don't. I think I'm ready."
"Alright," he sighed. "Well I guess there's nothing left but wait for morning." An awkward silence descended on the lair. Erik didn't want her to go; he was willing to do anything to keep her here with him. And he wasn't entirely sure she wanted to go either.
"Erik, what if…" Her voice trailed off before she fully voiced her fears.
"What if what?" Erik questioned.
Katja focused her gaze on the floor. Erik put his arm around her, trying to comfort her, but instead got a rush of 'What-ifs'. "What if they reject me? What if they think I'm ruined? What if they forgot about me? What if they aren't even there?"
"If they do anything but welcome you with open arms, they aren't worthy to call themselves your family. You are not ruined, despite what you think," he replied firmly. "And I will help you find your family no matter how long we have to search."
"Oh Erik," Katja sighed, resting her head on his shoulder. "What would I do without you?"
He smiled softly. "I'm sure you'd be just fine."
"No," she argued. "I'd be in a cage, still Javert's plaything. I'd be getting be getting beaten and raped and whipped every day if it weren't for you. I owe you everything."
"How is your back doing?" he asked, reminded of the cut Javert had given her.
"It doesn't bother me much anymore," she answered. "I think it's healed, but I don't know for sure. I can't see the whole cut, since it's, you know, on my back. Would you…?"
Erik nodded. She sat on the piano bench and lowered the bodice of her dress. He sat behind her and, with slightly shaking hands, undid the laces of her corset. An angry red scar stretched across her back, from shoulder to hip. Katja flinched slightly as Erik ran his finger along it. "Does it hurt?" he asked.
She shook her head. "It just tickles."
Without thinking, Erik gently kissed the top of the scar in apology. When Katja didn't oppose, he found himself kissing the sensitive spot on her neck where her pulse was beating. Her neck arched, revealing more of the creamy skin, and Erik could feel her heartbeat start to race.
Suddenly she gasped and her body went rigid in his arms. Erik realized that he had run his hand up her stomach and brushed against her breast. He pulled her dress up to cover her chest, too afraid of pushing further to bother with the corset, and backed away, guilt and shame overwhelming him. "Katja, oh God, Katja, I'm sorry."
Taking him completely by surprise, Katja spoke softly. "Don't stop."
"Wha…What?" he asked in disbelief. When he realized she was serious, he shook his head. "I can't. I shouldn't have done that."
"Has anyone ever shown you real love?" Erik refused to answer. "Because I know no one has ever shown me. I've been hurt so many times that I can't understand how people see that as love. But if anyone can prove it is love, it's you."
He shook his head. "I will not hurt you."
"I know you won't Erik," she whispered. "You told me you would never and I believe you. " She closed the gap between them. "Why can't we give each other the love we've both been denied?"
Erik watched her uncertainly for a few moments. Katja was leaving in the morning. Maybe this was what could convince her to stay with him. And he would be lying if he said he didn't want this. He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her passionately, giving in. "Tell me if you want to stop," he growled in her ear, before picking her up and carrying her into his bedroom.
Katja could feel her heart racing as he placed her on the mattress. Erik seized her lips again, his hand running over her breasts. He paused long enough to undo the buttons of his shirt and toss it aside. Once his shirt was off, he turned his attention to her dress. Erik slid the fabric down her body. Katja arched her back and lifted her hips so that he could get it off.
She moaned as he gently cupped her breast. Erik leaned down and took her nipple into his mouth and suckled it to a hardened peak. His free hand ran down the silky skin of her stomach before reaching her most sensitive are. Katja gave another loud moan as his fingers experimentally touched her womanhood. When one of his fingers slipped inside of her, she squealed, not in pain, but in pleasure. Oh God, she had been touched like this so many times before, but it never felt good. It never felt right. It never felt like this.
He paused his ministrations to discard his trousers. Her breath caught when she saw how large he was, even bigger than Javert. Her fears began to return, but she did her best to fight them. Erik would never intentionally cause her pain. But Erik seemed to sense her hesitation. "We don't have to…"
"No, I want this," she replied. Erik hesitated for a few more moments, giving her time to change her mind. When she didn't, he eased himself into her, prepared for tears of pain or rejection. After allowing her some time to adjust, Erik began to thrust into her.
Katja began to move with him, matching him thrust for thrust. Pleasure she had never known consumed her, body, mind, and soul. Tension began to coil in her lower stomach, as their pace increased.
"Erik!" Katja screamed as she hit her release and she was hit with a wave of pleasure so unknown to her, she didn't think she could take it. After a few more thrusts, Erik cried out her name as he climaxed as well then collapsed on top of her. Katja traced the scars on his back as they both struggled to catch their breath. Erik rolled off of her and pulled her against him. "I think I love you," she murmured before falling asleep in his arms.
He stared at her in awe as she slept. No woman had ever given him so much, let alone confessed her love for him. Even in all his fantasies, Erik had never imagined her saying that she loved him, because even in his wildest dreams he thought it was impossible for anyone to love him. Now he knew he couldn't let her go. What was going to happen in the morning when it came time to leave?