Thank you guys so much. Hope this wasn't a let down or that it was really bad. I feel so self-conscious about writing, so I apologize!
"I want you back..."
Those words taunted Ana and wrecked havoc on her mind as she whirled out of the women's restrooms. She wasn't sure Christian was hot on her heels, but she felt as if he was. How stupid could she have been, to come back to Seattle thinking that Christian would never have at least found some mysterious way to come into contact with her?
She wasn't ready for this. For any of it.
How she felt seeing Christian again was unexpected. She had felt something old and uncontrollable stir inside of her; Desire, and need. But she was with Paul now, and she had to get herself under control.
She saw Paul and Kate through the crowd, sitting at a table. Knowing Paul and Christian were in the same club- it turned her stomach. Once she managed to reach the table, she sat in the chair Paul had saved for her. She really had to get herself under control. She couldn't be feeling like this.
"Babe, are you okay?" Paul asked her with concern and, just to reassure herself, Ana reached down and took his hand, clenching it tightly from where it rested under the table near his thigh.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"
"I don't know. You just look a little... upset. Do you want me to buy you something to drink?" He asked her over the music and she shook her head vigorously. Drinking alcohol was the very last thing she felt like doing right now.
"No, I'm good. Do you want something, though?"
"Nah, I'm good. If you're not going to drink anything, then I won't either. Are you sure you're all right, though?" Bless Paul, and how much he cared about her. He cared about her, and he was actually sincerely concerned whether she was all right or not. He was never mercurial with his moods. She could read him easily, and she never had to worry what she said to him, out of fear of insulting him. Paul was a good man.
"Paul, do you mind if we head off?" she asked him. "I'm just not in the mood for staying out any longer. I'm sorry."
"Yeah, no. That's fine. What about Kate, though?"
Ana looked over at her friend, who was happily sipping a margarita. It was obvious Kate wouldn't have minded staying out for a couple of more hours. Ana didn't want to leave Kate alone in case anybody tried something on her while she was drunk. "Okay, maybe we can stay for a bit longer until Kate is ready to go too," Ana said grudgingly. "I don't want her to be stuck here alone all by herself."
"Is this about seeing Christian Grey, why you're not in the mood to stay out?"
Ana had to avoid his eyes as she shrugged uncertainly. Was this about Christian? Kind of. "I don't know, Paul," she admitted hesitantly. "I wasn't expecting to see him so soon. Everything just feels so awkward now, like it's going to be near impossible to enjoy this and have a good time."
She looked at Paul and smiled at him apologetically. She hated dragging him down into her shit with Grey too, but it couldn't be helped. She hadn't told Paul everything about what had happened with Christian Grey, since she was contractually bound. But what she did tell him was that she had felt serious about the man- something that wasn't reciprocated, something that Paul had made abundantly clear that he couldn't fathom why it had turned out the way it had.
"While I get that it would be awkward for you, you really shouldn't feel as bad as you do about it, baby. He's your ex, the first guy you were dating, and I get it. It's hard. But don't let running into him disrupt you from having a good night. You deserve to have some fun and to live your life however you want to live it. Everyone runs into one of their ex's sooner or later down the line."
If only it was that easy...
"I know. He just made me feel really uncomfortable."
"Well, me too," Paul admitted, and Ana stared at him in disbelief. Grey had the same effect on Paul, as he had on her? Surely not. "It was kind of obvious, the way he looked at me anyway, that he was pissed about learning you were with me. I mightn't know all that went on between you two, but I can pick up on some things. I wouldn't worry about him, babe. He's probably just jealous."
Oh, no. Grey jealous? That very idea was unsettling on her. She didn't want Christian to be jealous at all, because... who knew what he was capable of doing in that frame of mind?
"I don't want anyone to feel jealous," Ana said, laughing miserably at the thought. "I just want to move on with my life."
"Then forget about running into your ex. Just try to have a good time. I know how it feels, trust me. But Kate's here, and so am I. You haven't seen Kate in months. So just try to have fun with her."
Although Ana still felt skeptical over being able to enjoy herself regardless of what had just happened and what Christian had done, in bursting into the restrooms to talk to her, she realized Paul was right. She deserved to have fun and not worry about how other people- like Christian- were feeling or how they were going to react to new developments in her life. It was time she thought of herself and what made her happy. Time she focused on those around her, like her friendship with Kate.
"So Kate, how has everything been?"
"I've missed you so much, Ana." Kate laughed, took a quick sip of her drink, leaned over the table, and pursed her lips. "It feels as if these eight months have gone so slow without you." Her eyes flitted between Paul and Ana in surprise. "I still can't believe you two are together now. I never expected that to happen!"
"Me neither," Ana admitted quietly. She tightened her clasp on Paul's hand. "But I'm happy with how everything has turned out. Have you been happy?"
"I've been okay." Kate shrugged and shook her blond hair out of her eyes. "Elliot and I aren't an item anymore."
"Oh, really? Why not?" It hurt Ana a little, to hear Kate bring that name up so casually into the conversation. Elliot- Christian's brother- and Kate had seemed to have gotten along like a house on fire. She knew Kate had been really into him too.
"Things just didn't work out. I guess the same could be said for you and Christian, huh?"
"Yeah, I guess so."
Kate shook her head. "Elliot said he was real devastated when you left. Not that I care anyway. Truthfully, I'm glad you're done with him." That came as no real surprise to Ana; Kate and Christian hadn't gotten along very well. Still, her response shook Ana.
"He was devastated?"
"Yeah, apparently he was. Elliot said he was having a hard time convincing Christian to meet up with him. Elliot told me he wasn't in the mood to see anyone, after you left. I don't know what that's all about, though."
"Hmmm."
"But are you happy?" Kate leaned over the table and eyed her and Paul speculatively. "Are you happy with everything so far?"
"Yeah, of course." Ana forced a smile on her lips. "Everything is great and I am so happy."
"I want you back..."
The look on Christian's face in the women's restrooms tore through Ana's mind as he said the words without any control of it and she fell into an awkward, conflicted silence. The look on his face had been so desperate and the words escaping from his mouth had been like an urgent plea. Of course, she still cared about him deeply and she never thought the day would come where she wouldn't. Despite all that had happened between them, all the fucked-up ways in which he lived, she knew she would never stop caring. But she couldn't let herself dwell on it, or him, anymore. She had to move on. And, hopefully, he would be doing the same.
The cold breeze in the night-time air that fanned over Christian's skin was soothing as he waited outside the club by the curb for Taylor to return back to him with the car. He felt as if his skin was blistering from the inside out.
His skin was hot and blistering with rage. An uncontrollable, fiery rage. Christian was astonished he didn't somehow miraculously combust into flames; He was that aggravated and pissed-off by how wrong the night's events had turned out.
Everything- all his plans for the evening, his expectations- had backfired on him.
What he had expected to happen, in seeing Ana again, was for her to agree on coming home with him and then everything would have returned back to how it was before. He would apologize, of course, and they would have a discussion on where and how they went wrong, and then they would work at fixing it. Just the two of them, with no third-party in the way.
But seeing her with this Clayton fucker had thoroughly blew all his expectations for the night into smithereens. Forcing her to listen to him and confronting her had been utterly pointless. Why the fuck was she doing this to him? Was she purposefully going out of her own fucking way to make him suffer? Hadn't he suffered enough already with her eight month-long absence?Fucking hell!
He clenched his fists tightly and shook his head as Taylor finally made the drive towards where he was standing in the Audi. When Christian saw the lights of the traffic in front of the car illuminate Taylor's expression in the driver's seat, the man looked confused and disappointed that he had returned out of the club alone, with no Ana by his side. That made two of them then.
"Don't get your hopes up, Taylor," Christian muttered in irritation as he opened the door and threw himself down dejectedly into the plush leather seats. He slammed the door securely shut and raised a hand to rake his fingers through his hair slowly. "She's not coming with us tonight."
He heard the loud sigh Taylor gave out in the front seat. He didn't even need words to say how he was feeling. Christian understood him perfectly.
"I know. I saw her, though. Guess that ought to... count for something, shouldn't it? She looks well, anyway. Happy." He shrugged and tried to make his voice careless, as he went on quietly, " At least she's happy. It's all that matters. Or so I keep on telling myself..."
Taylor didn't say anything in response, he just stared at him through the mirror.
As Christian leaned back in the seat, resting his chin on his hand, he still couldn't shake off his annoyance. While it was wonderful to see her again, to see that delicious shade of pink on her cheeks when she had first realized he was standing there beside her, it was aggravating that she hadn't taken the bait and come home with him. He had expected her to take him up on his offer, and like the so many times continuously with her, she surprised him by doing the unexpected and going against what he was anticipating she would do.
He loved that she constantly kept him on his toes. Still, it was pretty fucking aggravating.
And having to see the way she reacted around that Clayton fucker, that was worst of all; She looked so relaxed and happy with him- something he rarely saw often when he was with her all those times. How the fuck was he meant to compete with that?
Sucking up his pride, he forced himself to address the man in the seat in front of him. "Taylor, do you and Gail ever... fight?"
"Me and Gail? Fight? Oh, all the time, Sir." Taylor's voice was hoarse and amused. "You probably don't realize it, but we're always fighting about something. It keeps the pair of us entertained."
Gail and Taylor fighting? Now that would have been a sight for Christian to see. He didn't think he had ever seen two people so content with each other, two people so in... in love. "And has Gail ever left you for another man?" It was a ridiculous question, Christian knew, but he was curious.
"No. We married early in our relationship."
"What would you do in a situation like that? If she seemed happy with another man, would you give up and let her go?"
Taylor was silent for a few seconds, considering that. Then he said, "No, I probably would not let her slip away so easily. I think I would at least fight for her, until I knew for sure it was a done-deal between us, Sir."
Christian chewed that over mentally in his head. "Fight for her? How?"
"I would just let her know that I am always there, no matter what. Let her see that if she needs someone in her worst moment, that I would be there first for her. Just to show her I never gave up on her. That, and flowers. A bit of romance."
"You think that's all it takes?" Christian asked doubtfully. "Hearts and flowers and romance?"
"Women tend to like that sort of thing, yes, Sir. Gail certainly does."
Flowers. Now why hadn't he thought of that in the first place?
"That's a very intriguing idea, Taylor." Christian pulled his phone out of his pocket and dialed a number. Seattle Flower Delivery. It was the perfect idea. "Yes, hello. I know it's late, but I would like for you to make a delivery, preferably in twenty minutes time. The address is..."
Kate was heavy and giggling as Paul and Ana struggled to walk her inside to their apartment. She had drunk over three margaritas and two shots of tequila as the night had progressed and once Paul helped unlock the front door to let her inside, Kate sat down on the ground and started crawling along the floorboards to the bathroom. Ana couldn't help but noticing her friend looked a little green.
"Paul, I think she's going to vomit," Ana exclaimed in fear, and then the two bent down and attempted the very trying task of dragging her into the bathroom before she vomited all over the floor.
Fortunately for them and with Paul doing most of the lifting, they got her near the toilet bowl and Kate cooperated with Ana as she held her hair back from her face while she dry-heaved loudly.
Kate was a mess. Her eyeliner was running down her face in murky streaks and she was trembling violently as Ana rubbed her back soothingly. Ana couldn't believe how messed-up Kate had let herself become with all those cocktails.
She peered behind her shoulder as Paul stood by the door, shaking his head. He looked rightly disgusted, and Ana felt a little ill herself. "God, she really needs to learn when the right time is to stop drinking, baby."
"I know. Poor Kate is going to have the worst hangover in the morning. Thank God we stayed with her though. I'd hate for anything to happen to her while she was like this."
"I know. Good thing we were there to make sure she got home safely."
The doorbell buzzed, and Ana stared at Paul, puzzled. Who the hell was there at this time of the night?
"Paul, do you mind answering that for me and seeing who is there? I've got my hands full."
"Yeah, no problem."
Ana listened carefully as she heard Paul open the front door to whoever was waiting outside. "Special Delivery here for a Ms. Steele," she heard a man's unfamiliar voice say. Who would be making a delivery for her at this time of the night? What was going on?
"Ana," Kate sobbed weakly, and Ana sighed as she knelt on her knees to comfort her friend.
"It's okay, Kate. You're just drunk. Keep vomiting it up and you'll feel better."
"I don't know if I can, though?"
"Just try. You'll be fine. I've got your hair." Turning away from her friend, she shouted out to Paul, "Paul, what was it? What's going on?"
"Um, Ana." He appeared in the entryway, and Ana felt her heart stop dramatically at the sight of him. He was holding a large bouquet of long-stemmed red roses in his arms. "These are for you."
"Oh, Paul," she laughed. "You're so romantic!"
"I... I didn't do this." Paul looked glum as he peered down at a white envelope that was attached to the roses. "I wish I had, though. Had I known you liked roses so much, I would have. I'm sorry."
"Don't be. But who sent them?" She had no idea who in the slightest would be sending her roses, but she couldn't deny the suspense was killing her.
"There's a card. You want me to read it?"
"Please do. I'm real busy with holding Kate's hair back."
"Okay." She waited patiently as Paul undid the envelope, and then cleared his throat gently, before reading.
Ana,
Here are eight roses. Eight roses for eight months without you.
Eight roses for the eight months that I haven't stopped thinking about you since you left me.
Paul closed the card up and stared at her uncomfortably. "And it has no name on the end of the card. But I guess we don't need to know who sent it though, huh?"
Ana stared at the roses, feeling that gaping hole in her chest opening up again. Christian. Christian had sent her roses, and a card. What the frigging hell was he trying to do to her?
She felt numb and empty as she fastened her hold on Kate's hair, turning away from Paul. She didn't know what to think. She didn't know what to do. It was probably what Christian wanted, as far as reactions went. It was embarrassing that Paul had to be the one to open the card and read it out to her. They both knew without a shade of doubt who the sender had been.
It occurred to Ana that she was going to have to contact Christian to set some boundaries and hopefully make it all very clear on him. But hadn't she been clear enough tonight? She had told him- firmly and very decisively- that she was with Paul now and that they were done. Why couldn't Christian get that through his head?
When Paul said goodbye, Ana decided it was time to see Christian. Her mind was still on the roses and the card he sent her, and she hardly felt it when Paul kissed her lingeringly on her cheek. Her mind was on nothing else but Grey, and she knew it was terrible of her.
She would go to him, and she would make things right. Tell him he had no right to send her flowers or cards with intimate writings in them. She was with Paul now, and he had better get used to that and stop trying to win her back- if that was even what he was attempting to do with it all...
Not really knowing why she was putting so much effort into her appearance, once she saw Kate was safe and sound, sleeping in her bed, she went into her own bedroom, pulled open her wardrobe and found the nicest dress she had. It was a fairly revealing, blue lace dress, and she slipped into it, then found a pair of tan ankle boots to wear and retouched her make-up.
She stared at her reflection in the mirror and shook her head sadly. What was she doing? Why was she going to great lengths to dress up just to turn up at his Escala Penthouse to talk? Why did she even worry about how she was dressed before she saw him again? What if he believed it meant she was trying to impress him, that she wanted him back in return?
Hell, why was she even willing to put herself into this situation? They were probably just only going to argue again, and she felt as if she had enough of it for one day. She grabbed the flowers and the card and carried them out to the car, sitting them in the vacant passengers seat as she started the ignition.
She couldn't help but notice her hands were shaking as she gripped the steering wheel tightly as she drove. The illuminated numbers on the dashboard told her it was already past one in the morning, and it was probably stupid and wrong of her to go to his house at this hour of the night, but she believed it couldn't wait.
She had to do it right now and put him in his place before she lost her nerve completely. This definitely could not go on- and she sensed that Paul had become uncomfortable over Christian sending her romantic gifts.
It wasn't fair on Paul.
As she drove her car up into the private driveway of the premises where he lived, she felt unnerved as she couldn't help noticing someone was leaning casually by the glass windows in one of the rooms inside far up on his floor. The lights were on inside his part of the building, the curtains not drawn. Ana had a faint idea it was Christian, and she was certain it was his room that he was standing in.
Putting the car in park and collecting the flowers and the card, when she turned to glance up at the window again, she noticed the shadow standing there had disappeared. Christian had probably noticed her car pull in now. He was probably waiting for her the instance she reached up to his floor in the elevator.
That made things easier then, she thought.
She sucked in a deep breath and straightened her shoulders as she made the walk towards the the foyer of Escala. Hitting the button on the elevator to take her up to his floor, she found herself growing more and more anxious by the second. Once the elevator opened, she stood inside, trying to calm herself down. She met her reflection in the mirror, taking the moment to push her fringe out of her eyes as she felt the elevator move higher and higher above the building towards his floor. Once the mechanical doors slid open on his floor, she found that she didn't even have to knock when his front door creaked open and she saw Christian standing there, leaning against the wall. He looked both pleased and anxious at the sight of her.
He had a glass of white wine in his hand, and Ana noticed, with some admiration, that the black shirt he had worn earlier was unbuttoned all the way down. She caught a very generous glimpse of his chest and his finely sculpted abdominal muscles and the hair trailing down in a line towards his groin below his belly button. She blinked heavily for a moment before deliberately turning her eyes away from him appropriately.
Paul, she reminded herself sternly. Paul. Paul. Paul.
"Hello, Ana. I'm surprised to see you here after what happened tonight. I didn't think you would come ever again. Why don't you come inside?" He moved back, as if almost expecting her to come in. "Would you like something to drink?"
The offer was too tempting on Ana, but she made herself shake her head. "No, thank you," she whispered, pleased by the determination in her voice. "I just came here to give you these back." She held the roses and the card out to him, noticing the shaking of her hands as she did it. "While I appreciate the gesture, I can't accept these, Christian."
"Oh, really? You can't accept them?" There was something there in his tone. Something she couldn't figure out.
She stuck to her guns. "I can't accept them. Please take them back."
"You can't or you won't?"
"I won't, Christian."
She risked a quick glance at his face, finding him staring at her speculatively. Like always, she had no idea what was running through that mind of his. "Why don't you come inside? You look cold."
"I am cold," she admitted in a small voice. "But I won't be coming inside. Please, take the roses and the card back already so I can just go."
"I don't want them, and I'm not taking them from you. They're yours."
"I'm with Paul, Christian. I thought I had made that perfectly clear on you tonight. You can't just send me cards and flowers. Paul had to read the card out to me tonight and, as you can probably imagine, it wasn't pleasant. For either of us."
"So Paul read it out to you?" She could hear the twinge of amusement in his tone, and when she glanced up at him, Christian was doing nothing to hide it from his expression either. His eyes were alight with it. "How did that fucker take it?"
"Don't call Paul that," Ana snapped, glaring at him. "Don't disrespect him. Paul's a good guy."
"Why don't you come inside?" Christian suggested again, and this time, he held his hand out to her, making the offer doubly tempting on her. "I'm assuming this conversation is going to take a while, and if we're going to do this, I'd prefer for you to be inside in the warmth."
Ana bit her lip as she stared down at his outstretched hand. She felt troubled and unsure of what to do. She knew it was wrong to go inside, especially with him dressed the way he was with his shirt unbuttoned, but at the same time, it was cold outside.
So seeing no way out of it, she slid her hand in his and he backed away from the door frame, helping her inside. Even something as simple as holding his hand presented her with a feeling of wistfulness so responsibly she moved her hand out of his and gripped the bouquet of flowers tightly instead.
"Can I get you something to drink?"
"No. I don't plan on staying here long."
"You and I both have different plans then," he murmured under his breath wryly.
She ignored him as she sat the roses and the card on the armchair in the foyer. She wouldn't permit herself to step any further into his house than the foyer, because she knew that if she did... there would be no turning back. She couldn't risk it. Not at all.
"I think I'll be off now, Christian. I think I've said all that needs to be said. I just hope you'll listen and understand what I'm saying." She moved to leave, to flee, but suddenly his hand caught her elbow, holding her back. The action alone made her stomach muscles tighten and Ana heard her breath hitch in her throat.
"Are you happy?"
She sighed inwardly. It seemed as if everyone was asking her this question ever since she got back to Seattle. "I am. Well, as happy as I'm able to be anyway."
"With him?" He said it as if uttering the two words alone had left a foul taste in his mouth. Maybe Paul was right after all? Maybe he was jealous?
"That is hardly any of your business, Christian," she replied shortly. "Now please, let me go."
"Just answer me. Are you happy with him?"
"I'm as happy as I can be," she answered readily. "He's a great person. He makes me smile and makes me feel relaxed on the inside. I am happy with him, but there are... moments where it is hard."
"Have you missed me?"
Yes, she had. Sometimes. Some days more than others. But she didn't feel it was right to tell him that. "I haven't," she whispered, trying to sound convincing- to both Christian, and to herself. "I have accepted that we're over now, and that we both should move on. Maybe you should learn to accept it, too?"
Flinging her elbow free from his grasp, she turned around slowly to look at him. He appeared as if he was struggling to come to terms with what she had just told him. Maybe she was a better liar than she had given herself credit for? His eyes searched hers for a moment deeply, perhaps hoping to catch a glimpse of a lie in them. Then he sighed deeply and shook his head slightly as he turned and placed his glass of wine on the table near the wall. Now that his hands were empty, she prayed he wouldn't try to touch her with them. If he did, Ana had a feeling it would be her undoing.
"Well, regardless of what you are saying, Anastasia, I know you've missed me." His voice was low and full of confidence. "And I meant it; what I wrote down in that card, and also what I said tonight. I miss you and I want you back, all to myself. Just you and me."
Ana felt a spark of anger at his words. "You want me to be someone I'm not," she pointed out, her voice trembling. "I can't be that person you want me to be."
"I want you any way that I can get you. I think you're perfect the way you are. I thought I had made that obvious."
"Well, you haven't! And with Paul... I can be myself. He doesn't expect me to be somebody that I'm not. He's not... like you."
"He's not like me?" He repeated and his voice turned abruptly bitter. "So that's why you're with him? Just because he's not like me?"
"That isn't the only reason why I'm with him. That isn't even the reason. This doesn't even have anything to do with you, the reason I'm with Paul now!"
"Do you love him?"
Oh, Jesus. Why did he have to go and ask her that?
"I'm leaving now," she said firmly, making up her mind. They were getting nowhere. "I refuse to answer anymore of your questions. It's too late for this shit."
"You told me that you loved me. Does that still stand?"
She felt a sudden dangerous urge to hit something as she spun around on the spot to glare at him. He was impossible. "Why does it even matter, Christian?" she asked him. "I'm with someone else now. I'm happy. Now why can't you move on and find your own piece of happiness? It's been eight months since we last talked!"
"Yes, and it would have been less if you had let me fucking reach you, Ana! I tried continuously to call you, yet you shut me out! You never gave me a chance! All of this-" Panting hard, he waved his arm around the foyer, anger blazing in his eyes "-could have been resolved by now, but instead you took the shitty way out!"
"Why do you even care so much, Christian? Why? You made it clear to me that me falling in love with you was the ugliest damn thing on earth! And now, here you are... asking me if I still love you? What the fuck?" Now that he had gotten her started, Ana was finding it impossible to stop. "You did that on purpose, didn't you? I bet you're so glad that Paul had to read out that card! You wanted him to find it, didn't you? You want to... to drive him away!"
"You're right." The words were a barely audible growl. "I do want to drive him away, because seeing you with him, it... it fucking kills me, Ana. I want you back, and I want that fucker to get away from you!" His eyes suddenly roamed down her clothes and Ana fought the impulse to slap him. There was a hungry, greedy look there. He probably was expecting her to fall at his feet. Well, over her dead body. "You didn't just come here tonight to give me back the flowers and the card I sent you! You came here because you want it as much as I do! You miss it!"
Losing herself, Ana laughed bitterly. "Oh, really? And what do I want, Christian? Miss what? What am I missing exactly?"
"Have you fucked him?" The question came out of his mouth, so unexpected to her, that Ana gasped loudly in outrage. How dare he have the gall to ask her that, like it was any of his business? "Are you fucking him?"
"Don't you dare ask me that," she whispered menacingly. "I cannot believe you just asked me that!"
"You haven't fucked him yet," he muttered, so self-assuredly. "I can tell. I can read it in your eyes."
She felt a glow of heat rushing up to her cheeks. Paul had tried to make the moves on her, only Ana hadn't felt ready to go all the way with him yet. Still, how dare he! How was this any of his business in the first place?
"And what if I have? What would you do to me if I have fucked him? Would you hit me, like you did before I left? Lash out on me with your belt?" It seemed that it was still a raw topic for Christian. Ana saw the way his mouth fell open and his eyes flash with regret before he composed himself and swiftly put an angry mask back on his face.
"If I could take back what happened with the belt, I would, believe me. But you didn't use your safe-word, did you?"
"We're going around in circles," Ana whispered tiredly. "We're not getting anywhere. I'm leaving."
"You keep saying that, and yet you're still here, aren't you? You never came here just to argue with me, did you? It wasn't about the flowers either. It's been eight months." He started moving towards her, a glint in his eyes, and Ana backed away quickly, holding her hands in the air. "You miss it with me. Just admit it."
"I don't miss anything with you."
"You've gone without it for eight months, and so have I. Have you thought about it since then?"
She looked away before glancing up at him again. She could feel that same old effect he had on her seeping its way in again. It hadn't changed, not even now. "Thought about what, Christian?"
"About us. About how I make you feel. How good it felt when I was inside you, how right."
Despite her efforts, Ana felt the blood running to her cheeks. Even after all this time, he apparently hadn't lost his touch. How could it still be like that, even after all that time away from him? Going to him was the biggest mistake she could have ever possibly made.
"I'm sorry, but... I'm going now. You have no right!" And using her legs before they failed on her, that was exactly what Ana did. The elevator doors took less time than they had before to open, much to her relief. She didn't think she could have withheld him for any longer.
