Have you heard the story of Don Juan, Christine?" Erik murmured against her ear. Christine swallowed at how sensual his voice sounded. She had never noticed how beautiful that part of him was until that moment.
"No," she whispered, wanting to hear more. Erik moved them slowly on their feet. The people, the music, everything disappeared except for the two of them and Erik's voice.
"He was a lover of legends...any woman he wanted he could seduce effortlessly into his bed. He gave women pleasure unlike anything they had ever felt before," Erik began his arms pulling her even closer beneath him.
"Don Juan had a friend, Don Luis, who also had scores of women in his bed. The two of them met after years of not seeing each other and boasted about their many conquests," Erik said. Christine wondered where he had heard such a story and if it was going to end happily. She wrapped her arms around his waist and laid his head down on his broad chest as she continued to listen.
"Don Luis informed Don Juan that though Juan outscored him in numbers he had never had a woman of God. A woman pure and untouched. Don Juan, never a man to pass up a challenge, tells his friend that he will find such a woman and seduce her," Erik said. Christine did not like this Don Juan much. He seemed like a womanizer to her.
"He meets Aminta, a beautiful gypsy woman, who is pure of body and soul, the perfect woman in Don Juan's eyes. Aminta is of course quite taken with Don Juan's obvious charm and good looks..." Erik said, trailing off. Christine looked up at him with a frown.
"Don't stop, Erik!" she said. Erik smiled and pressed a kiss to her temple, his lips lingering. He had wanted to see if she was paying attention and was glad she was.
"Don Juan had no trouble seducing our beautiful Aminta. He had her in his bed in very little time but as soon as he joined their bodies he realized that she held his heart."
"He fell in love with her?" Christine asked. She had noticed that Erik's hands had begun to move up and down on her back, giving only slight pressure.
"Yes. No woman had ever taken his heart but this little gypsy woman had. He did not know what to do. He was unused to these feelings. But Aminta's father found out that Don Juan had soiled his daughter and he tried to kill Don Juan, but in the end our Don killed Aminta's father," Erik continued, his mouth moving from her ear down to her neck to press several kisses there.
"During the fight with Aminta's father Don Juan had a lantern full of burning oil thrown at his face by Aminta's father. This left him extremely disfigured and he fled that house in shame, knowing that Aminta could never love him because he had killed her father and had been horribly disfigured," Erik said.
"Poor Don Juan," Christine whispered. It was such a tragic story! Erik had known that Christine might like to hear this tale and he found that he liked holding her and dancing with her like this. People around them were getting drunk and all happily talking to one another, but for Erik, the only person that mattered was in his arms.
"What happened to Aminta?" Christine asked, hypnotized by this story.
"She searched for Don Juan months after he had fled the city. She loved him, and knew that he had killed her father out of self defense. But, unfortunately her search was useless and she later found out that she was pregnant with his child," he said.
"This is so tragic, Erik," Christine said. If only she knew that he felt connected to this story because all of his life tragedy had seemed to follow him like a shadow.
"She met him again, five years after he had fled. Their son was just five years old and Aminta was horrified to know what had happened to him because of her father. Don Juan tried to leave again but Aminta confessed her love for him despite what his face looked like. She showed him his salvation into Heaven," Erik finished. He wiped several tears from her eyes and kissed her.
"They lived the rest of their life with one another?" she said. Erik nodded.
"How wonderful," she whispered. Erik nodded and kissed her once more, with a little more passion. When he pulled away Christine was smiling up at him. She took his hand and slowly led him from the dancing area. The ball continued around them but Christine was solely focused on her husband. Erik said nothing as she led him from the grand room and into the small study that adjoined it. Christine was glad to find it empty and with a roaring fire already in the fireplace. There was a small sofa on one side of the room and Christine went over to it and got the small quilt that was lying across the arm. As Erik watched she spread the quilt onto the floor and slowly turned back to him, the look in her eyes leaving no doubt what it was she had brought him here for.
Erik said nothing as he slowly went to her, his hands cupping her face to look deeply into her eyes. He saw desire in the blue depths of her eyes and he realized that tonight was going to be a Masquerade he would never forget. He was becoming closer to her, and he liked the feeling of sharing this quiet intimacy with someone who did not just want sex. Erik's fingers gently removed the mask from her face to see that her cheeks were flushed with arousal. Groaning very softly he leaned forward and caught her mouth in a passionate kiss. His tongue explored her mouth with sensual persuasion and Christine wrapped her arms around his neck, her tongue going on its own exploration.