CPOV
I've never been able to sleep for long stretches of time, not because I wasn't tired, but because my mind just wouldn't stop. It's not my mind that woke me up so early this morning though, it's my heart, literally bursting with an unnamed emotion that consumes me. It's not love, love isn't strong enough for what I feel in this moment. I try out other words, contentment, peace, joy...joy. Happiness, excitement for the upcoming days, hell, for the rest of my life. What I feel is alive.
The rest of Seattle is asleep while I lay here with the night table light's soft glow behind me studying the contours of Anastasia's exposed body. My girlfriend. She's on her side, facing the windows, her hair spread out behind her as if she's walking in the wind. I had my arms wrapped around her when I woke, we never bothered to dress or clean up after the last time we made love and having her against me, skin to skin has left me wanting her again. Animal, let her sleep.
The beast within lays down for a moment, overcome with affection while I trace her neck and shoulders, arms and hands, breast and side. God damn the swell of her hip drives me wild and I push the sheet lower to see her entire body, glowing and smooth in the moonlight. That muscular divide along her spine begs for attention and I run my fingernail along it from neck to waist, eliciting a shiver and a mumble from my sleeping beauty.
My teeth nip at her shoulder blade and watch with satisfaction as goose bumps spread over her arms and her nipples pucker. She wriggles her ass against me, still half asleep and unaware of the storm brewing behind her but it's still a fatal move. If I was teasing before, I'm not now. The attention I pay to her body has pushed her from sleep into a hazy state of mind, still restful but aware of the change in atmosphere around us.
"Anastasia, lie on your belly and put your arms above your head." She does as she's told without looking at me. Over and over I glide my hand up and down her body from neck to ankle, her ass lifting slightly each time I come near her sex but I won't touch her there. Yet. Instead I watch as the lush lips between her legs peek out between her thighs and will myself to ignore them for now.
After a few minutes I can't stay away and I pull her legs apart but keep her flat, the sight of her bare wet pussy all but eliminating my control right now. Leaning forward to whisper in her ear I let the tip of my cock drag down her slit, collecting wetness as it rubs up and down, spreading her, readying her.
"Do not move, hold onto the headboard and do exactly as I say. Do you understand?" She nods. "Good girl."
I want to dive right in and fuck her but I'm so close that I know it'll be over too soon plus, I love to watch her go wild when I touch her. To know that no one else has ever seen her like this is a heady feeling and not one I'll ever tire of. Sitting on my haunches I run my hands up both sides of her inner thighs and gently, so gently it almost tickles, run each finger over the outside of those swollen lips before pushing my middle and index finger inside of her. Her ass lifts as she tries to grind against my fingers but I hold her down with my free hand.
"Fuck baby you're so fucking hot. Does that feel good, does it feel good when I fuck you with my fingers?" I know it does, she's pouring on my hand while I slowly pump in and out. I've not taken her from behind yet and I'm eager to get inside of her, to see her bent over for me. I lift those amazingly sensual hips up and use my knees to spread her wide, fuck she looks good like this.
"Hold up a bit higher, I want your nipples to touch the sheet while I fuck you, just your nipples though, nothing else." Her groan turns me the fuck on and as soon as she's positioned herself the way I want her I fist my dick and watch, with lustful abandonment as the thick head of my cock spreads her tight little hole open and slides in.
"Ah! Christian! Oh god, oh god!" Ana throws her head back, that mane of chestnut hair spreading out over her back for me to collect and grab.
"Shhh, baby, feel that. God you look good with my cock buried inside your sweet pussy." A flood of moisture covers me and drips down my balls. She likes dirty talk, this just gets better and better. I need to go slowly or I'm going to come and I grab those fuckable hips, tip her pelvis up so that her ass is totally exposed and thrust into her. "Does that feel good on your nipples, Ana? Do you like when your breasts sway while I fuck you?"
"Yes, oh fuck, Christian!" The muscles in her back are trembling as she struggles to keep still. I should make her come now but I don't want to stop watching myself fuck her. Another minute goes by and I tear my gaze away, pulling her up by the back of her hair and grabbing her breasts roughly in my hands, never once stopping the thrusting between her legs.
"Does that feel good? Hmmm? Do you like when I touch you like this?" My middle finger rubs on her clit, hard and wet, so ready to come. "Put your hands where they were and hold on, I want to hear you come."
She bends back down, tips her ass back up and cries out when I kick her knees open a bit more. I'm halfway on top of her, thrusting deep into her pussy, each cry of hers drowned out by my own grunts.
"You feel so good, Anastasia. Do you like this? Deep and hard? Do you like to feel my balls slap against your clit when I fuck you?" She doesn't answer in words, instead her body answers, tightening around me and shaking underneath me as she comes hard, all around my cock. "Yea baby, that's it, come for me."
I lean back and grab her hips, fucking her hard as my own orgasm takes over, starting in my toes and rushing out past my balls and out of my stone hard shaft.
"FUCK!" is all I can manage as I fill her with so much cum it starts to seep out while I'm still inside of her. Every time! Every time is amazing. She collapses flat onto the bed and I follow her, both of us breathing hard and too spent to even turn off the light.
"Sir, a security update."
I stand, afraid that something has happened to Ana at her office but Taylor waves me down.
"Nothing of importance to report, sir. A few photographers are still camped out front of her building but outside of that, nothing suspicious is going on." I know this is his attempt at calming me down, I've been tearing any and every one new assholes this morning for no good reason. Taylor knows I'm concerned, no, fucking out of my mind with worry, that Ana is at her office across town and not here under my supervision.
"Prescott knows that she's the only one to leave the office?" We've been over this three times since yesterday but I need to hear it again.
"Yes, sir. Ryan and Reynolds will stay with Ms. Steele throughout the day and escort her back to Escala after work."
"Gail knows Anastasia will be staying over?"
"She expects it, sir." Perfect, that's exactly what I want, the people in my life to expect that Ana and I will be together.
For the moment I'm calm and get a bit of work done, the pressing fear of something happening to Ana put onto the back burner now that I'm assured she'll stay put. I pull out the post it from my pocket and smile.
'You are kind.'
I'm really not, not to most people at least but I care only about what Ana thinks of me so I take a picture of the note and put it back in my pocket. Barney comes in to set up the photo printer so that I can print hard copies of some of the more, private, photos I've taken of Ana. Hell knows I won't trust anyone to print these out for me. The vulnerability of her in the photos speaks to me and even though she's sleeping in most of them, they're still incredibly sensual, a side of her I don't want anyone else to see.
"What's the email traffic been like since Monday?"
Barney snorts awkwardly and fidgets with something on my computer. His tie is so badly tied that I want to fix it myself. Did he just knot it around his neck?
"Well, you went from getting about 1500 outside nonsense emails a day to close to 8k overnight. It's taking four people just to weed through them to see if any are alarming. A few have been forwarded to Welch but I wouldn't get worked up about them yet."
"Why wasn't I notified of such a large uptick?" Barney steps back, he's not usually a target of my ire but today, no one is safe.
"It's not unusual for you to get hate mail and death threats and the increase is directly related to the latest, ehrm, news about you so I don't think any changes have been made to protocols." Fair enough.
"And to Ms. Steele's? Have her GEH emails been monitored? And have you rerouted her Steele Translation emails to be filtered through your office as well?"
"They have been and yes, her work emails are being rerouted. It's causing a delay on her receipt of them but as far as I know it hasn't caused any issues."
"There can't be a delay, I don't want to alarm her. Make the Steele Translation emails the priority." I hope my pointed stare conveys my message. She has no idea we're monitoring her emails, I'm afraid enough that the security has made her feel suffocated and I'd rather not add another layer on. Barney gets it thankfully and nods before he climbs beneath the desk to finish the install.
"I understand. Welch should be coming in to speak to you and fill you in on a few details later this morning." My head snaps to his but he continues to tap away at the keyboard in front of him while he sits cross legged on my floor. If he wasn't such a damn genius I'd fire him just for being annoying.
"Andrea!"
"Yes, sir."
"I want Welch in here now."
"Yes, sir." Barney gives her a little smile and wave from the floor, he's been eyeing her from the beginning of GEH when it was just Ros, Barney, Andrea and myself. The little I know about Andrea's personal life doesn't work in his favor though. I've met her boyfriend twice, seems nice enough but he is definitely not a Barney.
"Why am I just hearing about this now?" I'm enraged, boiling over with anger once Welch and Taylor bring me up to speed on the contents of Ana's emails. "Have any of these reached her?"
"No, sir. You're just now being briefed because until now we were still looking for IP addresses and getting as much information gathered as we could. There hasn't been anything malevolent either so nothing to report as far as threats go."
Threats to her safety, no. Threats to our little bubble of bliss? Yes. Since Monday Ana has received no fewer than 849 email solicitations from men, and some women, looking to 'take her out', 'show her the world', 'tempt her away', and my personal favorite, 'fuck her into oblivion'. That's my job thankyouverymuch.
I can't say I didn't see this coming, she'd done a good job of keeping her sexuality under lock and key but now that the proverbial box has been opened, the sensual side of her is exposed for all to see. No longer able to hide in the shadows, her beauty and charm has been thrust out into the spotlight and I know that men everywhere will want her more so than they did before. Fuck!
"Going forward, I want any attempted contact with her that falls into this category to be tracked down and blocked. If there are any actual threats, I want them taken care of."
Welch holds his hands out but before he can speak I rebut what I know he was about to say.
"Hire as many people as you need. Anything that has to do with Ms. Steele is a priority."
"Christian, I was hoping we could meet for lunch today, touch base about a few things." I was hoping to have lunch with Ana but I do need to find out the latest on the SEC investigation and right now, my father is the best source of accurate information.
"I can meet at one, I'll have Andrea call Carolyn to set up a place."
When I arrive he's already seated and I'm not happy to see that he's pensive and fidgety, two things I've never seen him be. I waste little time on chit chat, I've got a thousand things waiting back at the office and I want to be home early enough for dinner with Ana.
"You gave her name to the lead investigator?"
"Yes, he said he'd look into her. I told him that you were my son and explained the connection between Ms. Perkins and GEH. He wasn't exactly thrilled to have yet another knot to unravel but he seemed pleased that I handed him the information willingly. I'd expect a visit or a call within the next week, two weeks at the latest. Don't be a prick, give more than they ask for and for god's sake keep your temper in check."
"What can I expect now then? She's been fired, I've got two guys from an outside company auditing her files as we speak and HR is digging into any inter office relationships she had. Welch has someone going through every email ever sent or received by her through GEH as well."
The waitress comes then and we order lunch but he continues to fidget.
"What is it?"
"It sounds like you've done a thorough job with Perkins, I expect that if something does come up with her that the SEC will see your efforts to assist and do what they can to keep GEH's role as minimal as possible."
"So what is still bothering you? Shit, you're making me nervous tapping your leg and throwing back your wine like that." Something is not right, I've never seen my dad this anxious and I've put the man through hell.
"Elena Lincoln stopped by to visit your mother last night." Oh fuck. I say nothing, just raise my eyebrows for him to continue but inside I'm already strung as tight as a bow.
"I know you and she do some business together and from what your mother could gather, that relationship is ending?" I nod, unwilling to give anything away. I want to know what she said before I say a word.
"I'm not going to ask for reasons why, she mentioned that you were getting good returns on your investments and that your involvement up to now required very little time or effort so I can only assume that your reasons are personal."
"Holy shit, dad, get to the point."
"Elena seems to think that your relationship with Ana is what's causing you to cut out."
"Why would that have anything to do with Elena and her salons?" I can see by the shift in his shoulders that this is the reason why he's anxious.
"She said that she spoke with you about what she sees as Anastasia's intentions, that she thinks Ana is after you for your money and nothing else and that you're too blind to see it. According to what she told your mother, Ana has a reputation for seeking out wealthy men and using them."
I rub my hands over my face and into my hair, my eyes blazing at the audacity of the bitch.
"Do you believe that? Do you believe that she's like that dad?" My dad tuts and shakes his head before answering me.
"No, neither does your mother but it begs the question as to why Elena would say these things. She said she's been at functions with her and seen her with other men of a certain stature only to hear later that she's used them for as long as they let her and then she's left them."
"Dad, I can't believe we're even having this conversation. For fucks sake the girl balks when she asks for anything! She can barely stand that Gail makes her breakfast in the mornings, there is no way she's manipulative enough for any of that shit. I can't believe we're even talking about this!"
"Christian, I'll repeat, your mother and I don't buy into it but it does concern me that she would even mention it. She's always been a good friend to our family and I won't ask why you're ending your business relationship with her but the timing does seem suspect."
"I'm done here." I stand abruptly, the glasses on the table rocking their contents onto the tablecloth.
"Christian." I lean down, balancing on my fingertips and stare at my father, willing him to dig himself deeper.
"I will not sit here and let you talk about Anastasia like this. Do you think I'm a fool? Do you think I'm not extraordinarily careful with whom I let in my life?"
"Christian, we think Anastasia is wonderful. An intelligent, beautiful and welcomed addition to your life and hopefully one day to our family. We just felt it necessary to let you know what Elena said so that you can at least know what's being said and who's saying it. Nobody thinks you're a fool."
"And you sincerely don't believe that Ana is using me?"
"No, son, I don't." I sit back down but when the food comes it turns my stomach. Elena told me on Monday when she called that she wasn't going to let me out of the loan without a fight. Looks like she wasn't lying. A question strikes at me.
"Did she ask you to borrow money dad? Help her out of the loan debacle she's in?" He blanches and I know the answer already. My parents are wealthy but five million dollars is still a lot of cash not to mention the person they'd be lending it to.
"She did, we haven't discussed it yet but we need to answer her by tonight." FUCK! I can't believe the balls of this woman. Panic begins to set in as I imagine my parents loaning her money after what we've done together. She's painted me into a corner, I either pay up or my parents do.
"Dad, you can't loan her money. Please tell me you're not going to do it. Promise me!" My pleading alarms him, in the 25 years he's known me I've never done it. I can't possibly tell him why lending Elena Lincoln money would be so hideous, he'd never speak to me again and I can't, just can't do that to my mother.
"Christian, she's a good friend, she's always been so good to you, always tried so hard to reach out to you. I really wish I understood this turnaround from you."
"I'd rather give her time to find another investor than have you and mom give her money. Let me do that, dad, let me give her two weeks to find someone else. You just have to promise me that you won't be the one to loan her anything."
He looks contemplative, questions swirling around his head. I doubt he suspects the truth, I'm sure he doesn't or he'd never consider giving her money but he's not a fool. He knows there's something there beyond the obvious and I wait, tense and sick to my stomach for him to press on but he doesn't.
"I'll speak with your mother and express your concerns. For now you have my word that we won't give her anything. Now, can we move onto another uncomfortable subject? Ethan Kavanagh. I think he and your sister are sleeping together."
Oh my god, I'd almost rather talk about Elena. Almost.
APOV
"Ryan!" He comes in so quickly his name is still ringing in my head by the time he's standing in front of my desk as if he was in the military. "Hi, so, we need to figure out how this is going to work. I've got Missy's fiancée on the phone now, he can't get onto the elevator because Prescott doesn't know who he is. There are 14 other businesses in this building, I can't monopolize the space and the elevators."
"What is his name?"
"Logan Crawford." He speaks into his watch like he's Tom Cruise in Mission Impossible and a minute later a very pissed of Logan busts through the door.
"What the fuck, Steele? Fifteen minutes! Fifteen minutes for me to get past the gaggle of assholes out front and up to here." I am so embarrassed. Besides Logan I've fielded four angry calls from other tenants, all of whom have had to undergo background checks just to get past security downstairs not to mention the irritation of dealing with the parasitic press.
"I know, I'm so sorry, I think maybe I'll work from home for awhile, see if Kate will let me use the guest room as an office." Actually, the more I think about it, the better the idea sounds. As much as I love staying with Christian, my home is my apartment and I miss it. If I can work there during the day and stay with Christian at night, then I get the best of both worlds plus there are only five other tenants instead of 14.
"Missy, when is our lease up on this space?"
"About two weeks, I have the next six month contract ready for your signature on my desk. We also have a conference call with the Israeli Office of Tourism in a half hour. I've passed the literacy and verbal test, now they want to hammer out a deal."
My phone is buzzing every three seconds, every other buzz is Christian, every sixth buzz is my dad and every 12th buzz is Kate, pissed that she hasn't seen me or spoken to me since Saturday night. I wave Missy off and answer the phone since it's her calling this time.
"Hey. Yes, we did it."
"I fucking knew it! Oh my god, did it last like, four seconds or what? I bet he was so quick, can you imagine being that old and a virgin? Elliot's going to be so shocked, did you know his family thought he was gay until you came along? Elliot said the second you walked into Christian's line of sight he knew his brother was as straight as they came. Tell me everything. Details. Did it hurt like hell or what? Did you come?"
"Oh my god, Kate! No wonder you went to school for journalism. I don't even know where to begin. Um, no, it was great, not too quick and I don't know why Elliot thinks he was a virgin."
"Wait, he wasn't? Holy shit, Steele. Who then?"
"It's not my business to tell either way so drop it. I did know they thought he was gay, that's hilarious and dead wrong. What else? Oh, yea, it hurt a little but he was gentle. And oh my god yes. Like, a lot." She squeals and sighs into the receiver.
"My first time hurt like hell and I didn't come until I figured out how to make myself do it. Girls night, tomorrow after your class. I want details."
"I can't, I've got my first Krav class and before that I've got my first Pilates class since...last week. Are you going to Jose's show?"
"We are, want to get dinner together first? 5:30? The show starts at 7 and I want to be on time since it's his first exhibition."
"I'll run it by Christian but that sounds good. We'll talk that morning."
"Sounds great. Hey, and Steele, good for you grabbing life and taking control of it. I'm proud of you for not letting what happened take over."
I've returned my calls, signed the contracts for new business deals we gained over the last week and have updated my company financials. When I log onto my computer I try as diligently as I can to bypass the home screen and go directly to email but my name 'STEELE' glares at me in capital letters.
A BILLIONAIRE DATING A WOMAN WITH THE LAST NAME STEELE? SAY IT AIN'T SO!
Sources close to the couple claim that the while Seattle's own demi-God is smitten with his new lady love, she's not so hot for him, but she sure is for his money! Is this a case of blinded by the shiny color of lust or the shiny color of cash?
The rest of the article reiterates the inaccurate points of the first one but embarrassment streaks through me as I foolishly read the comments below. Strangers from across the globe have weighed in on what I'm doing to keep someone like him. What they think of my hair, my 'tits', my weight, my clothes. Hundreds and hundreds of comments attached to six different articles, all of them basically calling me a gold digger.
When Missy comes in for the conference call I can barely speak, has she seen this? One look at her face as she eyes my screen tells me that she has.
"Anastasia Steele, we will deal with that later. Right now you have a huge client waiting to speak to you about money. Your money that you work your ass off for so pull your shit together and focus."
Forty minutes later we end the call and congratulate each other in every language we know the word for it in, our little ritual centering me and reminding me that I am way more than what strangers on the internet think.
"Now, do we need to discuss the ridiculousness and the jealousy that you were reading about or can we chalk it up to a lesson learned to never, and I mean never, read about yourself in the media again?"
"Missy, tell me the truth. Are you surprised that a man like Christian Grey would choose to be with a girl like me?" I know Missy, she's brash and honest, rough around the edges but not cruel, if anyone is going to tell me, it's going to be her.
"Are you fucking serious right now, Ana? I spent like, three minutes with you guys and I could tell you that that man is crazy about you. Crazy! About you! You are a full grown woman who besides being drop dead gorgeous is smart as shit, funny as hell and kind as, well…just kind. Cut the shit and decide right now if you're going to let assholes like this," she waves at the computer and the window to indicate the crowd outside, "get to you."
My head rests on the back of my chair but before I can answer her my phone rings with Christian's ringtone. I answer it as I answer her, "You're right. I decide to not let it bother me."
"And to not read any more shit about it either. Change your home screen to CNN, they don't give a shit about you." I laugh as she waves her way out of the office and do exactly that as I talk to Christian.
"Hi, Christian. How was lunch?"
"Stressful. I wanted to check in and see how you were doing?"
"Are you referring to the articles being written about me and my unfortunate last name or the hundreds of comments ripping me to shreds or the crowd outside or the fact that I'm basically a prisoner in my office right now?" I'm trying to lighten the reality of my current situation but laying it all out like that only makes it worse.
"Shit, baby I am so sorry about what's being said. I've got my guys working right now to figure out who this 'source' is but I'm pretty sure it'll turn out to be the journalistic equivalent of the boogey man."
"Is that even worth it, I mean, won't this all die down soon?" His silence is telling. So this is it, my new life if I want to be with him. "Just give me some time to adjust ok? I'm not used to the scrutiny so just tell me what to do to navigate it."
Christian breathes a sigh of relief into the receiver.
"Just stay close to your CPO's and watch who you talk to. Even your friends are suspect right now until we figure out who's talking to the media. We're still trying to figure out who told them we met on a blind date, yet another inaccuracy by the way. I've got some ideas I'd like to discuss with you at dinner tonight. I'll pick you up at seven?"
"If you pick me up it's going to be out of control out there. Can't Ryan just drive me to your apartment? Or do you want to have dinner at my place? I don't want to assume I'm going back to your place."
"Ana, always assume I want you with me. I don't care where we go as long as we're both there but Gail is making dinner, if it makes you feel better than Ryan will just take you to Escala when you're ready, I'll be getting home around six thirty, some bull shit came up that I need to deal with. We can stay at your place tomorrow night if you want."
"OK, after my class. We can get take out and watch a movie. I could use a night like that right now."
Leaving my office a few hours later is like entering a different world. There are still a gaggle of 'reporters' outside and since my building doesn't have an underground garage, I'm subjected to the flashing of camera bulbs and the questions yelled at me from different directions. Even though a handful of questions are being lobbed at once, I hear only one.
"Anastasia, how did you manage to land someone like Christian Grey?" The woman who asked it is waiting for a response when I turn to her but I quickly look away remembering what Christian said about eye contact and answering them. She's not asking maliciously, she's not being a bitch or even trying to hurt my feelings. In reality it's a benign question but for me, it strikes at the heart of my insecurity when it comes to the way I view myself. How did I land someone like him?
Under normal circumstances the minute I get home from work I change into what I call 'comfy clothes'. Yoga pants, t-shirt, pajamas. But now I wonder if I should stay dressed up, surely I look better that way, right? Do I really want Christian to come home after being surrounded by blond perfection all day to me in 'comfy clothes'?
"Don't move." I jump, caught off guard in nothing but a bra and panties while still debating what I should wear. "You look unbelievable." He stalks over to me and lightly runs his palms from my shoulders to my hips, leaning down to kiss my jaw. "I like coming home to you like this."
I've still not said a word and he pulls back slightly, accurately reading my mood. The man looks killer in his black suit and tie and even though I can feel how much he wants me, I still wonder why.
"What is it, Ana?"
I shrug and put my head into his chest feeling the weight of the day resting heavily on my shoulders.
"Nothing, it's so stupid."
"Hey, it's not stupid if it's bothering you. What is it?"
"It's just…a lot to take in. The press and the things they said about me. The way they analyzed me and my intentions. It was…hurtful. Embarassing. I'm embarrassed." His hand pushes me further into his chest while the other lifts me and carries me to the bed, sitting me down. He sits next to me and pulls my legs into his lap, mindlessly running his hands up and down my calves.
"Ana, I wish to God that I could keep you from all that shit. I wish it wasn't part of my life and that we could live in this private world where no one bothers us. I'm doing all I can to stop the flood of articles and pictures and to get those pariah away from you. What they say shouldn't have any effect on how you see yourself."
"But it does. There are people, a lot of them, commenting on my body for fucks sake. Everything from how bad my boob job is to how much they'd like to fuck the smile off of" his hand shoots up to interrupt me.
"I get it! I get it, trust me, I've read it. It's all jealousy, baby. Look at you, you are literal perfection." I lean back and look down at my breasts as he traces his finger over the tops of them. "That is one hell of a boob job, I couldn't even tell and I've spent a lot of time there recently."
I laugh in spite of myself, his humor highlighting the stupidity of the articles and the assumptions and inaccuracies of them as well.
"There's my girl. Are you hungry baby? Or can you wait a few minutes to eat?" He hooks his finger in the middle of my bra and pulls me to him and already my nipples harden for him. "Because I have thought of little all day except being inside you."
"Mmm. I can wait. I like you inside me." His eyebrows lift while his other hand unsnaps my bra, the hooked finger pulling it down and off in one fluid motion.
"Good, 'cause I plan to be there as often as you'll allow me. Now lie back and let me look at you."
I do as he says and watch with fascination as he slowly undoes his tie, his belt and his cuff links, laying the items on the night table before unbuttoning his shirt and pants. I'm wet just watching him, my heart rate ticking up as each hard muscle of his chest is revealed inch by inch. When he kicks off his shoes and leans down to remove his socks I grab my breasts subconsciously to relieve the ache.
"Oh fuck baby, you're playing with fire now." I like that I can do this to him and raise up on my elbows to watch as he pulls off his pants and boxers leaving him gloriously naked in nothing but an unbuttoned shirt. I have to touch him.
Before he can react I get on my knees and kiss the hollow of his throat, a low growl my reward. He smells so good. My hands skate up the outside of his arms and peel off his shirt while I lick and kiss that sensitive spot where I can feel his heartbeat. When he's naked I lean back and look at him, grabbing his wrists before he can touch me. I know what I want.
With a grin and a slow shake of my head I tip my face up to kiss him, the stunned expression remaining even after I kiss down his neck and scoot myself back onto all fours on the bed. Without using my hands I lick down one side of his shaft and circle the top only to lick down the other side.
"Ana." He breathes, his cock twitching and bobbing as I continue to lick and kiss it, flicking my tongue over the angry purple crown to catch the salty fluid as it comes out. I lean down, my ass high in the air in front of him and lick his balls, the smooth skin gliding across my tongue. "Fuck!" he yells and grabs my hair, the small tremor of his hands evident against my scalp.
When I suck him into my mouth his knees buckle and bend, supported by the mattress in front of him.
"Oh fuck yes, how deep can you take me?" Relaxing my mouth as much as I can I look up at him through my lashes and slowly guide him in until I feel him at the back of my throat. I swallow, he hisses and throws his head back, gripping my hair until it's painful.
Once I start moving again, slowly so that I can continue to take him deep he reaches down, his hands running the length of my back before one hand grabs the top of my thongs, pulling them higher so that they rub against the length of my slit. It feels good and I groan, the vibrations setting off another tremor in him.
With each downward slide of my mouth he tugs my panties until he abruptly stops, bending down to lift me under my arms and throw me onto my back.
"As much as that felt fucking amazing and fuck did you look hot doing it, I need to feel your legs wrapped around me, I need to feel your body underneath mine." He's pulled my thongs off and has both of my ankles in one of his hands, suspended in the air between us while his other hand guides his penis through my folds and into my body.
I just groan and moan at the sudden invasion, keenly aware of his intense stare where our bodies are joined.
"So hot, so fucking hot. Fuck you feel so good." Placing my ankles on each of his shoulders, he grabs me by my thighs and straightens onto his knees, pumping his hips in long sure strokes. After a minute he pushes my legs apart wrapping them around his hips and lifting me so that my only option is to hold onto the headboard behind me while my body is lifted a good foot from the bed.
He pushes his thumb into my mouth and I suck and bite it before he sits back and presses it against my clit. I can feel myself pulse under the pad of his finger and cry out when only a few seconds later I come powerfully around him.
"Hold on, baby." He yells but I can't, all strength has left my body with that release and try as I might, I can't grab onto the headboard. His pace doesn't stop even when he grabs both ankles again and lifts them high in the air.
"You, Ana. You are all I want. So fucking sexy, so fucking hot. Always you." When he comes he bites the flesh of my calf, leaving perfect teeth marks that will stay for hours and bruise by morning.
CPOV
"Sir?"
"Escalva, you heard me." Taylor pulls into traffic while I return Welch's call. The articles about Ana are still being pushed out in rapid succession and the comments attached are vicious. I know she's read them because I know Ana and because Ryan told me the conversation she had with Missy about them. It doesn't help that what the articles are saying mirrors what my Dad just said either….could Elena be the 'other source'?
"Welch here."
"Why are these articles still being posted? What can we do to shut them down and to shut down the comments?"
"Mr. Grey, it's the press, we have no real authority with regards to what they post unless it's slander."
"Then tell them it is and shut this shit down! No fucking excuses!" My head is ready to split in two when I dial Burt Whalen's number next.
"Redeem yourself and find out who's writing these bullshit articles about Anastasia and sue them. If they refuse to stop, connect with Ros and begin to buy or takeover the media outlets that won't cooperate."
I hang up before he can answer and ask Taylor for an Advil. He hands two back to me without asking why and pulls in front of Escalva, double parking. I don't give a fuck.
"Mr. Grey, good afternoon, we weren't expecting you. Shall I get Franco for you?" The blond at the reception desk stands as if to greet me but I don't even look at her when I answer.
"No." I button my suit jacket as I walk past the staff and fling open the door to Elena's private office. She jumps and quickly recovers, smoothing her black skirt and smiling.
"Well well well." Looking at her watch, that I fucking bought her, she continues. "I expected you last night. Did you think you could pull out on me like that and not have me strike back? Have you forgotten who taught you everything you know?" She walks purposefully towards me, close enough so that I can see the challenge and the animosity in her eyes. "I made you and I will destroy you, Christian."
"My parents, Elena? Haven't you fucked them over enough?"
"Whatever are you referring to? My saving of their son? My making him one of the most powerful men in the world? Or my unyielding friendship to dear Grace?"
"They won't lend you the money, I've made sure of it." She lifts her chin defiantly and smirks.
"Too bad, I guess I'll just have to raise capital another way. Perhaps by selling artwork, photographs to be exact." Alarm bells start go off in my head, I've taken pictures of my subs in compromising positions as insurance but I know they're locked away in the vault in my office and only myself and Taylor have the code for that. There's no way she'd release the pictures of she and I when I was underage, that would only ruin her, not me.
"From Harvard?" The air has left my lungs but I don't let her see it, instead I stand to my full height and count backwards from 20.
"Oh, you remember? Yes, that was a particularly dark period for you, wasn't it?" She looks at her nails and blows gently, "Just had a manicure."
"What do you want, Elena?"
Her lips lift in what I guess is a smile but the botox has made that all but impossible to do.
"What do I want, Christian? Well, what I want…" she pauses and runs her red nails up my tie, pressing the point of one into my neck, "you won't give me. So what's a girl to do?"
"Elena, no amount of blackmail will get me to fuck you again. Just the thought makes me gag." Her head cocks to the side, a forced frown marring her face.
"Too bad, you were so good. Well, if I can't have what I really want, then I want money. You couldn't just leave well enough alone and stay as a backer, you had to be an asshole and now look what you've gone and done. You've fucked yourself in the ass." She pauses and smiles, "Oh I forgot, you never did like that very much. Does Anastasia?"
Pictures or no pictures, money or no money, she can not say that name. I grab her wrist painfully, squeezing it while her eyes grow wider until I recognize the glow of sexual arousal in her. When I release her I push her away and lean in.
"If you say her name again, Elena, I will fucking rip you in half and sell the plastic to the highest bidder. You are nothing but a dried up cunt and I'm through with you. If five million is all it takes to rid you out of my life forever, then it's a small price to pay."
She looks a bit surprised by my venom but recovers quickly, the mask of perfection falling in place as I turn to go.
"I didn't say anything about five million. All that does is cover the loans." The pictures, she wants money for the pictures. She blows on her nails again, speaking quietly. "I would hate, absolutely hate if pictures of you fucking two women at once were to find their way to sweet little Anastasia. I mean, how would she feel about you if she were to see something like that? Innocent that she is? Oh! Or if she were to see you whipping the cane around, leaving those sexy lines you couldn't get enough of? Or the crème de la crème? Your face buried between my legs?"
I fight the bile coating my mouth as my mind whirs with my options and my limitations. She's got me by the balls, she knows it, I know it.
"How much?"
"Ten." I catch my gasp at the last possible second, I won't give her the satisfaction.
"How?" Turning and walking to her desk she opens the top drawer and pulls out an index card, writing a number on it before sauntering back over to me and handing it to me.
"You have until Friday." Her pleased look pisses me off further. "We'll meet for lunch once the wire is complete, I'll hand over the pictures and the negatives then and only then. And you will eat lunch, Christian. Nobody walks away from me."
She leans back, quite pleased with herself as she crosses her arms smugly. "Have I made myself clear?"
"Let me make myself clear now. You'll get your money, I'll get the pictures. But if you think this is over, you have grossly underestimated me you disgusting piece of rotted flesh." I pause at the door and half turn towards her, "By the way, you have lipstick on your teeth." I laugh as the door shuts, of all the things I said, that's the one that will bother her the most.