Christian woke up from the most comfortable sleep he'd had in a long time. It was so foreign sleeping in an actual bed with a mattress rather than the cramped bunks of the naval quarters on the ship. He stretched and threw on some trousers and a shirt before going to relieve himself and brushing his teeth.
He could smell something delicious wafting through the air from downstairs. God, this woman's a fantastic cook. She'd plagued his dreams last night - vivid fantasies of him taking Ana out to sea with him on his ship and showing her the world. Kissing her and making love to her under the stars. Ana Steele was affecting him in a way that no woman ever had before and he couldn't wait to spend more time with her.
He walked down the stairs with a smile on his face and into the kitchen but his face soured when he saw Jack, sat at the table in his boxer shorts, reading the paper. The man was disgusting. His wife looked so beautiful in a floral cotton dress, her hair brushed into a ponytail as she cooked and he couldn't even be bothered putting on a pair of trousers.
"Good morning," Christian announced his presence and two sets of eyes set on him. A beautiful blue pair and a hungover green pair.
"Good morning," Ana smiled softly at him turning her head slightly and he smiled back. He looked so handsome. She'd almost forgotten just how devastating the captain was over night.
"Good morning, captain," Jack responded and kicked out a chair for Christian to sit on. "Sit, the wife's making us something to eat."
Christian sat down, not daring to look at the man next to him for fear he wouldn't be able to keep his breakfast down. Ana smiled as she put Jack's breakfast in front of him and he didn't even look up from his paper. He didn't say a word. Christian gritted his teeth and glared at the man. Could this man not even thank his wife for feeding him?
"Here you are captain," Ana smiled, putting his breakfast in front of him. She'd made him a boiled egg with some toast cut into columns. He gave her a beaming smile and she blushed under his gaze.
"I thought that a naval captain might appreciate the English delicacy of eggs and soldiers," she smiled shyly. Christian laughed. She was so thoughtful.
"Thank you, this looks delicious," he demolished his breakfast quickly, enjoying every bite. He looked up at her and was surprised to notice that she wasn't eating. She needed to eat. She looked at him and smiled.
"Enjoy?" she asked, looking at his empty plate and then back up at his face.
"It was fantastic," he smiled, rubbing his stomach in a show of satisfaction. She giggled and the sound was music to his ears.
"I'm glad," And told him.
Christian sat back and watched her husband devour his food. He really was repulsive, he wasn't even using a knife and fork, he was just shovelling the breakfast in his mouth as fast as he could. He finished, and pushed his plate away from him, a signal that seemed to translate as 'Ana, come and take my dish and wash it' because as soon as he pushed it away, she was there, taking his plate and asking if he enjoyed it.
"It was burnt," he said and she sighed. Nothing was ever good in his book. She could make him a gourmet dinner and it would still have fault just because she'd cooked it. She noticed Christian frowning at her husbands words and quickly went to the sink.
"I'm sorry," Ana replied scooping what Jack hadn't eaten into the bin and licking her finger when she got a little bit of sauce on it. He stood up, sliding his chair back.
"I'm going to get ready for work, maybe while I'm gone you can try to look presentable Anastasia. You have food on your face," Jack smirked, sauntering off upstairs.
Christian watched Ana as she stood at the sink. Her hands were balled in fists, her eyes clenched shut and her lip quivering. He knew what he needed to do, he couldn't suppress it any longer. His chair scraped back and her whole body was a tuned to him. Her heartbeat quickened as she listened to his feet pad along the kitchen tiles towards her.
She felt him behind her. He stayed a few inches away for a only a matter of seconds but it felt like hours. She was both excited by his presence and wary of her husband. He moved forward and their bodies fit together, her front to his back. His hands gripped the work surface on either side of her balled ones and she closed her eyes again at the sensation of him against her.
His body was making her tingle, his smell was surrounding her and his arms were making her feel so safe, trapping her against the work surface and saving her from her husband. She felt his warm breath on her neck and almost stopped breathing. Every nerve was awakened and she knew that she was aroused. She'd never felt aroused before. Her husband never attracted her, it was a marriage of convenience, not of love and she only endured the quick, painful sex to keep her husband happy.
Christian brought her senses to the surface, she felt like she could breath as long as he was near. He made her feel things that she never had before; longing, arousal, lust. His lips moved closer to her ear and her body felt weak. She noticed his hands gripping the work surface tightly and knew that he must have felt the same way. The tension in the air was so thick that one spark would set them off. His warm breath was on her ear, she knew she was panting and clenching her thighs together, but she couldn't help herself. Then, he breathed three words in her ear that turned her to a mess.
"You look beautiful," he breathed. It was true. He couldn't stay away from her if he tried and he was amazed and thrilled that she was letting him get this close to her - letting him give her comfort.
She knew it was to counteract those harsh words Jack had said earlier but the effect of those words made her both happy and sad. It was a wonderful thing to know that there was someone out there, somewhere, who thought she was beautiful. He had complimented her food, he had defended her against Jack and Jose and he hadn't pulled his hand away when she was needing comfort last night.
She felt safe when he was around. But right now, she wanted nothing more than to grind her hips into his; put his hands on her body and have him kiss and touch her everywhere. And she couldn't, and that was what made her feel sad.
She was married and that thought sobered her inappropriate thoughts. The sound of footsteps coming down the stairs startled them. Christian moved away from her to sit back down at the table and she stayed at the work surface, aroused and disarmed. She was a married woman and no matter how her husband treated her, he deserved her respect, even if she didn't get it in return. She had to stop this. She had to stop thinking about Christian. She met him yesterday and he was already making her doubt everything she knew.
Christian meanwhile was having similar thoughts. He was hard as rock and was trying to will his erection to go down but it was no use - not when the woman of his dreams was stood less than ten feet away from him. He couldn't believe how risky that was - he was seconds away from rocking his hips into hers, kissing away her pain and her husband could have walked in at any moment.
Jack walked into the room none the wiser that anything had just happened between the captain and his wife. He was dressed now and shaved but the smell of alcohol still followed him everywhere.
"I'm leaving, I'll be home for dinner but I'm going back out with Jose later," Jack said, buttoning the last few buttons on his mining gear.
"Ok," Ana said, "have a good day," he ignored her and turned his attention to Christian.
"Fancy a drink later, Captain? You could just have a cola or something soft if you don't want a real drink. You could come and meet the boys?" Jack asked. Christian could think of nothing worse than going for a drink with Ana's drunken husband and meeting his 'friends'.
"I'll think about it and let you know,"Christian stated. Jack nodded and left, whistling on his way out and leaving the two of them alone.
The tension was palpable. Every time they were alone it got stronger and stronger. She heard his chair scrape back and even that simple movement affected her. She had to stop this, now.
"Christian?" she turned to look at him, stood by the table with a heart breaking, bright white smile gracing his face. She couldn't help but smile back at him.
"Yes?" he replied, his gray eyes twinkling at her. She blushed under his gaze and almost lost her trail of thought - almost.
"We need to talk, I'm married. I don't know what happened just now but, it can't happen again," his face fell and so did her heart.
"I'm so sorry, I made you uncomfortable didn't I? I'm sorry, Ana," he was panicking. The last thing he wanted to do was make her feel uncomfortable but she rushed to reassure him.
"No! You didn't make me feel like uncomfortable at all. But, no matter how my husband treats me, I'm a married woman." Christian nodded solemnly. She was right.
"I understand, I'm sorry," he replied.
"Please don't apologize," she told him as he nodded and started to walk towards the kitchen door. She was too tempting to be around.
"I'm going for a run and to explore if that's ok? I've only been to Britain once before and I want to see how its changed," his expression was neutral and she knew he was hurt by what she'd just said.
"I could come with you if you'd like?" Ana said softly.
"It's ok, I'm only exploring the town and having a bit of fresh air, I'll be back soon," he told her. He had to get out of here and clear his mind. He needed to get his thoughts under control. Ana could feel his distancing himself from her and she didn't like it. She felt like someone was standing on her chest as a dull ache arose. She wished she hadn't said anything, at least then she'd still have a slice of happiness in the form of Christian Grey to make her life a little bit more bearable.
He knew he needed to distance himself from this woman. He felt so much for her after only a day and her words had put everything into perspective. She was married and he was leaving on another naval mission to protect the allies against the enemy in a few weeks. She had a husband and he had to respect that, he had to distance himself before he felt anything more for her. He had to pull himself away before he did any damage.
"I really would like to come with you, Christian. I never get leave the house, I'm never allowed to unless I'm going to the market," Ana whispered. He didn't know whether he wanted to go and punch her husband for making her his prisoner or hug her. Both would leave lasting consequences so he decided instead to use his words.
"If you'd like to come, then I'd be happy for you to accompany me," he smiled and she returned it. She was excited, that much was obvious. Being cooped up in the house for so long didn't do much for your state on mind.
"I'll go and grab my coat," she skipped towards the coat rack and Christian smiled at he followed her. Her excitement was heart warming and he was pleased that she wasn't mad at him about what happened earlier. If she wanted to spend the day with him then he'd be more than happy to oblige her.
Stepping outside with Christian was foreign. The world was an ugly place filled with criminals and a war was being fought on the continent but standing next to him, she felt like nothing could hurt her. He was tall and strong and she knew that while she was with him, nothing would happen to her. She was safe for as long as he was here with her; nothing could hurt her, not even her husband. She slipped her arm into his as they walked and he almost stopped in his tracks. She gulped, wondering if she'd done something wrong and went to remove it but he put a hand over hers.
"Where would you like to go?" she asked him.
"Where would you recommend?" he replied. He was so proud to have her on his arm - he didn't care where they went as long as she was with him.
"There's a park around the corner if you want to go and run or there's some shops in the town square," Ana said.
"The park sounds nice, do you want to go there?"
"I'll go anywhere," with you she wanted to add. They walked, arm in arm, down to the park in a world of their own, laughing and talking animatedly.
There were children playing and Ana was shocked by the normality of their outing. They looked like a regular couple, arms linked, chatting and laughing. It was never like this with Jack. He'd keep his distance from her, laughing with his friends whilst she trailed along behind them carrying his coat like a carthorse and wishing she could just run away.
"We should have brought some bread and we could have fed the ducks," Christian exclaimed and Ana giggled, smacking him lightly on the arm.
"There's a war on you know, everything is rationed. We don't have enough spare to feed to ducks,"
"Ducks need to eat too," Christian pointed out and she smiled at him.
"Very good point, Captain. I'll be sure to deliver my weekly bread ration straight to the duck pond from now on." Christian let out a hearty laugh. The sound made her whole body feel warm.
They carried on walking down the duck pond until Ana heard her name being called. She panicked not wanting to turn around incase it was one of Jack's friends and tightened her grip on Christian's arm. She heard her name being called more clearly and she immediately recognised the voice.
"Kate?" Ana turned to see her best friend barrelling towards her and pulling her into a massive hug.
"I'm so happy to see you. I can't believe you're out here, I've missed you so much. I tried to come around but your brute of a husband came out of your house and threatened me. I argued with him but you know what he's like. Are you ok? Are you safe?" Kate was holding her so tight that she could hardly breath. Ana had no idea that her friend had come to try and see her.
"I'm fine, Kate. I missed you too, so much," they pulled back and were grinning widely at each other. Kate turned her attention to the man next to Ana and her draw dropped open and her eyes bugged out.
"Kate this is Captain Christian Grey. Captain, this is my friend Kate." Christian stuck his hand out for her to shake but she just continued to stare at him.
"Wow... I mean hi... I mean wow," Kate said, breathlessly looking at the good looking man. Ana thumped Kate in the arm which seemed to bring her back to earth. She felt jealousy flowing through her at her friends obvious ogling.
"Christian? Would you mind trying to find us a bench to sit on? I just need to speak to Kate for a moment." Christian nodded and smiled. He could see Ana practically turning green with jealousy at the look her friend was giving him. He wanted to tell her that Kate wasn't his type - he had a thing for brunette housewives with ocean blue eyes - but he knew right now wasn't the right time.
"Of course," he smiled at Kate, before walking away.
"Wow, Ana, that's the most handsome man I have ever seen in my life. How on earth are you at the park with him? Where's Jack? Wait, did you two split up? Because if you did that's one hell of an upgrade," Kate said excitedly.
"No, we didn't split up. Christian is our guest for the next few weeks, a room at our house was requested by the foreign office,"
"Oh, well, I never got a letter or I'd have taken him in. I'm so jealous of you getting to look that man everyday," Kate smirked at Ana who was secretly thanking the lord for sending her the letter rather than her friend.
"I've missed you so much, Kate."
"We'll find a way to see each other, Ana. We always do. Now get back to your handsome captain before someone tries to grab him." Ana laughed and walked over to Christian who was watching the ducks swim around in the water.
"You miss it, don't you?" Ana asked, sitting beside him.
"Yes," he nodded, "It's strange being away from the water, I miss it a lot,"
"I'd love to go out on the water, I've never even been out of the country." Christian turned to face her, giving her the soft smile that made her heart flutter.
"Maybe one day your husband will take you," he suggested, but who was he kidding. Her husband wouldn't even say good night to her, he really couldn't see him taking her on a trip out to sea. Christian wanted to tell her that he'd happily take her out to sea - he'd show her the world and make her happy but it all came back to one thing - she was married.
"Maybe..." she said wistfully.
"Well, maybe we should get back," Christian smiled, wanting to lighten the mood after the mention of Jack. Ana nodded and grabbed his arm.
They arrived at the house and Christian took his coat and shoes off before opening the door for Ana.
"Is there any chance I can run myself a bath or have a shower?" he asked. He liked to keep himself fresh, even when he was out at sea.
Ana's mouth went dry at the thought of a sopping wet Captain Christian Grey in the shower.
"Erm.. of course," she stuttered, trying to clear her head of her thoughts.
Haven't you only just told the man that he can't be close to you like he was before and you're thinking about what it would be like to watch him wash himself in the shower? Her subconscious reprimanded her.
"It's the first door on the right, I'll show you how to work it," he followed her to the ground floor bathroom, his eyes glued to her hips. What he wouldn't give for her to join him in the shower. He would retire from the navy right now and never set sail on the seas again just to have the chance to show her how this beautiful woman how she should be treated. Just one chance to pleasure her and take away the pain that Jack had caused her for years.
She bent over to turn the knobs on the shower and he had to stifle a groan. Her body enticed him like no other. She was too alluring for her own good and she didn't even realise it. Her confidence had been knocked by him and her self worth. She turned the knobs as Christian tried to control himself. He could feel his trousers becoming tighter and he had to will himself to calm down. She was married, she wasn't his and he wasn't hers no matter how much he it.
"Here, that switch makes it warmer and that one makes it cooler, would you like the radio on? I always listen to the radio during the day." Christian nodded. He always put the radio on when he was on his ship.
"I'd love to hear what British radio broadcasts have to offer," he smirked and she giggled.
She went into the kitchen to put the radio on, loud enough so he could hear. He climbed under the shower head and his muscles relaxed under the gentle rain. A familiar song was playing on the radio, his mother used to sing it sometimes when she was cooking. He couldn't help but start to sing the words, it reminded him of home even if he was so far away.
Ana was across the hall in the kitchen, sitting down and listening to Fred Astaire's vibrant voice when she heard another male voice join in. She giggled when she heard Christian start to sing from in the shower to the familiar song.
"Lovely ... Don't you ever change
Keep that breathless charm
Won't you please arrange it? 'Cause I love you
a-just the way you look tonight
Mm, Mm, Mm, Mm,
Just the way you look tonight"
The song ended and she decided to stand at the end of the short hallway containing the utility closet and the bathroom and give him a round of applause for his performance.
"Bravo, Captain, what a lovely voice you have," she called.
"Thank you, Ana. I perform a range of songs while in the shower so you'll have to tell me your favourite," Ana giggled and went to sit down again. She heard the shower stop and then, he was shuffling around drying himself.
"Ana?!" he called.
"Yes?"
"Will you please grab me some clothes from my room? I didn't bring any I here with me?"
"Of course," she hurried upstairs and into his room. The smell of him was everywhere and she wanted to bottle it and take it with her always. She saw the aftershave he used on the side and lifted the cap to take a whiff of the Smoky scent that caressed her senses every time he walked past her.
She found his clothes in a neat pile and grinned at the thought of getting to pick what he wore today. She settled on a pair of black trousers and a dark blue jumper. She loved seeing him in blue - it brought out the colour of his beautiful eyes.
She hurried back downstairs and dropped them outside the door of the bathroom. She almost wanted to stay just to see him open the door in just his towel but thought against it. That was temptation and would awaken thoughts she was trying to supress.
"They're outside the door," she shouted before going back out into the kitchen. He emerged a few moments later, hair damp, stubble gone and a glint in his eyes that always appeared when he saw her.
"What should I do with my dirty clothes?" he asked.
"I'll put them in the washer later."
"Are you sure? I'd be happy to do it," he smiled but she shook her head.
"Don't worry, I'm happy to wash them for you," she took his clothes, putting them in the washing pile and they sat and listened to the radio for the afternoon, occasionally chatting and enjoying each others company.
Jack came home around six, he was grubby and grumpy as usual not that Ana or Christian expected anything different. He already had a beer in his hand and Christian wondered how on earth he managed to get so much alcohol in a war, on a miners salary. Ana was struggling with ingredients from dinner but her husband was splashing out of beer. He dragged his chair out without saying a word and sat down.
"Hi, honey, would you like some tea?" Ana asked sweetly.
"I'd like to know why you were out at the park today, Anastasia?" Jack growled and Ana gulped.
"I..I was er..." Christian could hear the panic in her voice and decided to step in and speak for her.
"She was showing me around, Jack. I asked her to come with me and show me a few places where I could run," Christian responded, Jack looked at Christian, his eyes squared, assessing him.
"Captain, would you mind leaving my wife and I alone for a minute? I need a word with her," the menacing tone in Jack's voice terrified Ana and glued Christian to his chair. He wasn't going to move and let anything happen to her. He needed to protect her from Jack. He looked at Ana and she moved her eyes towards the door, silently telling him to leave. When he didn't move she did it more vigorously, pleading with him to leave and make things easier.
"Sure, Jack, I'll be upstairs," Christian conceded. Jack nodded and the captain sloped upstairs.
He walked into his room and waited... he didn't know what he was waiting for, a bang? Raised voices? Anything that would alert him that Ana was in danger. One minute turned into five minutes which turned into half an hour. He was restless, his foot tapping on the floor and his mind debating whether or not to go downstairs.
Christian still hadn't heard a word until he heard Ana's soft voice call him down for dinner. He went downstairs and everything looked fine, the kitchen was tidy, Ana was preparing the meal over the stove and Jack was reading the paper, still in his grubby clothes. Christian sat down and Jack looked at him.
"You want to go for that drink later, Captain? They do non-alcoholic beer if you don't drink?"
Ana was surprised to hear that Christian didn't drink and very pleased. At least she wouldn't have to deal with another drunk in the house. She'd wondered why he hadn't asked for anything alcoholic since she'd come to their house. That was the first thing Jack wanted when he got home; a beer or a whiskey, whichever he could afford at the time.
"I'm not sure that's a good idea, I have to keep my fitness up and I haven't gone on a run yet so I was planning to later on." Christian replied. In reality, he just didn't want to spend anytime with Jack or his drunk friends.
"Suit yourself," Jack said. He went back to reading his paper, not noticing Christian's jaw drop open and eyes widen when Ana turned around. She had hand marks on her throat, harsh red marks that would most likely turn to bruises. Her beautiful face was wet with tears. How the hell had he not heard that? He wanted to break every bone in Jack's smug face - he wanted to kill him for hurting Ana.
"What the hell happened?! What did you do to her?" Christian threw his chair back, prepared to fight Jack. Jack looked up from his paper and then at Ana. Christian could see a spiral of fear in the man's eyes.
"Calm down, Captain. I didn't do anything right, Ana?" she nodded her head vigorously, turning to Christian and pleading with him to let it go. Christian shook his head, he couldn't let this go on any longer. He couldn't let Ana live in fear of her husband. He couldn't stand by and watch Jack get away with putting his hands around his wife's throat.
"You hurt her! You bastard! How dare you lay your hands on her like that!" Christian shouted. He clenched his fists and glared at the man in front of him with fire in his eyes.
Jack shoved his chair back and stared at the man in front of him. Christian was taller by an inch or two, he was muscular, his arms were massive and his hands were balled at his sides showing his anger. He was clenching his teeth, his face almost purple and Jack knew he wouldn't win this fight. Even he wasn't stupid enough to try and fight Captain Christian Grey.
"Captain, what I do with my wife, in my home, is my business and mine alone. She's told you that I didn't do anything, so please calm down and eat," Jack placated trying to calm the captain. Christian scoffed.
"You expect me to believe that?" he roared. He was beyond angry, all he could see was Jack's finger marks on Ana's neck.
"You're a guest in my house. It is my house and what I say happened is what happened," Jack said simply. Christian grabbed Jack by the scruff of his neck, lifting him off the floor and shoving him against the wall. His feet were dangling and his face was level with Christian's.
"Tell me the truth!" Christian spat.
"Stop it, Captain! Put him down," Ana ran towards them and tried to tug at Christian's arm but he was too strong.
"Please, stop." Ana begged, fresh tears pouring down her face as she tried desperately to separate the men.
Christian turned to look at Ana. Her eyes were red from crying and she was pleading with him to stop. She was so beautiful and he knew, at that moment, he'd do anything for her. Even if it meant not beating the shit out of her husband. He dropped Jack from his grasp and moved away from the scene. Jack was panting, his eyes wide looking back at Christian.
"Ok, I think we all just need to calm down now, please sit Captain, I don't want any trouble." Jack had his hands up in surrender as Christian stared him out. He didn't say a word, but he did sit down making Jack release a breath of relief. He sat down, a little shaken from the ordeal and picked up his newspaper once more.
"Here,"Ana handed Jack his meal and then passed another plate to Christian. He noticed the bruises on her wrist and felt the anger flare up inside of him once more. But he'd promised Ana he'd stop and he wasn't about to scare her like her husband did.
"This looks incredible," Christian smiled at Ana.
"Thank you, Captain," Ana took a seat next to Christian once again rather than next to her husband and started to eat.
Christian could tell that Jack was biting his tongue to stop himself from making a sarcastic comment about the meal. If he made a comment, Christian didn't think he'd be able to stop himself from throwing Jack through the wall and into the next house. They ate in silence, Jack continued to read the newspaper as he ate and Christian glared at Jack between mouthfuls of stew.
Jack finished first, shoving the plate into the middle of the table and Ana picked it up straight away, leaving her own meal to put it in the sink. Jack still didn't say a word. By now, Ana would have expected to have been ridiculed about how useless she was and how bad of a cook she was. She would have been subject to comments about her clothing, her hair, the way she cooked. But Christian's intimidation had seemed to silence her loud and abrasive husband. When the doorbell rang signalling that Jose had arrived to pick Jack up, she'd never seen him so relieved to get out of the house.
"I'll be back late, I'll pick you up something Captain, a bottle maybe? As a peace offering," Jack said, clearly wanting to appease the captain.
"Thank you, Jack," Christian nodded.
Jack left the table without even acknowledging his wife and they both heard the door slam as he left. Christian stayed seated, unsure of what to do or whether his presence was welcome. He knew he'd probably just put her in a stressful position by attempting to hurt Jack and by her coming out today with him, she'd been hurt by her husband. He couldn't help but feel responsible.
Ana was washing the dishes at the sink when she felt Christian move from his chair. She was shaking and her neck was pulsating from her husbands grip. She knew that Christian wasn't stupid and would have worked out as soon as he walked into the room that her husband had attacked her. Despite that, she also couldn't bring herself to explain everything to him. She was on the verge of crying, her eyes were puffy and she ached all over.
"Ana," she heard his soft voice and it was like a balm to all of her pain. It was ridiculous to think that a man she had just met two days ago could have become something of a harbour to her but he had. And it wasn't right. He'd be gone in a few weeks leaving her alone again and that thought both saddened and terrified her. She didn't want him to go.
"I'm fine," her voice was hoarse and her throat was dry. She heard his shuffling towards her until he was behind her, just as he had been. She felt him, his presence, even without his touch.
He knew that she was anything but fine. Her body was shaking, she looked exhausted and like she was going to burst into tears at any moment. He just wanted to wrap her in her arms and comfort her but he knew he couldn't.
"Ana, please," he was pleading with her to open up, to let him help her and try to take the pain away but she couldn't. She was too emotional, too tired of being treated like a slave by her husband and his friends, tired of being steamrolled by him and insulted by him.
She'd built up a wall to deflect his words long ago but over the last few days it had come tumbling down brick by brick. She couldn't remember the last time she'd cried but she was on the brink of a full blown emotional breakdown.
"Ana," he said again, his hand reaching to touch her. But she couldn't allow him. If he touched her, she'd be lost. She'd throw herself into his arms and sob on his shoulder. She'd tell him all of her secrets, bare her very soul to him and allow him into her head and she couldn't. He would be gone soon and she'd be alone again, as she always was.
"I'm fine, Christian," she whispered, washing the last dish.
"Please talk to me, Ana." He pleaded.
"I said I'm fine!" she spat, turning to face him, "Stop saying my name, Christian! Just leave me alone. I need to go and lie down," she stalked out of the Christian without another word.
Christian itched to go after her and hold her. She needed comfort and he wanted so badly to help her. But she wouldn't let him get close. She was open and then closed. She confused him so much but then, sometimes she was so transparent to him, like an open book, her actions told a story.
She hadn't wanted him to hurt Jack, not because Jack would be injured but because it would cause more trouble than it was worth. It was his fault that she'd been hurt, he should have stayed in the kitchen instead of going upstairs, he should have listened more closely or strangled Jack before he could raise a hand to his wife. But he hadn't and now she was physically and emotionally drained. He heard her sobbing into her pillow upstairs and knew he had to do something; anything to make her feel better.
Ana felt awful for shouting at Christian when all he was doing was trying to help her. It was like her anger took over at that moment and he was the object of her frustrations. For one moment, he was Jack to her, he was Jack and Jose and her mother and everyone else who had ever been hurtful towards her and she lashed out. She'd never felt like this before, so emotionally drained, so completely hopeless. She sobbed like she'd never sobbed before, crying into her pillow until her tears stopped falling. She just lay there, wondering how she'd ever be happy when everything around her made her so sad.
Before she'd met Christian, she thought it was just normal for men to be disrespectful towards their wives. The only other couples she knew were her mother and father, but her father was always working away so she didn't know him too well. A knock on the door startled her from her musing.
"Erm... hi," he was nervous, a shy smile graced his face and her heart sped up at the sight of him.
He was so handsome and he cared for her more than anyone else had before. Why couldn't he stay forever and take her away from this place? Why couldn't she have met him first when she was eighteen instead of Jack.
"I know you don't want to talk to me, and that's fine, but I made you a cup of tea and a slice of your cake. My mother always said that the best way to make a woman feel better is to give her sugar so..." he smiled again shyly, nervously and she found herself smiling back at him. He placed the tray down and went to leave when she grabbed his hand.
"Thank you," she whispered, squeezing his hand, "I'm sorry I shouted at you. I shouldn't have, you did nothing wrong." Christian smiled at her softly and squeezed her hand before letting go. He was glad to see a little colour back in her face and she was no longer shaking.
"Sometimes everything just gets on top of us and we need to get our frustrations out. We all go through that Ana, we're only human." Christian shrugged and she nodded.
"I'll leave you to rest, call me if you need anything, I'll stay downstairs out of your way," he started to walk towards the door and away from her but she didn't want him to leave. She wanted to spend as much time with him as she could while she could. She knew that she felt something for him, she knew that she should keep her distance but her heart wanted to pull him closer and never let him go.
"Don't leave, will you just sit here with me for a while and tell me a story about your travels? I want to imagine that I'm with you, that I've left here and I'm on-board one of your ships on the open waves, the winds in my hair and the waves crashing against the side of the boat. I'd be free. Could you help me imagine that?" she asked. His eyes were soft and his smile was sad as he looked upon her. He couldn't deny her anything even if he tried.
"Of course," he told her. She held out her hand to him and he took it in his large hand, sitting on the edge of the bed near her. He noticed that her hand was trembling in his so he laced their fingers together and brought it to his lips. He wanted her to feel safe with him. Her breath caught in her throat at the simple action. How did such a tiny gesture make her forget her name and her marriage vows. All she wanted to do was curl up in Christian's arms forever.
"My favourite ship was the first one I sailed in when America first joined the war. It was a beauty of a boat. I named her 'The Grace' after my mother. The crew on that ship were my favourite too because they did absolutely everything I said without question. I didn't get any whining from them or anyone annoying me while I was trying to sleep or eat, it was great."
Ana giggled at him and he kissed her hand again. Her giggle was his favourite sound in the world.
"The first day we left the docks and went out onto sea, we sailed across Atlantic Ocean which separated Northern America and Europe. It was the most perfect day, not a cloud in the sky and the waves were non existent. There wasn't another boat for miles and I just remember thinking that it seemed impossible that we were actually in a war when the water was so calm and the weather so beautiful," Ana watched him in awe as he spoke so passionately about his job.
"Our first battle was against the Germans. We were attacked by a two U-boats and the enemy stormed the ship. We fought them off but seventy-five percent of my crew were killed. I still have a scar from that battle from where part of my shirt caught fire." Ana winced at his words as he chuckled. "Are my tales of the sea scaring you?"
"No, they're so interesting, carry on," she smiled, watching him in awe as he told her about his second run in with the Germans and his sunken ship. He told her about when they docked one night and were stormed by a group of drunk hooligans and some of the pranks he played on his second crew when they started to pester him. She laughed at some of his stories and by the end, she felt so much better than she had earlier.
"Thank you," she whispered, still holding his hand in hers, "you really cheered me up," he winked at her.
"Anytime, Ana,"