A/N: Sorry this chapter took a little longer to come out than previous chapters. Work has been hectic and I have had a less free time for my writing. This is more of a filler-chapter but the next chapter will be coming out on time next week :) As always, please review, or let me know what you'd like to see :)
Anastasia Steele sat in the café by herself in a booth near the back corner of the shop. She sipped at her English breakfast tea, and turned the page in her well-worn copy of Tess.She was staring at the book, more than reading it, trying to keep her mind from straying off the rails and thinking back on the debacle that had been Thursday night with Christian Grey. She should have been packing. She knew that. She and Kate were making their big move to Seattle tomorrow, with the help of Christian's brother Elliot, and some movers Kate's parents had hired for them. But Ana's heart just wasn't in packing at the moment.
When she'd arrived home late, Thursday night, she'd been grateful that her roommate had been nowhere to be found. It gave her the peace she needed to go to her room, collapse on her bed, and cry herself out. How could she have been so stupid…thinking a man like Christian Grey would actually want her or care about her. He wanted to hurt her. For his pleasure. That was what he wanted from her.
Maybe she was being too hard on the man. He had tried to explain to her that what he wanted wasn't necessarily about pain, but she'd been so shocked, and so hurt (albeit due to her own expectations) that she hadn't wanted to listen. He'd mentioned before, after her drunken debacle at the nightclub, that were she his he she wouldn't have been able to sit down for a week…that had made her smile, feel protected, and…if she was honest, a little turned on. But being confronted with the reality of what he'd meant, that had been a whole other level, one she was damn sure she wasn't ready for.
Ana wished she could talk to Kate about all this. But even if her roommate had been home, she'd already signed Christian's non-disclosure, and she knew if she disclosed any of this to her journalistic best friend, it would be front-page news before she could blink. No, even without the NDA, it was best to keep this from Kate. But that meant Ana had no one to talk to, and it made her feel very lonely.
When Ana got home from the coffee shop, Kate was home, and there was a package waiting for her. With the package, there was an apology note and a literary quote thatonly served in making her more uncomfortable. At Kate's insistence, she'd opened the package and was confronted with 1st editions of Tess of the D'Urbervilles. Kate immediately turned to Google and priced the gift at roughly $14,000.
"Whatever he did, I think you might want to forgive him!" Kate gushed, eyeing the books appreciatively. Ana shook her head. She couldn't talk about it. Kate tried to press her for information about her night, but Ana distracted her friend by asking about Elliot instead. Kate could not resist the opportunity to gush about Christian's brother at length. And Ana listened dutifully, all the while lamenting that her own hoped-for evening of passionate bliss had ended in little more than dashed dreams and a flood of tears.
Christian tried calling her multiple times that Friday but Ana held firm in her decision to keep her distance from the man. She had other things to worry about anyway. She had last-minute packing to do before the movers came on Saturday. Part of her was giddy at the prospect of Christian calling. Surely he was interested in her for more than just his kink, or he would have stopped contacting her, right? But the other part of her brain was not so sure. She found her logic to grow very fuzzy when it came to Christian Grey.
That evening, Ana borrowed Kate's computer and decided to do a little research. She needed to have a better-informed opinion if she was going to make a final determination on what to do with the CEO who claimed he wanted to "Dom" her. She'd never considered herself to be "kinky." Hell, she'd never really considered what she might enjoy sexually, she'd always been focused on her studies, and her goals – she knew what she wanted- to be an editor at a publishing house – and she knew she couldn't afford the added distraction of sex while she worked for it. But now…it felt like Christian Grey had awakened desires within her that had been dormant for too long.
She read about the BDSM scene, about safe, sane, consensual partners. About relationship dynamics between "Subs" and "Doms," "Masters" and "Slaves." And the differences among them. She read about the lack of legality regarding "contracts" and how many enjoyed using them to reinforce the scene, and not as actual legal documents. She viewed a short porn clip of a "scene" and clicked away immediately, blushing, and looking around her room embarrassed. She read about professional Dominatrixes and their clientele, about fantasy fulfillment, about exhibitionism and voyeurism. She read about horrific things people seemed to willingly subject themselves to for the thrill of the scene, and she read about the normalcy many found in 24/7 relationships.
Ana felt like Alice, falling down the rabbit hole, like Tess and her fall into debasement at the hands of Alec…would she share a similar tragic fate if she decided to give herself to Christian? In truth, she knew she should probably forget the man. But she couldn't quite let go.
Christian Grey was stressed. And it had everything to do with the scene he was supposed to play tonight, and the fact that his mind was totally preoccupied with the mess he'd made of things with Anastasia Steele. He paced back and forth in his office, checking his watch, wondering if he could come up with a reason for backing out on his agreement with Alice Porter. He just didn't have the heart for it.
But it was already 6:15 pm and Taylor had been sent to fetch Alice from work. Christian was agitated. His mind was preoccupied with the horrible debacle that had been his attempt to woo Anastasia Steele the night before. Anastasia was a virgin, and she'd wanted him to make love to her. Him – make love – to a virgin. He wasn't good enough for her. But he wanted her. If he'd known. If he had asked more questions, gotten to know the girl better before he…but Christian was not that sort of man. He wanted a very specific kind of relationship. Anastasia wanted hearts and flowers, she wanted love. The poor girl thought he was capable of something like that. He was frustrated. In truth, there was no part of him that wanted to do what he was about to do, but he'd made a promise, and Alice had been so understanding with him. He owed her, even if it made him feel dirty. He deserved to feel dirty. He was a cad; and a fool.
He was already dressed, wearing his jeans and a black v-neck shirt. He was bare foot. He was nervous. What if he could not perform? He'd detailed the scene out with Alice previously so both would know what to expect but would he really be able to go through with it in the heat of the moment? He ran through the plan again in his mind, trying to block out his growing distaste for the entire thing.
Taylor was to drop Alice off at the elevator. She had a key already and she would sneak in through the front. He would, of course, hear her. But he would pretend not to.
He would leave his office then and enter the library. She would then skim through his front room and make her way to the office to search for the 'secret documents' requested by her 'employer.' He would surprise her, in the office, and he would block the exit with his body. He would threaten her then and advance on her. He left a blue, wooden, toy plane on his desk for her. She would use it as a projectile. He would expect it, dodge, and allow her to dart past him as if to escape. Then he would pursue her.
He would be able to catch her quickly and he would cover her mouth and drag her backwards. It turned out that Alice enjoyed being called derogatory things and requested that he do that this evening. He already had a litany of verbal abuse planned and lined out. He would belittle and degrade her and she would struggle to no avail. He had rope in his pocket, not a lot, but enough to make short work of her hands. He would bind her at the wrist and elbow and drag her into the playroom. She would pretend to be shocked and horrified by the room, he would tell her she was about to get what she deserved, he would put a spreader bar on her, and bind her arms backwards and up, restricting her movement more totally than normal.
She would be turned on, but she would pretend to be angry. He would remain calm, stoic, and steadfast. He would tell her he could easily call the police and have her arrested, but that this would be much more fun, for him. Christian had to wrinkle his nose at that part. He indeed did not believe that this would be fun for him. But it was part of her fantasy, not his.
The pretense of the entire scene really turned Christian off, but he could make himself play the part easily enough, he hoped. Once he had her bound, he would begin the punishment, he'd chosen a special cat o'nine tails for the occasion, one with stiffer leather that he'd not used on Alice up to this point. He would flog her, he would slap her, he would tell her to be a "good little whore" she would spit at him. He would punish her further. It was important to him to have these details planned, Alice had agreed and both parties knew what exactly what to expect so there would be no surprises. He would punish her until she begged him to stop. He would tell her to beg him to fuck her. She would decide then if she wanted more or if she wanted sex, and depending on her reply he would either move on to clamps, and pinwheels, or he would release her arms and bend her over to take her from behind. After that the scene would be over and his debt to Alice Porter paid. He could do this, he told himself. He could. Then he could worry about fixing things with Anastasia Steele.
Christian's cell phone rang, and he flipped it up to his ear.
"Taylor." He greeted, "What is it?"
"Mr Grey…. " Taylor sounded hesitant.
"What is it?" Christian snapped again, irritated. He already had enough to worry about with Alice's impending arrival.
"It's Alice Porter Sir…" Taylor was being more withholding than usual. Christian felt a growing dread in his stomach. Something was wrong.
"Taylor?" He prompted softly.
"She er…did not show up for work this morning, Sir. Her assistant became concerned when she could not reach her on her cell phone and decided to try her apartment. Sir, Miss Porter was killed, last night."
Christian stopped pacing suddenly, that ball of dread in his stomach turning to stone.
"Her assistant found her?" Christian asked the easiest question first, willing himself to stay calm. His heat was racing.
"Yes Sir."
"How was she found?" Christian's mouth felt dry, his legs felt weak. He sat heavily in his desk chair as he listened to Taylor's response.
"The assistant could not give me a lot of detail, but it appears she found Miss Porter in her bed, nude, with strangulation marks on her neck. She called 911 before fleeing the apartment."
Christian was silent. Alice was dead. Not only was she dead…someone had murdered her. Someone had murdered her and left her body posed in her bedroom in some macabre caricature of sleep. The same someone, it seemed, who killed the girl from the nightclub not 3 days ago, if his suspicions were correct, a serial. A serial that was striking eerily close to Christian himself. He swallowed hard, feeling hysteria threaten to come out, he needed to keep himself under control.
"Sir?" Taylor prompted, still on the other end of the line.
"Yes. Have the police said anything?" He asked.
"They would not say anything to me Sir, but I have informed Welch of the situation. Would you like him to investigate further?" Taylor's voice was soft, And Christian heard an undercurrent of sympathy in the older man's voice.
"Yes…Yes." Christian felt like he was in shock, "Tell Welch to find out whatever he can. Alice…Miss Porter deserves that much. " Christian swallowed back the emotion that was threatening to bubble over. Alice Porter was dead. Vibrant, beautiful, intelligent Alice Porter was gone. And the dread in Christian's stomach told him it couldn't be a coincidence. He needed to go to Portland. Immediately.
