AN: Here is the next chapter. The M rating partially comes into play here. Please review.

xxx

Raoul could not believe that the Phantom had agreed to help him. It seemed like he had lost all chances in getting the man to find his lost wife. Somehow, it had happened though. And now, he found himself above the lair and walking through the opera house with said man, trying to figure out what plans to make for the morning. With night fast approaching, there was not much that they could do now. They could start by leaving the opera house, though.

"We can start looking in the morning," the noble continued from what he had previously been discussing-where he had last seen his wife. He paused by Christine's old dressing room. He had not realized that they had traveled to this area. It was odd. It was not somewhere that he wanted to venture into. Right now, the Phantom was acting like a man. The last thing anyone needed was for him to fly into one of his rages. Perhaps the woman who had quietly been following at the Ghost's side had something to do with it-the Phantom's better attitude. Finally, he continued, "There is an Inn that we can stay at, just outside of the city. It will give us somewhere neutral to work out of. I will be able to reserve a room for myself as well as you and your wife."

Stay in a room with Erik? Eloise thought to herself. It was not something that she had ever planned on doing-sleeping in a man's room. The memories of her attack still plagued her. If she had to share a bed with a man, there was no telling how she would react. Then again, this was Erik. He would not try to harm her. But, she hadn't known him long. He very well could try something. Hmm, but it didn't make sense in her mind that he would ever try something. Why was it that she trusted him?

"What if Christine is to end up here?" Erik questioned. The idea of sharing a room with Eloise was interesting, but he would prefer to remain in the opera house. Here, he was safe. No one bothered him here ever. Most people thought him dead, and that was the way he wanted it to be. Going to some Inn where the fop was known could end badly. It could be a trap to capture him. There was no proof that Christine was missing. Then again, the boy was acting desperate. No, she had to be missing.

Eloise spoke up, "Wouldn't she have shown up by now, though? If she was traveling on her own and had sought you out, Christine should have gotten here by now-even if she had walked the route." Eloise certainly had experience with making her way through the world on foot. It was easy for her to make the estimate of how long the journey would take to come from Christine's home to the lair.

"I suppose," Erik answered. "Still, there is no point in leaving here for the night. It will be just as easy to leave from here as it would be to leave from your Inn." He simply did not want to leave his lair. Why would he risk going somewhere? If someone were to recognize him, he would be taken away. What good would he do then? Christine would remain lost. The boy would give up. There was no telling what Eloise would do-probably move on with her life.

The viscount sighed. It was clear that convincing the Phantom to leave this hole was not going to be an easy feat. It likely would not be best to push the issue for the night. For now, he would concede to the other man's wishes. "If that's the case, I will leave now. It will take a while to reach the Inn."

Waiting on the man to return in the morning would waste daylight. It would only hinder them to have the boy stay elsewhere for the night. Though he was loathe doing it, the Phantom opened his home to his once enemy. When the fop actually accepted the offer, Erik was quickly getting to his wit's end. Too much was happening in his life again. He had gone from peace and living alone-and slowing going insane-to living life in the fast lane again. Now he was leading his enemy back to the lair to allow him to spend the night.

"Where am I to stay?" Raoul asked. He certainly had not planned this. It was shocking how everything was turning out. He was willingly ready to stay in this hole. It was to save Christine he reminded himself. It was a necessary evil. Though, he had to admit that the Phantom's lair was not all that bad.

"The guest room," Erik replied simply, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

xxx

Erik stood awkwardly in his room, looking everywhere but at Eloise. He had not thought this plan through. With Raoul staying in the guest room and thinking that they had a relationship, there was no place but his room for Eloise to spend the night. Never had he had a woman in his room. Never had he planned to have a woman spend the night with him. She was simply sitting on the right side of the bed, seeming to wait for his reaction.

"You can have the bed," Erik stated, still not looking at her as he removed his masque and set it on the bed side table. He turned his back to her and made his way towards the door. The Phantom stopped when he heard her tell him to wait.

The thought of spending the night with a man terrified Eloise. The memories of what had happened to her kept replaying in her mind. She was doing a good job at not getting upset by it though. Still, the pain and fear was there. All she could think about was being left alone in this room with Erik going somewhere else in the room. Raoul could show up then and finish what he started. Or, he could rape her like the other man had. Her mind was quickly beginning its downward spiral again as tears began to fall from her eyes.

"Why are you crying?" he questioned, coming towards her. Carefully, he sat next to her on the bed. It seemed that her memories of rape were in her mind again, tormenting her. He had saved her and yet her mind still made him out the beast. It would never end. He took her hand and forced it to the deformed side of his face. "Your attacker wasn't deformed. His face was whole. Is mine? No, so I beg you to stop thinking of me as that creature. I could never harm a woman that way."

"No," Eloise protested. She did not want him to think that she saw him as the bad guy. And, why was it that his touch always brought her out of her mental torment? Maybe if she were to have relations with him, her memories of the attacker would disappear.

"No? You think I would rape someone?" Erik growled. "I am not that much a beast." He tried to get up and move away from her, but she held fast to his hand. Her other free hand came up and behind his neck to pull him to her-to kiss her full on the lips. The initial shock wore off after a few moments, and he was sorely tempted to continue, but he pulled away from her. "What are you doing?"

Eloise let out a shaky breath. The memories of her attack were clear in her mind, so she was determined to erase them. She replied, "I am making new memories." She stood up for a brief moment before coming to sit in the Phantom's lap. She put her arms around his shoulders and stared into those wondrous mismatched eyes. It would be so easy to fall into those pools of blue and never return. Once again, she brought her lips to his. This time, there was emotion to the kiss. She so wanted him to return the sign of affection.

This was insane, Erik knew. It had to be some sort of dream. There was no way this all could be real. Here he was, the Devil's Child, with a woman in his lap being affectionate to him. It would be so easy to give into the lust that he was feeling. But, no, he could not do that. She deserved better than simple lust; she deserved love. But, when her hand took his and led it to one of her breasts, he could not stop the moan that escaped his throat. He could not help as he began to return her affections.

When her hand ventured its way lower down his body to find his manhood, the former Phantom could not help the surprised gasp that escaped his throat. Never had anyone touched him there. It felt like nothing he could describe. But it was when she opened his trouser and began fully touching him that he realized just how good the joys of the flesh could be.

Thoughts exited his mind when she moved from his lap to sit beside him. All the while, she had not stopped her kiss or touching him. Slowly, as if unsure, she took her hand away to experiment in the area with her mouth.

His entire body shuttered when she did this. Never had he dreamed that this was possible. Certainly, he had read about what a man and woman would do together, but he had never thought that he would get to experience this. It was the most pleasurable thing he had ever felt. Warmth was quickly spreading through his body. It just felt so good.

The feeling was quickly becoming too much, and he knew that he would get close to the edge and fall over it if she continued. He did not want it to end yet. With a newfound confidence, he pulled her up from her activity and began kissing her with a passion he didn't know he had. He leaned forward, making her lean backward into the bed.

Having him on top of her and the actions that she had done had not triggered any bad memories for Eloise. It made her happy to know that she would be able to enjoy this time with Erik. When his hands slowly came down to her inner thigh, she could not help the sigh that escaped her or her hips coming upwards, searching for something. Her body was therefore satisfied and bringing forth soft moans of pleasure when a finger began to explore and enter her.

The two were interrupted by loud banging on the bedroom door. They were both surprised by this, and both would have been willing to ignore it, had it not been the voice of Raoul. He continued banging on the door until Erik opened it.

"What?" Erik demanded. He was not in the mood for the fop. Eloise had-she was-gods, his mind was everywhere and nowhere at the moment. He wanted to get rid of the boy and go back to Eloise. Perhaps she would be willing to pick up from where they left off.

Raoul got the impression that he had interrupted something between the Phantom and his wife-if the woman were even really that. Now was not the time, however. He had found a ransom letter in the guest room-along with a dead messenger. All of this was explained to the Opera Ghost.

Erik read the ransom letter aloud, "If you want your wife back, bring back the Devil's Child."