Authors note: You guys are so encouraging and I'm so happy that I stepped out and wrote my daydreams down onto this website. It's been a really fun ride. To the guest who asked 'how long I was going to draw it out before some lemons'...as long as I want. The title says it all here and this is my story to write at the pace I choose. If you're looking for love scenes, they're coming, but if you can't wait, then sign in with a user name and I can send you a list of FF stories that jump right to them. They've 'known' each other for month at this point, give a girl a break!

APOV

"Ana, I hate to do this but I've put it off all day. Your mother has called close to a dozen times wanting to speak with you." He holds the buzzing phone in the middle of us, "She's calling again now."

"How did she get your number?" God, I'm taking over his entire life at this point!

"Ray gave it to her. Want me to ignore it or answer it? Up to you."

Outside of Jack Hyde and dragon lady, my mom is the last person I want to talk to at this point but I see no way to avoid her. Eventually I'll have to do this so I may as well rip the Band-Aid off early and I reach for his phone as I take a deep breath.

"Mom, hi."

"What the fuck, Ana? You were attacked over 24 hours ago and I only know about it because Ray called me in a panic and you can't fucking call me all day? I've been worried sick over here!" I look at Christian for, what exactly, I don't know, but I must look distraught because he takes the phone from me, a raise of his eyebrows asking for permission to deal with her.

I push the phone into his hands and he interrupts her tirade, his baritone voice shutting her up immediately.

"Mrs. Adams, your daughter was physically assaulted less than one day ago. The very last thing she needs is to be verbally assaulted as well, especially by her mother. If you would like to speak to Anastasia then you'll need to keep your temper in check or I will block all incoming calls from you going forward." I'm tickled, ecstatic, elated. Finally someone is standing up for me!

"Who the fuck are you, her protector?" he grins big and winks at me.

"Actually, yes, that's exactly who I am. Are you ready to be nice now?" If my ribs weren't wrapped and I wasn't on the tail end of my period I would totally strip for him and do him right here, right now.

"Yes. Please put my daughter on the phone."

"You're in charge here, Ana, she starts back up, you end it." I nod at him, still doe eyed from his comments to my mom. Whatever you say, Mr. Grey, Sir.

"I'm sorry I didn't call you, I didn't call anyone. Dad found out from Kate and I've been doped up all day so I didn't think to call."

"I'm not just anyone, Ana, I'm your mother! It's always about you though, isn't it?" Christian plucks the phone from my hand and hits the end button before I can protest but it's exactly what I need right now. The familiar sadness that accompanies everything she touches in my life settles in my gut and I feel sick.

"Fuck that noise, Ana. It IS about you right now. You're her daughter, it should always be about you." I want to tell him everything, all about Stephen Morton, all about how my mom covered it up and lied to doctors and friends, how the two of them made me the problem and how even after all of these years, she still hasn't taken responsibility for any of it. I can't verbalize anything though, it's just too painful and the words stick in my throat, refusing to come out. Christian reaches over and grabs my face between his hands.

"Look, I don't know what exactly happened but I've got a pretty good idea and if you never want to speak to her again, I'll make sure that happens. Anything you want, Ana, anything you need, all you have to do is tell me and I will make it happen."

Tears, again. "I don't know what I want." His thumbs are furiously wiping away tears, unable to keep up with the torrent of them and he grabs a Kleenex and wipes my face and my nose. How gross!

"Anything, Ana. When you figure it out, I will do anything you want." He wants to kiss me, I can feel the current running through him but he doesn't, no doubt the snot and tears are a turnoff. Instead he takes both of our phones and shuts them off, putting them in a drawer before grabbing the pill vile and a glass of water.

"Lights out time, baby. You're falling apart on me here and you need to rest." I take the pill and water and use the bathroom one last time before bed. After I've peed he comes in and watches me brush my teeth, leaning against the doorframe and watching me in the mirror. His basketball shorts are tented in front and I blush bright red. I feel his erection brush against my ass while he carries me to the bed where he tucks me in. He's not even slightly embarrassed!

"I'm going to work a bit after you've fallen asleep but if you wake up, I'll be right here so don't worry, okay?" His long fingers tuck strands of hair behind my ears and then fluff my pillow cocoon up before he drags his thumb along my bottom lip. On impulse I kiss it and nip the pad of his thumb with my teeth and he hisses, closes his eyes and tips his head back.

"Ana, don't." It hurts me. "You need to rest, sleep now."

I don't want to sleep, I want to make love to this beautiful man but the pills are taking effect and the exhaustion of crying all day has taken its toll. My eyes are heavy and as hard as I try to keep them open, I can't.

It's pouring when I wake up to use the bathroom and the rain lashes at the windows of Christians' bedroom leaving winding and random patterns on the glass. I stumble to the bathroom in the dark, noticing the heated floors in there for the first time, and just about jump out of my skin when I hear him yell my name.

"Ana! What the fuck are you doing?" Oh my god, look at him. He's just in pajama bottoms, no shirt, no socks and his hair is sticking out in every direction. Oh and the way those pants hang low on his hips, showing enough of that V that promises so much more...he should be illegal. I want to lick that V right to the very bottom.

"I had to use the bathroom and you were sleeping so peacefully, I didn't want to wake you, besides, I feel a bit better." I stretch a little and find that in fact, I do feel a little better.

He strides to me and lifts me, a warning look on his beautiful face.

"I want to watch the rain." I blurt out. I'm not ready to go back to bed, my mind is chaotic and dark and I'm afraid of the dreams that will find me in that state.

He pauses and moves towards the windows, gently putting me down and I press my hands flat on the cool glass and trace random streams as they twist and turn. His body heat is in direct contrast with the cold of the glass making me hyper aware that he's standing so close, the scent of his body wash swirling around me.

"He'll come back for me you know." It's a whisper but it's the truth.

I can feel him tense even though he's not touching me. I have lived with the fear of abuse for over 11 years and for almost three of them it was a reality. I escaped, got help, learned to defend myself and moved on, or so I thought until Jack Hyde came along and set me back. The overwhelming fear that has been effectively kept at bay for so long bubbles to the surface and I start to talk, things I never thought I'd utter spinning out into the night to be swallowed by the storm outside that so perfectly reflects the one inside of me.

"Ana, nobody will ever be able to hurt you like this again. I will have a hundred security detail assigned to you for a trip to the mailbox if you'll let me. We will find him and we will end this, I promise you that." The urgency of his tone rings of truth but he hasn't figured it out yet. There will always be someone who wants to hurt me.

"When I was 13 my mom's husband started hitting me, for 'punishments' as he would call them. Stupid stuff too like not putting my bike away or leaving the light on in my room. He'd hit me with a belt, just once here and there and my mother, so intent on making this, her third marriage work, would tell me that he was just being a good dad." I snort at how ridiculous that sounds. Behind me Christian is as still as stone. "She actually said to me that I should be grateful that I had a 'dad' that cared enough to punish and discipline me." The burn of those words still torment me and I fight back the sting of tears.

"It was…tolerable I guess until the day he heard me say the F word on the phone and he beat me, literally hit me with his bare hands until I begged him to stop. My mom said nothing, did nothing. It escalated from there. Every few days he'd have a bad day or something and I'd come home and try so hard, I tried so hard to do everything right but he'd always find fault somewhere. I just messed everything up!" His hands fly to my hips and he kisses the back of my head quickly, inhaling through his nose as he presses his lips to my crown.

"You were a kid, Ana and nobody's perfect. He was an asshole, you hold no responsibility for what he did."

"If he wasn't hitting me, he was telling me what a loser I was because I sucked at sports or how dumb I was because I couldn't understand algebra or how ugly I was because I had brown hair and all the pretty girls had blond hair. He hated having to share my mother with me so I pulled even further away from her in the hopes that if she didn't pay me any attention, then he wouldn't either but all that did was isolate me further." My voice drops to a whisper, I force myself to continue, it hurts to talk about it but if Christian can try to work through his darkness, then I can too.

"One day I came home and he had hit her. I found her lying on the floor in the living room holding her lip which was bleeding all over the place and I went after him. 15 years old and about 95 pounds but I couldn't let him hurt my mother so I charged at him and he went crazy. Absolutely crazy, screaming about how much everyone hated me and how no one wanted me around while he punched and pushed me and you know what my mother did, Christian?"

I turn and press my back against the glass and stare at him, his eyes are filled with fire even in the dark of the night and I know that if Stephen Morton were here right now, he'd be a dead man.

"She did nothing. Not one thing, she stood up and cleaned her face up while he screamed at me and pushed me and then finally he grabbed my face and slammed me down to the ground. That's the scar you felt, my head hit the corner of the fireplace hearth, I was unconscious for close to a day and when I woke up, nobody was there. Not one person. I hate that scar because of what it reminds me of, not of Stephen Morton's….abuse, but the fact that my own mother couldn't be bothered to try and stop him, she couldn't even stay at the hospital for me." Two single tears spill over, I have never in my entire life spoken about this part of my life so much and hearing the words spoken weakens and fortifies me. I want them out.

"Ana." He whispers my name and holds my hips again, the heat of his hands scorching the exposed skin of my pelvis.

"How can anyone want me when my own mother doesn't?"

"How can they not?" He takes a step closer and leans down to kiss me, gruffly and harshly and demanding as his hands grip my hips and hold me still. When he pulls away he speaks into my mouth softly and urgently. "So many people care about you, so many people want you in their lives." He kisses me again, gentler but no less demanding. "I want you, so much."

He grasps my wrists and pulls my arms above my head, pinning me in place with one hand while he kisses me and runs his other hand up and down my side until it cups my breast and squeezes it, his groan as sharp as my own. Oh that feels good, more, I want more.

He palms me, massaging and pinching my nipple between his fingers sending bolts of desire surging to my sex. Oh god, yes!

"You fit perfectly in my hand, Ana. We're made for each other." He bends down and lifts my legs around his waist grabbing my ass and presses his hardness between my legs, rolling up and moaning before he pushes me against the window.

"Ow!" I suck in my breath against the sharp pain and slap my hand against the glass while I try to push it away.

"Fuck! I'm so sorry, Ana. FUCK!" he sets me down again and steps back, horror on his face as he runs his hands through his hair. "I'm so sorry, I...I was trying to be gentle but then you moaned and fuck! I forgot everything. Are you alright?"

"I'm ok, it just surprised me that's all. I'm fine, really!" I reach out to kiss him but he grabs my wrists and places them by my side.

"Ana, trust me, there is nothing I want more right now than to touch you and taste you and take you but I won't be an animal and hurt you." No, please! Hurt me! It's fine, really!

"Christian I'm alright! Really!"

But the damage is done, the mood has effectively been killed. Even his pajamas are flat in the front again and before I can protest he's lifted me and put me back in bed. After a quick detour to the bathroom he climbs in next to me and leans against the headboard with his eyes closed. I can only see the side of his face and if I move, he's going to get upset so I lay still and wait for him to speak. Damn do I want to bite those nipples.

"I'm sorry, Ana. I can't believe I did that while you were hurting, I'm so fucking embarrassed." I am smiling from ear to ear, I love that he lost his cool and that I was the reason for it. My hand finds his and his eyes open, staring at our intertwined fingers.

"Why did you not tell anybody what was going on?"

Geesh, talk about a mood killer. "I didn't see the point. My own mother wouldn't do anything about it, if anything she encouraged it and if she didn't care, then who else would? People knew though, a few teachers asked questions and after my fourth time in the ER the doctors started telling me in private that if I was having problems at home that I could tell anyone on staff and they'd help." I'm whispering again, the shame of being someone's whipping boy doesn't go away no matter how much time has passed.

"After the last time, when I woke and nobody was there the hospital sent in someone from Child Protective before they notified my mother that I had woken. She had my medical records and sat on my bed going on and on about not being able to do anything if I didn't say anything, she would not shut up. I heard my mom and Stephen in the hallway, she was freaking out, probably afraid I'd say something but I knew better so instead I just looked at that woman and told her I wanted to move back here with my dad."

"She just wrote the information down, opened the door for my mom and walked out. Stephen walked over to me and grabbed my foot, bending it backwards demanding to know what I had said but the woman came back and he let go before she could see. I just looked at my mom and told her that I was going to move back with Ray. She didn't even argue. Stephen stormed out and I've not seen him since."

"Ray didn't know any of this?" He's pinching the bridge of his nose with one hand but the hand holding mine is solid and sure, giving me the courage I need to keep going.

"No, not until CPS called him. He flew down that night and took me home with him the next morning. We didn't even go to the house for my things. My mom signed over full custody to him, she never even tried to fight me leaving." I take a shaky breath and press on, those first few weeks were the darkest of my life.

"He hated Stephen to begin with since he'd been the one my mom had left him for and it took almost a week before I told him, in bits and pieces what had been going on. He was so mad I thought he was going to fly back there and kill him. I wish he had."

"So do I."

"Instead he found me a good therapist and enrolled me in Krav Maga, taught me how to shoot a gun and where to hit someone to break their nose. He drove me to school, picked me up, took me fishing and camping, paid for language classes and took me to Paris. He never prodded me or forced me to talk about it and I never did, I just wanted to forget it all and move on but, this, this asshole has stirred it all up again!"

He squeezes my hand and brings it to his lips to kiss my knuckles.

"We'll find him, Ana and when we do, I will make sure that he pays for what he's done to you. I promise you that. I'm looking forward to meeting your dad and shaking his hand, he's a true hero in my book."

"Well, you won't have to wait long then, he texted me that he's already in California and he'll be here tomorrow afternoon, actually, today now." Christian looks a bit distressed suddenly but slides down onto his pillow never letting go of my hand.

"I can't wait to meet him. Now it's time for you to sleep sweet girl." He kisses my hand again and I take comfort in the protection that this man gives to me without having to ask for it.

CPOV

Well fuck me. There is no way I'm getting any sleep now. When she bit my finger it shot straight to my dick, already hard from watching her run the toothbrush over her mouth in a simulated blow job. Everything she does turns me on and damn it if that wasn't sexy as hell.

I knew the basics of what had been done to her while she lived with Morton but to hear her tiny voice, heavy with emotion and shame just killed me. How anyone could hurt her is beyond my comprehension and the truth about her mother? Suddenly hanging up on her didn't make me feel so rude. I'd have liked to have ripped her apart first.

All of Anastasia's insecurities make sense to me now; she was neglected, rejected and abandoned by her mother and told by that fucker that she was worthless, annoying and in the way. That's why she keeps asking me if I want her to leave, she's been made to believe that's how people see her. I'll need to change that, she has to be made to see her value.

She's trusted me with this, handed it to me and laid her fears bare to me. The magnitude and responsibility is huge but I will gladly take it on for her. I wonder if this is how she felt when I told her about me.

I fought the urge to reach out and touch her as long as I could, so afraid that if I moved she'd stop talking and I wanted to know everything she'd share with me. But then she turned and bit that lip and god, the silhouette of her hips against the moonlight. I couldn't stop myself.

Glancing over at her sleeping form I pull the sheet down to her waist, looking closely at the strip of exposed skin above her pants. Surely she'll have burn marks where I touched her, I can still feel the heat of her skin on my fingertips. A shiver runs through her so I pull back and lift up the comforter to cover her, disappointed that I'll miss out on the opportunity to study her breasts while she sleeps.

A hiss of air escapes my mouth when my head falls back onto the pillow, remembering the heavy fullness in my palm. The thin t-shirt and barely there lace bra did nothing to hide the sensual feel of her and I clench my own fist to resist touching her again.

Fuck! I've got to get some relief here or I'll never fall asleep but jerking off in the bathroom while she sleeps 30 feet away seems wrong to me. If her dad is coming into town today she may want to go back to her apartment with him but after having her in my bed and in my home for two days, I can't bear the thought of her not being here. Maybe he'll be ok staying in the guest room. But then, would she be ok sleeping with me with him in the house? How does this work?

I opt to get in the shower, turning the cold water on to run over my cock and balls and while it eventually does work, it takes for fucking ever. I have got to fuck her and soon, I can't handle this much longer. The clock reads 3:14am, too early to get up so I turn to watch her sleep and take her hand in mine again. If this is my last night with her, I want to savor it so I do, watching her and capturing her sleeping form on my camera until my own lids close and sleep finally takes me.

"I want to go to work, Christian! I'm feeling so much better, I swear. I can't lay here another day, I just can't!"

"Then call someone to stay with you, there is no way in hell you're going in so stop with the bullshit and get your ass back in the bed!"

"I can have a friend over even if you're not here?" She's got a sly little look on that cute face of hers and I proceed with caution.

"Ana, you can do anything you want as long as it includes you laying in the bed or on the couch."

"Well…the only friend I have that doesn't work a normal job during the day is Jose." Of fucking course it is.

"I want the truth, has there ever been anything between you two? A kiss even? Anything?"

She scrunches up her face as if grossed out and tells me no. What choice do I have? She can't go anywhere and if the only way I can get her to stay put is to have him here then what are my options? None. I've got to close the SIP deal today at 10 and I'm meeting with Tony Lain at noon. Both are priorities for me and the SIP deal can't be put off, we've already made enough enemies in that camp.

"You sit on separate couches, you don't close the door to the room you're in and under no circumstance is he to go into the bedroom." I pacify myself knowing that Mrs. Jones will be here all day and I'll call for Ryan to sit in the security room on the monitors. Usually they're off unless I have company over and I'd never put them on to spy on Ana but if Jose is here, you can bet your ass I want someone watching.

"Christian. Sweetie. Moon pie. Lunatic. He is my friend, I trust him and I will not be told where he and I can sit and what he and I can and can't do. I would never invite him into your bedroom. I am a 22 year old woman and you are not my father. So, if you can't give me a goodbye kiss and promise to bring me home a Starbucks, then I will take my ass to work and you can suck it. Entendeu?"

Damn I do like it when she speaks another language. I'd like to argue with her and maybe even spank her a bit but I'm so thrilled that feisty Ana is back after her breakdowns yesterday and last night that I do just what she says.

"Fine, but if he so much as hugs you too long, I'm going to go bullshit. Entendeu?"

"Sim, Sir." Oh yea, baby, say that again. With a light kiss on her lips I grab my briefcase and give her a playful smack on the ass before leaving. So very domestic and so very arousing. I could get used to this.

The reception my team walks into when we enter the SIP boardroom is colder than freezing. We are definitely not wanted here but I've taken over enough companies that I simply don't give a fuck. Firing Jack Hyde isn't an option anymore, his attack on Ana has eliminated the job he had and after we find him, the only thing he'll be editing are license plate numbers.

The company itself though shows promise and the deal was all but done on Monday when everything happened. The fact that Ana wants to be an editor someday has little to do with wanting to add this company to my roster. Or so I tell myself.

One of the senior editors and Jr. VP's, an Elizabeth Morgan, focuses on me with laser like eyes the entire meeting and the second my signature is dry and I stand to leave, she follows me. Taylor steps between us before she can get too close, her unwavering stare has caught his attention too it seems and I turn to her with ice in my eyes. I'm not interested, Ms. Morgan.

"Mr. Grey, I wanted to ask about Anastasia, I heard she had some difficulties on Monday night."

I blink before I can catch myself even as Taylor squares himself and puts his hand on the gun he keeps hidden.

"How did you know about that, Ms. Morgan and what do you know?" Outside of the police, who are sworn by law not to speak about active cases and were forced by my lawyers to sign NDA's anyway, nobody but a few of Ana's friends knows what happened.

"A lot of people know, Mr. Grey. Is she doing well? We were friendly when she translated for us a few weeks ago." She's fishing for information and not out of the goodness of her heart. What's your part in all this?

"She's doing stellar, thank you." We turn to go and as soon as we're in the car Taylor calls Ryan to have him place a covert on Ms. Morgan until further notice. That is why I pay him $395k a year with a shit ton of benefits and perks. The man knows danger when he sees it.

"What have you found out if anything?" My desk is littered with piles of papers and fact sheets that Tony, my internal auditor, has compiled. He's the quintessential nerd but the guy is amazing at his job, his ability to sniff out fraud is astonishing, catching inconsistencies that even I miss. I only hire the best and I pay accordingly, Tony Lain is no exception to that rule.

"Well, her books are a disaster, I don't know if her bookkeepers don't know what they're doing or if they think being sloppy creates an inability to reconcile things and therefore makes it easier to hide things. Since it's been years since we've audited her, I'm still in 2009 but as messy as the books are, I haven't found any glaring inconsistencies. Her payroll is inflated a bit but nothing that we can pin on her at this point."

"OK, thanks for the update, I'll want another report in a week, same time. Are you working on any other businesses right now?"

"No, sir. I've got my team spread out on various projects but I'm working solely on anything Lincoln. Per her contract she also has to provide personal tax returns and investment portfolios which she still hasn't handed over. I've given her until Friday but I've got no real pull with her."

"I'll call her today, thank you, Tony."

He stands, gathers his papers and scuttles out as Welch walks in.

"Sir, I've got someone tailing Ms. Morgan, she's not left the SIP office but I've sent someone to her home to check it out. Our team in Atlanta is up and running, nothing to report there yet. I've also been in touch with the lead investigator on the Hyde case and there's been no activity on that front either."

"Damn. Fuck! Where the fuck could he be?" The desk bears the brunt of my aggression when I punch it and Taylor enters to inform me that Jose Rodriguez has arrived at the apartment. Perfect, just fucking perfect.

"Andrea!" Welch ducks out, smart guy that he is.

"Yes, Mr. Grey?"

"What can't get pushed off?" She runs her finger over her tablet and answers decisively seconds later.

"You have a 1pm call with your Japanese counterpart. I can move everything else for later in the week."

"Do it. Email me the information for the call, I'll make it from home."

Taylor opens the door for her while I grab my suit jacket and head out.

"We need to make a stop at Starbucks first." I catch the minute raise of his eyebrows but he wisely says nothing, pulling into the one closest to Escala. He makes to get out but I open my door, surprising him.

"I'll get it, I know what she likes."

It's close to 1 when I get home but my call can wait, I need to see where Jose and Ana are and what they're doing. Surprisingly they're in the great room playing…checkers? People still do that?

"Mr. Grey, hello." Jose stands and shakes my hand while Ana watches our interaction carefully.

"Mr. Rodriguez, it was nice of you to keep Anastasia company while I was out. I trust you were offered a drink?"

"Please call me Jose and yes, Mrs. Jones was very accommodating." Making my way over to Ana I give her a kiss on the top of her head, I'd like to lay her flat and make out with her for his benefit as much as my own but I think that would just piss her off.

"Hi, baby. Your drink, madame." She giggles at my half bow and flourish. "Checkers?"

"We wanted to play chess but neither of us knows how."

"I see, and where did this set come from?" It's cheap and tacky, not one I could see myself owning but I don't think I own checkers anyway. The last time I played a board game was…never. My dad, grandfather, Elliot and I have played chess but that's it.

"Jose brought them and my slippers." Ah yes, that explains the pink fuzz peeking out from the bottom of her pajama pants. "While I have you here, Mr. Grey," uh oh, "Mia checked in earlier, anything you'd like to tell me about? Any important dates coming up?" Fucking Mia.

Shrugging to indicate that it's not a big deal I roll my eyes and answer her, "My birthday is on Saturday."

"How could you not tell me?" she's whining and challenging me and ordinarily if someone spoke to me this way I'd have a fit. If it were being done in front of someone I'd bruise their ass before handing it back to them but the intimacy of our little spar makes me feel downright giddy. The fact that it's being done in front of Jose sends a clear message to him, 'we're together', even if we're not. Yet.

"I've never enjoyed my birthday so I don't make a big deal out of it." Am I blushing?

"Well, prepare to change that up this year. I've already formulated a plan so clear anything you had scheduled and put on your have a good time pants." Both Jose and I laugh at that.

"Where do you come up with this shit? OK, I'm all yours on Saturday but no big thing, ok?" She nods yes but the mischievous look behind her eyes gives me pause. "I mean it, Ana. Nothing big. I've got a call I need to make and some work I need to catch up on so I'll be in my office should you need me. Jose, if I'm not out when you leave, have a good night." I stride off to my office just happy to know that she's mine on Saturday, an entire day with Ana. For once, I'm looking forward to my birthday.

"He said he'd be here by 4 so he'll come here, meet you and we'll go back to my place. Yes I'm nervous to go back but he's a retired Marine so I feel a bit safer and eventually I'm going to have to so I may as well face this now."

I don't like the idea of her going to the apartment at all, even if her dad's a Marine.

"Ana, why don't you both stay here? We'll go for dinner and you can both relax here afterwards. My security team is prepping the place for the alarm and monitoring system anyway so it's going to be messy and cramped." Taylor managed to talk me out of the cameras and bugging system but I wouldn't back down on anything else. That apartment is going to be the Fort Knox of Seattle and even then I have no intention of really letting her stay there.

"That is really sweet of you but I know my dad and he's not going to want to stay here no matter how nice it is. We're going to spend the day site seeing tomorrow as long as I'm up for it so your guys really won't be in our way. I'd love for us all to go out for dinner though, do you want to do that?"

Nervous heat spreads up my chest, a feeling totally foreign to me. Did I want to do that? Go out to eat with Anastasias father? You haven't fucked her yet, you can look him in the eye, at least you've got that going for you.

"I'd like nothing more than to hear stories of you as a child and petulant teen." She giggles and I lean down and brush my lips over hers in an attempt to savor the sound. "Did you have fun with your friend?"

"His name is Jose and yes, we had a great time, it was perfect."

"Why did you stay in here? The library couch is so much more comfortable and you could have watched a movie instead of playing checkers!"

"You've never shown me around outside of these front rooms and your bedroom so I felt funny walking around scoping the place out."

"I've never given you a tour? Come on, we've got an hour or so before your dad gets here." I swing her up into my arms, slightly alarmed by her seemingly lightened frame. Her smooth arms circle my neck and she kisses my cheek.

"You're so sweet to carry me everywhere but I can walk now. I feel almost normal." She may feel better but I'd hold her every second of every day if I could.

"One more day of no movement and then I'll let you do as you please. Actually, until 4, I don't need for your dad to see me carrying you everywhere." We both laugh at that as I make my way to the rooms of the house, pausing occasionally to answer a question of hers. When I open the door to the library she stiffens in my arms in an attempt to get down, her little wiggles waking up my libido. I watch with rapt joy as she runs her hands over the books on the shelves in obvious delight.

"Christian Trevelyan Grey! You've had this the entire time I've been here and I didn't even know it! Oh my god! Look at this place! It's my fantasy, books floor to ceiling, oversized leather couch, heavy light blocking curtains, a reading nook with a huge armchair. Ahh! I'm in love!"

Her exuberance makes my toes curl in happiness, I'd seen people act like this but I'd never been the cause of it and it feels good.

"So you like the library?" She turns and claps her hands together, tossing that head of thick chestnut curls back and squeals.

"This might be my most favorite room of any room in any house, ever! I never want to leave it!" Then don't, stay with me forever. "Do you come in here a lot? Oh my gosh, I'd be in here every single day!"

"Actually, I hardly ever come in here." Her perfect little mouth drops open and she looks horrified.

"Well, that's got to change, this place is fantastic! OK, sorry, show me the rest. I want to come back here afterwards though." Her excitement is contagious but I know that the only rooms left are the ones that will suck that excitement right out of her.

She walks out on her own flashing me a coy little smile when I take her hand and slant my eyes at her to let her know I realize she's walking.

"This is the security room, there are cameras in every room except two but none of them are on except the one in the foyer and the ones on the balconies. Taylor knows to turn them on if there are people here or if we're out. You've met Ryan?"

"Yes, briefly, hi, Ryan. Have you spoken with Sawyer? How is he?"

"Good, ma'am, recovering at his apartment but he expects to be back in two weeks." With that he nods and resumes his job which is currently looking through all of the street cameras in Seattle to find out where Hyde went.

"Down this hall is another door that is Mrs. Jones and Taylors apartment. I've not been in there since I showed it to them so we'll leave that one alone." Her eyebrows knit and she bites her lip, that cute little line on her forehead indicating that she's working something out.

"They live together? Are they married? Or it's just the set up?"

"It's the set up but between us, they've been dating seriously for almost three years. I'm pretty sure Taylor wants to marry her but she seems to be reluctant, I have a feeling his job is the problem." Listen to me, gossiping like a teenage girl. What is this woman doing to me?

"Really? Wow, go Taylor!" we exit and turn to the stairs but my hesitation is evident. "What? What's up there?"

"Another guest room, a storage room and the playroom." She laughs out loud throwing me off guard.

"The playroom? What are you, five?" Oh that smart mouth of yours, Ms. Steele, it will get you in trouble.

"Almost 29 but the playroom is for my play." She immediately stops laughing and stills.

"Oh. You have a room for that?"

"Come, we may as well get this over with. If you never want to speak to me again, I'll understand but I won't let it happen so know that now." I lift her then and carry her up the stairs, putting her down in front of the locked door.

Once it's unlocked I slowly turn to her, my hand on the handle and I take a deep breath. She does the same.

"Open the damn door, Christian!" The moment of truth. The first thing that always hits me is the smell, citrus and wood polish, leather and metal. The urge to act dominant tries to overtake me but I fight it back and let her enter first.

"Wow, it's…red." She walks in and stands in the middle, her eyes settling on the bed and the St. Andrews Cross. She walks to it and studies it closely, running her hands over the smooth wood and touching the restraints. I'm in agony, my cock is being suffocated by my pants which are getting tighter by the second. I have thought of her on that cross more times than I care to admit and now she's looking at it, feeling it and no doubt trying to work out how it's used.

She doesn't make eye contact which worries me, instead she walks to the bench and runs her hand along the leather, repeating the movement over the table top and the couch back before she stands next to the bed. She looks sad.

"You've had sex on this bed with a lot of women." She's not asking so I say nothing while she runs her hands over the sheets. "Who cleans up? Is it always these sheets?"

What? "Ah, the subs do and Gail washes the sheets and cleans the furniture."

"The red sheets are tacky." What she's really saying is that it pains her that I've fucked women on those sheets. Consider them gone, baby.

"I'll get rid of them then. I'd hate to be tacky." My joke falls flat while she makes her way to the dresser with the toys. Her toys though she doesn't know that.

"Can I open this?" And here we go.

"Yes, I won't hide anything from you, Ana." Her small smile eases my nerves a bit until I see her eyes grow wide. "Ask me anything."

Her green eyes are huge and alarmed, maybe this was a bad idea after all she's just gone through.

"OK, come and explain to me what these things are."

I glance in and touch the items as I explain them to her. "This is a vibrator, I'm sure you've seen one before, you probably even own one."

She half laughs and shakes her head slowly. "No, I don't own one. Not everybody does that you know."

My hand drops and I cock my head to the side. "Yes they do, Ana. Come on."

She raises her brows and shakes her head. "No, they don't. I don't." her shoulders shrug and my gut drops, who's pleasuring her then?

"This is a wand, it works a lot like a vibrator but is used all over the body, this is a butt plug, pretty self explanatory." Her eyes fly to mine in disbelief.

"You mean, you put that in someone? And they like it?" Holy fuck I've got to get her out of here. Just being in here with her is making me hard as a rock but to explain these toys to her, these things that were bought with her in mind, has me almost coming in my pants.

"Yes, very much so." And one day, you will too, just give me a few weeks, there is so much I want to do to you.

"If you say so. What is this?" I stifle a laugh, I can read her disdain and I watch with fascination as she works it out in her mind.

"Oh my god, where do they go?"

"They're anal beads but I guess you could technically use them anywhere." She drops them as if they were on fire and rubs her hands on her pants while I chuckle next to her.

"They're brand new, never used!" Her confusion grows so I explain. "I get rid of everything once a contract is terminated. When I decide to take on another submissive, I get all new things." Her confusion morphs into alarm and she takes a small step back.

"When you decide to take on another submissive? So you were going to start up with someone?" I release a breath through my nose, this could go either way but I'm pretty sure it's going down.

"I bought these after I met you."

"Me? So you were looking for someone but now you're not?"

"No, Ana. I bought these things for you."

I didn't think she could get any redder than she already was but she does and I can literally feel the heat of her embarrassment. She swallows hard and looks down at her hands before she responds.

"But, I'm not a submissive, Christian. I don't want to be either." I lift her chin up with my finger to meet my eyes and run my thumb over her cheek.

"No, Ana, you're anything but submissive. That's not what I want with you anymore and the only reason I did to begin with is because that's all I'd known."

She's satisfied and shuts the drawer before opening the next one.

"What the hell are those things?"

"Those," I point to the right of the drawer, "are nipple clamps. Some are harsher than others. These," I pick up a pair of hot pink plastic clamps and hold them up, " these vibrate while these suck."

"And those things?"

"Genital clamps." She drops her chin to her chest and looks at me through a furrowed brow.

"Well, if these are mine, then you can go ahead and get rid of those that's for sure."

My dick is as hard as it can be, my balls heavy and aching. It's been three days since I last came and the sole object of my desire has been in my bed for two nights. Having her in here is too much and I shut the drawers and start to usher her out. Did she just accept this stuff? What does that mean? Does she really not masturbate?

"Wait, what's all that stuff?"

Turning my head in her direction I explain what a flogger is, what a paddle is and what a crop is. The spreader bar I'll just have to show her one day. The precum dripping down my dick is tickling me. I've got to get out of here.

"What was hanging on those?"

"I had a few canes and cat o' nine tails. Some of the harder BDSM shit and I got rid of it."

"Why?"

"Because I couldn't use those things on you and to be perfectly, one hundred percent honest, I don't want to." I pause and watch her but she's still looking around, her eyes drifting to the cross. "Ana, we have to get out of here. You, in here, touching things and talking about them, it's too much." Her eyes fly to my crotch.

"Yes, see what I mean?"

"Oh. Sorry." And cue the blush. I wonder if her entire body blushes that delicious color.

Once we're out of the room I lock the door while Ana goes into the 'guest' room and takes a quick look around.

"This was the submissive room."

"They had a room? For what?"

"For the times they stayed here. The contracts retained them from Friday to Sunday afternoon at which time they stayed here unless they were in the playroom or cooking." Her face falls and she sits on the bed. Even in small doses this is a lot to take in.

"They stayed here? In this room? Did you ever stay with them?"

"No. I have never slept in the same bed with anyone until you and no one has ever slept in my bed until you."

"None of them slept in your bed either?"

"No, I don't have sex in my bed and none of them were ever allowed to even enter my room."

"So they'd come on Friday, spend the weekend cooking and getting beat by you and then they'd leave on Sunday?"

"Ana! That was bull shit!" Her choice of words, considering what she's just gone through and what she told me last night cut me in two and infuriate me. "You obviously don't understand it and making comments like that just pisses me off."

"You're right, I'm sorry. That was wrong of me to say. I'm just a little stunned I think. Imagine me taking you on a tour of my sexual past and having to stand in the room imagining all the things I've done and then find out that these men stayed with me for days at a time, to be used on a whim whenever I wanted."

Nausea takes over my gut, I would be beside myself if she did this to me.

"No, I couldn't do it. It would drive me crazy, I could never hear about you with another man." Her eyebrows shoot up and she gives me a satisfied smirk. She's jealous and hurt and…angry.

"Fuck, I'm sorry. I want to be as up front about myself as I can to you and maybe that's selfish, I don't know." She walks to me and pulls my phone from my pocket, looking at the time but her eyes grow wide when she sees my screensaver.

"I was going to keep being angry but this, this is so sweet, I don't know what to say. When did you take it?"

Shit I'm blushing again! "At the Fairmont. You just looked so peaceful and so ethereal, I couldn't help myself."

Her hand is resting on my forearm and she pulls me down and stands on her tippy toes to reach my cheek, gently kissing it before walking out. For as much as I know about women, I realize I actually know jack shit.

Entendeu? translated in Portuguese is "understand?"

Sim translated in Portuguese is "yes or yea"