The following is an excerpt from the novella: "ALW's Phantom X" as featured on the Phantom erotic literature forum: The Red Scarf Diaries.

Onstage, Passarino was gathering his disguise and donning his master's plumed hat. As Christine plucked an apple from a plate and took a seat on the long oak bench, the valet leaned towards the curtain and whispered.

"Master?"

To which the voice from within replied:

"Passarino -- go away!
For the trap is set and waits for its prey..."

Passarino silently slipped into the wings as Don Juan, disguised in the black hooded robe, slowly parted the curtains as he completed his line. Turning, he swiftly drew the curtains closed behind him, the rings scraping against the iron curtain rod. The noise drew Aminta's attention and she tossed a sultry sidelong glance in its direction. A coy smile formed on her painted lips; she knew full well whom it was standing there. Ever the vixen, she turned her attention back to polishing the ripe apple, slowly sliding it up and down the side of her breast. The lewd act had the effect of making many gentlemen in the audience cross their legs in unison, their eyes locked on her every movement. Behind her, Don Juan turned back, moving slowly and gracefully around the opposite side of the table.

"You have come here
in pursuit of
your deepest urge,"

he sang, his first words startling Christine. It sounded like Piangi, but something was different, something she couldn't quite place. There was more power in that voice, more majesty. Returning to character, Christine traced her fingernails over the apple's surface and rolled it across her open lips, flicking her tongue out to lick the fruit's smooth skin as the hooded man continued the verse.

"in pursuit of
that wish
which till now
has been silent,
silent..."

As Don Juan approached her, Aminta playfully offered him the apple, pulling back and gracefully flitting across the stage and out of reach. She tossed the apple in the air, playing with it some more.

"I have brought you,
that our passions may fuse and merge --
in your mind
you've already
succumbed to me
dropped all defences,
completely succumbed to me --"

he sang as he strode towards Aminta, who was rolling the apple down her throat and across her breasts as if it were an imaginary lover, her eyes closed in ecstasy.

"now you are here with me:
no second thoughts,
you've decided,"

As Aminta lifted the apple to her lips for a bite, Don Juan quickly snatched it from her hand.

"decided..."

he purred, offering her a cup he had taken from the table in the other. Aminta took it willingly, looking down at the dark liquor within.

"Past the point of no return --"

the hooded man sang. Aminta made a move to step away, but Don Juan stopped her with a hand on her shoulder, the back of his fingers trailing along her neck and cheek before lowering.

"no backward glances:
these games we've played
till now are at
an end..."

he continued, gently touching the base of the cup and lifting it to Aminta's lips. Her throat burned as she downed the contents greedily, some of the sweet liquid spilling down her chin.

"Past all thought
of 'if' or 'when'--"

Aminta wiped her mouth with her lacy sleeve, and then Don Juan grasped her hand firmly in his as she took a step away, his hold on her pulling her back.

"no use resisting:
abandon thought,
and let the dream descend..."

He sang boldly, taking the young woman with him towards the alcove where his bed lay. Aminta freed herself from his grasp and ran back to the table, taking a seat on the bench once more. She placed the cup on the table as Don Juan approached.

"What raging fire
shall flood the soul?
what rich desire
unlocks its door?"

Don Juan stood behind the bench, looking down on Aminta, his hands sliding down the contours of her head, her shoulders; skating lightly down her arms as she arched her back into him, her bosom heaving.

"what sweet seduction
lies before
us..?"

he crooned, spreading his hands in the air above Aminta's. He then raised them, Aminta's hands lifting in unison as if they were attached with invisible strings. They lifted higher, Christine's gaze following them as they went above her head and slowly came down, Piangi's graceful hands almost touching hers as they caressed the contours of her face, hands that seemed to embody the music in their fluidity and pent-up passion. Christine's eyes closed, her lashes fluttering gently. The music pulsed in her ears and her body responded. She knew this feeling, yet she had lost herself, giving herself completely to the music and the emotion. Her hands continued down her throat, over the swelling heaviness of her breasts and down her stomach to her thighs.

"Past the point
of no return,
the final threshold --"

Seating himself next to her on the bench, Don Juan reached over and ran his palm over Aminta's outstretched right leg,

"what warm,
unspoken secrets
will we learn?"

he asked, bringing his hand back up along her arm, his fingers finally stroking her chest with a dizzying, delicate touch.

"Beyond the point
of no return..."

Christine couldn't take it anymore. She turned to Piangi as he finished the verse but he suddenly pulled away, turning his face from hers. Confused, Christine got up and walked over to her next mark downstage:

"You have brought me
to that moment
where words run dry,
to that moment
where speech
disappears
into silence, silence..."

Displaying the confidence and bold nature of her character, Christine smiled as she twirled to her next mark while Don Juan slowly ascended the staircase to the balcony.

"I have come here,
hardly knowing
the reason why..."

she crossed her arms over her chest protectively.

"In my mind,
I've already
imagined our
bodies entwining,
defenceless and silent --"

she purred, grinding her hips suggestively, giving herself over to the lyrics and emotion of the piece, her hands sliding down the sides of her bosom as her eyes focused on Don Juan standing at the balcony's railing.

"and now I am
here with you:
no second thoughts,
I've decided,
decided..."

Christine began to ascend the staircase nearest her, joining Don Juan on the balcony.

"Past the point
of no return --
no going back now:
our passion-play
has now, at last,
begun..."

Reaching the balcony, Christine stood a few steps behind Don Juan. He was hunched over the railing, his hands flexing and gripping it as if in physical agony.

"Past all thought
of right or wrong --
one final question"

Aminta moaned as she pressed herself against Don Juan's back and wrapped her arms across his chest. Immediately, he covered her delicate hands with his own and pulled them tighter around himself.

"how long should we
two wait, before
we're one..?"

Turning swiftly, Don Juan pulled her into his arms, their bodies melding perfectly into each other as he caressed her soft, brown hair and untied the string that kept her wild mane in place. A cascade of auburn silk fell down her back as he plucked the flower from her hair and stroked it along her cheek while her hands worked to release him from his trousers.

"When will the blood
begin to race,"

Don Juan pressed her against the edge of a long table there, leaning over and forcing her to lie back, supporting herself on her elbows.

"the sleeping bud
burst into bloom?"

she sang as those hands parted her legs, sliding up her thighs before grasping her wrists and pinning her down on the table, her hair fanning out across the tabletop.

"When will the flames,
at last, consume
us..?"

Christine gasped the last word as she felt

[EDITED FOR CONTENT]