Chapter Two
Grace stood on the outside patio of her home and watched the outer forest area. She was dressed in a white sweater, white slacks and brown house shoes. She was wrapped in a tan blanket to keep up appearances. After all, it was cold and dark outside.
She thought about her son, Christian. She could sense when something was wrong with her children. She had to remind herself that he was a man now and that she needed to respect his space. Christian rarely shared anything with her.
Her husband was away; this would be a good time to run. The woods looked very peaceful, but she decided against it. She wanted a hot bath instead. How human, she thought as she smiled to herself.
Grace stepped out of her bath, dried her skin with a towel, put on a purple silk robe and wrapped her hair with a different towel. When she opened the door, she sensed she had a visitor. The oil she used from the bath was masking her ability to smell the intruder properly. Her eyes glowed for a moment as she walked downstairs. Her claws extended as she walked towards the intruder's location. Before she even reached the edge of the living room she smelled him. She smiled when she saw her son. He sat on a large red leather chair leaning forward and rubbing his hands together. He was staring ahead. He looked up at his mother with anguish in his eyes. She saw the pain in his eyes and gasped.
"Christian what's wrong," she asked.
"Something has happened and I don't know if I can fix it," said Christian.
She quickly walked up to him and stood only a few inches away. He immediately went rigid. Even with her, he couldn't stand to be touched, embraced. She reached out and touched the top of his hand.
"What happened," she asked.
Did he lose control? She thought. Christian had so much pain and loss. His anger was always simmering, but he learned to control himself.
He took her hand and squeezed it.
"I almost lost total control tonight. It seems my...other half is interested in a female."
"What's wrong with that?"
He looked back up to his mother.
"She's human."
Grace took a step back. Her husband was human. Christian's brother and sister were hybrids. How could he judge his wolf's choice for a mate?
When she was young, she was raised to believe that falling in love with a human was unnatural. That was until her wolf chose a human mate. He quickly explained himself. He was afraid of what he was capable of with her. Since he met her, he had barely able to contain his beast. Now his wolf had forced him to see her again. Grace began to understand him. She experienced the same thing with her mate. She remembered being more of a wreck then her son. She stalked in her future mate, Carrick, in her wolf form for two whole days. At least Christian was able to maintain his human form around the woman.
"Please, tell me what I need to do," he pleaded.
Anna knelt down to fix the paint cans on the bottom row. She needed to make sure the labels were visible to customers. When she stood and turned around, she saw Christian standing behind her. She jumped and placed her hand on her chest.
"What the…"said Anna.
"I apologize, I didn't mean to scare you," said Christian.
"How are you here?"
"I was in the need of supplies."
Anna had no idea what he would need from a hardware store. It would be vain for her to think he was here to see her. No matter how much it looked that way. It had to be a coincidence. Rich people did crazy things, right? She mentally shook off her shock and began to help him.
Christian felt humiliated, but he hid it well. Here he was stalking this poor woman. His wolf was content for the moment, peaceful. It kept its promise and Christian was grateful for it. As he walked through the aisles with her, he noticed how sweet she was. This was mistake, he thought. His wolf growled. Christian told his wolf to shut up and returned his focus to the task at hand.
She handed him another item. That should be enough for today. She asked if he needed anything else. He said no. For some reason they were standing there a little too long. Each person was waiting for something.
"So...this way, please," she said.
She walked to the cash register, he followed behind her. It took all his strength not to look at her ass. He was a gentleman first after all. She turned around to look at him, smiled and turned back around and continued walking.
They finally took their positions. She stood behind the cash register and he stood behind the counter. She scanned his items. During this time he was able to hear her heartbeat. It was calmer. He saw her bite her lip and almost lost it. She asked if he was okay. For a moment, he wondered if she was very observant with everyone or was it just with him.
"I'm alright, thank you."
Silence.
"Ms. Steele, I haven't been completely honest with you."
Her eyes went wide.
"Are you okay," he asked her.
"I'm curious to know what you're about to say," she said.
"When I happened to see you in here, I wanted to ask out to dinner."
"Oh, I can't."
"I see."
"I have finals this week. I'm only free for lunch right now."
"When," he said a little too quickly.
Her cell phone played Snoop Dogg's Drop it like it's Hot song. She took out her cell phone and turned it off.
"Ah, now," she said.
"Excellent," he said.
She pointed to the back and told him that she needed to tell her co-worker she was leaving. Moments later she walked in with a tall man. She laughed with the man. Christian's eyes turned dark for a moment. He quickly masked it with a charming smile. Anna didn't miss Christian's look. The young man looked at Christian. He clearly didn't like Christian either.
Anna decided not to introduce them to each other, but she did tell her co-worker she was going to lunch with her friend. Christian's wolf whimpered at hearing that. Christian took her hand and they walked out of the store together. Anna looked down at their locked hands. After the initial shock, she gently pulled her hand away when they walked out of the door. He turned to face her. He apologized. She accepted his apology.
Taylor, Christian's driver stepped out of the car and opened the back door. When Christian didn't move, Anna realized they were waiting on her. She quickly scooted into the back seat. Christian sat down in the back seat with her. Taylor shut the door.
As Taylor drove, Anna thought about how insane she was acting. She was sitting in a car with a stranger going... Where was she going? Anna, what is wrong with you, she thought.
"Are you comfortable?"
Christian leaned forward and pressed a button to turn down the air conditioning. She was just starting to get cold. He sat back and noticed that she was staring at him. He cleared his throat.
"Sorry," she said.
"For what?" He feigned innocence.
She smiled.
Grace finished speaking with her staff regarding her husband's welcome dinner. She planned to have his favorite meal ready for him when he returned home. It would just be them tonight. She hoped he wasn't too tired. She planned to welcome him back in other ways as well.
Anna sat across from Christian in a local diner. He looked comfortable and seemed to have the ability to own every room he stood in. When he asked her where they should go, she recommended this location. She eyed him to see if he would react smug about it. He didn't care. Good, he's normal, she thought. Part of her didn't believe that. He was different in so many ways and she was getting more and more curious about him.
The waiter placed a large plate of fries in front of Anna. Christian ordered the Triple Threat Monster Burger. It was made of 3 hamburger patties topped with American cheese, 6 pieces of bacon, grilled onions, shredded lettuce, three slices of tomatoes and mayonnaise on both ends of the bun. He chose to have a side of mashed potatoes with gravy. Anna thought that was odd, but kept her thoughts to herself. She looked down at the burger and back at Christian.
"You are not going eat all of that," said Anna challenging him.
Christian smiled.
"We barely know each other Ms. Steele. You have no idea what I can do."
Anna cleared her throat. She instantly thought of what he could do to her sexually.
"Anna, please call me Anna."
"I find it impolite."
"Okay, Mr. Grey."
Anna noticed the slight glint of anger in his eyes. So, he liked it when Anna called him Christian, but it didn't work both ways. Christian was a bit unfair.
Christian looked down at his burger and picked it up with both hands. He took a bite out of it. She was surprised he was able to bite it without struggling. He made a deep moan. Her mouth went dry. She needed to occupy herself. So she began to focus on eating the fries in front of her. 3/4 of Christian's burger was devoured before he spoke again. He placed the small piece of food that remained down on his plate and wiped his mouth.
"'Almost done," he said proudly.
"Almost is not quite done, is it, Christian."
Christian smiled. So, he doesn't play fair, Anna thought.
"From what I understand, we have seven more minutes to avoid being late."
"Right…"
"Timeliness is very important."
"Of course it is," she said disappointed.
"I do hope we can see each other again soon," he said.
Anna looked up at him.
"I'd like that too."
"May I," he asked.
Christian motioned to her plate of fries. Anna nodded. He took three of them and ate them. His wolf nearly howled at being that near to her touch. Christian began coughing. Anna stood up, walked behind him and patted him on his back. She shouldn't have touched him. His eyes glowed for a moment.
"I'm alright, Ms. Steele."
"What happened?"
"Nothing; we should go."
Anna walked to her chair and flopped down. She looked back up at Christian. He seemed distant all of sudden. He waved down the waiter. She had a feeling that she may not see him again.
The ride back to work was quiet. Christian stared ahead with his hands flat on his knees. Anna looked out of the window to keep from crying. Was this what Kate was talking about? How are these mind games worth it? Wealthy or not she didn't deserve to be treated like this. Hopefully Christian would stay away from her because was starting to grow tired of him.
Taylor parked the car in front of the hardware store. Anna rushed to open the door. Christian looked over at her and gently held her arm before she could leave.
"Please forgive me, I sincerely hope we will be able to see each other again," he said.
He released her arm.
"I don't think so Christian," she said.
Anna stepped out of the car and walked inside of the store.
Thank you for reading! Many of you have labeled this story as one of your favorites and followed me as an author. I sincerely appreciate it. I appreciate your comments as well. Keep them coming!
Don't worry, Anna and Christian's story is nowhere near over. Christian just needs to get his (blank) together so he and Anna can actually have a relationship. They shouldn't be separated for too long.
As, always let me know what you think. All constructive criticism is welcomed.
