ANA’S POV

In the morning, I’m blinded by the sunlight flooding in through the open windows. My head is throbbing. Ugh, why did I drink so much last night? Oh, right… Christian.

I turn over, trying to cover my eyes with my forearm and I feel a wave of nausea hit me. Oh no. As quickly as I can, I throw myself out of the bed and run for the bathroom.

“Ana?” I hear Kate ask from behind the door. I’m sure the violent sound has waken her. “Are you okay?”

“No,” I moan back. Slowly, I get up and turn on the faucet to rinse my mouth out. Then I turn to face her.

“You look terrible,” She says when I open the door.

“I feel terrible,” I tell her and I stomp back to the bed and bury myself in the duvet.

“Can I get you anything?” Kate asks, worried. Crap. I don’t think there is any food in the house. We haven’t been here in months. Well, I haven’t.

“I don’t think there is anything in the kitchen, Kate. Will you hand me my phone? I think I’m going to have to call in.”

She hands the blackberry to me and I call Roach. Mercifully, the call is short. When I hang up, I notice a text message from Christian.

 

How are you feeling this morning?

 

Nope. Not ready to face that yet. I put the phone on the nightstand and wrench myself to my feet. Kate helps steady me as the room shifts and pitches like a boat on the rough sea, and then helps me out to the kitchen.

“There’s some crackers here,” She says, digging through the cupboards.

“Crackers sound good,” I say, my head resting on the breakfast bar. We hear the ping of the elevator and my new security guards walk into the great room from the foyer.

“There’s a Mrs. Jones here, Mrs. Grey?” He says.

Mrs. Jones? I nod to him, and he disappears back into the foyer.

“Good Morning, Mrs. Grey,” Mrs. Jones says brightly as she walks into the room. My head pounds at her high, too loud voice and I groan. She’s carrying grocery bags though, so at least I’ll be able to eat something and absorb all this alcohol.

“What can I make you for breakfast?” She asks.

“How about an omelet, Gail? She needs something nutritious,” Kate says.

“Coming right up. Would you like one as well, Mrs. Grey?”

Kate nods and smiles as she takes the bar stool next to me and rubs her hand gently over my back. When Mrs. Jones sets the omelet in front of me, my stomach twists but I know I need to eat. I force small mouthfuls down and wash them down with orange juice. When I’m finish, I feel a little better, but not much.

“I’m thinking pajamas and movies, what do you think?” Kate asks, and I nod my head.

“Is there anything you need, Mrs. Grey?” Gail asks as I push away from the breakfast bar. “I’m going out this afternoon for the basics for you and Theodore but if you want anything special I can pick it up while I’m out.”

Truthfully, though I can’t allow myself to say it… What I want is Christian. Not this new Christian, the person he’s become since I was kidnapped. The constantly obsessed with finding kidnappers, contacting Mrs. Robinson, and nearly has his way with a submissive Christian. I want the playful, good husband, good father, slightly controlling but loves me wholly and irrationally Christian. Does all of this mean that I can never get that back? Do I have to let him go? I don’t want to. The thought is painful, intolerable, but I don’t know what to do with what’s been broken.

“Ana!” Kate calls to me and my head pounds.

“What?” I whimper back.

“It’s Elena, she’s on the news!”

I look over at the TV and see side by side pictures of Elena Lincoln and a man I’ve never seen but the TV tells me is John Lincoln. The pictures are mug shots. Oh, so it wasn’t a scene? Did Christian really have Elena arrested yesterday?

I try to mull this over in my head as the newscaster tells me about a trial date set for the kidnappers of one of Seattle’s richest businessman’s wife. Does this make a difference, now that I know he didn’t do what I thought he did with Elena in his office yesterday? I think about the package he received Sunday night and the mail that came through my office yesterday. It was signed S… Who is S?

“Did you know, Christian had her arrested?” Kate asks me.

“I-I saw Elena come out of his office in handcuffs yesterday, but I didn’t believe.,.” My voice cuts off.

“Ana. You know I love you and I’ll support you whatever you want to do… but are you sure you want this?” And I know she’s talking about a separation from Christian. The truth is, I don’t know. I’m just so hurt. I know I can’t just go back to the way it was. Not for a while at least. But to lose him completely? I shake my head at her and turn around, walking towards my bedroom.

When I’m alone again, I do a quick emotional inventory. Nope, I don’t think I’m going to cry… I change out of my t-shirt and into real pajamas. Okay, a pair of sweats and one of Christian’s t-shirts. When I turn around, I see the blue light on my blackberry blinking. I pick it up, there is an email from Christian.

 

From: Christian Grey

Subject: Sick day

Date: September 11th 2012 09:45 AM

To: Anastasia Grey

You’re that sick? I know what it takes to get you to take a day off work. Please call me, Anastasia. I’m worried. Oh, and Teddy is at the house with Mia. Would you like me to have her bring him to you at Escala? You can go home if you want to. I know you’ll be more comfortable there. I can stay in the apartment if you prefer.

Christian Grey

CEO, Grey Enterprises Holdings, Inc.

 

I type a response.

 

From: Anastasia Grey

Subject: Sick day

Date: September 11th 2012. 10:15 AM

To: Christian Grey

I’ll be fine, Christian. I just need the afternoon to recuperate. I’ll call Mia, and no, you can stay at the house. I’m too sick to leave right now.

Anastasia Grey

Commissioning Editor, Grey Publishing.

 

When I hit send, I exit out of the mail and dial Mia’s number. She doesn’t answer but before I can even start recording a voicemail, my phone beeps and tells me she’s calling on the other line.

“Hi, Mia,” I answer.

“Sorry, Ana. I was just laying Teddy down for a nap,” she says.

“That’s okay. Hey, Kate and I are having a movie and PJs day at Escala. Do you want to bring Teddy over and join us?”

“Sure!” She says. “I’m going to have to borrow some PJs though.”

“Oh there’s plenty there,” I laugh.

“I’ll be over soon, Ana. Laters!”

“Laters!” I say back, and I’m smiling when I hang up. Maybe this is what I’ve been missing. Girl time.

Kate, Mia, and I spend the afternoon watching Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Pretty Woman, and Bridesmaids. All three of us are laughing out of control and I realize that I’m not ready to give this up. The relationship between Mia and I would never be the same if I left Christian and things may even change between Kate and I, now that she too is a Mrs. Grey. Part of the reason I fell in love was Christian was his family. Grace, Elliot, Mia, even Carrick. They’re all my family now too because of Christian and I don’t want to lose them.

It’s getting dark and Mia has to head home. She hugs me and makes me promise we’ll do something like this again soon. I smile and tell her anytime, anywhere. Kate decides to go too. Apparently she feels guilty for ignoring her own husband while I’ve been fighting with mine and I don’t blame her. In fact, I feel a little guilty too. But when she leaves, Teddy and I are alone. It’s unsettling. Sure there is security here, but it’s not family.

After I’ve put Teddy to bed for the night, I stare out the window over the lights of Seattle. I remember I used to think of Christian as hiding from the world in his ivory tower. Is that what I’m doing now? Hiding from our problems instead of facing them? Maybe I should call, Christian. We really need to talk. I walk to the kitchen counter to pick up my blackberry when I’m distracted, once again, by my security guard.

“Mrs. Grey, there is an Andrea Weber here to see you,” he says.

“Let her in,” I say and he leaves to fetch her from the foyer. A few seconds later I see Christian’s assistant walking nervously towards me.

“Mrs. Grey,” she begins, “I hope I’m not intruding but I need to speak with you. You didn’t come to work today and I didn’t think this was a suitable conversation to have over the phone.”

“What is it, Andrea?” I ask, gesturing to the couch. She smiles gratefully and takes a seat.

“Mrs. Grey, I think your husband is being blackmailed… and I think it’s my fault.”

“What do you mean?” I ask and she reaches into her purse, pulls out an envelope, and hands it to me. I open the letter and read:

Your lack of response is disheartening, Mr. Grey. If you don’t want to play my game, I may have to tell your secret to TMZ. I’m sure the media would love to know the true Christian Grey. You have until Friday to decide. –S

I stare up at her and her eyes fall to the floor.

“Where did you get this?” I ask.

“He’s been asking me to shred the letters,” She hesitates and looks up at me more determined. “Ok, look. I know. I know about you, and Susannah, and Leila, and Caroline, and Charlotte, and…”

I hold my hand up and grimace. “I get it, you know.”

“The NDA you signed?” she continues. “I emailed it to him because I always email it to him. And the contract, I fax it to him. He likes it faxed to him so that it has a date and time stamp. There is only one electronic copy of that document, Mrs. Grey and it’s on my computer at GEH, only accessible from my profile… It’s password protected and even has a firewall on it so that IT can’t access it remotely. In fact, my entire computer profile was taken off the GEH monitoring system to prevent security or IT from finding those documents.”

“Sounds like my husband trusts you,” I say gently.

“He does, and he should, Mrs. Grey. I would never do anything to break that trust. Which is why when you handed me the list of hard limits. When I got this letter, I knew that “S” had the contract, so someone had gotten into my computer. I checked the document access history on my computer and saw the last time it had been accessed was in the middle of the day on September 3rd. Mrs. Grey, I haven’t accessed that document since…”

“It’s okay, Andrea. You don’t have to be embarrassed. Go, on.”

“The last time I accessed that document was last May when he had me fax it to him for you and my desk is never left unattended while the building is open. There is only one person who could have gotten into it. Mrs. Grey, I think I know who S is.”

“Who?” I ask.

“I don’t want to lose my job…” She says nervously.

“Don’t worry about that, Andrea. Tell me what you know.”

“It was her first day. IT was delayed in creating her profile because GP was moving into the building and they were busy setting up your systems on the network… so I was letting her use my email, my profile, until her’s could be set up. I didn’t think in the hour I was away, she would go through my documents and happen upon the one thing she couldn’t see. That she would be interested enough to open it and find the password for the contract.”

“It was Rachel?” I ask, horrified.

“I swear, Mrs. Grey, she was vetted. Her resume was perfect, we got her from Jeff Bezos’ office for god sakes. Her references were glowing… Even Taylor passed her without any hesitation. There was nothing in her past that would suggest she was capable of something like this.”

“What did my husband say when he interviewed her?”

“He didn’t. She was hired when you were recovering. He was working from home so he just asked me to send him the profile I had on her and he approved her. That was it. The first time he met her face to face was her first day. She was attracted to him, but they always are at first. I didn’t think it would turn into this…”

“No, Andrea. You couldn’t have known. Don’t worry, I’m going to straighten this out.”

“He’s going to fire me,” she says, and I can hear her struggling not to cry.

“No, Andrea. It’s not your fault. I won’t let him fire you.” I reach out and grasp her shoulder reassuringly.

Holy shit, this means the package wasn’t his fault. The letter, Elena… all misunderstandings.

“Archer!” I yell and my security guard runs into the room. “I need to get to my house, will you grab my coat?”

“Yes, ma’am,” he says and hurries off to get ready to leave.

“Andrea, will you watch Teddy for me? Or Call Grace or Kate?” I ask.

“I’ll watch him, Mrs. Grey. No problem.”

“Thank-you,” I say gratefully and I dart into the foyer.

“Christian!” I yell, as I barge through the front door of the big house. I hear a scuffling sound and he hurries around the corner so I can see him down the hallway.

“Ana?” He asks. “Where’s Teddy.”

“Andrea has him.”

“Andrea?”

“Christian, she told me. We figured out who “S” is. It’s your new assistant, Rachel.”

“Rachel? Miss Carrington?”

“Yes, she found the contract on Andrea’s computer and apparently… she’s crazy.”

“When? How?” He stutters.”Only Andrea has access to the contract. Why was she on Andrea’s profile?”

“Andrea said the document was accessed on September 3rd, before Rachel’s profile was set up. Andrea was on lunch and she must have found the document.”

His face shifts and he darts towards his office, I follow after him.

“What are you doing?” I ask, but he’s already on his blackberry.

“Barney, I need you to give me remote access to the security footage at GEH. I need the tapes of my lobby on September 3rd from 10am to 2pm. Christian sits down at his computer and logs on to a page that has the Grey Enterprises Holdings logo in the banner. He clicks around the page and a big black box pops up.

I watch as a mouse moves across the screen and pulls up a video. Barney must be feeding in the footage. He fast forwards through the footage quickly and I blush as I see myself storm into the office, knowing what the outcome of that meeting was. When I’m inside, Andrea leaves the desk and Taylor and Welch come out of Christian’s office.

“Slow it down here, Barney,” Christian says. The video slows to just faster than real time. I watch a woman come out of the elevator and hand Rachel and envelope. She walks to the door of Christian’s office, pauses, and then slowly opens it, only to straighten with shock and ease the door close.

“Well, that’s just fucking fabulous,” Christian growls as we watch Rachel shuffle back to her desk and bury her head in her arms. Nothing happens for a bit and then I come out of the office, followed by Christian. He sets his phone on the desk and then returns to his office.

“Why did you leave her your phone?” I ask.

“Andrea usually charges it for me,” He answers and we watch Rachel pick up the phone and look at it. “Although it looks like I’m going to have to get a charger in my office.”

She doesn’t set down the phone for several minutes and when she does, she’s looking around the office guiltily. Then she turns to the computer and stares at it for a minute. We watch as she straightens, looks wildly around the office, back at the computer, and then she begins digging through things on the desk. She lifts the keyboard and then types something into the computer. A few minutes later, Andrea walks in.

“Do we have another view of the computer screen there, Barney?” Christian asks. He pauses for minute, listening to Barney’s response. He frowns.

“Thank you, Barney.” Another pause and then Christian hangs up.

“Well that’s it right?” I ask. “That’s when she found it?”

“It has to be.”

“So what are you going to do?” I ask. His eyes darken.

“Well, fire her, to start.”

“But, Christian, she has the contract. What if she sends it to the media?”

“Then I’ll sue her for breach of her NDA,” he says cooly.

“That’s not going to change the fact that everyone will know. Your family. Christ, what about when Teddy is old enough to know what that means?”

“You’re not suggesting I give in to her demands?” Christian asks, appalled.

“No! Of course not. But what if we can find away to show her she doesn’t want what she’s asking for?”

“What do you mean?”

“I mean, if she wants to be a submissive, I think we should give her a crash course in Christian Grey, and I know just the way to do it.”

Christian hangs up the phone and I stare at him.

“Well it’s done,” he says, “Are you sure you’re okay with this?” I nod my head, though I’m not really sure.

“Well then,” he says, “Let the scene begin.”

 

ANASTASIA POV

“Happy Birthday, to you. Happy Birthday, to you. Happy birthday, dear Ana. Happy Birthday, to you.”

I stir awake and turn to see Kate standing over me. She’s holding a stack of pancakes with three candles stuck in the center. I groan. I really don’t feel like celebrating.

“So I was thinking,” Kate says, sitting on the bed. “You should call into work and we should spend the whole day together doing awesome things.”

I sit up. “I can’t Kate. I’ve already missed too much work.”

“But it’s your birthday,” she pouts.

“I really don’t feel like celebrating,” I say. She pushes the pancakes into my lap and I smile, blowing softly until the candles are extinguished.

“I’m not letting you be miserable on your birthday. Fuck Christian. Let’s go out tonight. Somewhere amazing. I’ll call Jose!”

I smile. It would be nice to get out, to be distracted from the mess my marriage has become, and it would be nice to see Jose.

“What do you mean by amazing, Kate?” I ask.

“A club! We could go to Christia…. oh wait, no.” Her brow furrows as she thinks of a different idea.

“Just pick a small dive bar with a pool table. We can go get hamburgers, and french fries, and drink beer all night,” I say.

“If that’s what you’re into Anastasia,” she replies, disappointed.

I nod and hand her back the pancakes. “Here, I don’t have time for breakfast. I’ve got to get Teddy to Grace so I can get to work.”

“Oh Shit, Ana! Grace has that Leukemia fundraiser tonight. Do you think Mia will watch Teddy? I guess I can ask Elliot.”

“I’ll email, Christian. I’m sure he would like a night with his son.” I swallow the lump in my throat as I realize that I won’t be spending my birthday with my husband.

“Sounds good,” Kate says, leaping to her feet. She walks to the door and then turns back around. “Oh, those security guys you hired last night are here.”

“Tell them I’ll be ready to leave in half an hour.”

She nods and closes the door.

When I get to GEH, I’m met at the front door by Sawyer and Ryan.

“Mrs. Grey,” Sawyer greets me.

“Sawyer, Ryan. I no longer require your services. I have my own security detail that will watch over me. You are dismissed,” I say.

“I’m sorry. Mrs. Grey,” Sawyer responds. “I don’t believe you have the authorization to do that.”

I glare at him. “My name is also on the bank account your paychecks come from and I’m telling you, you’re fired.” I storm passed them, pleased as I hear my own security guards stop them from following me. We get into the elevator and ride up to the 19th floor.

“You two better stay here,” I tell my security team. “It won’t be long before my husband finds out and I’m sure he’ll be down here. He’s not to be allowed in. I also want you to keep out those two men from downstairs and a man named Jason Taylor, think of it as a proscribed list. In fact, if anyone comes to see me, have them approved by Hannah before you let them in.”

“Yes ma’am,” The tallest one replies. Archer, I believe. I nod and walk through the door.

“Good-morning, Ana!” Claire greets me and I smile at her, pleased by the feeling of normalcy. I stop at Hannah’s desk and she holds out a cupcake for me.

“Happy Birthday, Mrs. Grey,” she smiles.

“Thank you, Hannah. Mr. Grey will probably be down here in a few minutes, but he’s not to be let in. He’ll probably find a way though, so I’ll be keeping my door locked. I just don’t want you to panic.”

“Sure, Ana. Can I get you anything?”

“No, thank you,” I reply. I turn and enter my office, locking the door behind me. Whew, there is a relaxing sense of solitude being locked behind the door. I feel like I haven’t had time alone to think in ages.

I haven’t even got my computer started up yet when I hear the tornado that is Christian Grey blow through my office. The door handle jiggles and is then followed by three loud bangs.

“Anastasia, open the fucking door!” He screams.

I reach down for the intercom button on my phone and push it down, knowing he’ll be able to hear me better over Hannah’s handset.

“Go away, Christian. I don’t want to see you.”

“I’m not going to let you fire your security team, Ana. And I’m certainly not going to let you hire your own team to keep me away!”

“I don’t want you keeping tabs on me through security, Christian,” I snap and I release the intercom button. I’m done talking.

“Anastasia!” He yells, banging against the door again. I glare at the door and stick my tongue out. Childish, but effective. Surprisingly, my silence does it. I hear him storm away. Ha!

I get up and unlock the door. Everyone is staring at me and I immediately flush. Shit, why did he have to make a scene at work?

“Are you sure I can’t get you anything, Ana?” Hannah asks.

“Tea, please,” I say and I back into my office again. I hope Roach doesn’t come in here and yell at me for how inappropriate that was. Well, I guess he can’t since the scene was caused by his boss.

Hannah brings me my coffee and I smile up at her gratefully. “If you need anything else, Mrs. Grey, just let me know.”

I smile at her and she exits, leaving me in the peaceful solitude once again. I open my email and click through the first unread messages in my inbox. I’m not even half way through the second one when I hear the ping of an email coming in.

 

From: Christian Grey

Subject: Happy Birthday?

Date: September 10th 09:23 AM

To: Anastasia Grey

Anastasia. I don’t want to fight with you. Please trust me when I tell you I had nothing to do with that package last night. It’s your birthday. Please let me treat you tonight.

Christian Grey

CEO, Grey Enterprises Holdings INC

 

I scowl at the email. Well at least he remembered my birthday. I shake my head, of course he remembered. He may be a dick sometimes, but he’s not forgetful. And… he loves me. My lips press together at that thought. I haven’t cried yet and I don’t want work to be the place where the dam breaks.

I spend the next few minutes reading and responding to the remaining emails. When I’m finished, I switch over to my calendar and my mouth drops open. There must be 50 things scheduled for today. What is all this? I click on the first meeting link and a pop up opens:

 

Event: Telecommunications Conference Planning

When: 08:30 AM [Cancelled]

Who: Telecommunications Committee

Where: Conference Call

Created by: Andrea Parker

 

Oh, this is Christian’s calendar. That’s right, I asked Rachel to sync my calendar with Christian’s. How does he get all of this stuff done in one day. I’ve got to hand it to him, the man is nothing if not organized. I click the next link:

 

Event: Personal Meeting

When: 09:30 AM

Who: E. Lincoln

Where: GEH Office

Created by: Christian Grey

 

Oh shit! I look down at the clock. 09:34. Well, assuming she’s punctual, she’s up there right now. I can feel it. The water works are coming. Why did I believe him? The words he said last night, about wanting to prove to me that he would never do anything like that ever again and now… here’s the proof. He was lying straight to my face. Is that why he ordered the whips and restraints? Is he using them on her now?

There is a knock on the door and I brush the backs of my hands over my eyes. “Who is it?”

“Hannah, Mrs. Grey. I have the mail and your tea.’

“Come in,” I say. She sets the mail on my desk.

“Thank you, Hannah.” I tell her, as I take the mug of tea. She looks like she’s going to say something but decides better and leaves the room. I reach out for the mail, needing a distraction from Christian’s secret-not-so-secret rendezvous with Mrs. Robinson.

It’s mostly just new manuscripts but there is one letter sized envelope. I turn it over in my hands and realize it’s addressed to Mr. Grey. It must have been put in the wrong box in the mail room by mistake. I open it hesitantly and immediately wish I wouldn’t have. It’s the list of Christian’s hard limits.

I accept your limits, Mr. Grey. -S.

Who is S? The submissive Elena brought for him? I’m suddenly overcome by rage, unable to take this and the meeting notification in one sitting. I storm out of the office and up to the 20th floor.

“Where is he?” I yell at Andrea when I get out of the elevator. Both she and Rachel are staring at the double doors to Christian’s office and their panicked gazes turn towards me. Rachel flies out from behind the desk to stand in front of Christian’s door. Well, that confirms it.

“Mr. Grey is unavailable right now,” Andrea says nervously. “He’s in a meeting.”

“Oh I know exactly what kind of meeting he’s in, Andrea.” I thrust the hard limits paper at her and her eyes widen with horror as she looks down and reads it. “You tell him to talk to the mail room about how they sort mail. I don’t want this shit in my office.”

The doors to Christian’s office open and I round on them, furious, but am surprised as I see Elena in handcuffs being escorted out by police.

It’s a scene Anastasia. Remember, this was the shit he was into before you were in the picture.

“Is this one of your sick, twisted games?” I shout at him, my glare darting between Christian and Elena. I feel the threatening sting of tears and race back to the elevator. He calls out after me but I ignore him, and disappear to the floor below.

I don’t get any work done for the rest of the day. I’m really looking forward to beer tonight with Kate and Jose, lots of beer. Hell, I might even get drunk. Oh shit, that reminds me, I need to get Christian to take Teddy. I reach out to type an email.

 

From: Anastasia Grey

Subject: Teddy

Date: September 10th 2012 11:52 AM

To: Christian Grey

I’m going out with Kate and Jose for my birthday tonight. I need you to pick up Teddy from your parents house before 7 and keep him tonight. Tomorrow, I will be moving into Escala. Note, I’m only telling you this because of our child. You are to stay out of the apartment except on an approved visitation schedule.

Anastasia Grey

Commissioning Editor, Grey Publishing

 

From: Christian Grey

Subject: Night out

Date: September 10th 2012 11:56 AM

To: Anastasia Grey

What are you doing tonight with Kate and Jose? I was hoping we could talk. I have dinner reservations for your birthday.

Christian Grey

CEO, Grey Enterprises Holdings, Inc.

 

From: Anastasia Grey

Subject: MY night

Date: September 10th 2012 12:01 PM

To: Christian Grey

I am going to a bar and having drinks with my friends. I have nothing else to say to you. Cancel your dinner reservations, or perhaps take Mrs. Robinson.

Anastasia Grey

Commissioning Editor, Grey Publishing

 

From: Christian Grey

Subject: Please

Date: September 10th 2012 12:03 PM

To: Anastasia Grey

Please, Anastasia. I need to explain. It’s not what you think. I didn’t order those things last night and you’re way off on Elena. Please let me take you out for your birthday.

I love you

Christian Grey

CEO, Grey Enterprises Holdings, Inc.

 

From: Anastasia Grey

Subject: Teddy

Date: September 10th 2012 12:06 PM

To: Christian Grey

I don’t want to spend my birthday arguing with you, Christian. I’ve already made plans. Will you take Teddy or do I need to get Mia or Elliot to do it?

Anastasia Grey

Commissioning Editor, Grey Publishing

 

From: Christian Grey

Subject: Teddy

Date: September 10th 2012 12:09 PM

To: Anastasia Grey

Yes, of course I will take Teddy. Enjoy your birthday. I love you.

Christian Grey

CEO, Grey Enterprises Holdings, Inc.

 

That night when I’m out with Kate and Jose, I don’t show much interest in hamburgers or french fries. The same can not be said for alcohol.

“But seriously, who does he think he is?” I slur over the table at Kate and Jose. I’m on my… I don’t even know how many beers and the room is fuzzy around me.

“He thinks he can just do whatever he wants and I’ll turn a blind eye?” I drain the bottle in front of me.

“Maybe we should get you some water, Ana,” Kate suggests.

“Or maybe, we should get me something stronger. Like brandy,” I pull out my black AMEX card. “Drinks on Christian everyone. Drink up!”

“Ana, I think you’ve had enough,” Jose says. He and Kate stand together and each grasp one of my arms.

“You sound like Christian. Always telling me what to do,” I say. “If I want to get drunk on my birthday, I’ll get drunk. Let’s do shots!”

“Ana, I”m taking you home,” Kate says. I hear the bell jingle over the door and turn. It’s then that I notice Taylor standing by the doorway. How long has he been there?

“Oh no. The party police is here.”

“Let’s get you in bed, Ana,” Kate says. I feel my stomach whirl and my hand flies up to my mouth to prevent myself from vomiting.

“Jesus, Ana,” Kate says and she’s pushing me through the crowd towards the bathrooms.

“You know, they always say you can tell if you have a good boyfriend if he holds your hair while you vomit,” I say, after I’m sure I have completely emptied my stomach. “Christian held my hair when I threw up that night. That night in Portland, do you remember Kate?”

“Yes, I remember.”

“You were there. Hey, that’s when you met Elliot.”

“Come on, Ana. If you’re finished, let’s get you off this disgusting floor and back home.” She pulls me to my feet and leads me out of the bathroom. Taylor is standing outside the door, looking anxious.

“Mrs. Grey?” He asks.

“She’s trashed,” Kate says.

“Where is her security detail?” Taylor asks.

“I sent them away!” I cry. “Birthdays don’t need security. Birthdays need tequila. Margaritas for everyone.”

“Did Christian send you?” Kate asks.

“No ma’am. It’s my night off. I just wanted to make sure Mrs Grey was okay.”

“Help me get her to the car?” Kate begs.

Taylor takes my arm from Kate and scoops me into his arms, carrying me outside. I wonder where Jose is? I look around for him and immediately regret it as the room starts spinning.

“Oh no,” I mumble.

“Are you going to be sick, Mrs. Grey?” Taylor asks.

“I don’t think so. Can I lie down?”

“We’re almost to the car, Mrs. Grey.”

I feel the refreshing relief of the cool night air and then I’m being lifted into the back seat of the Audi SUV.

“You’ll take her back to Escala?” I hear Kate ask.

“She shouldn’t be alone, Mrs. Grey. I think I should take her to the main house.”

“No,” Kate says. “She doesn’t want to go there. I’ll meet you at Escala. I’ll stay with her tonight.”

“Yes ma’am.”

The next thing I know, I’m in the big bed in my bedroom at Escala. Kate has stripped me down to my t-shirt and underwear and I feel like melting into the pillows. It’s so comfortable.

“Kate, where’s my phone?” I ask.

“It’s on the nightstand. Do you want me to sleep in here with you or can you call me if you need something?”

“Are you leaving?”

“No, I’ll just sleep in the guest room.”

“The submissive room,” I correct her.

“Jesus, Ana. You really are wasted,” She says. “I’ll check on you in a minute. I’m going to call Elliot and let him know I’m staying the night.”

I hear the door close and I fumble for my phone on the nightstand. Luckily, I have the number I need on speed dial so I only have to hold down the number 2.

“Anastasia?” Christian answers.

“I’m so mad at you,” I tell him. “I’m really, really mad at you.”

“Are you drunk?”

“I am very drunk, Mr. Grey. And I am horny as hell and I’m mad at you.”

“Anastasia, are you alone?” He asks, and I know even through the haze of alcohol that he’s mad. Who does he think is here?

“Kate’s somewhere,” I mumble

“And Jose?”

“I don’t know where he went, but I’m in our bed Christian and I want you to talk dirty to me.”

“Anastasia,” He says sternly. “You need to get some sleep. Christ, do I need to come over there?”

“Yes, Mr. Grey. You need to come everywhere.”

The door opens and Kate re-appears.

“Who are you talking to?” She asks and she sets a large glass of water on the nightstand. I hold my finger to my lips and shh her. She reaches out and takes the phone from me.

“Hello?”

“Jesus, Kate. How much did she have to drink?” He’s talking so loud I can hear him from the bed.

“I think she left the place dry,” Kate says.

I don’t hear his reply but I’m sure he’s mad. Good, be mad at someone else for a change.

“I’ll take care of her, Christian,” Kate says and she hangs up the phone.

“Noooo!” I whine and reach out for it. “I wasn’t finished.”

“You need to get some sleep,” She says and she climbs into the bed next to me.

“I’m mad at him, Kate, but I still love him.” I tell her.

“I know.”

“I love that he’s so smart and playful. And I love that he makes me come like a freight train.”

“Goodnight, Ana,” she says irritably.

“Goodnight, Kate,” I mumble, and I drift off into a dreamless sleep.

 

ANDREA POV

When I get into work, Rachel hasn’t arrived yet. It’s 7am on Monday morning and Mr. Grey isn’t here which means that he and Mrs. Grey either had a really good weekend, or a really bad one. I’m hoping it’s the former and that either way, Rachel gets here before Mr. Grey does. I check my email again but I don’t have anything from him. He usually texts or emails me every Monday morning for his schedule but I haven’t heard from him since Saturday morning. All things considered, that probably isn’t a good thing. I hear a ping from the elevator.

“Sorry I’m late,” Rachel cries and I’m relieved.

“It’s okay, can you start the coffee? I’m getting everything booted up here,” I tell her. She nods, putting her purse in the bottom drawer and scurries off to the break room. Ten minutes later, the elevator pings again.

“Good morning, Mr. Grey,” I greet him. “Can I get you some coffee?”

He doesn’t say anything and instead storms past me, throwing his office door open and slamming it shut behind him so hard I feel the things on my desk rattle. Okay, bad weekend.

“Get a cup of coffee, quick,” I tell Rachel and she practically sprints to the break room while I gather up the first round of the mail for the morning. Rachel’s hands are shaking and she hands me the coffee. Mr. Grey has been particularly cold to her this last week and I suspect it’s because she looks at him like an idiot in heat every time he addresses her. Well, when she’s not cowering from him that is.

I take the mail and the coffee and gently knock on the door. There is no answer. Shit, maybe now isn’t the time? No, if I don’t follow the routine, he’ll be even more pissed. Maybe if I’m just in and out, don’t make a sound, he won’t say anything to me at all.

Quietly, I push open the door and rush to his desk. He’s sitting in front of his computer, furiously pounding on the keys. As calmly, and with as much control as I can muster, I set the coffee down in front of him and place the mail on the corner of the desk. He doesn’t acknowledge me. Whew!

I hear him tearing through the mail as I walk away.

“What the fuck is this?” he yells and I stop in my tracks. Fuck.

“What, sir?” I ask, turning to face him. He’s ripping open a large white envelope and pulls out a jeweled case. As he looks at it, his anger fades into confusion and then back to fury in a nano second.

“Where did this come from?” he snaps.

“It must have come in with FedEx yesterday,” I reply. “It was with the legal documents the weekend crew left on my desk.”

“Get this out of my sight,” He says, tossing the jeweled case at me. “And if Anastasia calls or comes up here, you let me know immediately, understand?”

“Yes, sir,” I say, picking up the case from the desk and hurrying out of the office. Bad weekend, definitely a bad weekend. He and Mrs. Grey must be fighting. I know that Mrs. Grey gets through no matter what so his reminder must be because he doesn’t think she is going to call or come up here.

“Is it bad?” Rachel asks as I sit down next to her.

“Really bad,” I respond. “I think he’s fighting with his wife. It’s never worse than when he’s fighting with his wife.” Well now it is… but she wasn’t around during the submissive days, or lack of submissive days I should say.

“What’s that?” She asks, looking down at my hand. I’m still holding the jeweled case and I look at it for the first time. It’s a copy of Rihanna’s single S&M and in permanent marker scribbled across the front it reads: I like it, like it.

Oh shit. I try to hide it from Rachel’s view but I’m sure she’s seen it. Well, I guess that’s what the NDA is for.

 

CHRISTIAN’S POV

It’s September 10th. Anastasia’s birthday. She didn’t answer any of my calls or emails from last night or this morning. I’m going to have to ambush her when she gets here. Make her talk to me. Shit, do I want to do that on her birthday? Today was supposed to be… well special. I have plans, so many plans. Is that all down the fucking drain? I look down at my computer and flip through my emails again, the same question from last night bouncing around in my mind. Who the fuck is “S”?

It’s someone who knows, so that limits the possibilities. Susannah maybe? This doesn’t feel like Susannah, it has more of a Leila feel to it, but I don’t think Leila would test me like this. Not knowing what she’ll lose. I pull a black book out of the top drawer of my desk, find the number I need and dial on my office phone. It rings eight times before someone answers.

“Hello?” The sleepy voice responds. Shit, it is pretty early.

“Susannah?” I snap. “Tell me it isn’t you.”

“Mr. Grey?” She asks.

“Tell me it isn’t you, Susannah, because if I find out it is, so help me…” I don’t even know how to finish the threat. I’m so preoccupied with my anger at Elena and Linc that I don’t have the capacity for ex-submissives right now.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about, Mr. Grey. I didn’t tell anyone, if that’s what you mean.”

“You haven’t sent me any packages?” I demand.

“No.”

“Good-bye then, Susannah.”

“Mr. Grey?” She asks again, but I hang up the phone. Well if it’s not her, who the fuck is it? S… Submissive? Fuck it could be anyone of them. I spend the morning going down the list, but none of them seem to know what I’m talking about, and the ones who are married now are pretty pissed that I’m calling them.

It’s nine o’clock when my phone buzzes, and I reach down for it irritated.

“What?”

“Mr. Grey,” Andrea says hesitantly. “Mrs. Grey’s security team is out here, they would like to speak to you.”

“Send them in!” I demand and Sawyer and Ryan step into my office.

“What’s wrong?” I ask. Shit, did Elena get to her? Linc?

“Mrs. Grey fired us, sir,” Sawyer says and I glare at him.

“Mrs. Grey, doesn’t have the ability to do that,” I tell them, “Get back downstairs and do the job I pay you for.”

“We would, sir,” Ryan hesitates. “But she’s hired her own security team. They won’t let us in the office.”

“What!” I roar and I bolt out of my seat.

“Mr. Grey?” Andrea calls as I run past her desk and begin pounding on the elevator button. When it opens, I press 19 and pace around the tiny space until it releases me into the lobby outside of Grey Publishing. There are two men standing in suits on either side of the glass doors. I storm past them but one of them reaches out and grabs me by the shoulder, holding me in place and preventing me from going into the office.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” I ask, furiously.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Grey, but you are on Mrs. Grey’s list of proscribed visitors,” he says flatly.

“Excuse me?” I ask incredulous.

“I can’t allow you in, sir,” He says again.

“How about I own the fucking building and if you don’t get out of my way, I’ll call the police and have you both removed?”

The two men glance at each other and step aside, but they follow me as I make my way across the room. When I get to Anastasia’s office, the door is locked and I begin to pound on it furiously. I turn to look at Hannah, who cringes each time my fist hits the door.

“Anastasia, open the fucking door!” I call. I hear the long beep of a phone and Anastasia’s voice come from Hannah’s desk.

“Go away, Christian. I don’t want to see you.”

“I’m not going to let you fire your security team, Ana. And I’m certainly not going to let you hire your own team to keep me away!” I yell through the door.

“I don’t want you keeping tabs on me through security, Christian,” Hannah’s phone says.

“Anastasia!”

She doesn’t answer. I bang on the door again. Nothing. Everyone in the office is staring at me. I look down at my watch, fuck it’s almost time. I glare at the door. I’ll email her when I get back up to my office.

I’m sure everyone can feel the anger in the wake I leave as I stomp out of GP. When I’m back on my own floor, I walk single mindedly towards Andrea and Rachel.

“Are they in place?” I ask.

“Yes, sir. What’s…?” Andrea begins but I cut her off.

“Let me know when my 09:30 is here, Andrea. I am not to be disturbed during the meeting. No phone calls, no visitors. Not even Mrs. Grey, do you understand?”

“You want me to keep Mrs. Grey out, sir?” She asks skeptically.

“Yes.”

“Yes, sir,” She responds and I storm into my office, sit at my desk, and begin composing my email.

 

From: Christian Grey

Subject: Happy Birthday?

Date: September 10th 09:23 AM

To: Anastasia Grey

Anastasia. I don’t want to fight with you. Please trust me when I tell you I had nothing to do with that package last night. It’s your birthday. Please let me treat you tonight.

Christian Grey

CEO Grey Enterprises Holdings, Inc.

 

I stare at the screen for another five minutes, but I don’t get a reply. The phone buzzes.

“Mr. Grey?” Andrea says. “Your 09:30 is here.”

“Send them in,” I say and I straighten my tie. The door opens and, dressed in a tight, low cut black dress, Elena walks in.

“Christian,” She says as she enters. The door closes behind her but she doesn’t approach my desk.

“Elena,” I say, gesturing to the chair on the other side of the desk.

“Why have you asked me here, Christian?” She asks.

“I want to talk to you. Anastasia left me and I believe she spoke with you before she made that decision. I was hoping you could tell me what happened?”

She seems to exhale and then saunters over to my desk, sitting gracefully in the chair across from me.

“She didn’t tell you what happened?” Elena asks.

“No,” I say, running a finger over my bottom lip. She raises and eyebrow, intrigued.

“She said she couldn’t trust you anymore, Christian. That’s the problem with romantic relationships over contractual ones. She can question your motives.”

“It seems I should have listened to you from the beginning, Elena.”

She smiles. “Yes, Christian.”

Her tongue runs over her top lip. “Is that the only reason you asked me here?” Her voice is suggestive.

“No,” I tell her. I stand up and walk languidly around the desk, tracing my finger across the wood as I go. When I’m standing next to her, my finger moves from the desk to her elbow and as I circle around her, I lightly run my fingertip up her arm, over the fabric of her dress on her shoulder, and up her neck. My thumb brushes the spot behind her ear and she shivers. I grasp the hair at the nape of her neck and yank her to her feet, holding her in place by her hair. She groans as I run the tip of my nose up her neck where my finger had just been.

“I want you to tell me where I can find Linc,” I whisper in her ear. She freezes.

“Why would I tell you that?” She snaps.

“Because he kidnapped and tortured my wife, Elena. You hired a man to kidnap and torture my wife under his orders, didn’t you.”

“Christian…”

I grip her hair harder, pulling, and she gasps with pain. I smile against her neck and reach out to take her arm, pulling it behind her and securing it with my hand and forearm.

“That’s what happened, isn’t it?” I hiss.

“Yes,” she moans. I force her down onto the desk and reach out for the ruler from the cup on my desk and run it lightly down her back.

“I may be out of practice, Elena. But I haven’t lost my touch. Tell me where he is.”

“I can take a little pain, Christian,” She purrs up at me. I laugh lightly, though not with humor.

“Would you like to find out how much?” I ask. She whimpers and I release her, walking back around the desk to my chair. I can see how flustered she is and I smile wickedly at her.

“I’ll make you a deal,” I say.

“A deal?” She pants.

“Last year, when I told you Ana was pregnant, you asked me to sleep with you. You told me you’d never had it as good as me since we stopped. You said you wanted me.”

“Yes,” She breathes.

“Well, if you tell me where Linc is, you can have me, anyway you want me. Anyway I want you.” My gaze is dark and I can see the effect my words have on her.

“Anastasia?” She asks.

“I told you. She’s left.”

Her lips press together as she resolves herself. “He’s staying at the Fairmont Hotel under the name Conor Parrish. Room 1489.” She licks her lips and stands up.

“Thank-you, Elena,” I say, and I raise my voice as I continue, “Detective?”

The room is suddenly full. A man in a sharp suit and a police officer come out of the coat closet against the far wall of my office. The double doors open and six more armed officers pour in. Taylor enters the room and closes the double doors behind him. Elena stutters and glares down at me. I’m impassive, my finger running over my bottom lip.

“That should be enough for a prosecutor, Mr. Grey. Good work,” the detective says, and Elena rounds on me, fury alight on her overly made up face.

“You betrayed me, Christian,” she hisses.

“No, Elena. The betrayal was yours,” I say. One of the officers approaches her, takes her right wrist and slaps a cuff over it. Once she’s fully cuffed, he reads her her rights.

“We’ll need you to come downtown and make a statement, Mr. Grey,” Detective Clark says.

“I’ll follow you,” I tell him and rise from my chair. We walk out of the office and I freeze. Anastasia is standing at the desk, presumably talking to Andrea, who is looking, horrified, at a piece of paper in her hands.

“Is this one of your sick, twisted games?” Anastasia shouts, her eyes shooting between me and Elena.

“Anastasia!” I shout. But she turns and steps into the elevator, disappearing to the floor below.

“Well, he wanted to ruin your marriage,” Elena sneers. “Looks like Linc wins after all, Grey.”

“Get her out of here,” I say coldly.

I walk across the lobby, press the elevator button for the detective, and. when it arrives, I let him know that I’ll meet him at the station. When they’re gone, I walk towards Andrea, who is burning bright red and holding the piece of paper out for me. I look down at it:

 

Hard Limits

No acts involving fire play

No acts involving urination or defecation and the products thereof

No acts involving needles, knives, cutting, piercing, or blood

No acts involving gynecological medical instruments

No acts involving children or animals

No acts that will leave any permanent marks on the skin

No acts involving breath control.

No activity that involves the direct contact of electric current (whether alternating or direct), fire or flames to the body.

I accept your limits, Mr. Grey. -S

 

CHRISTIAN’S POV

“Ana?” I ask, unsure if she’s really standing in front of me.

“Christian, did you hear what I said? You were right. You were always right, it was Linc.” I hand Teddy to Kate and cross the foyer in two steps, wrapping my arms around her and inhaling the intoxicating scent of her hair.

“Oh, Ana,” I moan, feeling the loss melt away with her in my arms. She pushes back slightly to look up at me and I lean down to kiss her.

“Christian!” She shouts. Her hands presses against my chest and she shoves me away.

“Ana,” I say again, her rejection washing over me. “It’s not Linc. Everything checks out. We have the guy. Ryan is out finding him now, bringing him to me.”

“But Elena…” she says confused. My head snaps up at the name and I feel the familiar sense of anger starting to burn in my chest.

“Elena?” I snap. “When did you speak with Elena?”

She flushes and I know she doesn’t want to tell me.

“Ana?” the anger is slipping into my voice.

“I’ve just been to see her, Christian. She said that she told Linc to keep me longer. That if he had, you would have fu….” her voice breaks and her eyes shoot to Elliot, but I don’t need to hear the rest of her sentence to know what she was going to say. I round on Kate.

“You told me she was at your house!” I snarl.

“Christian, did you hear what she just told you. Elena admitted that it was Lincoln behind the kidnapping.”

I growl and grab Ana by the wrist, dragging her towards my study. Kate and Elliot follow in my wake. When I round my desk, I throw open the top left drawer and pull out a manila folder that is labeled: Joseph Walker.

“Joseph Walker,” I begin. “Former US Marine, dishonorably discharged. Became a detective for Seattle Police but was fired there too for disorderly conduct. Financial records show a flight to Sydney on July 7th but no return flight, there is however a liquor store charge on his credit card in Seattle for July 9th. And a week ago, he received a transfer of $5 million in his personal bank account, which, until that day, had never had more than $3,000 dollars in it.”

“But you gave him $25 million?” Anastasia protests.

“He’s not likely to transfer the entire sum at once, Anastasia.”

“Buy why would Elena say..?”

“Because she’s a liar, Ana. And a manipulator. She’s playing a game with us.”

Anastasia nods her head as my blackberry rings. I look at the number and answer it.

“Ryan!” I snap.

“I have him, sir. Pier 66 just like you requested.”

“Good, I’ll be there within half an hour,” I tell him and hang up the phone. I look down at Anastasia with pained eyes. If I leave, will she be gone when I get back? I don’t know if she’s still mad at me, or if she believes me or not.

“Ana, will you… will you wait for me?”

“Where are you going?” She asks.

“Ryan has him. He’s waiting for me.”

“I want to go, too.”

“No!” I say, horrified. “Ana, I don’t want you anywhere near him! And I… I don’t want you to be a part of this.”

“What are you going to do to him, Christian?” She asks, and I can hear fear in her voice.

“I’m going to do what is necessary,” I tell her simply, the only thing I can tell her.

“Christian!” She pleads.

“Just wait. Please? Wait for me to get back.”

She stares back at me imploringly but after a few moments she nods her head. I want to lean down and kiss her but she hasn’t given me any indication she wants me to do that. I return her nod and walk out the door, leaving the three of them staring after me with worry. Taylor is in the hallway waiting for me when I emerge from the study.

“Has Ryan called you?” I ask him.

“Yes, sir,” He responds.

“Then you know where we’re going.”

He nods and opens the front door for me.

We fly down the highway and I’m flooded with an unwelcome sense of deja-vu as we pull up to the curb in front of pier 66. We can see Ryan and Sawyer’s car. Sawyer is standing outside the passenger door keeping watch on the deserted sidewalk. He nods at me as I approach the pier.

The memories of that nightmare flood over me as I walk up the dock and to the fish warehouse. She’s not in there, Grey. Get a fucking grip.

Taylor opens the door and I walk into the dark room. He’s sitting, tied to the same chair I pulled Ana off of, in the middle of the room, flooded by the light of a single hanging lamp.

“Who are you?” he demands and I recognize the voice immediately. It’s been haunting me for weeks. The cold, harsh voice of my mysterious phone calls. My muscles tense with fury as I approach him. He squints through the darkness, struggling against the ropes that bind him and I smile with satisfaction.

“Oh, you know who it is,” I tell him.

“Grey?” He asks, panic flooding into his voice now. The panic drives me on in a sadistic way, allowing me to push aside my own humanity and do what needs to be done here. I’m going to avenge Anastasia.

“You said you were an interesting person to talk to,” I sneer. “I’ve missed our conversations.”

Taylor approaches him from the side and punches him across the left cheek, he yells and spits across the floor.

“This is my security team. They’ve been looking for you for some time.”

“Look, it was a job alright? I was in some bad shit and I was promised it would all go away if I took your wife. I didn’t want to hurt her.”

Ryan hits him this time, from the opposite side so he’s taken by surprise. I stand in front of him, glaring malevolently down at him.

“Job?” I ask. “Were you working for Andrew Lincoln?”

“I don’t know, I was hired by some woman named Elena and she never told me the guy’s name, the guy who wanted the job done. Lincoln though, yeah. Her last name. Her name was Elena Lincoln.”

Taylor hits him again and even through the darkness I can see the satisfaction it gives him. The pathetic excuse for a human in front of me groans with pain.

“Look man,” He pleads. “I’m sorry. I didn’t have a choice. I needed the money or I’d be on the bottom of the sound now. I didn’t even know you, or your wife.”

“So you think because it wasn’t personal everything is just okay?” I sneer, and he cringes from Ryan’s side so Taylor hits him again, and he curses as the blow knocks a tooth across the floor.

“Unfortunately, this wasn’t your way out, Mr. Walker. You should have done your research a little better because if you had, you would have known that if those other people didn’t get to you, I would.”

“Please,” He begs. “Please, I’ll do anything.” I raise my arm back and with all my might thrust my fist square into his face. I feel a sharp pain in my knuckles and have to shake them out when I pull my arm back I see a satisfying stream of blood pour from his already broken mouth and I don’t care about the pain.

“I don’t want anything from you, you son of a bitch.” I spit down at him. I turn to leave but stop and look at Taylor.

“Tell me, what were the injuries we found Mrs. Grey with?” I ask.

“Three broken ribs, a bleeding kidney, a ruptured spleen, and a fractured ankle, sir.”

I give him a purposeful nod. “Return the favor. Let’s see how long it takes someone to find him.”

I exit the room to the sound of his screams. I walk up to Sawyer and he opens the passenger door for me.

“Do you need something for your hand, sir?” He asks as we drive down the road towards my house. I shake my head. I want the reminder of my revenge.

I’m relieved to see both Ana and Kate’s car still in the driveway when I get home. Good, she’s still here. I open the front door and barely make it through the foyer before Ana comes around the corner.

“What happened?” She asks and she looks down to my hand. “Jesus, Christian!” She shouts and she disappears back down the hall towards the kitchen. I walk after her, seeing Kate and Elliot on the couch in the living room, Teddy in Kate’s arms.

Ana returns with ice that she’s wrapped in a towel. Gently, she pushes it against my knuckles and it hurts but I don’t wince, I stare into her face. Her beautiful face.

“You were right,” I tell her. “It was Linc.”

“You should call the police, Christian.” She says, looking up into my eyes.

“I’ll take care of it,” I tell her and I brush my non-injured hand against her hair. Her eyes close and she pushes her head into my hand. I feel the joy of her acceptance. She still wants me. She’s probably still mad at me, and I know she should be, but she still wants me. She still loves me. As long as she still loves me, we can get past this.

“Maybe we should go,” Kate says from the living room and she stands. “Why don’t we keep Teddy for the night so you two can talk.”

I look down at Ana and she nods. She’s going to stay. She’s going to talk this out with me.

“Thank- you, Kate,” I say. She walks forward and hugs Ana tightly. She looks at me and nods. Elliot claps me on the back and they disappear through the hallway. When I hear the front door open and close, I lunge forward. My hand cup each side of Ana’s face and I push her back into the wall of the hallway, kissing her deeply. She lets me. Her hands don’t fly up into my hair like they normally do, but she allows me to kiss her. I pull away, panting, desperate for more but she shifts out of my reach and walks back towards the kitchen.

“Ana?” I call after her. “What can I do?”

“I don’t know, Christian,” she says, lifting herself to sit on the kitchen island.

“Do you still doubt me?” I ask.

“I believe you,” She says softly. “I don’t think you had sex with that girl, but you were going to. You may have had a change of heart, you may have come to your senses… but you still went over there.”

My hands shoot up into my hair as I feel the guilt and the pain and the anger at myself rage through me.

“Ana, I was lost,” I say at last. “I know what I did was wrong, and I understand why you feel the way you feel. I fucked up. I fucked up bad and all I can do is tell you how truly very sorry I am and promise you I will spend the rest of my life proving to you that I will never fuck up like that again.”

“I just don’t know what to do with these feelings, Christian. Part of me wants to let all the hurt and betrayal go and make love to you, and the other part wants to storm out of here and never see you again.”

“Ana, please don’t go. I can’t live without you.”

“Christian…” She begs. I walk towards her until I’m standing between her legs, my nose against hers.

“I’ll do anything. Anything you need,” I whisper. “Anything you want, it’s yours. Just tell me, Ana. Tell me what to do and I’ll do it.”

“I need time,” she says. “I need time to process this, and to know if I can ever get past the fact that while I was being held hostage, you went over there.”

I nod my head. “I can give you that. Whatever you need. I’m so sorry, Ana.”

She looks at me, there’s something in her eyes that tells me she’s battling with herself and then she leans forward and kisses me, hard. Her arms wrap around me and she pushes herself against me, her tongue exploring my mouth while her fingers tug at my hair. I wrap my own arms around her, pulling her into me as close as I can, desperate for her touch.

When we’re both out of breath she reaches for the hem of my t-shirt and I help her pull it over my head. Once I’m free, I take her mouth again, relishing her taste. I reach around her, ready to carry her with me to our bed but the doorbell rings. Our kiss stops and I lean my forehead against hers.

“I’ll be right back,” I tell her and she tilts her head up to sweetly kiss me on the tip of my nose. I storm down the hall, through the foyer, and open the door. There is a delivery man standing before me. What the fuck? Did Kate and Elliot leave the gate open. Or is Taylor back? Maybe he let him in?

“Mr. Grey?” the FedEx man says.

“Yes?” I respond.

“I need you to sign for this,” He hands me an electronic pad that I scroll my signature on and hands me a large white box. For a moment my heart stops as I think about the little brown package that had been delivered to me, the towel covered in Ana’s blood. Relax, Grey. She’s in your kitchen. You got the son of a bitch. And you’ll get Linc next.

“Thank you,” I say and I close the door. When I emerge in the kitchen, Anastasia looks at me curiously. Part of me wants to save the package for later, to pick up where we left off and carry her to my bed, but I’ve promised to try and regain her trust. I don’t want her to think I’m hiding something from her.

I rip open the package and a whip, a set of bondage cuffs, a ball gag, and a set of nipple clamps fall onto the counter. Anastasia looks down at the items and her look of curiosity turns to anger.

“What the fuck is this?” She demands. I look up at her, panicked. “Real nice, Christian. Real fucking nice,” she says, and she slides off the counter and storms down the hallway towards the door, grabbing her purse and keys of the table in the foyer.

“Anastasia, wait. I don’t know what these are.. I didn’t order these,” I call after her but the front door slams shut. Fuck!

I stare furiously down at the items in front of me and then look into the half ripped box. There is a note inside. I swear to god, if these are from Elena, I’m going to drive over there and beat the shit out of her tonight. I’ve already had to stop myself from doing it once, when that lunatic told me she had hired him. Oh yes, Elena, you’re going to get yours too.

I pull the paper out and read it and my brow furrows as I realize it’s not from Elena. I have no idea who it’s from.

For your pleasure and mine. -S

 

ANA’S POV

I watch Kate, dressed in a brown wig and my clothes, pull away through the living room window and, once I see my security detail following after her, I run for Kate’s purse and find my goal: her car keys.

When I slide into the car, I ease out of the garage and down the street. I only have one shot at this. Kate is only giving me an hour of time. I remember the distant memory of Christian telling me that Mrs. Robinson is usually based at the Bravern Shopping center in Bellevue. I want to pull out my phone a google an address, but I’ve left it in my car, which is good I suppose. Christian won’t be able to track me once he finds out that it’s Kate taking Teddy to the house. There’s a button on the steering wheel that has a picture of a mouth with three lines coming out of it. I press it and here a musical ping and a robotic voice says “Say a command.”

“Er…. Directions?” I ask hesitantly

“Okay, Directions. Where would you like to go?” the voice asks again.

“Bravern Shopping Center, Bellevue Washington,” I say and there is another musical ping. I look down and see a GPS map pop up on the small screen set into the consul.

“Location acquired,” the voice tells me. “To start navigation, say start navigation.”

“Start navigation,” I say and I’m given directions to my location. Very convenient, Kate.

Kate and Elliot live in Bellevue, not too far from Grace and Carrick, so I’m at the shopping center in less than 10 minutes. I park the car on the curb in front of a building with a modern looking sign that reads Esclava. I have to take a deep breath to brace myself for what I’m about to do but I need answers. The only way I’ll know if Christian is telling the truth, is if I hear the same story from Elena. She’s more likely to lie and tell me Christian did cheat on me than cover for him. At least, I hope so.

I walk through the doors of the salon and am greeted by a pretty blonde receptionist.

“Good afternoon. Do you have an appointment?” She asks brightly.

“Not exactly,” I reply. “I’m here to see Mrs. Lincoln.”

The receptionist frowns but she picks up her receiver and dials an extension number. Oh good, she’s here.

“Mrs. Lincoln, you have a visitor,” The receptionist says she turns to me and asks for my name. Oh no. Do I tell her my real name? Will she come out if I do? She’s wanted to meet with me before… Well, Mrs. Robinson, here I am.

“Anastasia Grey,” I say and the receptionist says my name into the phone. She hangs up the phone and looks up at me.

“Mrs. Lincoln will be right out.”

“Thank you.” I say and hear a door open at the back of the empty salon. I turn and see her, her perfect blond hair rolled up in an elegant chignon, her makeup flawlessly done. She’s dressed in her usual head to toe black. She smiles at me and motions me towards her. I march forward with determination.

“Have a seat, Ana,” She purrs as she closes her office door behind me. “What can I do for you, dear?” The fake pleasantry in her voice ignites a fire in me and I glare at her.

“Did you fuck my husband?” I blurt out and her eyes narrow.

“Several times,” She says flatly. “Over a period of many happy years.”

“I know about the past, Elena. I’m asking about when I was… away. Did you fuck my husband while I was missing?”

“No,” Her eyes are cold and impassive. I’m reminded of Christian.

“Did you bring a submissive to my apartment for him to fuck?” I continue and she smiles a wolfish smile that doesn’t reach her eyes.

“He told you,” she says.

“Is it true?”

“Yes, Anastasia. I delivered a girl I thought would be suitable to Escala while you were missing.”

“And he fucked her right? He took her into the playroom and he fucked her?”

She presses her glossy lips together before she answers. “Why are you asking me? I’m sure Christian has told you exactly what happened.”

“Because he went to meet you, so he’s already lost my trust.”

“And you trust me?”

“No,” I say simply, though I keep my voice firm and resolute. “But I know you’ll be dying to tell me that he cheated on me. You want the win, Elena. Convincing him to cheat on me will be the win. You think that if you could convince him to fuck a submissive, you could convince him to fuck you. You tried last year and he turned you down, so if I’m out of the picture what’s to stop him for moving on to you?”

Her wicked smile returns. “So why would you trust me to tell you the truth. If that’s what you think, if Christian is what I’m really after, wouldn’t it make more sense for me to lie to you and tell you he cheated?”

“No, because if you do that, he’ll never forgive you and you’ll lose.”

“But what if it’s true. What if he did cheat on you and I tell you. What’s to stop him from hating me then, from rejecting me then?”

“Because if he’s really guilty, if he really did cheat on me and I leave him for it, there are any number of ways I could have found out. He always thinks the worst of himself. If I leave him and he’s guilty, he’ll just assume I saw through him to the liar he really is and left. But if he’s innocent and he knows I’ve been to see you, he’ll know you told me.”

“That’s quite the logical gymnastics you’ve worked your way through, Anastasia.”

“I just want to know the truth.”

“We all have things we want to know… But then again, maybe there are things we think we want to know but in reality, we don’t.”

“So you’re telling me he did it then? You’re not denying it.”

She stares back at me with unmoving eyes.

“This is the part where you speak,” I remind her

Elena crosses her arms and leaves over the desk, her cleavage is protruding out at me.

“Anastasia…” she begins, but I don’t want her run-around. I just want answers.

“Did he, or didn’t he Elena?” I snap. Her gaze darkens.

“Look here you little tramp. Don’t come into my office and make demands of me. You’ve ruined him. The strong, powerful man I created is now a weak, spineless boy who controls nothing. I brought him a submissive because it’s what he needed. He needs someone to satisfy his needs so that he can control his universe. He needed to get his balls back, but he’s too far gone to realize what he’s actually lost. No, he didn’t fuck her, because you’re in his head, making him ashamed of what he needs. I told Linc if he’d just kept you longer, he would have taken the submissive, but he didn’t listen to me. People who don’t listen to me, ruin themselves. Just like Christian.”

“What did you just say?” I asked, so shocked I wonder if I heard her correctly.

“I’m telling you no, Anastasia. Your weak husband didn’t fuck the girl I hand delivered to him.”

“No… you told Linc? It was Linc? Your ex-husband. He kidnapped me. He was the one holding me hostage…”

Her eyes widen as she realizes what she’s given away. I stand quickly and bolt for the door but her long fingers clasp around my arm.

“Let me go!” I yell, but she doesn’t release me.

“Ana!” She yells as she tries to subdue my struggles. I feel a harsh yank and I’m forced across the room, slamming into her desk. She turns on me but before she can get her arms on me I punch her, closed fist punch her, straight in the face. She doubles back, cursing with pain but I don’t give her time to recover. I push past her and run through the salon towards Kate’s car.

When I’m inside, I lock all of the doors, turn on the car and floor it. I look in my rear view mirror and see Elena standing on the curb, her nose bloody, glaring after me. I need to get home, now. For the first time, I wish I hadn’t shaken off my security. I know these people are capable of crazy things and now every stop sign, every red light, every traffic jam is a terrifying trap.

I fly across the Lake Washington, remembering the last time I was chased over this bridge. Christian had been with me then, and security wasn’t far behind. I’m alone now. All alone. Calm down, Ana. I tell myself. I don’t know that I’m being followed.

When I pull onto my street I feel a little better. I sit in front of the gate, looking around quickly before I roll my window down to punch in the code. When the gate opens in front of me, I speed down the driveway towards my house. Sawyer and Taylor both rush out to me as I jump out of the car.

“Mrs. Grey!” Taylor yells, but I ignore him and run as fast as I can to the front door. When I reach the top of the steps, I throw open the front door and see Kate, Christian, and Elliot grouped together in the foyer.

“Ana?” Christian asks, a plea, as if he doesn’t really believe I’m here.

“Christian,” I respond, determined. “Christian, you were right. It was Linc. Linc was the one who kidnapped me.”

 

CHRISTIAN’S POV

 

After a long week of work and waiting, the weekend has arrived and Anastasia and I are taking Teddy over to my parents house for a barbecue this afternoon. That is if she ever leaves her office.

“Anastasia, we’re going to be late,” I call, and a few moments later she walks out into the kitchen.

“Sorry, I’ve got a mountain of work. You wouldn’t believe how many manuscripts get sent into my office in a two week period. I might have to go into the office later tonight so I can get some work done. Everything takes me too long here, what with Teddy and my husband distracting me with his sexpertice.”

“It’s a Saturday. Manuscript reading can wait until Monday, when you’re supposed to be in the office.”

She smiles at me coyly. “I’m sorry, Mr. Grey, but my boss’s boss’s boss is a real slave driver.”

“He’s probably trying to get you in the office after hours so he can get into your panties,” I say as she winds her arms around my waist.

“Oh, I hope so, Mr. Grey. He’s a very attractive man.”

I bend down and kiss her, feeling my body begin to crave more as her fingers comb through my hair.

“Anastasia,” I say. “If you continue to do that, I’m going to want to fuck you and we’ll miss my parents’ barbecue.”

She sighs and pulls away. “I’m going to take a shower. I’ll be ready in twenty minutes, I promise.”

I finish making the bottle I’ve started and Teddy has almost completely finished it by the time Anastasia gets back downstairs.

“Ok, I’m ready,” She says. “Oh shit, do you have the contract from the designer that we wanted your dad to look over?”

“It’s in my desk,” I say, nodding towards my office. She disappears down the hallway and I finish feeding Teddy while she looks for the document. I dump the bottle into the sink and look down the hall after her. What’s taking so long? It’s in the top drawer, clearly labeled.

“Ana?” I call and walk out of the kitchen towards my office. She’s standing over the desk, looking at something like she’s horrified.

“What is it, baby?” I ask and I freeze as I realize what it is she’s holding.

“What the fuck is this?” she asks, holding Elena’s phone up for me to see.

“Anastasia…” I hesitate. What do I say? Fuck, what do I say?

“Don’t lie to me, Christian. I already looked through it. I know who’s fucking phone this is.”

“Ana, you have to believe me. She came here, I didn’t ask for her to come. She just showed up.”

“Really, Christian? Because I opened her email and there is one here from you that says, ‘9am. Escala.'”

I gulp. Fuck. This is it, I’m going to have to tell her. God damn it, why didn’t I take the phone to GEH?

She’s there too, Grey.

“So you fucked her in our apartment while I was being held hostage? While I was being beaten you were beating her in your playroom, is that it?” She screams at me.

“Ana, no. Jesus, no.”

She hurls the phone at me and I shift so that it hits me in the shoulder instead of hitting Teddy.

“Fuck Ana, I’ve got the baby. Will you calm down?” She looks down and her eyes widen with panic as she sees Teddy. Shit, is she that mad at me that she didn’t even notice? She starts towards me and at first I think she’s going to hit me but she storms past me, leaving me in the wake of her anger.

“Anastasia!” I yell after her but she doesn’t stop. I follow her up to our bedroom but she slams the door in my face. I hear the sound of the lock drop and I bang on the door.

“Anastasia, open the fucking door!” I scream. She doesn’t answer. “God damn it, Ana. I’ll wait here all day, open the fucking door.”

I stand there for five minutes but she doesn’t open it. I turn around, taking Teddy to his crib in the nursery and then head down the stairs. If she doesn’t want to open the door, I’ll open it for her. There’s a key in the utility room. I get to the room across the hall from Ana’s office and throw open the metal box where Mrs. Jones keeps spare keys. It takes me a few minutes to find the right key and when I do, I storm back across the house and up to the bedroom, but the door is open.

“Anastasia?” I call, but I don’t see her in the bedroom. Where did she go? Suddenly, I hear the garage door opening. Fuck. I run out of the room and look through the windows that overlook the driveway. Ana’s car is pulling out. No, Anastasia!

I reach in my pocket for my blackberry to call her but I realize I left it on my desk. I move quickly to my office and retrieve the blackberry and dial her number.

“What?” She snaps.

“Anastasia, please come back. Let’s talk about this.”

“Tell me what you did, Christian.”

“I didn’t do anything, Ana. I swear to you. Nothing happened.”

“So you just met up with her and what? Had breakfast alone in our apartment?” she asks sarcastically. “I know that’s not what fucking happened, Christian, and even if it did. I’d still be fucking pissed.”

“Ana, please come home.”

“Tell me what you did!” she yells.

“Ana, I didn’t know what to do. I was crazy with worry and I wasn’t thinking straight. I was out of control, everything was out of control. I didn’t know where you were and I knew you were hurt and everything I was doing to try and find you was failing…”

“Did you fuck her?” she asks, her voice low and cold.

“No,” I say. “No, god no, Anastasia. I swear to you, I didn’t touch her.”

“Then what happened?”

“She…” I take a deep breath to steady myself. “She brought a submissive to the apartment.”

Ana is silent on the other end of the phone. I hold my breath, waiting.

“You son of a bitch,” She says so deadly quiet I feel as though my blood freezes.

“Ana, I swear to you. I didn’t do it. She got to me. She told me it would feel good and I just wanted something, anything, to take the pain away. When I got there, my senses came to me and I kicked them both out of the apartment. I swear, Anastasia, I swear, on everything, I didn’t do it.”

“I spent days, Christian, fucking days being tortured and you’re telling me you couldn’t handle the pain? Someone kidnaps me and you run off to that fucking bitch, have her bring you some poor little girl that you can beat and fuck? Ana’s gone so maybe I can get my kicks in while I can, is that it?”

“No, Anastasia. I swear, I didn’t touch her….” My voice cuts off as I hear the sound of Teddy crying in the background.

“You took my son?” I yell.

“I took my son, Christian. I don’t want him anywhere near you.”

My anger builds to a threatening level. “Anastasia,” I say coldly, trying to keep my voice even. “Turn around and come home now.”

“No,” She says. “I’m not coming home, Christian. I can’t even stand the thought of being around you right now.”

“God damn it, Anastasia, bring my son back here, now!” I yell.

“Good-bye, Christian.”

“Anasta-!” But my voice stops as I hear her hang up the phone. Fuck! I call back, again and again, but she doesn’t answer. I dial a new number and Sawyer answers on the second ring.

“Are you on her?” I demand.

“Yes, sir, ” He says. “She’s driving up the I-5 now.”

“Don’t let her out of your sight. I want to know where she goes.”

“Yes, sir.”

ANA’S POV

 

I’m so furious right now I can’t even see straight. How could he do this to me? Can I even believe him? I can see Sawyer in my rear view mirror and I contemplate trying to lose him, but I don’t want to get into evasive driving with Teddy in the car. Christian is going to know where I am, no matter where I go.

Twenty minutes later, I pull up outside of Kate’s place, praying they haven’t left for Grace and Carrick’s yet. I take Teddy’s car seat out of the back seat and storm across her yard. I ring the doorbell and luckily, Kate is the one who opens the door.

“Ana?” She asks. She looks down at Teddy and sees the the duffle bag thrown over my shoulder. “What’s wrong?”

“Oh, Kate!” I wail as I dissolve into tears.

“Fuck, Ana!” She says, wrapping an arm around me and pulling me in through the door. She leads me into the living room where Elliot is sitting, watching a college football game.

“Ana?” He asks, but I look away from him.

“What’s wrong?” Kate asks again and I shoot a pointed glare at Elliot.

“Elliot, can we have a few moments?”

He nods and gets up to leave the room. I collapse on the couch and sob uncontrollably, feeling like my whole world is collapsing in on itself.

“Talk to me, Ana.”

“When I was gone, when that psycho kidnapped me. Christian saw that bitch Elena Lincoln.” I sob. Kate looks at me sympathetically.

“Ana, it’s not what you think. She just showed up out of nowhere. Mia was the one who let her in and she practically forced her way into Christian’s office. He tried to kick her out but the fucker who took you called Christian on her phone so he had to keep the phone to give to Welch. I was there for the whole thing. He didn’t do anything wrong.”

I glare at her. “Did you know about the part where she got him a submissive and he went to the apartment to meet her?”

“What?” Kate gasps. “No, Ana. Oh my god! When?”

I shake my head. “I don’t know. Before they found me.”

“Did he…?” she whispers. I shrug.

“He says he didn’t, but I can’t imagine that he went over there to meet them and didn’t fuck her.”

“Oh god, Ana,” She says sympathetically, reaching out to rub my back. I hear her phone ring from the kitchen and I know it’s going to be Christian.

“Just a second,” She tells me and she gets up to get the phone. “What the fuck do you want?” she snaps a moment later. “Yes, she is. No, you can’t fucking talk to her. No, I’m not going to give her the phone. Don’t you yell at me, Christian Grey. I have half a mind to drive over there and beat the ever living shit out of you. Or you’ll what? Fuck you, Christian.” I hear the phone slam down on the counter and then immediately start ringing again. She turns it off and comes back into the living room, wrapping her arms around me.

“What do you want to do?” She asks after a minute.

“I don’t know,” I say. “I…” but I don’t know how to finish that sentence.

“Um, Kate?” Elliot’s voice comes from the stairs. “Christian is on the phone for Ana.”

“Tell him to fuck off,” She yells. He comes around the corner, holding his cell phone in his hand.

“He seems like he really needs to talk to her,” he says.

“I’m sure he feels that way, but he can just deal with the fact that he’s a cheating piece of shit and Ana wants nothing to do with him!” Kate yells.

“What?” Elliot says, looking from me to Kate.

“Give me the damn phone, Elliot,” Kate demands and he gives it to her. “Christian, you can call everyone in the family, call everyone in the whole damn city of Seattle for all I care, you’re not going to talk to her. You think after what you did you… Yeah, like we’re really going to believe… No, Christian. I’m not going to give her the phone.” She hangs up and hands it back to Elliot.

“He’s going to come over here,” Elliot tells her, putting the phone in his pocket. She gets off the couch and walks with purpose to the garage, and, a few moments later, she returns with a baseball bat in her hands.

“Let him come,” She says, radiating anger.

Elliot’s prediction turns out to be right. I run up the stairs with Teddy and lock myself in her room.

“Get the fuck out of here!” I hear Kate yell from downstairs.

“Where is she, Kavanagh? I’m not fucking around.”

“She’s not here,” Kate says.

“I can see her fucking car outside, Kate. Where the fuck is my wife?”

“Oh, so you do remember you’re married? Do I need to go over your vows with you Christian, you cheating son of a bitch?”

“I didn’t cheat on her!” He yells. “This is none of your fucking business, Kate. Where is she?”

“Get the fuck out of my house, Christian.”

“Anastasia!” I hear him yell. “Get your ass down here and bring me my son.”

“Teddy is just fine here,” Kate says again. “And so is Ana. She doesn’t want to see you.”

“Ana, please come talk to me. Please, I just want to talk. I want to see my son. Ana!” He cries again, and I can hear desperation in his voice.

“Christian, if you don’t leave right now. I’m going to call the cops,” Kate threatens.

“Kate,” he moans. “Please. This is all, this is all so fucked up. I didn’t. I didn’t touch her, I swear. I went, yes, and I’ve felt like shit about it for fucking weeks. I’m disgusted with myself, but I didn’t betray her. I was crazy, crazy with worry and fear and I didn’t know what I was doing until I was already there. I sent them away. I kicked them both out of my apartment and that was it. I swear to god, I didn’t touch her.”

“You need to leave, Christian,” Kate’s hisses. “If she wants to talk to you, she’ll call.”

“Come on, bro. I’ll go home with you,” Elliot suggests and I hear footsteps and the front door closes.

There is a soft knock on the bedroom door. “Ana, he’s gone. Can I come in?”

I open the door and she slumps down on the floor next to me.

“Can I stay here for a while?” I ask. Kate smiles.

“You can stay here as long as you want.”

“Thanks, Kate.”

Christian doesn’t leave. When we get downstairs I can see his car outside on the curb, waiting for me to come out. I feel trapped. I don’t want to see him. I don’t want to talk to him. I’m not ready for that yet. Kate makes me some tea and I sit down at the dining room table with her. We talk for hours, cry together for hours. It’s 3 o’clock in the morning before we hear his car pull away.

“Do you believe him?” I ask. “Do you believe that he didn’t cheat on me?”

“I don’t know, but even if he didn’t fuck her that doesn’t mean he didn’t betray your trust. That’s why you feel the way you feel. If you trusted him, you wouldn’t question whether or not he was telling the truth.”

“I need to know. If I’m going to be able to talk to him, I need to know if he’s telling the truth first.”

“Well, how are you going to be able to tell if he’s lying or not?”

I look up at her. “I’m going to have to talk to Elena.”

Rachel’s POV

 

I arrive at GEH at 6:30AM. Everyone always says you should arrive for your first day of work at least 15 minutes before you’re supposed to be there, but now I wish I hadn’t. Everything is locked. I peer through the glass and I don’t see anyone. Not even the cleaning crew.

“Rachel?” I hear someone shout behind me and I see the blonde girl who interviewed me coming up the steps behind me. What was her name? Fuck, oh Andrea. That’s right, Andrea.

“Hi,” I say shyly as she comes up on me.

“Glad you could make it this early, and on such short notice,” She says, smiling. She unlocks the door and motions to me to walk through first. Once we’re through the immaculately clean glass door, she re-locks it, reaches into her pocket, and pulls out another set of keys, which she hands to me.

“This won’t be the first time you open the building, trust me,” she says. I nod and take the keys from her.

She walks behind the desk in the huge foyer and starts up the computer. I look around for another chair but I don’t see anything. I guess I’ll just stand here until she tells me what to do. I watch as she pulls out a digital camera. She points it at me.

“Smile,” she says brightly and I’m blinded by the flash.

“What…” I begin but she interrupts me.

“It’s for your security badge. You won’t be able to get into a lot of areas around the building without one.”

While she uploads the photo into the computer, she unlocks the bottom right drawer of the desk and pulls out a plastic badge. She places it in a machine and a minute later hands me a newly laminated badge with my picture on it. Ugh, its not a great picture.

I follow her away from the desk and to the elevator.

“Oh,” I say surprised. “This isn’t your desk?”

“No,” she laughs. “Christina works down here. We are up on the 20th floor.” I follow her into the elevator that takes us up twenty floors and releases us into a modern, clean lobby. She turns to me as we exit the elevator.

“I’m not going to have a lot of time to train you, so I need you to pay close attention,” she says. I nod and she leads me to the desk in front of the large, light wood double doors.

“This is where we work. You can keep your purse in here,” she opens a drawer, places her bag inside and I do the same.

“I’ll need you to sign this before we get started.”

“What is it?” I ask, staring hesitantly at the paper she picks up off the desk.

“It’s a non-disclosure agreement.”

“Why?”

“It’s standard for everyone in the company. You’ll be dealing with a lot of confidential information.”

I shrug and sign the document.

“Now, the first thing we do every morning is start a pot of coffee,” She leads me down a short hallway, pointing out the bathrooms on the right, and into a small break room. She shows me how to work the coffee maker, which is fancier than anything I’ve ever seen outside of a Starbucks, and shows me around the break room.

“There are snacks in here if you get hungry and we keep the fridge stocked with water bottles and juice. Don’t touch the Perrier, or the lemon wedges. Those are for Mr. Grey only,” she says and then leads me back into the foyer.

“Mr. Grey usually gets here sometime between 7AM and 9AM. You need to be here every morning by 6:45 at the latest to make sure there is coffee ready. We make a new pot of coffee every thirty minutes until he gets here so its fresh when and if he asks for some.”

“You mean, he may not even want coffee? That seems wasteful.”

“Oh don’t worry,” She laughs. “There are plenty of people around here willing to take it off your hands. Especially security. Their suite is down there.”

For the next hour she shows me around, shows me which keys open which drawers and shows me how to work the phone.

“This will be the majority of your job,” she says. “Fielding phone calls. Mr. Grey is a very busy man and he gets a lot of phone calls. Very few of them actually get through. I have a tier system that seems to work very well. The bottom tier is clients, department heads, basically anyone not in his family or security. The only way the bottom tier gets to Mr. Grey is by appointment. No exceptions. If they don’t have an appointment, you take a detailed message of their name, when they called, where they’re calling from, what they’re calling about, and a number to reach them on. Then you type the message into an email and send it to him with the subject ‘phone message from’ and whoever it is.”

“Okay,” I say, and she continues.

“The next “tier” are security, his parents, and brother and sister. They get through automatically unless Mr. Grey is in a meeting or is not taking any phone calls. If you need to take a message, you’ll type an email the same as everyone else. If he’s not in a meeting, you’ll page him over the intercom and ask him if he is available to take the call and who its from.”

“And how will I know if it’s his family?” I ask.

“Oh, sorry. They’ll tell you. Carrick, Grace, Elliot, or Mia. I guess Kate now too. They know the drill so you don’t have to worry about it too much. If they tell you it’s an emergency, you don’t have to page Mr. Grey, just transfer it into his office.”

“Okay, so family gets through, everyone else by appointment,” I say.

“Not quite. The exception to all these rules is Mrs. Grey. If Mrs. Grey calls she gets through, no matter what. If he’s in a meeting, you interrupt him. If he’s on the phone, you walk into his office and tell him she’s on the phone. If you can’t find him, you politely put her on hold and you go and find him. Mrs. Grey always gets through.”

“Wow. His wife is pretty controlling, huh?” I giggle. Andrea doesn’t look amused.

“It’s not his wife,” she says.

“Oh.”

The elevator door, pings and Andrea whirls around and stands. A man walks out of the elevator and my breath catches. He’s the most gorgeous man I’ve ever seen in my life. All this time, I thought Andrea was describing someone old, in their 40s or 50s. This man probably isn’t 30 yet and he looks like he just walked off a GQ photo shoot in his dark gray suit, white shirt, and black tie.

“Good-Morning, Mr. Grey,” Andrea says brightly.

“Andrea,” He says, shortly. “I need you to get ahold of Roach and tell him to call you when he arrives. I want to know the moment Mrs. Grey gets here.

“Absolutely, sir. Can I get you anything?”

“Coffee,” he replies in the same clipped tone. “What is this?” He gestures to me and I gulp under his hard, gray gaze.

“This is Rachel, sir. She’s Jessica’s replacement.”

“Hm,” He says, looking down at the mail he picked up out of the basket on the corner of Andrea’s desk. “Meeting in twenty.”

He walks through the wooden double doors and disappears. I take a deep breath, realizing I had been holding my breath. Oh. My. God. My boss is gorgeous.

“You’ll get over that,” Andrea says, correctly guessing my expression. I blush.

“I don’t know. You don’t think he’s attractive?” I ask.

“Oh he’s attractive, but he’s an asshole,” she replies as she begins gathering up her things.

“What?” I gasp, shocked she would make such an open statement about our boss with him only just behind the door.

“Look,” she says. “I’m not going to sugar coat it for you. Mr. Grey is a very difficult man to work for. He demands perfection and anything less is unacceptable. You’re going to get yelled at. There are going to be days, when you cry in your car after you get off work. He’s going to make you feel about an inch tall a lot of the time.”

I gulp. “Then why do you work for him?”

“Two years ago,” she says. “There was a fire in my house and I lost everything. Three days later, my Dad died. I asked Mr. Grey if I could have the day of his funeral off and when he asked me why I didn’t want more time off, I told him I couldn’t afford to and told him about my house. He gave me the week off with pay, hired someone to arrange everything for my father and my family and paid for the entire funeral. When I returned to work, I had a message from a realtor asking me to make an appointment to look at houses. Mr. Grey gave an upfront down payment of $120,000. Not a loan, he just gave it to me. And when I found a house I liked that cost $275,000. He doubled my salary to help me pay my mortgage off in a year.”

“What? Why would he do that?” I gape.

“He’s an asshole, but he’s also the most generous, good hearted man I’ve ever met. That’s why I work for him.”

“Wow,” I respond, blown away by her story.

“Keep that in mind later when he’s screaming and cussing at you,” She says. She disappears and returns with a cup of coffee and then picks up two folders and a notebook and turns to me again.

“Just a couple of things before we go in. Never, and I mean never, ask him a question. If he asks you a question, you have an answer, no exceptions. And don’t stutter.” She begins to walk towards the doors, but rounds on me again.

“You might want to bring something to take notes.”

Andrea doesn’t knock before she goes in. Mr. Grey is sitting at his desk, staring at his computer.

“Your coffee, Mr. Grey,” She says as she sets it down in front of him. She takes a seat across from his desk and I sit down next to her, trying to control my breathing as I stare at the man before me. He really is too damn good looking.

“Andrea, my wife is going to be here in a couple hours and she’s not going to be happy,” he begins. Oh shit, I almost forgot he was married. I feel myself begin to sulk.

“Make sure she has everything she needs when she gets here,” he continues. “I’ll have Taylor show her where to park but I’ll need you to send some people downstairs to help her move her things inside. She still hasn’t healed all the way and I don’t want her lifting anything. She will object to this, but she is not to carry her things inside. Understood?”

“Yes, Mr. Grey,” Andrea responds and she makes a note on her notepad, I do the same.

They go over his schedule for the day and he tells her that he won’t be taking any phone calls today. I think back to what Andrea told me about phone calls and I wonder if he ever takes them.

“Is that all, Mr. Grey?” Andrea asks, finally.

“I need you to go into the file room and make a copy of the Taiwan contract and send it down to the lawyers,” He says. “Make sure it gets there before this afternoon.”

“Yes, Mr. Grey,” she says and she stands and leaves the office. I follow after her, intimidated by his tone and his stare.

The rest of the morning is fairly uneventful. I mostly just tell people Mr. Grey is unavailable and send him phone messages by email. Two scary looking men do go into Mr. Grey’s office around 10:30 but they’re the only people I see until around eleven when the elevator door opens and an angry looking brunette woman storms out.

Andrea jumps to her feet, an anxious look on her eyes. “Can I help you, Mrs. Grey?”

Oh, so this is his wife. She’s beautiful, but I knew she would be. Jealousy rocks through me as I watch her stride across the lobby.

“Is he in there?” she shouts and Andrea tries to tell her he’s in a meeting but she storms through the doors.

“Do we do anything?” I ask, and she shakes her head. “I’m going to head to lunch. Do you think you can manage the phones for an hour?” She asks. I nod and she grabs her purse and heads to the elevator. A few moments later the two scary looking men that had been in a meeting with Mr. Grey exit the room and join Andrea as the elevator doors open. I’m alone, it’s nerve racking. No, I’m fine. I can do this.

A couple minutes pass and a woman in a powersuit exits the elevator and hands me a manilla envelope.

“These are the notes on the Taiwan contract Mr. Grey asked for,” She says. “Make sure he gets them right away.” I nod and take the envelope from her. When she disappears in the elevator, I push away from my desk and cross the room to the double doors.

Shit do I knock? Andrea didn’t earlier. I remember what she told me about not asking questions. I was told to get these to him right away. I sigh, and ease open the door, and then freeze.

Mrs. Grey is laying naked across Mr. Grey’s desk and his head is buried in between her legs.

“You taste so good, baby,” I hear him say and it takes everything in me not to make a sound. I ease back out of the room, close the door as silently as possible and creep back to my desk. Fuck, I hope they didn’t see me. Please say the didn’t see me.

Another ten minutes pass and a now fully dressed Mrs. Grey hurries out of the office and towards the elevator. She doesn’t look at me and I wonder if she’s embarrassed. I’m embarrassed, this is the most uncomfortable situation I think I’ve ever been in, at work at least. When she’s gone, Mr. Grey comes out of his office and hands me his blackberry.

“This is dying,” he says. “Charge it.”

“Yes, sir,” I say and look down and feel relief wash over me as I see a phone charger plugged in next to my computer monitor.”

“Have you gotten your blackberry yet, miss…..?

“Carrington, sir. And no, Andrea hasn’t given me one yet.”

“See that she does,” He says. “Where is she?”

“Lunch, sir,” I say and he nods.

“I’m going to be on a conference call for about an hour. I’ll need you to order lunch for me and Mrs. Grey. Two Caesar salads, from that place on the corner.”

“Yes, sir,” I say and he goes back into his office.

I collapse in my chair. Whew, I survived my first solo encounter with Mr. Grey. His phone buzzes and I reach out to check what it is, it might be Mrs. Grey and Andrea said Mrs. Grey always gets through.

It’s an email.

 

From: Anastasia Grey

Subject: First time for everything

Date: September 3rd 2012 Time: 11:27 AM

To: Christian Grey

Mr. Grey, your oral presentation was most intriguing this morning. I do hope I shall be able to present one myself this evening.

xxx

Ana

Anastasia Grey, Commissioning Editor, Grey Publishing.

 

I gulp as I read the email. I can’t believe I walked in on that. Guiltily, I flip through the other emails from on the phone. There are hundreds. Does this man ever delete an email? Most of them are GEH domains or from Mrs. Grey. I scroll and scroll and scroll until I see a new name. Anastasia Steele? Oh Mrs. Grey before she was Mrs. Grey. Hmm… they haven’t been married that long.

I see an email with the subject “Issues.” I click on it and read:

 

From: Anastasia Steele

Subject: Issues

Date: May 24 2011 00:02

To: Christian Grey

Dear Mr. Grey

Here is my list of issues. I look forward to discussing them more fully at dinner on Wednesday.

The numbers refer to clauses:

2: Not sure why this is solely for MY benefit – ie to explore MY sensuality and limits. I’m sure I wouldn’t need a ten-page contract to do that! Surely this is for YOUR benefit.

4: As you are aware you are my only sexual partner. I don’t take drugs, and I’ve not had any blood transfusions. I’m probably safe. What about you?

8: I can terminate at any time if I don’t think you’re sticking to the agreed limits. Okay – I like this.

9: Obey you in all things? Accept without hesitation your discipline? We need to talk about this.

11: One month trial period. Not three.

12: I cannot commit every weekend. I do have a life, or will have. Perhaps three out of four?

15.2: Using my body as you see fit sexually or otherwise – please define “or otherwise.”

15.5: This whole discipline clause. I’m not sure I want to be whipped, flogged, or corporally punished. I am sure this would be in breach of clauses 2-5. And also “for any other reason”. That’s just mean – and you told me you weren’t a sadist.

15.10: Like loaning me out to someone else would ever be an option. But I’m glad it’s here in black and white.

15.14: The Rules. More on those later.

15.19: Touching myself without your permission. What’s the problem with this? You know I don’t do it anyway.

15.21: Discipline – Please see clause 15.5 above.

15.22: I can’t look into your eyes? Why?

15.24: Why can’t I touch you?

Rules:

Sleep – I’ll agree to 6 hours. Food – I am not eating food from a prescribed list. The food list goes or I do – Deal breaker. Clothes – as long as I only have to wear your clothes when I’m with you… okay. Exercise – We agreed 3 hours, this still says 4.

Soft Limits:

Can we go through all of these?No fisting of any kind. What is suspension? Genital clamps – you have got to be kidding me.

Can you please let me know the arrangements for Wednesday? I am working until 5pm that day.

Goof night.

Ana

 

What the hell? What did I just open? My eyes flick around the room and I go into his sent folder and look for the one on the same date.

 

From: Christian Grey

Subject: This evening

Date: May 23 2011 23:16

To: Anastasia Steele

Miss Steele,

I look forward to receiving your notes on the contract.

Until then, sleep well, baby.

Christian Grey

CEO, Grey Enterprises Holdings Inc.

 

Contract? What contract. The phone buzzes as another email comes it makes me jump. I exit out of the email program, losing my nerve and put the phone down. It’s only been about 30 minutes since Andrea left and the phone hasn’t been ringing. I call the deli on the corner and order two caesar salads and am now left with nothing to do.

I decide to make a personal folder in the computer so I can leave notes for myself about all the ridiculous things I need to remember and decided to see if there are is anything on the hard drive that would help me out. There are a ton of documents in here and I flip through them. There’s the NDA I signed this morning…. And then my eyes fall on a document called Contract. I click on it but it is password protected. I search around the desk and find a sticky note under the keyboard with a list of passwords on it. I see, Grace5011 (CG) and type it in the computer. The document opens and I’m immediately floored. Fuck, I want to read this, but I don’t want to do it here. What if Grey comes out? I open the email program and send it to my personal email, deleting the sent document from Andrea’s email.

As I do, the elevator pings and Andrea appears.

“Sorry,” she says. “Did I miss anything?”

“No,” I respond. “You’re just in time. I need to run down to the corner and get the lunch I ordered for Mr. Grey,” She eyes me suspiciously.

“What did you order?”

“Two caesar salads, one for Mr. and Mrs. Grey.” I hope she doesn’t notice my blush as I say Mrs. Grey’s name.

“How did you order it?” I shrug and she walks to the phone, quickly dialing a number. “Is it under your name or his?”

“Mine,” I say, confused.

“Hi, I need to cancel an order for Rachel Carrington. Yes I need a new order. Two Caesar Salads, but I want them deconstructed. Make sure the chicken is hot and the cheese and the dressing are on the side. Oh, and we want the house butter and garlic croutons, not the seasoned ones. We’ll also take two of the grilled flat bread, but with olive oil instead of butter. Put the order under Rachel, she’ll be there in seven minutes to pick it up. Yes I understand, the order is for Christian Grey. Yes, thank you.”

She hangs up the phone and shoos me out of the office. Fifteen minutes later, I’m back with the food. Andrea takes the salad out of the plastic container and puts it together on a plate. She hands it to me and tells me to take it to Mr. Grey.

“Do I knock?” I ask, remembering the last time I went into his office. She nods and I mentally kick myself.

“What?” He shouts after I tap on the door and I hurry in. I set the food on my desk and he looks up at me.

“Has my wife eaten?” He asks.

“I’ll take hers down to her right now, sir.” He nods his head, a dismissal, and I hurry out of the office.

Andrea doesn’t put nearly as much effort into Mrs. Grey’s lunch. She hands me the plastic container and tells me to go to the 19th floor. Her office is easy to find and when I knock on her door, her response is sweet.

“Come in,” she says.

“Mrs. Grey? I’ve brought you some lunch,” I say. She rolls her eyes and motions me forward.

“I’m sorry, I don’t think we’ve met.”

“No ma’am. Today is my first day. My name is Rachel. Rachel Carrington.”

“Hello, Rachel. Please don’t call me ma’am. Call me Ana.”

“Sorry, Ana,” I say and she smiles.

“Don’t let him get to you,” she says with a wink. “I know it must be very stressful up there for it being your first day.”

Crap. I like her.

“Yes, Mrs…. Ana.”

She laughs again. “Why don’t you give your number to my PA outside the door? Hannah. It’s probably a good idea for you two to be in touch. I’d like to have my calendar synced with Mr. Grey’s.”

“Right away, Ma’am… I mean Ana.” I blush and hurry out of her office, giving my information to Hannah, who also seems really nice. Damn, why didn’t I get put into this office?

The rest of the afternoon drags on and Mr. Grey doesn’t reappear until he leaves. I spend the rest of the afternoon anxious to get home so I can read the email sitting in my mailbox but Grey doesn’t leave until after 6. When he does, Andrea tells me I can go and I thank her for her help and practically run out the door.

 

ANA’S POV

“I’m going to work tomorrow, Christian,” I say as we finish our dinner Sunday night. He doesn’t answer, he continues to look down at Teddy, who is cradled in his arms suckling from a bottle.

“Did you hear me?” I ask.

“Yes,” he says, not looking up at me.

“And you don’t have anything to say?”

“No, I don’t.”

My brow furrows and my lips mash together. This isn’t like Fifty. I was expecting a fight.

“So, you’re okay with it?” I ask hesitantly. Finally he looks up at me.

“No, I just don’t want to argue with you, Anastasia. You won’t be going.”

“Christian…”

“No, Ana. I want you to quit. None of this would have happened if you hadn’t gone to the writer’s summit. I’m not going to let anything like that ever happen again.”

“So what?” I snap. “You’re planning on just locking me in the house. Keeping me here, barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen?”

He smiles. “As much as I love the thought of you barefoot and pregnant in my kitchen, baby, I don’t plan on holding you prisoner here. Just think of the things we could do if you didn’t work. We could travel, show Theodore the world. You can do charity work. You can be active in Teddy’s school.”

“I want to work, Christian. I love my job.”

“I don’t want you to work, Anastasia.”

“Well that’s just tough shit, Christian!” I snap and I storm away from the table. He’s not going to force me into quitting my job. I want to show my children that it’s okay for a mom to be proud of her success. That their dad isn’t the only one who wins the bacon in this family. I push my way into the bedroom and pick up the blackberry charging on the nightstand.

“Hello, Ana. How are you?” Roach asks when he answers.

“I’m doing great, thank you. I’m ready to return to work tomorrow,” I say.

“Great, glad to hear it!” He says. “We, uh, have a special project to complete tomorrow, so if you’re coming in you’ll need to probably wear jeans and some tennis shoes or flats.”

“Sure,” I say. What is going on that I need to wear jeans for?

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Ana,” he says.

“Bye, Roach.” I hang up the phone, satisfied. Put that in your pipe and smoke it, Grey.

Twenty minutes later, Christian bursts into the room, furious. I’m pretty sure Roach has called him.

The fight that ensues isn’t pretty. He’s pretty fucking pissed at me and he’s locked himself in his study. Normally that wouldn’t bother me too much, space usually helps him calm down in situations like these, but he’s taken Teddy with him. I walk downstairs and knock on his study door.

“What!” he snaps. I open it and step inside. He’s leaning over his computer, holding the sleeping baby in his arms as he works. He looks up at me and glares.

“Not now, Anastasia.”

“I want the baby, Christian,” I say softly. He looks angry and I’m afraid he’s going to tell me no, but his face softens and he motions me forward. I reach into his arms and take Teddy from him, smiling as I cradle him.

“I don’t want you to go,” Christian mutters.

“I know. I’ll be careful,” I promise. “No more business trips and if I do, I’ll take your plane and I won’t go without you.”

“Or security,” He adds darkly. I sigh.

“Or security.”

“I don’t want to fight with you.”

“I don’t either, Christian,” I grab his hand and pull him away from his desk. We take Teddy upstairs together and then I lead him into the bedroom, effectively ending our fight.

Christian leaves early in the morning. I wake up and he’s gone. I suspect he doesn’t want to see me leave for work. Jeez, I hope he’s not still gone by the time I get back.

I grab a pair of jeans from my side of the dresser and wrinkle my nose at them. I haven’t tried jeans yet, but when I slip them on I am able to buckle them without difficulty. Ha! Four months and I’m already back in my pre-pregnancy jeans.

When I get downstairs, Mrs. Jones is in the kitchen cleaning up Christian’s breakfast.

“Hi, Gail,” I greet her. “How early did he leave this morning?”

“Around, seven,” She says. “He went to drop off Teddy with Mia today since he fired the nanny.”

“Oh,” I respond. Shit, I forgot about that. Was I really just planning on leaving my baby here all day? Fuck, maybe I’m not ready to go back to work. Thank god Christian remembered.

“I guess I’ll need to start looking for new nannies today,” I say. Gail smiles at me.

“What can I make you for breakfast Mrs. Grey?” she asks.

“Nothing, Gail. I want to get to work early this morning.”

She frowns. “Mrs. Grey… Mr. Grey was rather insistent that you eat a good breakfast this morning.”

I sigh, ever controlling Fifty. “I’ll have some granola, I suppose,” I say, and Mrs. Jones smiles.

When I’m ready to leave, I walk out to my R8 and find a man there waiting for me. It’s Sawyer.

“Sawyer!” I say, waving at him.

“Mrs. Grey,” He greets me. I smile. I’m glad that if I have to have security with me now, at least it’s someone I know. We drive in silence down the highway to GP. When I arrive, I notice there are two trucks parked on the curb that look like U-hauls. That’s strange.

I walk in through the front door and Claire’s face lights up like christmas.

“Ana!” She cries, “Welcome back! We were so worried about you!”

“Thanks, Claire. I’m really happy to be back. I was going crazy cooped up in the house like that.” It’s then that I notice she’s packing all of her things into a brown box, like the kind they give you when you’ve been fired. Oh no!

“Claire!” I start. “Are you leaving us?”

“Oh no, Ana. Haven’t you heard? We’re moving offices today.”

Moving offices? No, I hadn’t heard anything about that. The door opens behind me and Roach enters pushing a dolly in front of him.

“Oh, Ana, you made it. Great to have you back!” He says.

“Roach. What’s going on? Why are we moving offices?

“It’s coming from the top, Ana. GEH is selling this building,” he frowns as he shoves the dolly under a filing cabinet.

Of course he is. That’s his plan. He thinks if he puts me in a small office that’s impossible to work in and that I hate, I’ll quit. He’s going to make this as unpleasant for me as possible until he gets what he wants. Well, sorry, Mr. Grey. I’m not giving in that easily.

“I’d get your things together, Ana. We’re supposed to be out of the building before 10.”

Shit! It’s nine already. I dash to my office and open the door. Hannah is there packing things away for me.

“Hannah!” I say and she looks up and beams. I cross the room and hug her tightly, feeling a slight but easily ignorable pain in my ribs.

“When I heard about what had happened, I was so sick, Hannah,” I say. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that alone.”

“It was hard,” She admits, “But I was happy you weren’t there. I didn’t want you to go through that with me. But what happened to you…” her eyes start to water. “When Mr. Grey showed up looking for you at the recovery center I knew something was really wrong, but I never imagined…”

I hug her again, feeling tears come to my own eyes.

“Let’s get packing, or we’ll never get out of here in time,” I say with a smile, wiping tears away from my eyes.

With Hannah’s help and Roach’s dolly, it only takes me half an hour to pack up my entire office. I’ve loaded what I can into my own car, which isn’t much as I’m carrying a security detail around with me, and Hannah has graciously offered to take the rest of my things.

I still have no idea where we are going. I didn’t think to ask for an address before we left. Shit, I hope I don’t lose Roach in traffic. We drive for about 5 minutes and my heart drops as we begin taking a familiar route. He wouldn’t have… would he?

Ten minutes later, I’m standing outside of my car staring infuriated at the building before me. GEH. He’s moving me into his own fucking building. I’m mad. Really mad. This is just too controlling. He can’t sell my office just so he feels like he can keep a better eye on me.

“Exciting isn’t it?” Hannah says as she comes up beside me. “It’s such a beautiful building, and we get to work in the middle of downtown!”

“Exciting isn’t the word I would chose,” I say. I see Taylor running up the sidewalk to me and I roll my eyes. Am I going to be escorted in and out of the building too? And then I realize, I have my own security. I already am going to be escorted in and out of the building. Why is Taylor coming to meet me?

“Mrs. Grey,” He says as he approaches.

“Taylor,” I reply cautiously.

“I have a parking permit for you ma’am. You’re not to park on the street or in the main garage with the other employees. If you’ll take your car around to the underground garage, your parking space is number two.

I sigh and reach out to take the pass from him. Sawyer and I climb back into the car and pull into the garage. I drive past a line of really expensive looking cars and pull into the empty space that is mine, not surprised that the car parked next to it, belongs to Christian.

When I get out of the car, more men approach the car and let me know they’ll be taking my boxes upstairs.

“I think I can manage,” I tell them. “It really isn’t much.”

“No ma’am,” the man closest to me says. “Mr. Grey says you’re not to carry anything.”

I roll my eyes and stomp after them. This is ridiculous. My anger grows as we take the elevator up to the 19th floor, not the 20th floor where Christian’s office is. Oh good, for a moment I wondered if he was going to make me work with him in his office.

I step out of the elevator and I’m in a large square lobby with warm dark brown walls. On the left, there is a single door with a metal handle. The right wall is made entirely out of glass with two glass double doors. I step through them and see Claire setting up her desk at the front of the empty looking office. Behind her, there is a giant, silver, shiny placard on the wall that says “Grey Publishing”. It’s nearly identical to the one downstairs that says “Grey House.”

I follow the men carrying my boxes through the open space that is huge in comparison to the building we had before, and into my office. It’s nearly three times the size of my previous office and it has huge floor to ceiling windows that give me a fantastic view of the Seattle skyline. The office has white marble flooring and light gray painted walls. It’s all a little too clinical for me, but I’m sure I can warm it up a bit. I take another look at the view, which is a little too familiar, and then look up. Am I directly under him? I shake my head as I sit at the desk, which has been all set up for me and begin to unpack my things.

Over the next hour, IT has come in to add my email to the GEH network and to set up extra security precautions on my email. I want to laugh as I wonder if that was supposed to be tongue and cheek, but I don’t. I’m too angry to be entertained by playful Fifty right now. I need to give controlling Fifty a piece of my mind.

When I’m finished unpacking my things and I’ve made sure Hannah has settled into her desk outside my office, I storm out of the office space and jab the elevator button furiously. When the elevator doors open to the 20th floor, I march out and see Andrea’s surprised face.

“Can I help you, Mrs. Grey?” She asks.

“Is he in there?” I demand. There is a new girl sitting at the desk with her, but I’m too mad to acknowledge her right now.

“Yes, Mrs. Grey. He’s in a meeting…” She begins but I storm away from her and throw the door to his office open before she can finish her sentence.

 

CHRISTIAN’S POV

 

I remember the last time I was here. The last time Anastasia was in the hospital. I thought that had been excruciating. How wrong I had been. I would trade that 1000 times over for what I’m going through now. What had been wrong then? Some bruised ribs, a clean gunshot wound, and a hairline fracture? Child’s play compared to now. Ana is in surgery, having a bleed in her right kidney repaired while they simultaneously repair her ruptured spleen. She has three broken ribs, a ruptured eardrum, and a fractured ankle. Not to mention the general battered state of her entire body. Her lips were split, her eyes were black… I try to shake the image out of my mind and look down at the baby in my arms. His wide, blue eyes are open and I shake a plastic key ring for him. He laughs and the sound is cathartic.

The double doors to the surgery floor open.

“Grey?” the doctor calls and my head snaps up.

“Here, Grey,” I say incoherently. “I’m Christian Grey.”

“Mr. Grey, we were able to stop the bleeding from her kidney and repair the rupture in her spleen. She’s being moved into recovery as we speak.”

“She’s okay?” I ask, shifting the baby as I stand.

“We’re going to monitor her overnight, and she’s got a long road of recovery in front of her, but her vitals are strong.”

“Can I see her?” I ask.

“Of course, Mr. Grey, but you shouldn’t take the baby into the ICU.”

I turn and hand Teddy to my mother and follow the doctor onto the surgery floor. They have me put a gown and hair cover on before I’m allowed to enter her room. When I see her, I barely recognize her. There are tubes coming out of every part of her.

“The tubes?” I ask.

“She’s intubated for now. It was a rough surgery and the tube in her mouth is helping her breathe.”

I nod and sit next to her bedside, taking her cold hand in mine. I can barely stand to look at the bruises that cover her skin. Her face is so swollen, she doesn’t even look like herself. But it’s her. She’s here. She’s really here. How many times have I thought I’d lost her over the past week? But I didn’t. She’s going to be fine. She may be hurt, but she will heal. I will help her heal and she will be my perfect Anastasia again.

I reach up and brush her hair out of her face. I want to touch her, all of her. I want to hold her in my arms. Protect her from the world. I lean over and kiss her on the forehead while she sleeps.

“Christian,” someone whispers over me. I lift my head off the side of the bed and see Kate standing over me.

“How is she?” She asks.

“The same. She’s having trouble coming out from under the anesthesia but the doctors said we shouldn’t worry. She’s hurt and her body needs time to heal,” I say. I already know these things. I’ve had them told to me before. Ana didn’t wake up for almost two days last time.

 

“I need to do an examination, Mr. Grey,” the doctor says as she enters. It’s been two hours since anyone has come into this room and I’m startled by the interruption. I stand and back three steps away to allow the doctor to get around the bed. This is as far as I’m going away from Anastasia’s side and I give the doctor a look that tells her I’m not to be trifled with. She listens to her breathing, checks her pupils, and takes all of her vitals. I watch as she stands and removes the stethoscope from her ears.

“I think we can take the intubation tube out now,” the doctor says.

“And that’s good, right?” I ask.

“That’s very good,” She smiles. “I’ll have an intern come in and remove it once I’m done here, if you’ll step out, Mr. Grey.”

“I’m not leaving,” I say sternly.

“Mr. Grey, I need to perform a vaginal exam on your wife, for privacy reasons, I need to ask you to please step outside.”

“Why do you need to do a vaginal exam?” I ask, suddenly cautious.

“It’s standard procedure in these situations, Mr. Grey. I need to do a rape kit.” The door opens and another doctor in blue scrubs enters pushing a tray of sterile instruments.

“I’m not going to leave,” I say again. The doctor frowns but accepts my position.

“Alright, Mr. Grey.”

They put Ana’s legs up in the stirrups and cover her with a blue paper blanket. I watch them probe her with cotton swabs and examine her. When they’re finished, one doctor collects and labels the samples, while the other doctor throws away the paper blanket and puts Ana back into a resting position. I take my place next to her bed and grab her hand again, desperately trying not to think of what a rape kit means.

“Is she any better?” My mother asks as she enters the room a little while later. I shake my head.

“The doctor, the doctor came and did a… a rape kit,” I say with difficulty.

“Oh, Christian. That’s just standard procedure. It’s more to rule out the possibility than anything. Don’t worry until there is something to worry about,” She says.

“I just… I just can’t stop thinking about it. What if he…”

“Then it will have been a horrible trauma that Ana has faced and she’ll need all our love and support to move on. For you too, Christian. We’re all here for you too.”

“Where’s Teddy?” I ask.

“He’s with Kate. They’ve gone home for the night. I’d just thought I’d check in on Ana and you before I headed home too. Can I get you anything?”

I shake my head.

“Why don’t you come home with me? You could use a good night’s rest after this horrific week and they’ll call us if anything changes in Ana’s condition.”

“I’m not leaving. I’m going to be here when she wakes up.”

My mother’s brow furrows with worry, but she doesn’t push me any further.

“Ok darling, I love you. Try and get some sleep,” She says. She kisses my hair and quietly exits the room.

I’m awoken the next morning by my blackberry buzzing in my pocket. Shit, what time is it? I look up to Ana, but she’s still asleep. I wonder when it will be time to worry? I pull out my phone and walk to the window.

“Grey,” I answer.

“How is she doing?” Ros asks.

“She’s going to be okay,” I say. “She’s not good now, but she’s going to be okay.”

“I’m glad to hear it. I just wanted to call and tell you how sorry I am for this ordeal you’ve been through and to give you an update on GEH.”

Fuck, I haven’t even thought about work in days. What the fuck has been going on in my company?

“I’ve smoothed over the South Sudan deal and we’ll begin breaking ground there early next month. Our lawyers are negotiating a settlement deal with the Taiwanese but they’re trying to lowball us. They’re pretty damn pissed about that protection of assets clause in our contract.”

“I don’t give a fuck what they’re pissed about. I’m pissed about the millions of dollars in cargo and damaged vessels we’ve lost do to their inability to protect their own harbors from fucking pirates,” I say.

I can feel the CEO returning and it feels good. I feel in control. God I’ve missed this. I’ve needed this. I need to get back to work as soon as possible. I look down at Anastasia. Once I can get her out of here, I’ll start working from home until she’s fully healed.

“CC me on the emails for the Taiwanese situation, Ros. I’m not going to let them fuck us over on this deal.”

“Sure thing, Christian,” Ros says. “And give Ana my best.”

“I will,” I say and I hang up the phone, but instead of putting it away, I begin dialing another number.

“Christian, is she okay?” Kate’s panicked voice asks.

“She’s fine. She still hasn’t woken up. I just wanted to call and ask how my son is doing.”

“Oh,” Kate breathes, relieved. “Teddy is great! Elliot has him on the playmat and they’ve been playing peek-a-boo for about twenty minutes.”

I feel a wave of jealousy rip through me. I miss him, my son. He’s been the only real comfort to me over this hellish week and a half and I’m never going to forget that. I yearn to have him near me now and I’m sure I always will. He is my talisman against the pain of loss and loneliness and I will cherish him forever.

“I miss him,” I admit. “I wish he could sit here with me and his mom.”

“The ICU is no place for babies, Christian. He could get really sick.”

“I know.”

“Ana will be up and around in no time and you three will have all the time in the world.” Kate promises.

“Thanks, Kate. Call me if you need me.”

“You too. I want to know the moment she wakes up.”

“I will,” I promise.

“Bye, Christian,” She says.

I hang up the phone. I’ve always had a difficult relationship with Kate. She’s bossy, and pushy, and too much like me. And she knows.. about my past. I’ve never been able to get over that. How easy it would be for her to let it slip to my brother and then my family would know. I hate that she knows. But now… I mean, she’s been so helpful with Teddy and the whole situation really. And she loves Ana. She really loves Ana. Can I really dislike someone who loves Ana so unconditionally? It seems wrong, unnatural. I’m going to have to let it go. I don’t know how, but I’m going to have to move past it and not worry about her knowing anymore.

There is a knock on the door and the doctor enters.

“Mr. Grey, I need to give you the test results,” She says.

“What test results?” I ask, panic returning. “Is everything okay? Is there a reason why she hasn’t woken up yet?”

“No, Mr. Grey. Mrs. Grey is improving every time we examine her. She’s faced a lot of trauma over the last few days and her brain needs time to rest and process. It’s a defense mechanism. She’ll wake, when she’s ready to wake.”

“So what’s the matter?”

“Mr. Grey, we’ve gotten the analysis back on the rape kit,” she says. Everything stops. The whole world fucking stops. My body freezes and time slows down as the weight of what’s coming hits me. Fuck. No! NO!

“Oh, no, Mr. Grey. I’m sorry if I frightened you. The results were negative. My only concern left for her is facing the trauma of what happened to her when she wakes up. I wanted to leave information for you about recovery. We have counselling services available as well as support groups that meet weekly, if she needs to talk.” She hands me a stack of pamphlets that I take automatically as I nod.

“I’m sorry your family is facing this horrible ordeal, Mr. Grey. Please, don’t hesitate to ask if you have questions or need anything. Anything at all, we’re right outside the door.”

I can’t reply. I can’t say or do anything. I want to drop to my knees, to thank god he didn’t… but it’s not enough to be thankful for. Why would I be thankful? My Anastasia, my beautiful Anastasia, is broken. In the hospital. I should be furious, hell I am furious.

I’m going to fucking kill him. I’m going to hunt him down and fucking kill him with my bare hands. I’m going to beat the shit out of him, beat him to fucking death.

The rage is building and I think the doctor senses that I need privacy because she backs quickly out of the room.

It’s all flooding over me again. I’m re-living the horror of finding her again. So he didn’t rape her, he still touched her. He still hit her. He still broke her. What am I going to do? I’m so fucking furious right now, I could break something, someone. I wish I hadn’t already destroyed Escala because I could do it again. I want to do it again. No, no that’s not what I want. I want to find the mother fucker who touched my wife and rip him apart. I pull out my blackberry and pound on the keys as I dial.

“Welch!” I growl furiously. “You need to find that fucker! I need you to do whatever you can to find out who the fuck he is and where the fuck he is! I don’t care what you have to do, I need you to fucking find him!”

“Yes sir, Mr. Grey. I’m working on it now. He’s a slippery son of a bitch and he knows what he’s doing to be able to avoid us so well, but I’ll find him, sir.”

I hang up the phone and collapse into the chair, my hands running furiously through my hair as I try to reign in the anger. By the time, I’ve calmed myself enough to focus, I’m distracted again by a high pitched sound. There are two quick beeps, like a cell phone tone, but my phone is on vibrate. I look around the room, trying to find the sound and my eyes fall on the clear plastic bag that hold Anastasia’s torn, bloody clothes the police haven’t picked up yet. I cross the room in two quick steps, tear open the bag, and pull out a stained olive green jacket. I probe the pockets and freeze again as my fingers clasp over something small and hard. I pull out another pre-paid cell phone and open it, there is one unread text message.

Thank you for your cooperation Mr. Grey. I’ll see you again very soon.

I close and grip the phone tightly and hurl it against the far wall. It shatters and the pieces skitter across the linoleum floor.

Yes, you’ll see me soon, you motherfucker. You’ll see me really fucking soon.

I turn back to the window but I’m distracted when I hear a low groan behind me. I turn and see Anastasia, wincing with pain but moving.

“Christian?” she murmurs.

 

CHRISTIAN’S POV

7 weeks later

 

I have her, beneath me. She’s pinned, her knees held apart by mine and her hands tied to the bed post. We’re fucking, hard. I dive into her again and again. Fuck, she feels good.

“Ah!” she cries.

That’s it baby, feel me. I want to make her come. I want her to come so hard she loses herself, loses all coherency. I pound harder knowing her orgasm is coming.

“Fuck, ah!” she cries again and I feel her insides start to quiver. Oh yes, baby. That’s it, give it to me.

“Come for me Ana, I want to feel you come for me,” I command, and she screams my name as her orgasm rips through her. Jesus christ, I love feeling her squeeze around me as she succumbs to the ecstasy. I thrust so hard, part of my mind wonders if I’m going to bruise her pelvic bone. I don’t care, I detonate and pour myself into her.

 

Shit! I sit up in bed and throw the duvet back, feeling around the sheets. Oh thank fuck, I didn’t come. Since Ana’s been home, my nightmares have disappeared but they’ve been replaced by graphic, erotic dreams where I wake up a sticky fucking mess. It’s humiliating. The first time Ana had been understanding, the second time, she laughed at me for the entire morning. After that she didn’t laugh anymore.

“Jesus, Christian!” She yelled at me when I told her I needed to help her out of the bed so Mrs. Jones could change the sheets again. “If you want sex this badly, make love to me!”

She was frustrated, she still is. I haven’t touched her yet. She’s too fragile. I’m afraid I’ll break her. It’s been three weeks since she got home from the hospital and she’s doing much better. Her bruises have faded away and the scars from her surgery are no longer pink. Her ribs are still painful though and she’s having a difficult time walking with the pain in her barely healed ankle.

I move out of the bed, careful not to wake her, and head for the bathroom, grateful once again that my dreams remained dry. It’s not that I don’t want to make love to her. Fuck, I’d give anything to take her. It’s been four months now. Four fucking months since I’ve been inside my wife. It’s so fucking depressing. But she’s hurt. I don’t want to hurt her. I see her wince every time she moves, hear the gasp of pain escape her lips when she takes too deep of a breath. Rage starts to build in me again. It’s been seven weeks since I found Ana in that fish storage warehouse and neither the police, nor my team still hasn’t been able to track down, who I suspect is going to end up being John Lincoln. I’m considering approaching Elena, that bitch abetted whoever it is afterall, but I don’t want Ana to know I’ve seen her. I don’t want her to know what I almost did. What the fuck was I thinking? A wave of revulsion sweeps over me and I cringe.

I didn’t do it. I didn’t even touch her. I never really wanted it, it was all the grief driving me mad. I didn’t do it. I repeat the mantra as I stare disgustedly at myself in the mirror.

I take a shower and when I’m finished, I wrap a towel around myself and walk back into the bedroom.

“Jesus!” I yell, grasping the towel as I see Mrs. Jones sitting on the bed with Ana. She’s holding Teddy and she has her breast out, trying to coax him to latch. I look away as the sight of her breast brings back my erotic dream.

“I’m sorry, Mrs. Grey. I think he was on a bottle too long. He not going to back to breast feeding.”

Ana stares down at our son, frustrated. “I’m not ready to give this up yet,” she says.

“Gail!” I interrupt, wondering why they both seem to be oblivious to the fact I’m standing here in a fucking towel.

“I’m sorry, Mr. Grey,” she says as she climbs off my bed. She turns back to Ana and reaches out for the baby. “I’ll give him a bottle.”

“Bring it up to me. I want to feed him,” she says.

“Yes, Mrs. Grey,” Gail replies and disappears from the room. I shake my head and pull a pair of boxer briefs out of my dresser and head into the closet. I’m dressed in a charcoal colored suit, a white shirt, and a blue silver tie when I return to the bedroom. Ana looks up at me and frowns.

“Where are you going?” she asks. She’s got a bottle in her hands and she’s feeding Teddy.

I sit on the edge of the bed and reach out to brush our son’s hair, smiling to have him back in his mother’s arms.

“I’ve got a deposition downtown. The Taiwan thing,” I say distractedly.

“It’s a Saturday,” Ana replies, her tone reflecting her displeasure.

“Which is why I’m extremely irritated to be leaving you, Mrs. Grey,” I say, leaning over to kiss her. She stops me by raising her hand in front of my face.

“I don’t want you to go,” she whispers. “I want you to stay home and make love to me.” My face falls and I run my hands through my hair while I try to form a response.

“Please, Christian,” she begs, her voice so soft its barely a whisper. I reach out and take the hand she holds up in front of my face and softly kiss each one of her fingertips.

“I’ve got to go, baby. I’ll see you in a few hours.”

Her face falls as I climb out of the bed and close the bedroom door behind me.

The deposition takes longer than I thought and it pisses me off. The Taiwanese government is attempting to counter-sue us for breach of contract. There is a responsibility of title party provision in the protection of assets clause that mandates the Taiwan government not be responsible for damaged or lost property if my company had been careless in protecting our own assets. I’m here to make a court documented statement recounting all of GEH’s protection measures put in place in Taiwan. The whole process takes three fucking hours and when I get home, I need a glass of wine. Gail pours one for me and I drink it gratefully. I turn and see the nanny sitting on the couch with Teddy so I walk over to her and reach out for him.

“There he is,” I say as I scoop him into my arms, but as I do he begins to cry.

“What’s wrong with him?” I ask, my fierce gaze turning down to the nanny. He feels very warm and his face is flushed.

“I think he’s getting sick, Mr. Grey,” she says.

“Have you called a doctor?” I demand.

“No, its just a cold. He’ll be fine in a few days.”

“Are you a doctor?” I ask incredulously, my irritation growing.

“No, Mr. Grey.”

“You’re fired,” I snap and turn towards the kitchen. “Gail, will you take Teddy and put him down? And call my mother and have her come look at him.”

“Yes, Mr. Grey,” She says, taking him from me. I watch after them, wondering if I should go sit with my sick baby until my mother gets here. I will, but I need to go check on Ana first. Make sure she doesn’t need anything. I follow Gail up the stairs but turn into my own bedroom instead of the nursery. When I open the door, Ana isn’t there. I walk to Teddy’s bedroom.

“Gail, have you seen Ana?”

“She’s in her office, Mr. Grey.”

“What the fuck is she doing in there? Why is she out of bed?” I demand.

“I believe she’s working, sir,” Gail replies as she lays Teddy in his crib.

“Stay here with him until I get back,” I say and run back down the stairs to the back of the house where Ana’s office is.

“What are you doing in here?” I ask when I burst through the door.

“Come in, Mr. Grey,” she says flatly, not taking her eyes off the laptop in front of her. Her hair is piled on top of her head in a messy bun. She’s wearing one of my t-shirts and a pair of leggings.

“You need to be in bed.”

She looks up and smiles at me wickedly. “I’d be willing to let you take me to bed.”

“You need your rest.”

Her face crinkles and she looks back down at her computer. “Sorry, Mr. Grey. I simply have too much work to do.”

“For the love of god, Anastasia!” I yell in frustration, my hands combing through my hair.

“Is it because of what he did to me?” She asks suddenly. “Do you think I’m defiled now? He didn’t touch me, Christian, I swear! Not like that. I’m still yours. I’m still only yours!”

My heart stops and I look back at her, incredulity and pain color my face.

“No, Anastasia! God no! You’re not defiled, you’re perfect! I don’t care about that– No.. No, I do care… I want you, Anastasia. I want you so bad, I come all over myself when I fucking sleep next to you! Jesus!” I lean over her placing my hands on each one of the armrests of her chair. “I will never not want you. You are my everything. I’m just afraid, if I touch you, I’ll hurt you.”

She grabs my tie and pulls my mouth down to hers. Her fingers reach into my hair and hold me in place while her tongue explores my mouth. I groan as I allow myself to kiss her, really kiss her for the first time since she’s been home. My cock hardens as she deepens the kiss, taking me ruthlessly.

“Please,” She gasps when she pulls away and I can no longer resist her. She sees it in my eyes and she reaches for my belt. I grasp her hands, stopping her as I look down at her with blazing eyes.

“No,” I say. “Not here. I want you in my bed.” I reach down and scoop her up into my arms. She gasps with pain as I pull her close to me and I freeze, my resolve wavering.

“It’s fine,” she says. “I’m fine.” She pulls me into another deep kiss. I growl as I pull away from her and bound across the room, racing through the house and up the stairs as quickly as I can with her in my arms.

When I enter the bedroom, I lay her down on the bed. She’s already panting with desire. We waste no time pulling off our clothes. By the time I’m out of my jacket, shirt and tie, Anastasia is unclasping her bra. When I see her breasts break free, I lunge at them, taking one of her nipples into my mouth and rolling my tongue around it while my hand gently pinches and rolls the other one.

“Fuck, Christian,” she moans and her hands fly into my hair. I sink my teeth gently into her nipple and she cries out, the sound going straight to my aching cock. The strain against my pants is unbearable and I reach down to release my erection. Her hand flies out and grasps me and I feel my breath hitch in my throat. Fuck, I’m not going to last very long. I begin to pull her leggings off her, thankful she’s wearing something so easy for me to get into and in one swift motion, she’s naked. Yes, I have needed this. Just looking at my wife’s beautiful naked body is enough to unravel me but I can’t allow myself release. She needs to come first. She always comes first.

I reach out and my fingers find her clitoris and I being swirling them around. She gasps again at the delicious contact. Fuck, she’s so gloriously wet. I could take her now. I want to take her now. I dip my fingers into her, swirling them around. She squirms and I place my free hand on top of her to hold her down.

“Christian, please,” She begs. “Please, I need you inside of me.” I groan and take her nipple back into my mouth.

“Take me, Christian,” she says and I can wait no more. I shake the pants hanging around my knees to the floor and climb out of them. I tear off my shoes and socks and push Ana farther unto the bed and climb after her. Grasping myself, ready to plunge into her, I pause and look down into her lust filled blue eyes.

“If I hurt you, you’ll tell me to stop,” I say, commanding rather than asking.

“Yes,” she breathes, and I force myself into her. Holy fuck, it’s heaven. I nearly lose control as the hot wetness of her clenches around me. Fuck, she’s tight. Really fucking tight. This is home, where I belong. Buried inside my wife. She gasps as I enter her and I freeze.

“Are you okay?” I ask through gritted teeth.

“Yes,” She responds. “It’s just been a while. I’m fine. It’s good. It’s so good, Christian. Keep going.”

I pull out and ease back into her, enjoying every inch of her.

“Gah!” she yells out and I’m in ecstasy. Again and again I ease out of her.

“Faster Christian, harder,” she begs. I hesitate for a moment before I pick up momentum. Holy fuck this feels so good. My thrusts become more urgent as my worries dissipate under the pleasure. She’s not stopping me and I can’t stop myself from taking more of her.

“Fuck, Christian!” She cries and I know she’s getting close. That’s it baby, let me bring you to the edge. Feel that baby? Feel how perfect we fit together? You were made for me baby, and I was made for you. Her insides start to quiver and I know her orgasm is building.

“Give it to me, baby. Come for me,” I demand and she does, screaming my name as she writhes beneath me. I lean down and kiss her, taking her screams of pleasure into my mouth. I can control myself no longer.

“Ana, oh god. Fuck, Ana!” I yell and I come violently, harder than I remember ever coming before. It’s bewildering, the pleasure that courses through me as I pound into her again and again, pouring myself into her. When at last my orgasm comes to an end, I lie over her, supporting my weight on my elbows. We’re both panting. She reaches her hands up and grasps my face, kissing me deeply again. I kiss her back eagerly, pouring all the love I feel for this woman into this one point of intimate contact.

I roll over and wrap my arms gently around her, still reeling from my powerful orgasm.

“You didn’t use a condom,” she says breaking into my reverie.

“No,” I said.

“I’m not on the shot.”

“Good,” I say, too incoherent to speak more than one syllable at a time.

“You want more children?” she asks. I nod.

There is a brief knock on the door and my mother enters the room.

“Christian I’ve just… Oh god!” She screams as both Ana and I reach for the duvet at the bottom of the bed. She turns and runs from the room, her face burning with embarrassment.

I turn and look at Anastasia, horrified and she looks back at me with shock until her face melts into a smile and she bursts in laughter. I can’t help it, the joy on her face, for the first time in weeks, melts me and I join her. She rolls over, laying her head on my chest as we both laugh uncontrollably.