Christine had a problem. It wasn't an ordinary problem; in fact, many wives would say it was no problem at all. She had been with the person who she loved, who truly understood her for seven years - married for five of them - when she realized she had this peculiar issue. It began with her being satisfied completely in each and every way she ever desired.

To say that Erik was her soulmate was almost an understatement. He never ridiculed her love of stories and often joined her in sinking deep into a dreamy cast of mind. They both could seemingly live on music alone. He was kind in his own quiet way, anticipating her needs so that she never had to ask for anything. To Gustave, he was always attentive and indulgent - perhaps a little too much sometimes. On top of all this, he was filthy rich, had impeccable taste, and Christine found him incredibly handsome, deformity and all. Sexually, there was nothing he wouldn't do to ensure her satisfaction. She only had to say jump and he would ask how high.

And here was the problem.

Erik never asked anything of her. She was certain to see to his pleasure, of course, but it was always her that initiated things, that made suggestions, that brought new ideas to the bedroom. When it came to this aspect of their relationship, he completely deferred to her, whether it was out of his deeply ingrained fear of rejection, or cleaving to the ideals of gentlemanly behavior, or the fact that he hadn't had much experience, or just his natural shyness that she had worked hard over the years to peel away.

She began to wonder if there was something that Erik was wanting but was holding back from her for these reasons, and truthfully, she wanted him to take a little more initiative. There was no denying that he wanted her but it would be nice, she decided, if he would demonstrate this without waiting to be given explicit instructions. It wasn't so much a matter of consent but more of control, and Christine was aching to relinquish it and give in to his desires.

Addressing the topic of asking Erik what he would like blended smoothly into discussing her proposal that he take the reins more often, she felt, but she just needed to find the perfect time to bring it up - delicately and with all of the tact she learned maneuvering through the upper echelons of high society. The perfect opportunity presented itself rather neatly - Gustave had left at the end of fall for his first solo voyage around the world, the park had just closed for the rest of the year freeing him from immediate obligations, and they were celebrating their five year anniversary.

After starting the day with a long stroll on the now-empty beach and ending up in bed through the afternoon, Christine decided it was the ideal time to strike. Lost in afterglow, cuddled together in bed as a twilight haze filled the room, Christine looked up at Erik's face. His eyes were closed, there was almost a smile on his lips, and his breathing was even and steady as she trailed one finger up and down, up and down his chest.

"Erik, dear…"

"Yes, my sweetness?"

"I have a question for you…"

"Then I shall have an answer for you." The arm that was wrapped around her shoulders pulled her closer. He pressed his cheek to crown of her head and murmured into her hair, "Ask away."

"I was wondering...is there anything that you would like that perhaps you haven't mentioned? I don't want you to get bored…"

His eyes fluttered open. "Bored? Never!"

"I worry at times that you don't get everything you wish for…"

"Perish the thought!" He chuckled. "There's no such thing. You have given me beyond what I've ever dreamed of having." Suddenly, his eyes darkened. His other arm came around to squeeze her tighter. "Why? Do you feel that I'm not happy? Have I not been grateful enough? Oh, Christine, if I've failed to demonstrate the - "

"Now you're changing the subject…" she said, bringing a finger to rest on his lips and stop his protestations. "This isn't about what I want, this is about what you want. Are you sure there's not a single thing you would like me to do for you?"

"No."

"Not a one?"

"Not a one."

"Really?"

"...Really."

That little pause at the beginning of his last answer had piqued her suspicion. She sat up and turned to face him. Erik's lips pressed into a thin line and he sunk back against the pillows a little further, looking up at her with apprehensive amber eyes. Aha - Christine recognized this look! It was the same guilty face that Gustave wore as a child when he had been caught eavesdropping or had broken something and squirreled away the evidence.

"Erik, if there's something you want - "

"There isn't!" His protestation was far too quick to be truthful and they both knew it.

" - the worst I could say is no."

He remained silent.

She softened her approach, bending down to trail a line of kisses from his collarbone to his jaw. "Relationships are about communication...If there's a way for me to make you happy, I want to know it. Please..." she whispered, knowing he couldn't resist her voice in his ear.

"Christine, I can't!" He squirmed under her kisses.

So - she was getting to the truth now! She kept going. "Why not?"

"I can't, I simply can't!"

"Just tell me why…"

"Because…" He sucked in a quick breath through his teeth. "...it's too disgusting!"

Here, Christine had to pause.

To say Erik was a peculiar person was hardly an exaggeration. She still wasn't sure that everything he had told her about his past was true although she had little reason to doubt him. For all that he had seen and experienced, though, it was mostly on the outside of humanity. He saw things differently than others and it contributed greatly to his brilliance. The issue was that in certain situations that anyone else had mastered early on in life, he could be a bit out of step to say the least. Christine wondered with a mix of excitement and dread what request he had been hiding from her.

Christine was no novice in the bedroom. Although her first experience had been a mad rush of desperation and passion, she had spent 10 years after that as a married woman with a normal, healthy sexual appetite. Her relationship with Raoul had been perfectly satisfactory, even when it dipped into routine, and their activities were usually average, with an adventurous position or two thrown in every once in a while.

That being said, she was aware that there were more...unusual tastes and scandalous practices in the world, and she wracked her brain trying to recall any of them in an effort to anticipate what Erik would consider "too disgusting".

As a young girl in the conservatoire, she remembered the older girls asking their patrons or boyfriends to enter them the "other way" in an effort to remain virgins or keep from getting pregnant. Of course, she also had male friends who only wanted to be with other men and this was the only option they had. It seemed quite painful and dirty to her at the time and now she wondered if she could possibly attempt something like that if this was what Erik had in mind.

Then there were the wild tales Sorelli would tell of her numerous lovers, strange old men who came to the opera looking as dignified as an emperor but secretly wishing to be spanked with a hairbrush as if they were a naughty child or could only be aroused if she rained insults on them.

And who could forget that one outrageous gentleman who was completely obsessed with the dancer's feet and had a pair of her pointe shoes boiled and served to him at a restaurant as if it were a fine meal?

When asked about the incident later, he had no shame in it and even recommended a wine to pair with his strange supper. After that, anyone who wanted to make quick enemies of Sorelli would send her a bottle of that particular drink.

The worst thing she had ever heard came from one of the other wives in her social circle. She and the other ladies would spend many an afternoon at some wildly popular and expensive cafe or restaurant, catching up and gossiping, and the topic of conversation frequently turned to their husbands.

This particular woman shared her husband's shocking and frankly obscene requests. He begged her to relieve herself in a bourdaloue and then pour the contents of it over him as he sat in his bath. If this was anything close to what Erik had in mind, Christine would struggle to face it but face it she would.

Regardless of his request, she would rather it were out in the open instead of sitting unspoken inside of him. Besides, they had come this far - why not just come out with it?

"Erik, dear…" She cuddled close to him, softly caressing his cheek in an attempt to tease the truth out of him. "Again, the worst I could say is no, and you would respect that. You never know - even if I'm, err, unable to perform your request, maybe we could come to a compromise…?"

Realizing that he was backed into a corner, he sighed. "Fine. I'll tell you…"

She sat up, eager and ready to hear whatever he had to say. Erik had gone completely pink in the cheeks and a tiny furrow was slowly deepening between his eyebrows.

"I would like...a kiss."

"A kiss?" Christine exclaimed. "I kiss you every day!" To demonstrate, she bent and kissed him on the lips.

He remained bright pink as she pulled back. "I would like to be kissed in...a particular location."

Christine quickly went over the parts of his anatomy that she wouldn't want to kiss, then steeled herself for the answer. "Where?"

"I told you it was too disgusting!" He writhed under her scrutiny.

"Where?"

"I can't ask this of you, Christine! It's too awful! Please don't make me say such things…"

"Just point to where you want to be kissed if you can't tell me," she huffed, impatient but determined to get an answer.

Erik grumbled, resigned to his humiliation. He raised his hand and extended his index finger. Christine's eyes were riveted to it, watching its trajectory. Good, it kept going above the belt line, higher, higher, until it landed on the little cartilage nub that projected just a bit over the hole where his nose should be. The moment his finger touched it he quickly brought his hand back to the mattress, his face completely red now, ready to be rebuked and ridiculed for his distasteful desires. Christine was shocked - not by his request but because this is what he considered too outrageous a demand to ask of her.

"Have I never kissed you there?" Relieved that it wasn't as bad as anticipated, she lowered her voice, practically purring as she lay herself across his chest to bring her lips to his forehead. "It's so...adorable! I've always loved this little thing."

"...adorable…?" He voice was barely a squeak.

"Very." She delivered a single sweet kiss to the tiny nub. The moment her lips met this supposedly forbidden flesh, she felt him shudder beneath her. "Oh, Erik, you are quite silly. I don't think this is disgusting at all...This part of you is cute!"

She gave it another quick kiss. A half whimper- half moan came from the back of his throat and Christine realized exactly what this simple action did to him.

"...You're really enjoying this, aren't you?" She let her next kiss linger as her hand walked down under the covers to find out just how much he liked what she was doing. He gasped as her hand pushed away the sheets and closed around his stiffening member. Her kisses slowly trailed up and down his face, always pausing on the little projection, as she steadily stroked him to full firmness.

"You see, dear? I can be quite reasonable, can't I?" She smirked as he hastily nodded. His eyes squeezed closed and another stuttering groan escaped his lips. Oh, how she loved to have him at her mercy like this - and how she longed to be at his.

He shifted around, trying to work the hand not around her waist between her legs but she pushed it away. "Don't worry - you'll get your chance to return the favor later. Right now, I want you to enjoy yourself...I want you to tell me what else you like…" She kissed up and down his malformed cheek, always coming back to the little bit of cartilage, giving it extra attention.

"What more could I possibly want - ?" He sighed, arching under her ministrations.

"I won't know if you don't tell me," she said as she started to apply more force on the downward stroke, adding a twist of the wrist. "Is there something else you haven't told me about? Come on...just say it…"

"I...I can't...It's too much…"

"Do you want another kiss?"

He gave a soft cry.

"Where?"

He writhed, both from the pleasure of her concentrated caresses and the lingering embarrassment of his hidden desires. Christine picked up the pace.

"Where?"

She kissed his nub once more, pressing the length of her body against his. The hand at her waist pulled her closer, his fingers pressing into her flesh. As she nuzzled him, her nose grazed the thick skin at the edge of the depression on the side of his head. The moment her soft breath passed over it, he bucked beneath her.

"Oh...Is this another place you'd like to be kissed…?" she murmured, unable to repress her smile when she heard his helpless whimper. She trailed soft kisses from his brow to his temple while her hand worked harder, faster.

Her breath once more warmed this sensitive patch of skin and bone. She wriggled her other hand free from between them to brush his silky grey hair away, then leaned in to give the ridge of skin a gentle kiss.

He gasped, his fingers on her waist now clawing at her. Feeling bold, she ran her hot tongue along the rim between skin and bone. Before she could continue exploring, he seized, his head falling back as a loud moan issued from the back of his throat and he suddenly came across his stomach and chest. Christine, caught a bit off guard, continued to pump his cock until he was fully spent.

Leaving him a moment to recover, she primly cleaned him up with a handkerchief and then nestled back into his side with a smile of smug satisfaction on her face. After a few moments, Erik tightened his embrace, peppering her forehead and hair with kisses of gratitude.

"Oh, Christine -! You're too good to me! I'll never truly deserve you!"

"Maybe so," she said teasingly, her fingertips returning to his chest, lightly drawing soft circles on his skin.

"If there is anything that you want - anything! - you must not hesitate to ask it of me! Please - I want to be certain you are satisfied in every way!"

Christine smirked to herself; she loved it when things came together so beautifully.

"Well, actually, Erik," she said, keeping her voice hesitant and lady-like. "There might be one little thing I've had on my mind…"

"Whatever you request, I won't deny you! Please tell me," he said, drawing her closer.

"I would really like it if you took a bit more initiative with these things...You know, took control more often."

"Christine," his voice was passionate, determined. "If this is what you want then I shall give it to you. Tell me exactly and in great detail how you would like me to take control and I will be certain to fulfill your every requirement."

Christine sighed and dropped her head to his chest.