chapter 36

U niverse, give me strength. The hardest part was already done, right? "You don't have to wear that," I said. "Your face doesn't scare me."

"Do not detour. Will you please say whatever it is that haunts you enough to keep your love from me. Your silence unsettles," he said.

"Do you remember when I told you this wasn't my story?" I asked.

He nodded.

It shouldn't be this hard to tell him this. I groaned, staring into worried eyes that I loved so much. "I tried not to love you, but you've been everything I've ever dreamt about in a partner. Well mostly. I could have lived without the murder and stalking. But everything else… how could I not? The thing is you weren't supposed to be real."

He took my hands, placing a kiss on each. "You saved me from darkness. I owe you my soul," he said.

"No, stop." I pulled my hands from his. I couldn't allow him to lure me into his safety zone. "Please, let me do this or I won't, and it may be worse later."

I shook a bit of the cold off and looked out over the rippling water. It was still so peaceful. But my stupid heartbeat was ruining it. I can do this. "You said it yourself, I'm a bit odd, strange. How I speak. How I was dressed when you first met me. The jobs I've had. Why I won't talk much about myself."

"Yes."

"And that I just randomly woke up here. Which I'm sure you never really believed."

"Yes."

"Wait. If you didn't think I was telling the truth, then why—"

His concerned eyes softened. "Because it was the only thing you were untruthful about."

I sighed. Damn it.

"I…" my heart skipped and the breath in my lungs did very little to ease the anxiety. I closed my eyes and forced it out. "I was born in 1988. A little over a hundred years from now." I ignored the dumbfounded look in his eyes and continued. "I went into the restroom of the Majestic theater January 17, 2023. And walked out into the Palais Garnier January 17, 1880. I have no idea what happened or exactly how I got here. At first, I thought maybe I was hallucinating and dying somewhere. Or aliens. Or something. Not a time travel thing. Alternative timeline. Nothing like that."

"The cold is setting in; we must get you inside," he said, attempting to usher me back towards the cabin.

"No. Erique, you need to listen," I said, stopping him. "You want to know why I couldn't tell you I loved you. I'm telling you now. I tried to convince myself that if I didn't tell you, then it would hurt less when I was ripped back to my time or whatever. That it wouldn't kill me to live without you--"

"What you are saying does not make sense, Love."

"Try being the one living it! None of this makes sense," I said. "I don't know what this is. Maybe I was sent here to find you. I don't know. But the Phantom's not supposed to be real."

"You have said this before. What do you mean I was not supposed to be real?" he asked.

I rubbed my temples and groaned again. Maybe this was the part I didn't want to actually tell him.

"The mask you wore?" he asked, as if the lightbulb went off. "The ink in your leg?"

I shrugged, a little embarrassed. "The Phantom of the Opera is my favorite musical."

"The monster in that story, is me?"

"Well. Yeah. He is you, a man. But you're not him. Not really. Or maybe you are."

His eyes shifted, as if searching his mind for something. "Tell me," he said, with deep curiosity.

Against my better judgment, I did.

"Ah. Leroux. Why does that sound familiar?" he asked, but it wasn't a question. It was accusing in a playful manner.

For someone being told that they're a fable, a warning, and that in most of the stories they're evil, cruel and cold-blooded, he held his composure well. Not to mention that he died at the end of more than half. It was a lot to take in. I couldn't imagine it.

"Knowing these tales, you still love me?" he asked.

"You're not him," I answered. "Do you still love me? Knowing what you know now?"

I didn't have to wait before his cool hands cupped my face. Caring eyes narrowed in on mine, piercing and intent. "I spent a lifetime waiting for you. Thinking you were only a dream cruelly given to torture me. Every moment I'm gifted with you was worth the risk of losing you. With or without the fantastical intervening. I could just as easily be taken from you. Though only death himself could take me from your side."

I melted into his warm hands, as his hot breath heated my face. "I always thought you'd be cold," I said.

"Impossible when my heart beats so wildly in your presence."

"I never needed you, Erique. But I wanted you. I wasn't supposed to want you."

"That is because you are as mad as I," he said. A soft laugh crept out as he wiped my tears away. "Only an unwell person would fall in love with a man in the walls," he added. "I would not have done it."

"Shut up," I said, and playfully backhanded his chest.

"Down the rabbit hole you fell. Into the den of the Chesire you stay. You are Alice, after all," he cooed.

I laughed. A good, deep, belly-rumbling, soul-relieving, laugh. This was my wonderland and I didn't want to leave. Even if I did miss my music. Or modern medicine. And tampons.

I laced my arm around Erique's as we stared out over the water. No breeze. Just the calm life of nature and healing.

"We should go back inside," he said, as I shivered.

I nodded in agreement and took his hand.

"But first. Now there are no more secrets between us?"

I shook my head.

"Good," he said and reached into his pocket.

"Before you say anything. I have to stand my ground on marriage. Even at home, it was never something I wanted. Men change after you say yes. I don't want to feel like that again. I like who you are."

"Well, as you know," he said, pulling the ring from his pocket. "I am not like most men." He slipped the beautiful, glistening metal onto my finger. "This is a promise. A promise from me to you and you to me. We will only grow together if that is what you want."

Shaking, terrified and cold, of even this level of commitment from a man that I truly loved, I nodded. "Ok." I looked at the ring again and only felt joy. "Can we get one for you?"

His eyes lit up, "You would want that?"

"I want anyone that runs into you to know that you are loved, as I am."

Oh my God, I'm so gushy.

"Then tomorrow we will go into town, and it should be so."

"Really?" I said, not believing my ears.

He nodded.

"My mom and sister would shit themselves if they knew I even went this far. Figuratively speaking of course."

He grimaced at my crude analogy. "I would hope so," he said.

The flickering embers may have warmed us, but it was love's unbridled passion which burned us with the power of the sun.

Cold was a distant memory as we fell onto our bed. Protest I did not, as she clawed at the fabrics covering this flesh she craved to touch. Onto my knees I pushed, straddling wanting thighs as she shifted upright.

Glowing was she with fire, passion, and love as glistening brown eyes stared up. Desire hardened intensely at sight of her. This would be the first time I would bare myself completely to her. Not only has she known my mind and soul, but now she would know me in body whole.

Eager wanting hands pushed apart my unbuttoned shirt, gripping at my anxious flesh. Fragmented were my thoughts when she moved from my hips over the small, rounded stomach that she adored so much, and up through the dark hair of my chest.

"Are you ok?" she asked.

Placing a kiss in the palm of her reaching hand, I nodded against the wedding band she wore. "Yes," I said in a broken whisper. I ran my trembling hand through her hair and entwined the strands within my fingers. "Say it again," I commanded softly, pulling her head back enough to hover above her cherub face.

Fingers dug into the meaty flesh just below my back as she pulled my body closer. Desire strained within the confines of my trousers against her chest. Images of my cock laying against her face made it strain harder.

"I love you, Erique." Warmness filled every syllable and continued to brand upon my reborn soul.

"Good," I hummed and stepped onto the floor. "Now, to your knees and turn around."

With wide, captivated and curious eyes, she did as instructed. I rejoined behind her, pulling her to me. This body fit so well within the contours of her backside. "That's my good wife," I said.

"What—"

Lips ravished her neck, forcing her to forget what would ruin her mind. As my imprisoned cock pressed against her backside, hands explored the curve of her waist. The round of her belly. Down under the skirt of her dress to explore her thighs. Into the bodice of her gown to caress budding nipples.

My heart thumped wildly when her frenzied hand entwined within the thick of my hair and tugged.

I moaned, and bit into the crook of her neck eliciting the same response.

Heaven and Hell had novels long of my begging for her. This woman believed intervention brought her to me across time. If true, then even God answered a monster's prayer once.

With intent, our tongues twisted around the others, and lips became one. The pressure of her. The smell of her. Every moment made real.

Unwilling to let her out of her dress just yet, no matter how I wanted her, I traveled up her thigh as she clamped my hand with hers, urging it to take its rightful place at her warm center.

My Melody gasped when the heat of her core scorched my fingers as I pushed into her. "That is it, my Angel," I said.

The tantalizing tension around my fingers while she rode my hand, tightened as she bucked, riding out her climax. Trembling and twitching until she stopped me.

She lay against my chest, catching her breath. Hungry, glazed eyes shifted to mine, wanting. Needing. Craving.

Nearly ripping the gown from her, I tossed it into oblivion. I would buy her a new one if needed. My own desire even stronger and unwavering in the moments between turning and laying her back onto the bed.

Starved mouths found the other as we tore the shirt from my body and tossed it without thought. The wild, primal hunger in her gaze reflected my own as I prepared myself above her.

Like a predator salivating over the lamb. This man took in every curve of her luscious body. Heaving breasts. Hips. Belly. Wanting, strong thighs spread open, resting at my sides.

With unbearable care, she ran a hand along the physical distortion of my soul. I liquefied with every inch she moved, traveling up my chest and to my jaw.

Fingertips hooked beneath the side of my mask, and I was too intoxicated to stop her.

My heart seized. Soul screamed. In terror I stared down at this naked angel below me as she sat my false face to the side. Not to run or shy away. Not one hint in her dazzling eyes that this decayed flesh disgusted her.

‘She is ours. Love her. Our Melody. Your Melody only wants this life with you. Be not afraid anymore,' the Ghost said. ‘She sees you and beyond.'

Engulfed were our bodies by the fires of love and passion. Longing ached and throbbed as I lay against her, giving every area the attention that made her mine.

My trousers joined the other discarded fashions of society, as her moans cemented me to her. Soft and hardened was her nipple in my mouth as my tongue flicked it. Such an act every time nearly sent me into climax.

The room filled with sounds of ecstasy as my cock slid against the source of her pleasure. Both hers and mine. The overwhelming beauty threatened escape of my eyes, yet I would not stop. To see her in such a light, this woman would never be loved in darkness again. Ever.

She clawed at me, trying to guide me into her. Like a fawn, I trembled pressing myself to the path which would bring us together. The heat of her radiated with welcome.

This would be ours. Never to be shared with another. Never to be tainted by cruelty or heartache. Forever ours eternally.

"Within you, I see what life is supposed to be," I said.

A smile which would weaken my knees, only had me wishing those lips were against mine once again. Yet, I halt.

Do I hesitate to prepare her or myself?

‘Perhaps three fingers should have been used,' the Ghost teased.

To hurt her would be the end. To do it wrong should not scare. Would I deny us because fears teeth still had hold on the tuft of my neck?

Everything else we have done had been easy and beautiful. She guided me in unknown territory and praised me for my achievements.

No. This will be everything we want it to be.

Rubbing myself against her wanting flesh, practicing the motions that seem to come naturally, she gripped my back, beckoning me closer still.

"Please," she whined.

Melded were our lips as I pushed into her. Finally, I had succumbed to the searing need that had been building for my entire consciousness.

In unison, our breaths hitched, catching the other's gasp. Stars collided. Explosions ran down my spine. Collapse threatened these limbs as she molded around me.

"Oh, my dearest God," I whimpered.

"Oh fuck, Erique," she cried. "You're so thick. I almost can't even…"

I took her mouth again, hoping to stop whatever could potentially end our consummation a little quicker than I liked.

Further into her I moved, worshiping every second. She moaned something guttural as my body pressed against her. Slowly, I dragged my cock back. The precipice dangerously close as her nails dug into my flesh. Which I wished she would tear from my bones.

This was heaven. I had been granted such paradise after all my atrocities and I would not take it for granted.

Our emotions whirled within our kiss. Deep and profound. Connection finally in whole. Lost was I in the depths of our embrace, I had almost forgotten we had joined. Until she moved.

I rocked slowly against her, dragging myself to the tip, exposing the body of my cock that she had so desperately begged for and was now owned by.

But my need. My own insatiable need for her grew impatient, and I quickened my pace.

Sweat glistened over our burning skin. Breathy, loving words sang from us both while I moved, rolling deeper with every thrust.

"You are a home I never knew, my Melody," I said between staggered breaths. "Safe and warm. So safe and warm."

Never would I hold her off again. Deny either of us. Every night. Every day, whenever we wished, this would be us.

"Erique… My beautiful… I'm… going…" she said, dazed out of her mind.

My hand found her bliss filled face, "Look at me," I commanded.

Lids fluttered. Eyes rolled. She tried.

What a feeling to know that the pleasure of my cock overpowered her. The feeling was indeed mutual.

"You are mine?" I asked.

"As… as you are mine."

"Always."

"Always."

Nails dug into my ass, rolling my hips into her as my own climax edged.

Thighs quaked around me. Body convulsed and pulsated beneath me harder than any she had before. The world faded when I crashed against her, sputtering as I held in place, spilling into my Angel. Filling this woman. My wife.

I collapsed into shaking arms as they embraced me. My own trembling hands found their way around her shoulders and clasped on, to keep me from joining the stars.

Overjoy leaked down my face and onto her perfect breasts. What beauty was that? Such divine power to be shared.

Time was nothing.

A nipple was haloed by the dying embers of the fireplace as oxygen attempted its way back into my lungs. I was further soothed in euphoria by the gentle stroking of fingers within the moistened strands of my hair.

I dug my fingers into her, gripping her harder before I raised my head to look into sated eyes. Heavy eyelids and a soft smile on her lips. She was left with the peace this body had given her.

"We could stay here. Never go back," she said, running a finger along the dips in my cheek. "We'd need a better bathroom though."

I had the means to give her this. Could it be possible? Not one soul would bother us. Could I live without the opera?

To give up the opera, how would the world know my music, our music, if we were away?

"What about your lessons? I want you on my stage, my Love," I cooed.

She shrugged. "It was just a thought."

"A wonderful one that I will give you someday. You will be happy until then. I promise."

She caressed my shame a little longer. "So, tomorrow then. How is that going to work? Getting you a ring."

Mention of laying claim to me lit my soul ablaze once again. It would mean to the world that I was a husband. That this creature in the shadows had a loving wife.

My wife... I would get to be a husband. A loving, adoring, doting, faithful husband. All because this woman needed the world to know she loved a monster.

"We will make it work," I said.

Unfortunately, though my life had changed, there were some things not even the infamous Ghost could overcome.

The fear of day and the people that dwelled within it.

I would have her go in and find one she liked. Perhaps the owner would close for a short while.

Either way, she wanted it and I would have it done.

"Ok… can we, maybe grab some food afterwards?" she asked.

"Of course."

"I mean eat out… In public."

Blessed I was this flesh shared the same tone as paper, otherwise brown eyes would have seen it flushed further.

"I will try," I said, knowing fear still had hold of me.

Bliss it was to lay there with her as the world stood in darkness of the most beautiful kind. Three more times I would be afforded to make love to her until dawn. Several more over the next few days.

And today as we drove this carriage home, back to the Le Palais Garnier . I refused gloves so that the moonlight glinted from the matching metal band on my finger.

The future was both written and yet to be. If what my Love claimed was true, then truly she was my saving grace, and the chance would not go to waste.

Alone I would never be. For I was now a husband to an angel across time. Love was with me and warmed this fractured soul, melding the pieces back to whole.

Even as the cold of night burned my fingers.