A/N: Hello Lovelies! I hope you've all had a great weekend.

As always, I hope you enjoy this chapter. More coming soon!

Much Love,

Chelsea x


DoloresDeeHowe – Thank you! I'm really glad you liked it. I hope you enjoy this chapter too. Much Love x

Reds77 – Thank you! I loved that he let that slip too. It's nice to see that he's thinking long-term where Ana is concerned. Ah yes, I imagine all of us will need tissues when he finally tells them the truth about Elena! I hope you like this chapter! Much Love x

Tillie – Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it. Much Love x

Susan – Thank you! I hope you like this chapter! Much Love x

LavendarJade – Thank you! Ana's recovery is going to be a long one but I'm optimistic that she will get over this. Much Love x

SuzB – Thank you! I agree! I think Christian needs to bite the bullet but he can only do it when he knows he's strong enough to handle whatever fall out there may be. Hopefully in time he'll find the strength to reveal all! Much Love x


Saturday mornings had become mine and Christian's designated lazy time. We didn't have a routine, we never made plans. After a week of waking up early, we granted ourselves a late start to the day. We turned off the alarms and kept the blinds closed, only waking up when our bodies were ready.

Christian was sprawled over me, his cheek flat against my chest, his legs tangled with my own. I woke before him, taking advantage of a few minutes of watching him sleep. It lasted just a moment before he raised his head and smiled up at me, but it was enough to start my day on a positive note.

We rolled out of bed and straight into the shower. We took it in turns to scrub each other down, Christian taking extra care in shampooing and conditioning my hair. I craved the feel of his fingers pressing deep into my scalp, my neck, my hips, the lightest touch sending a shiver over my skin.

A small groan escaped my lips, the sound pleasing Christian immensely. But it wasn't enough to jump him into action.

I ran my hand down his stomach but he caught my fingers before they reached his groin.

"You'll turn into a prune if we stay in here any longer," he smiled.

He planted a light kiss to my mouth and then switched off the water, stepping out of the shower to grab our towels. He wrapped me up and left the bathroom, escaping me and my wandering hands.

I followed him into our closet, my sodden feet shuffling against the carpets. Annoyingly, he was already half-dressed by the time I entered the room. He was over on his side, buttoning up his jeans.

"Christian?"

"Hm?" He lifted his chin towards me.

"Is everything okay?" I asked tentatively, almost wary of his reply.

"Yes, why?"

"It's just…"

I hesitated.

How do I even address this with him?

Why don't you let me touch you unless we're in bed? Why do you find excuses every time I want to be intimate anywhere outside our bedroom?

Do I even want to open up that discussion?

"It's just, what?" he prompted. His brows started to droop around his eyes, his lips pressing together into a line.

I shook my head and sighed.

"After last night," I blurted. "With your mom. Is everything okay with you two now?"

He shrugged his shoulders.

"She apologised for bringing it up again," he said. "I reminded her that I will tell her when I'm ready. I don't know if she's accepted that but she'll have to. I have to do this at my pace."

I gave him a shy smile.

"I'll be right there with you, whenever you tell them," I promised. "That's if you want me there."

His lips cracked into a smile, the corners of his eyes creasing. He nodded his head and let the subject go. He picked up a black t-shirt from his drawer and pulled it over his head.

I dropped the towel from around my body and threw it into the laundry basket to my left. Hanging my head forward, I unravelled the smaller towel encasing my hair and rubbed it through the lengths of my tangled locks, trying to grab the excess water.

"So what's on the cards for today?" Christian asked, his voice muffled through the towel.

"Um… I don't know… What did you want to do?"

"Take you back to bed and keep you there until Monday morning?"

I flung my hair back and shot him a look. He was leaning against the chest of drawers behind him, his feet crossed at the ankles.

"I like it when you're wet and naked," he purred. His eyes trailed the length of my body. I could feel myself blushing under his scrutiny. "You should always be wet and naked."

"Only a few seconds ago you were worried I was going to end up like a prune," I reminded him.

He didn't respond to my comment.

He appeared deep in thought for the longest time, his eyes fixing on my navel. Feeling a shiver course over my skin, I reached for one of dress bags I brought home from Bellevue last night. Inside was a light-weight cotton dress, dusty pink, with a soft lace design around the neck and hem. I took it off the hanger and slipped into it. Mia got the sizing perfect, the dress hugging me in all the right places. It wasn't the type of dress that I could wear a bra underneath, so I would have to go au naturelle for today… Not that I've got much to contend with. I'm hardly carrying two watermelons on my chest!

"Maybe we could go out for the day?" I suggested. "Just you and me?"

"Spend some quality time together?" he hummed, a smirk developing over his mouth. I nodded. "I can certainly get on board with that."

"We could go shopping."

"Ugh," he grunted. "You have been spending too much time with my sister. I shouldn't have let her whisk you away from me last night."

I giggled at his disdain and slowly made my way over to him. I hovered in front of him, twiddling my fingers together.

"You hate shopping," he reminded me.

"I hate shopping for clothes," I returned. "But I overheard you and Grace talking. You told her about our plans to redecorate?"

"She asked how you had settled in here," he nodded. "I told her I wanted to make this place more homely. For the both of us."

"I liked her suggestion about us starting with smaller stuff," I said. "At least if we do that, we'll have something to show Gia whatever-her-name-is. We can get the ball rolling, so to speak."

"I guess," he slowly nodded.

I closed the gap between us and uncrossed his arms, looping them around my waist. I hung my own over his shoulders.

"We could do some shopping and then grab lunch," I suggested. "Play footsie under the table…"

"Hm…"

"We could catch a movie tonight," I continued. "Have a little fun in the dark…"

"With other people in the room?" he arched his brow.

I shrugged my shoulders. "It could make things interesting," I pouted. "The risk of being caught…"

He inhaled a deep breath, his chest rising and pressing against me as he peeled himself from the cabinet.

"Okay," he sighed. His hands splayed across the small of my spine. "Shopping, lunch and then a movie… But we're watching a movie here. I am not sitting in a theatre full of freaks and scumbags."

"Okay."

"And I'm choosing the movie," he added.

"Fine."

"And you will be completely naked."

"What?!"

"You heard me," he smirked. "You will be naked and you will sit on my lap for the duration of the movie."

My stomach started to clench in anticipation.

"And what will you be doing to me while I'm sitting in your lap?"

"Driving you crazy," he purred. "I'll have you begging me to take you to bed."

Bed.

Again.

I let out a hard sigh but before I could even contemplate raising the subject with him, he leaned forward and smacked a kiss between my furrowed brows.

"I'll let you finish getting dressed," he said. He slipped his hands out from around my waist and side-stepped me. "I have to make a quick call before we leave."

"To who?"

"Kate," he replied. "I won't be long. It'll only take a couple of minutes."

"What do you need to talk to Kate about?"

"Work stuff," he hummed.

"Is it about that party she's planning?" I wondered. He stared me in the eye. "She mentioned that you're hosting a party for your employees. The Annual Grey Ball or something like that?"

"Yeah," he nodded his head and smiled back at me. "I just need to check something with her. Make sure everything is in order."

"On a Saturday?"

I didn't think Kate would appreciate the extra work on a weekend. She likes to curl up under her comforter and hide until Monday, catching up on lost sleep and whatever TV show she's obsessing over.

"No rest for the wicked," he mused. "It's a really important thing we're working on. I don't want anything to compromise it."

"Right…"

"I promise it won't take long," he told me. He held my gaze, his grey eyes softening in the corners. "I'll be two minutes, max. So hurry up and finish getting ready, because I'm looking forward to watching that movie later!"

He winked at me before retreating out of the closet.

I had an unsettled feeling spread through my stomach and I couldn't figure out why or what it was.


Christian's call to Kate was over in a flash and we left the apartment not long after, climbing into his R8. Taylor was close to hand but settled into one of the SUV's with Mrs Jones. I was relieved when I heard him telling Christian that they were going to do some shopping of their own. As much as I appreciated Taylor and all he does for both me and Christian, I was looking forward to an afternoon with my boyfriend. No chaperones. Just a normal couple shopping for their apartment.

We drove around for a little while, trying to decide which store to check out first. Christian wasn't overly keen with my suggestion but he quickly gave in and parked up outside. Macy's had been a lifesaver when I moved into Pike Place with Kate. I felt more at home with price-tags that didn't make my eyes water. Christian less so. He clearly had his sights set on more luxury, designer brands.

I locked hands with Christian as we moved through the store at a glacial pace. My chest swelled at his sweet gestures – letting me lead the way, his lips gently brushing against my temples every time we stopped to inspect an item, the way he tucked my hair behind my ears whenever it fell in front of my face. I loved how tactile he was being. I especially loved how unfazed he was by the other shoppers who stared at us. It was amazing how much had changed in such a short space of time. Five months ago we wouldn't have been seen within a mile of each other in public. Yet here we are, Christian proudly by my side and making sure everyone knew we were together.

Making sure everyone knew I belonged to him.

We sailed through the bedding and blankets, finding nothing of interest, and weaved our way towards the decorative pillows.

"Where would we even put these?" Christian hummed, his eyes darting between the shelves.

"On the couches," I shrugged. "On our bed. On the bed in the guest bedroom."

"So we're definitely turning the upstairs bedroom into a guest room?"

I turned my chin up to him and frowned. "What else would we do with it?"

"I wondered if you wanted to convert it into a closet," he said, pursing his lips in a sardonic manner. His eyes crinkled in the corners. "Maybe Mia will start rubbing off on you. I saw the amount of clothes she made us take home last night…"

I stuck my elbow out and playfully caught him in the stomach. He feigned injury but couldn't hold back a light chuckle.

"I don't need a closet," I assured him. "If I start running out of room, I'll just hang my stuff on your side."

"And where would my clothes go?"

"I guess you'd have to figure that one out," I smirked. I sprang up onto my toes and stole a kiss from his lips. "I'd like a guest room. Somewhere for Ray or Kate, if they ever want to stay over."

Ray had already christened the former sub bedroom when he came to stay with us after the fire. The room was fairly simple in design and completely unoffensive. Nobody would ever know who had previously slept in there. But I needed to wipe it clean of the women who came before me.

"Sounds good to me," Christian smiled.

I brushed past him and began examining the row of pillows lined up on the shelf in front of us. I was drawn to a geometric style in purple and silver.

"What about this one?"

I spun around and saw him holding up a large cushion. It was dual-coloured and striped.

"Why are you frowning?" Christian asked. "It's… nice."

"It's black and white," I shot back.

"And?"

"It's boring."

"It's a little simple, yes –"

"It's boring," I repeated. "Christian, the apartment is already so…"

"So what?"

"Colourless," I shrugged my shoulders. He fixed me with his stare, waiting for me to expand on my comment. "There's hardly any colour in the apartment and what little there is, is dark and dull. I'm not necessarily a fan of big and bold colours, but it'd be nice to add a splash of something interesting around the place."

"Right…"

"We need to brighten the apartment up," I told him. "It's kind of clinical at the moment."

He looked down at the pillow and then nodded his head. He placed it back on the shelf.

"We need colour," he muttered. He shifted his feet and clicked his tongue as he tried to find something else. "Colour."

"Don't look so nervous," I whispered to him, running my hand up his arm. "Break the habit of a lifetime and find something you actually like, not something you think will go with the décor we already have."

A smile worked its way along his lips.

"What about that one?" he blurted, jerking his head to the side as his gaze was caught by something blue. He stepped forward and pulled it from the shelf. "I like the colour of this."

I slid my fingers over the front of the cushion, the material soft under my touch. It was a rectangle shaped pillow and looked like a watercolour painting, blues and creams rolling into each other like waves. It had flecks of silver throughout, catching the light as he turned it this way and that.

"That's really nice," I grinned, nodding at him. "Keep hold of it. We're buying it."

He grinned back at me. He looked proud of himself for getting my seal of approval. I couldn't help but giggle at his expression.

I wandered along the aisle by myself, Christian taking care in picking his next option. I drifted across to the next row of shelves, my eyes fixing on something purple and pink.

He said no pink but maybe I can sneak in something softer, less Barbie and more rose-toned?

Wanting to know if I could persuade him with something fluffy and matching the dusty hue of my dress, I weaved back towards the spot I had left Christian in a few seconds ago.

My footsteps slowed as I heard him talking to someone.

Surely a store assistant hadn't grabbed him already? We had been lucky to avoid their attention thus far –

I edged forward and glanced down the aisle. Standing at Christian's side was a tall brunette with a playful smile across her red lips. She had her arms folded under her chest and was squeezing her cleavage up into her throat. Her silk blouse struggled against the strain, clinging to every inch of her torso, tucked perfectly into a knee-length skirt.

She definitely wasn't a store assistant.

I gulped hard.

"I read about it in the newspaper," she said softly. She tilted her head to the side, her dark curls springing off her shoulder and falling down her back.

"A lot of people did," Christian huffed at her. His eyes were fixed ahead of him, as if he couldn't bear to look at her.

"You must have been annoyed."

"Why?" he shot back, shaking his head. He matched her stance and crossed his arms, shuffling back a step to put more space between them. "Why would I give a shit about that place?"

"I know you were her partner," she smiled. He jerked his head to her. "Don't look so surprised. She told me that you were invested in all her ventures, professional and otherwise."

"She was a compulsive liar," he retorted.

"You lost a pretty good business when Maîtrise went up in smoke," the woman replied. "Not that I'd ever been in there. I heard it was nice, though."

"It was a dump. Now, if you don't mind –"

He started to walk away but she held up her hand.

"Is it true?" she asked. "That she died in there?"

"Yes."

"Wow…" she blew out her plump lips, her eyes widening in surprise. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be," he shrugged. "I'm glad the bitch is dead."

She snapped her head back and frowned.

"I thought you and her were friends?"

"You thought wrong."

"Well, you were friends when she introduced us."

My stomach hardened, twisting into knots.

"That was a long time ago," he grunted. "A lot has changed since then."

"You've changed," she remarked. Her dark eyes trailed the length of his body. My fingers dug hard into the pillow I was holding. "You're looking great, actually."

"I really don't have time for this," Christian sighed, throwing his hand up in the air. "You shouldn't have come over here."

"I read the exposé you did in The Seattle Times," she blurted. She was desperate to keep his attention. "It was very interesting."

"Whatever –"

"I'm glad you've found someone permanent," she smiled sweetly.

Too sweet for my liking.

"I'm in a relationship," Christian snapped at her. His voice was hard and cutting.

I knew what he meant and I knew what she had implied.

It confirmed what I was dreading.

She's one of them.

"You're officially out of the game, then?" she sighed. She stepped forward onto her toes and tried to lower her voice. "It's a shame. You were the best I ever had."

Bile forced its way into my mouth.

Christian let out a heavy sigh and retreated another step. He reeled his shoulders back and scowled at her.

"Amber, you need to leave. Now."

"Aren't I allowed to say hello to an old friend?"

"We were never friends," he fired back. "You know the rules. You have no right coming up to me."

"I…" she faltered. She licked her lips nervously. "I just wanted to say hi. I've been thinking about you since I read all of that stuff in the papers. When I saw you I just –"

Her words stalled as her eyes darted down the aisle to me.

"Oh god…"

Her dark eyes held my gaze, the colour of Bourbon.

I slammed my eyes shut but her face still flashed in my mind.

Leila.

My skin started to burn, too hot under my jacket.

I could feel my throat closing.

A cold sweat was building at my nape.

It's too hot.

No. No. No.

Not again.

The flames.

The smoke.

I dropped the pillow and slammed my hands against my chest.

My heart. Racing.

It hurts

"Ana –"

I opened my eyes.

'You think you're so special…You mean nothing to him… You're just one in a long line of sluts he has fucked.'

'I'm going to enjoy watching you burn.'

"No…" I whimpered. "Leave me alone…"

Her voice pounded in my ears. I could feel her breath against my skin. Her fingers curling around my neck –

"Ana!"

My name snagged in Christian's throat. Fear cast a dark shadow over his face.

As he raced towards me, my body pulled me in the opposite direction.

I needed to get out.

I needed to run.

I couldn't catch my breath. I sucked in air but it wasn't enough. The walls were closing in. My lungs were gasping for release.

I turned on the spot and crashed into the shelves beside me, knocking the whole thing over, the contents spilling onto the ground separating me and Christian.

He shouted my name over and over. I heard him racing after me. I wanted him but I had to get out.

I can't breathe –

She's going to kill me.

I barged past a couple hovering near the exit and crashed out onto the street.

I didn't know where I was going but I broke into a sprint, running as fast as my feet could take me.