Middle of Chapter 42

I don’t know that I’ve ever seen Taylor as irritated as he is, looking across the coffee table at me right now. He doesn’t agree with me, that much is clear, but he’d argued his point and it didn’t change my mind. There’s nothing left to say. So he nods, gets up from the couch, and walks back towards the stairs that lead up to his living quarters without further argument.

At least out loud.

“I can take them to the airport,” Sawyer interjects into the tense silence Taylor has left behind. “We have an unregistered car in the lower levels of the garage. If someone is watching the apartment we should get out of here undetected.”

“Thank you, Sawyer.” He gets off the sofa and heads out of the great room towards the foyer, where he’ll wait for Taylor to finish packing. Reed gets up and moves as though he’s going to follow, but I call out to stop him. “Reed, may I speak to you privately in my office for a moment?”

“Uh… sure.”

I nod and sweep my arm back towards the downstairs hallway to direct him toward my office, but rather than follow right behind him, I turn back for Anastasia and reach down for her hand. Once she stands, I kiss her gently on the lips.

“I’ll be quick.”

“Oh… okay. I’ll just put Calliope down then.”

“Good. Kiss her goodnight for me.” She smiles, drawing me back to her lips, and after I’ve kissed her again, I lean further into her to whisper in her ear. “Don’t take off this dress. I want that.”

The softest laugh escapes her lips and she gives me an all too enticing look as she pulls back, rises up on to her toes, and kisses my cheek. Then she takes Calliope from her car seat and carries her back down the opposite hallway toward our bedroom. Whether she knows it or not, her hips sway seductively as she walks away from me and the view of her ass in that dress is all too tempting.

Reed. Focus.

He isn’t sitting in the chair across from my desk when I step into my office. Instead, he’s standing by the side wall, staring at a shelf that bears my rowing trophies from high school and my lone year at Harvard.

“I remember that Cornell meet,” he says, when he hears me close the door behind him. “I’d never been that cold in a boat in my life.”

“That was nothing. You should trying rowing here in the early spring when it rains.”

“Nah. I’ll leave the rain to you.” He shakes his head and turns back to face me. “What can I do for you, Christian? Er… Grey. Can I call you Christian? Are we there yet? I never really know with you.”

“No, we’re not. Have a seat.” I lower myself into the chair behind my desk and motion for him to sit across from me. He does.

“Why are you here, Reed?”

His brow furrows. “I uh… I thought we cleared that up out there. There’s a psycho after your wife. He called me…”

“I know what’s happened, I want to know why you came here. Why you called my team in the first place. What he offered you was significant. I know first hand how difficult it is to persuade the Harvard Admissions board into making exceptions. You could have taken his deal, gone to the most prestigious law school in the country, impressed your father, and set yourself up for a lucrative and respectful career. So, why are you here?”

“What? You think I want something from you?”

I raise an eyebrow. “Don’t you?”

“Jesus, Grey. I’m here because he wants to hurt someone I care about. He might try to kill her. Do you honestly think I would choose something as trivial as law school over Anastasia’s life? She’s one of my best friends. What kind of person do you think I am?”

“I don’t know,” I admit. I lean forward, resting my forearms on my desk and fold my hands together. “Look, Reed. I don’t like you. I think you’re crude, I don’t think you work very hard, and I think you need grow up. But more important than all of that… I’m threatened by you.”

“Me?” He laughs, but I’m dead serious.

“Yes. At some point, no matter how long ago it was, Anastasia had feelings for you. I don’t know how powerful or how real those were, but they were there. To a certain degree, she chose you over me, and I don’t know that I’ll ever get over that. I know what it’s like to live without her, and I fully intend on never living that way again.”

“She didn’t choose me over you, Grey. If anything, she left me for you. I mean, she married you today. She’s chosen you.”

“Do you still have feelings for her?”

The point blank question seems to surprise him because he suddenly sits up in his chair, looking as though I hit him across the face. “What?”

“Anastasia. Do you still have feelings for her?”

“We broke up like four years ago…”

“I didn’t ask for a history lesson. I asked if you still had feelings for my wife?”

He swallows, hesitating, then lets out a long breath and nods. “Yeah. I do. It doesn’t matter, she’s made her choice and I don’t want to ruin what she has, but Ana is everything that I want in girl. She’s a genuinely good person. Do you know how rare that is to find in a girl? Even after the way I treated her when she broke up with me, after the things I called her, she never harbored a grudge or retaliated. She cares about people and I feel like I’m a better person just because I know her.”

I open my mouth to respond, but he cuts me off.

“I’m not here to fight you for her, Grey. Or even to try and impress her and hope she leaves you for me. I know what she and I are. We’re friends, and I’m grateful for that. I’m here because she’s in danger and I can’t protect her. You can. I’m here to help you.”

“What about Kate?”

His expression sours. “What about her?”

“Katherine Kavanagh is very important to me. I love her as a part of my family. She’s my wife’s best friend, she saved my father’s life, and she’s the godmother of my daughter. You just told me that you still have feelings for my wife, so… did you use her?”

“For what?”

“To get close to Ana.”

“No.” His answer is quick, and honest. “I love Kate a lot. I don’t particularly like her very much right now but… She’s amazing. She’s the kind of girl you dream about being with before you figure out what league you’re in. Ridiculously hot, but still down to earth. Rich, but not a snob. And she’s ambitious, intimidatingly so at times. But, now that we’re not together anymore, I think I can be honest and say that Kate and I were settling for each other. We really didn’t have much in common. I was never good enough for her and I was really only with her in the first place because being with her was better than being alone.”

“My brother is going to ask her to marry him. He’s going to wait until their anniversary, but he bought the ring last week. Do I need to worry about you?”

He shakes his head. “No, Kate and I are done. I’m fine with that.”

“Good. Then let’s talk about where we go from here. You said you’re working for your father, what does he do?”

“He’s a lawyer for Coca-Cola. I’m doing research work for him until I can figure out how to get into law school myself.”

“Is that what you want, or is that what he wants?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, I have a few things in the works right now to take GEH international, specifically my manufacturing division and shipping yards. You graduated from Harvard, and while your degree emphasises pre-law, it’s still in business administration. I need to find someone to head an international office in Taiwan. Since you’re willing to help me find the man coming after Anastasia and I, I could be willing to take a chance on you.”

“Wait, you’re offering me a job?”

“I can help you make a lot of money, Reed, and the position comes with all the perks of being a top executive at Grey Enterprises Holdings.”

“Are you serious?”

I raise an eyebrow. “Do you take me to be the kind of man who doesn’t say what he means?”

He takes a breath and begins to nod, but after a few seconds, he frowns. “In Taiwan, though?”

“Interested?”

“Uh… I mean, that’s an incredible offer. I don’t even… I– um…” He swallows, and then shakes his head. “I think I’d be crazy to say no, but… I really want to focus on Harvard. You know, for my dad.”

“Alright. Then, I’ll get you in.”

“What?”

“I have some pull with the President of the University and the Dean of Students. It won’t be easy but I’ll get you in.”

“You will?”

“If everything goes according to Taylor’s plan and you do nothing to sabotage him, then yes. I will get you into Harvard Law for the fall semester.”

“Oh my god. Thank you, Christian!”

“Grey. We’re still not there yet.”

He nods. “Grey. Thank you. Really, thank you.” We stand and I reach across the desk to shake his hand, but when his fingers close around mine, I pull his arm roughly towards me, knocking him off balance.

“But if you fuck me on this deal, Reed, I will end you. And I don’t mean professionally. If so much as one hair on Anastasia’s head is harmed, I will come after you and you will beg for whatever the man who called you would have done to you by the time I’m finished. Got me?”

“I-I–”

“My power doesn’t extend just to Harvard. No matter where you go, no matter what you do, I will find you. I never forget, Reed. And I never forgive.”

He nods. “I promise, I just want to help Ana.”

“Good. Then we’ll be in touch.” I release his hand and he immediately stumbles backward. He gives me a strange, uncertain look, most likely in an attempt to gauge how serious I was, so I don’t relax the tension in my face, and when I speak again I keep my voice low and cold. “You’d better hurry, you have a flight to catch, and my security team is waiting.”

He nods and hurries out of my office. I watch as he leaves, then wait until I can hear the faint sound of the elevator from the other room. Once I’m sure Reed, Sawyer, Ryan, and Taylor have gone, I slowly come around my desk and try to let everything that’s happened since Ana and I stepped off the yacht wash off of me.

It’s my wedding night, and I fully intend on enjoying it.

Ana is still back in our bedroom with my daughter so I quickly get to work re-creating the romantic atmosphere I’d planned for this evening. The remote to the iHome is still sitting on the coffee table where I left it, so I start by turning the music back on, lowering the volume a bit, and then begin lighting the candles placed artfully all around the room. Once the space is filled with a warm, flickering glow, I turn off the actual light switch and smooth out the blankets and pillows lying in front of the fireplace. Next, I move into the kitchen where Gail has left a bowl of strawberries in the fridge and chocolate melting in a warmed fondue pot on the counter. Both go on the table in the great room, and then I return to fetch a chilled bottle of champagne and a canister of whipped cream. A small smile plays at my lips as I set it down with the chocolate and begin filling the flutes already waiting on the table. Our wedding cake was delicious, but Ana is going to be an even more decadent dessert.

Once I’ve ensured everything is perfect in the great room, I move into the foyer and punch the code into the keypad that will lock it down for the night. As the green light switches over to red, I hear Ana call out for me.

“Christian?”

She stands there, looking like a dream in the dress she wore to marry to me. Her bare and silky back is turned towards me and as I saunter across the room towards her, I can’t help but reach out to touch her delectable skin.

“This dress is incredible,” I whisper over her shoulder. “You have never looked more beautiful than you do today, Anastasia.”

She turns and lets her head loll back so she’s looking directly up into my eyes. “You don’t look so bad yourself, Mr. Grey.”

“All for you, Mrs. Grey.” I smile, and nuzzle the tip of her nose with mine. The feeling of using her new name, my name, is more fulfilling than I could have ever dreamed.

She’s finally mine. My wife. And I’ve never been more ready to make love to her than I am right now.

Leaning down, I press my lips into hers. Tenderly, at first, then gradually deeper and deeper. It’s patient and warm, and as I massage the roots of her hair with my fingers, pulling her further into me, I feel her body melt into mine. She moans softly into my mouth and the sound travels down to my cock, instantly making me hard. My body is ready for her, but I intend to take my time with her tonight. Despite the hundreds of times we’ve made love in the past, tonight is a new beginning for us, and I want it to be meaningful and filled with all the love I feel for her.

“You know you didn’t have to put me through all that,” she says when our lips break apart. “ You could have just told me the other wedding was a ruse.”

Oh, Ana. “Secrets only work if you protect them.”

“You don’t think I can keep a secret?”

“From Kate? No. And once Kate knew, Elliot would know. And once Elliot knew…”

“It would be on the front page of the Seattle Times.”

“Exactly.”

She laughs, then turns away from me to glance over the room once more. Her gaze settles on the strawberries and champagne waiting for us on the table, and when she looks back at me again her eyes glitter over her inviting smile.

“Would you like dessert, my dear husband?”

“Very much, my darling wife.” Wife. Have I said that word out loud yet? I feel as though I might burst with pride to be saying it now, and when I see the pleasure she takes in hearing it herself, I find myself being drawn to her again. My hands itch to touch her, so as she turns to pick a strawberry from the bowl, I press my lips into the curve of her neck and let my fingers run up the smooth skin of her back. She shivers in delight, egging me on.

I respond by pulling the straps of her gown over her shoulders and down her arms, leaving her breasts exposed. Her dress catches around her waist, so I fall to my knees behind her and quickly undo the latches in the fabric until the gown pools on the floor at her feet.

Her legs are encased in sheer stockings, which are held up by a garter that stretches down from a tiny pair of lace panties that do nothing to conceal her delicious derriere. I reach up to grab her, using my thumbs to reach under her behind and stretch her lower lips, while my palms eagerly tighten around her ass.

“Turn around,” I command. She does, and when she stops, the small triangle of lace that conceals her from me is directly in front of face. “Ana, you look… Oh, baby, you look…”

“Good enough to eat?”

Abso-fucking-lutely. “Don’t mind if I do.”

I lean forward and kiss the soft lace in front of me using my tongue to trace the lines I can feel through her panties, making her pant with want.

“Christian.”

The need in her voice makes me moan almost as much as the heat I can feel against my tongue. Her arousal begins to soak into her panties, and the taste is both satisfying and not nearly enough all at once. I want more of her. I want all of her.

“Delicious, as always,” I say, pulling away and glancing up into her eyes. She smiles and steps back and away while I move onto the couch so I can fully drink her in. “Turn around. Put your hands on the table and bend over for me.”

She’s quick to obey. Once she’s bent over on display, she tosses her hair over her shoulder and gives me teasing look. “That’s quite the view, Mrs. Grey.”

“Oh, really?” Her eyes glitter and she begins to sway her ass back and forth in time to the music still floating softly in the background. The sight makes my pants tighter around my cock. It’s erotic as hell. I reach forward to take a glass of champagne off the table, and settle back to enjoy her little floor show.

“Go on.”

Pleased, she smiles and bends her knees, dipping down to the floor and slowly rising up again. I watch her hands move over her body and into her hair while her hips swing back and forth. She pivots her torso towards me, showing me just a taste of her erect nipple before her hand falls and her fingers trace the curve of her breast. I’ll never fully understand why watching Ana touch herself is such a turn on. In fact, I’d love it if she laid down on the floor before me, removed her panties, and worked herself up to her first orgasm of the night before even letting me touch her. Even the thought has my body tensing and I have to stop myself from lunging at her and diving into her far more quickly than I planned.

“You’re so fucking sexy, Ana,” I breathe, and she smiles before turning back towards me and climbing into my lap, straddling me. I take her ass in my hands again and encourage her to grind over my cock, relishing the sensation of the friction when she does. The heat builds between us, becoming unbearable, so I move my hand up from her ass to her breast, fully intent on taking her nipple in my mouth, but she slaps my hand away.

“Not yet. You are far too dressed to be allowed to touch.”

Fucking tease. “Well, what do you plan to do about that?”

“This.” Her hand moves from my shoulder to the knot in my tie, and while she takes her precious time unraveling it, she mercifully presses her breasts into my face so that I can finally get a taste. I lavish my tongue over her nipples and through her cleavage while she pulls my clothes away from my body, until she climbs out of my lap and drags her hands down my torso to the front of my pants. When she has my belt and fly open and reaches under the band of my boxers to my now painfully hard cock, my breath hisses between my teeth.

“Yes.” I thrust my hips forward, discouraging her shyness as she starts to jack me off, but my efforts don’t have any effect on her ministrations. She continues to slowly move her hand over me with a gentle touch. It’s maddening.

“Your mouth, baby,” I beg. “I want your mouth.”

“Like this?” She leans forward and licks the entire length of my cock, then swirls her tongue around the head, dragging my precum into her mouth.

“Yes. Oh, suck me, baby.”

That’s all it takes. She pulls me deep into her mouth and sucks hard, making every muscle south of my waist clench in pleasure. Her rhythm is relentless, and with each pass she takes me deeper into her hot, tight throat.

This is it. Everything I could ever want. A night of celebration followed by cool champagne and my gorgeous wife servicing my cock. This is fucking nirvana.

“Ana, fuck, you’re so good. I want you so much, baby. My wife. My beautiful, brilliant, sexy wife.”

She moans around me, and then begins to use her hand in time with her mouth. Soon, it has me shaking and I know that I’m only moments away from erupting.

“Ana, baby. Wait. I want to come inside of you…”

She pulls me out of her mouth to speak, but brushes her tongue over the entire length of me again. “You will.”

Mmm, she wants to drag tonight out as much as I do. If that’s not a turn on, I don’t know what is.

I let my body relax back into the sofa, content with Ana finishing me off with just her mouth before I take over. She can read my signals like a book that was written just for her, and as I climb closer and closer to release, her mouth tightens around me. When I finally let go, I’m practically buried in her throat.

“Fuck! Ana!” The force of my orgasm hits me like mac truck. I shake as I feel my come drip into her waiting mouth and when she swallows me, her lips pushing and pulling my cock over and over again, a myriad of all the filthy things I want to do to her body tonight flood through my mind.

“Baby. Oh, fuck…” As the pleasure dies down, I feel as though my body begins melting into the sofa until Ana’s mouth starts moving again and the sensation spikes uncomfortably. I take her face in my hands and gently pull her off my cock, then pull her lips up to mine. I can taste my release in her mouth, but I don’t care. My lips never part from hers as I slide off the sofa, onto the floor, and push her back into the bed next to the fireplace. The heat of the low burning flames washes over us, and when I pull away, the amber colored light flickers softly over her face.

She really is so beautiful.

“No.” Her hands reach up and try to pull me back down over the top of her, but I have other plans for my wife right now. I take a strawberry from the bowl on the table behind us, then dip it into the melted chocolate. Once the bright red tip is completely covered, I turn back to Ana.

“Hungry?”

“Starving.” The word comes out only in a whisper but it’s dripping with the lust burning inside of her. A fire only I can quench. A fire I want to bask in. Slowly, I lower the berry to her lips and she sucks the chocolate away before biting off just the tip. I turn to dip the fruit once more, but as I watch her tongue sweep hungrily over her bottom lip, I get a better idea. Placing the berry back on the table, I pick up the entire bowl of melted chocolate.

“My turn.” She hisses softly as I tip the bowl and dribble the melted chocolate over her skin, between her breasts, and all the way down to her stomach. Once she’s covered, I put the bowl back on the table, then get to work, starting at her belly button and working my way up.

“Yes. Oh, Christian!” she moans in delight as I suckle the chocolate clinging to the side of her breast. She’s squirming beneath me, mewling and panting as I clean every last bit of the chocolate from her breasts. After she’s cleaned, I begin kissing her sternum, her collar bones, her neck, her jaw, everything, until I reach her mouth. I reach into her hair again while I kiss her lips and am met with eager enthusiasm. When I slip my tongue into her mouth she begins sucking it, and with every pull of her lips my cock starts to harden again.

“So sweet,” she whispers.

“And yet, not enough.” Blindly, I move my hands down her body to pull apart the snaps on her garters and then sit up so I can roll down each of her stockings. Once her legs are bare, I move onto her panties, subtly tucking them into the back pocket of my pants before turning to pick up a canister of whipped cream. She watches with wide eyes as I shake the can, then tilt the tip to her lips, but when I push down on the plastic to release of burst of cream into her mouth, I hold it longer than necessary, giving her more than she can hold. With puffed out cheeks filled with whipped cream, she giggles and the sound tugs at the corners of my mouth. Then I start to move down her body again, leaving a trail of whipped cream all the way down to her pubic bone.

“Mmm, now for my favorite dessert.”

Her hips buck up encouragingly as I lick away each dollop of whipped cream, beginning at her navel. She’s anxious for what’s to come and the power in her anticipation is intoxicating. When I finally settle between her legs and find her glistening for me, my mouth begins to water.

“Mine.” I lean in, my lips only just not touching her clit, and then look up into her eyes. “You, my wife, are finally and completely mine.”

“Yours,” she breathes back, and I dive in. Unlike when I was kissing her before, I don’t ease into her. I push deep between her legs, my tongue reaching farther than my lips can, and absolutely devour her. Her hands twist in my hair, encouraging me, turning me on, so I reach up to the inside of her thighs, pull her legs apart, and open her further to me.

“Yes, Christian. Oh god, yes!”

Fuck I love it when she screams. “Let me hear you, baby. I want you to scream when I make you come.”

She moans as I begin lapping at her clitoris again, but that moan quickly turns to loud, high keening and cries of pleasure that reverberate through the empty apartment. If she was wet when I began eating her, she’s soaking now. I know she’s close. I move my right hand from the inside of her thigh and then push my index and middle fingers inside of her, curving them into the place I know will make her fall apart, and use them to fuck her mercilessly. Her fingers tighten in my hair, her breathing becomes louder and unrhythmic, and then…

“Christian!”

She starts pulsating around my tongue so I push as far as I can into her. Sucking, licking, using my face to invigorate her while she flies through her orgasm. Her body convulses and arches high off the ground. It’s a magnificent sight to behold.

I can’t take it anymore. I’ve waited long enough.

The moment the quiver stops, I sit up, grip my now fully erect cock, and slam inside of her. She lets out a deep, guttural sound of overwhelming pleasure that eggs me on. I thrust in and out of her with as much force as I can muster without hurting her and then bring my mouth crashing down on hers. Her insides grip me in tight, wet heat and her nails scrape down my back with carnal barbarism. It’s ecstasy. Raw, brutal, and so, so hot.

“I love you, Ana,” I pant, struggling to get the words out through the effort I’m using to pound into her again and again.

“I love you too, Christian. Hold me tight. Love me, baby.”

“I do. Today, you have made me that happiest man alive. My wife. My love. My life.”

She makes another small, desperate noise before reaching up and forcing my lips back down on hers. But as I kiss her with all the passion I feel coursing through me, her hands move down, and she shoves against my chest. In my surprise, she manages to knock me off balance and I roll off of her.

“Ana, what are you…” My incensed reply is cut off as she swings her leg over the top of me and then sinks down on my cock again. Gravity pulls her down until I’m as deep inside of her as I can possibly get. “Oh… fuck, baby.”

Her cries of pleasure are unabashed as she starts to ride me. Her head falls back, which pushes her breasts out towards me, and I reach up to grab them with each of my hands. My fingers tighten around her hardened nipples, and the scream she lets out starts to break apart as her breaths begin to quiver in time with her impending orgasm.

“I’m close,” she whispers. “Fuck, baby. You’re going to make me come.”

“Keep riding me, Ana,” I command, knowing the moment her orgasm hits, she’ll instinctively want to slow her aggressive pace. I push off the ground so that I’m sitting up right, then wrap my arm around her and begin sucking her breasts again. When my teeth graze her nipple, she screams and then starts convulsing around me so tightly, it’s like she’s trying to push me out. I refuse to let her. Instead, I tighten my hold on her, digging my fingers unapologetically into her skin and relishing in the idea that I might leave behind marks.

“That’s it, baby. Come for me. Oh god… Ana!”

As my own orgasm hits, I nip the swell of her breast and thrust up as deeply as I can into her. My second orgasm is much more intense than the first, probably because of the feel of her coming around me while I continue to fuck her hard and deep. When at last the waves of pleasure stop rolling through me, Ana and I are clinging to one another for dear life, and I have to hold her as lie back once more and ease her onto my body again.

“I can’t imagine it ever gets any better than this,” I tell her. “Making love to my beautiful wife. This, what I feel right now, has to be the purpose of life.”

She moans, and though she sounds exhausted and utterly drained, she pulls herself up and turns to look at me. “I know. I don’t think I’ll ever do anything greater in my life than love you. I meant what I said to you over the alter. You are my dream, Christian. Thank you for letting me live it.”

I smile as I recall her vows and look up into her sweet, perfect face. “Believe me, the pleasure is all mine, Mrs. Grey.”

Next Chapter