Intimate

Cursing every god he had ever heard about Erik crossed his arms and looked out the window of the carriage as Christine giggled to one of Kenneth's jokes. The handsome man was nearly beaming in his ego as he made Christine laugh so joyously. Erik was still fully aroused from the night before and it had not helped that when he woke up Christine was lying across his chest, her hand nestled snuggly against his groin. He had been unable to move and had waited until Christine had woken up. She had blushed and pulled away, not saying a word to him.

But Erik's suspicions of Kenneth were growing, and it did not only stem from the fact that he played far to much attention to Christine. He was always whispering to the driver of his carriage in soft, urgent tones and it was putting Erik on edge. Whatever they were talking about could not be good.

"What do you plan to do once you are in Rome, Christine?" Kenneth asked. The way he said Christine's first name so intimately tugged at every one of Erik's nerves.

"We are on holiday," Christine answered. Kenneth said nothing but glanced at Erik.

"And you, Monsieur, what are you doing in Rome?" Christine asked, not liking the heated glance.

"Visiting my sister, she recently had a son," he answered, a little too quickly for Erik's liking. Christine smiled and their talk continued. Erik found himself dozing in boredom. He felt Christine's hand find his and to his complete and utter surprise she entwined their fingers. He stared at her for a moment but she only smiled at him before turning back to her conversation.

"There is a inn, a few miles up the road, it is the only one for a few miles, we should stop there," Kenneth said to Christine, breaking Erik from his wandering thoughts. He looked up to see Christine looking at him, waiting for him to answer. Kenneth was reclining on his seat, completely cool and sophisticated. Erik's first reaction was to say no. He did not trust Kenneth and he did not want to take his advice. But he also did not like the thought of traveling at night when there was someone after them and if it was the only inn nearby they needed a room.

"There is not another inn?" Erik questioned, not ready to give in. Kenneth shook his head.

"No, I know these roads very well, I can assure you this is the only one," he said. Christine waited for Erik to agree but knew he was too stubborn to do so immediately. She knew his suspicions of Kenneth ran deeply but she knew he was overreacting.

"Fine," he said gruffly. Kenneth nodded and said nothing.

xXx

"Kenneth was right, I asked the innkeeper, she says there is not another inn for several miles," Christine said, coming into the room she shared with Erik. He was sitting on the bed, shirtless and reading a book. He nodded at her statement and continued his reading. Christine sighed and shut the door. She hated it when Erik was so distant and did not want to talk.

"I hope we reach Rome soon, I am looking forward to seeing it," Christine continued, going to her wardrobe and pulling out a robe as she began to change. Erik; this time did not even acknowledge the fact that she had spoken and she wondered what she could do to gain his attention. Smiling to herself she went to the bed and sat down beside him, wondering how she should go about this.

Taking the book from his hands she dropped it onto the floor. Erik looked up angrily and was about to scold her when she pressed him onto his back. She pressed a tender kiss to his lips and stared into his eyes for a long time. There were many things she saw in the depths of his eyes and she wished, not for the first time, that she knew more about him. Erik's hands slipped into her hair, the pins holding it in place clattering to the floor. His kiss was a little more passionate then hers had been. Her hand trailed down the hard muscle of his chest and his skin glowed in the candlelight.

"You're beautiful," he murmured. Christine's eyes widened slightly as she looked at him, wondering if she had heard him right. He had never said anything like that before.

"Thank you," she whispered, embarrassed. He rolled her so that she was lying beside him and he settled her against him. Tonight it seemed, was full of surprises. Erik kept doing things that were unlike him.

"Christine-"

"Master! Master!"

They both jumped when Douglas began pounding on the doors. Erik cursed under his breath and got up, going to the door with angry strides. Douglas flinched when the door opened and his master stood before him very angry.

"Your explanation for interrupting me and my wife had better be good, boy, or you will regret it," Erik snapped. Douglas swallowed and looked down at his feet.

"Sir, forgive me, but Susannah, she has been hurt!" he cried. Erik glanced at Christine, who gasped and scrambled from the bed. He held out a hand to stop her.

"No, Christine, stay here until I find out what has happened," Erik ordered. Christine opened her mouth to protest but Erik interrupted before she could say a word.

"You will listen to me," he said. Christine sighed and nodded and when he closed the door she sat down heavily on the bed, praying that Susannah was going to be alright and wondering what had happened to her. Then she remembered the rats and the message and she wondered if whoever had wrote that had followed them and somehow hurt Susannah. Was that the reason why Erik had them going to Rome? Were they running from something or someone? It made more sense then the fact that Erik wanted to go on holiday, he was not the type.

Her thoughts were making her angry. If they were true why could Erik just not tell her the truth? Did everything have to be one big lie? Was the truth so bad that he felt he could not tell her?

"Who is it?" Christine asked when there was another knock on the door. Her line of thinking was making her nervous and she did not just want to answer the door.

"Kenneth, Christine, it is about Susannah!" the handsome man said, an urgent note to his voice. Christine rushed to the door and opened it hastily, allowing him to come in. He shut the door behind him and looked at her.

"What is it?" she asked, anxious