Search for the Opera Ghost: Rewrite

XVII.

Zuri found herself in Erik's arms, her heart begged to kiss his lips and to please him in every way. She shook her head in confusion. She should hate him...but she did not. 'I love him...' She realized. She snuggled against him to feel his warm body against hers. She could feel his arms pulling her closer to him. 'I love you Erik, but this can never be.'

"Zuri," he murmured low in her ear, "you are so beautiful. I want you to stay with me." She began to protest, but he pressed his forefinger to her lips and silenced her. "No protesting from you."

"Erik...I have to return."

"No you don't. I won't let you."

"But I..."

"Zuri! You have become a coward all of the sudden. You are trying to escape your feelings of me."

She looked at him in shock as his hand wound in her hair. "I am not..."

"You and I both know that I only have to touch you and you are writhing beneath me...crying out for more."

"I feel so helpless Erik. You have never been torn between duty and...forget it."

"Duty and what my dear?"

"Love."

He smiled proudly, knowing he was the man who she loved and made her feel loved. "Love Zuri?"

"Yes. However, you make me feel so helpless. Erik, I don't want a man to take me and use me."

"I make you feel helpless?"

"Yes. Our passion is born from anger...I love you, but I cannot stand to argue with you for the rest of my life." Zuri answered.

"I am not going to use you or take you without your consent. I don't know how to make you feel less helpless. How can I give you what you need?"

"I don't know."

"Is it because you have never been with a man before?" He raised his eyebrow in question.

"Yes...I suppose. Erik, I can't be the woman you want me to be."

"Yes you can. You are afraid of committing."

"Ha! Me afraid of committing? Listen to you Erik. You are afraid of marriage."

"I am not going to marry a woman who is not going to be truthful."

"You want the truth Erik! Here is the truth! You are a self-serving pig! A man who sees only his needs and wants. God, I despise you at times and then I want you so bad that I can't breathe! You've been rude to me...you raped me...you've touched me to satisfy your own gratification. But God, I want you and need you and love you! Yes Erik...I.love.you! Even though you are such a bastard at times!" She cried out as she pushed him on his back and straddled his hips then pressed a hard kiss against his lips.

Erik's fingers drifted up her neck and wound in her hair. "You want to say more?" He murmured against her lips.

"I want you and if i'm yours...then you are mine."

He smiled as she nipped at his ear lobe while he told her, "You are going to make me wish I tied you to the bed."

"Oh Erik. I doubt you could do so."

"Why?"

"Because you love me."

He glanced up at her, giving her a look that made her feel confused. She hated feeling confused. She knew then that he didn't love her...he only wanted her. "You don't love me." She murmured sadly.

"It is not that. I just never thought I could feel this way again."

She rolled off him and lay on her side, looking away from him. "It is alright. I shouldn't have expected you to."

"Zuri...please look at me. Do not turn away from me."

He forced her on her back then caught her chin in a rough hold. Tears streamed down her cheeks as his fingers moved to stroke her cheek. "Don't cry...please."

"I understand why you don't want me. You still love her...that is fine."

Erik almost laughed. In truth, he hadn't thought of Christine other than the times Zuri had mentioned her name. "It's not her Zuri. I haven't thought of her in a long while." He paused as he continued stroking her cheek, "I want you to be mine and that is the honest truth Zuri. I have a lot of thinking to do that is all."

"You told me not to think. You told me to feel. I suppose what I said and have done is worth nothing."

He softly pressed his lips against hers. He felt himself straining to take her but refused to give into his urges. 'Zuri, you will have to give me a while.' "I want us both to be happy," He finally said, "but you have to learn to trust me more and I have to get used to the idea of being with another person."

Zuri bit her lip then felt him gently kiss her cheek as he pulled the covers over their bodies. She felt used and as if her heart had been torn to pieces. She should have known that all he wanted was her body. Her stomach clenched as his arm curled around her waist. "Sleep." He whispered in her ear. She could not resist the lull of sleep as he pulled her closer to his body.

xxxx

Antoinette sipped on a cup of tea as she eyed Erik. "What are you going to do now Erik?"

"I don't know for certain. I am trying to keep her from leaving."

"Erik, you have dug yourself a bigger hole than last time. She can't go back home or she will have to face both her father's and her fiance's wrath. What about you? What can you offer her if you won't marry her to save her reputation?" She paused as she suddenly thought outloud, "What if she has a child by you? Have you thought about that? You have been focusing on only yourself...you haven't even taken any precautions!"

"Enough madame! I certainly can take care of my own affairs. I don't need your help."

"Then why did you come to me?"

"Because...I need you to see Christine for me."

Antoinette slammed her cup on the table beside her. "Oh no Erik. I am not dealing with Christine."

"Please madame...Antoinette. Do this one thing for me."

She sighed in anger, "What do you want me to do?"

"Give her this." He replied, handing her a ring that he had been keeping for two years.

"Her engagement ring?"

"Yes."

"Erik...do you mean to take Zuri as your wife?"

"I'm unsure Antoinette."

"You have to. Zuri can't survive if she is found out to have relations with another man. Her father will boot her out. She would be shunned by society."

"She wouldn't be shunned! No one besides us knows what happened."

"Erik...I will only take Christine the ring when you decide that you are going to marry Zuri. Until then, I will keep it."

Erik grumbled softly, "Fine. Don't expect me to make my decision immediately."

"I never have." Antoinette replied as she watched him disappear.

xxxx

Erik entered the bedroom silently and watched as Zuri bent over the bed to straighten the sheets. He came up behind her, surprising her as his hands caught the gentle curve of her hips. "I see no reason for making the bed. We will only mess it up again."

"Erik, I can't lay in bed all day. I have to get up and do something."

"What is it that you have to do?"

"Cook supper."

"Try again mon chere."

"Erik, don't make this hard on me."

"I am hardly making anything hard on you."

"You want me to fulfill your needs." She argued as he tensed.

"You are not here to fulfill my needs. However, how can any man resist a woman who has been willing from the start." He pointed out while turning her around in his arms.

"Erik please. I need to think..."

He silenced her with a breath-taking kiss while his arms wrapped around her back. Her heart raced wildly as his knee parted her legs and his tongue sought hers in a demanding way. He broke away from her mouth then said in a soft tone, "You belong to me, mon chere. I do not intend to let you leave withought knowing fully what I can offer."

She did not get a chance to answer, for he took her lips in a searing kiss once more and moved his hands up her skirts and caressed her inner thighs. She moaned against his lips then murmured, "What can you offer me Erik?"