Author's notes: Once more, I'm saying sorry for keeping you all waiting for a new chapter. It seems my schedule is once a month now instead of weekly and I do apologise for that. However, I won't let you down and I'm committed to finishing this story. Thank you all so much for the lovely reviews and for the best wishes for myself and my family. Thanks, too, for those who have chosen to favourite or follow my story. I do so much appreciate you all.

In this chapter, Christian and Ana enjoy a little quality time back at Escala, but danger is threatening.

Characters' thoughts are as always in italics. I don't own these characters but borrow them from EL James.

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Chapter Twenty-nine

The Spider and The Fly

At one time, spending the afternoon in bed would have been thought by Christian to be the height of laziness. Even when he'd had subs spend the weekend with him, the interaction had always taken place in the playroom and very seldom in the four-poster bed. He'd always preferred the other apparatus. Only with Ana had he discovered the various attractions of a bed… and his own bed in particular.

He looked around his bedroom… No, that was wrong. He looked around their bedroom and, though the pain in his broken leg was gnawing at his senses, he felt content… even happy. And it wasn't the fact that he'd lived here in comfort for the past five years. It was Ana. She had transformed his home, his life. Escala was their home!

They'd already rechristened their bed since his return, making love gently and slowly, though with Ana having to make most of the moves given his lack of mobility. This situation would, normally, have horrified Christian. He'd always needed to take control. Even with Ana as his girlfriend, he'd still been the one to direct the actions and the pace of their sexual encounters in and out of the playroom. Yet, this time he'd been pleased to let Ana top from the bottom. He knew this attitude wouldn't last, but he could live with Anastasia occasionally having her way. In fact, he would probably be ready for round two when Ana returned.

When did I become so incurably insatiable?

But he knew the answer to his question. Since Ana had come into his life. He just wished she hadn't been distracted by a call from SIP. There had been some problem with a print run of Ana's latest production and the deadline was tonight at midnight. Christian had been a little irritated that she'd chosen to go, but he understood her drive to be the best editor she could be. He couldn't fault her for making the same decision he would have made. Besides, Ana had promised to clear her schedule so she could devote her time to Christian for the rest of the week.

If only I didn't miss her quite so much.

Perhaps the scare of almost being killed had taught him what was the most important thing in his life… and it wasn't work. Of course, he could never turn his back on Grey Enterprises. Too many people relied on his company for their livelihood, not to mention the many research projects which he backed that would benefit the starving millions in third world countries. But perhaps he could stop being such a workaholic.

Christian fell asleep thinking of all the pleasurable things he could do with Ana when she came home and the heated images followed him into his dreams. In the late afternoon when she returned, Ana undressed quickly and, slipping under the luxurious sheets, she was happy to find Christian's cock semi-erect and waiting for her. Snuggling into his side, she gently peppered his stubbly jaw with open-mouthed kisses.

With a husky groan, Christian leaned closer to her mouth. "Oh, baby, I love waking up to you."

"And I love coming to bed with you, Sir." Her pale skin flushed pink as she addressed him.

Christian's eyes flew open and he raised himself on his elbow to stare down into her sparkling eyes. "No, Ana. In this bed, I'm Christian." Gently, he eased her bottom lip from between her teeth before leaning down and nibbling it. God, I almost lost this forever!

Moments drifted by till Christian pulled back slightly. Bereft of the warmth he kindled, Ana sighed sadly. "But maybe I want to play, and you can't take me to the red room right now, so we could... improvise… here," she finished, blushing rosily.

"Ana, you don't have to sub to keep me happy. I love vanilla with you..."

"Huh-huh. Vanilla is good… very good," she admitted, trying to reclaim his lips, yet Christian held himself a little out of her range. "But, now and again, I like to sample a different flavour… rocky-road, perhaps?" Ana lowered her head and looked up at him through her impossibly thick lashes. "Wouldn't you like to try something a little more... daring?"

Christian turned in the bed with difficulty, but he did manage to cup his hands on either side of her head, holding her steady to stare into her clear blue eyes, her pupils dilated with her budding desire. He said, slowly and quietly, "Right now I don't need my sub, I just need to be inside you."

Ana's answer was just as hushed, though determined. "But I think I might need my Dom, Sir." And she was biting her lip again, clearly unsure of how he might react to her words. "When I thought I'd lost you, a part of me closed down, but when I heard you were safe, I was ecstatic that you were back. I love you, Christian, for everything you are and I'll always be there for you, no matter what. But I learned something about myself, too. I want both my lover and my Dominant."

For a moment, Christian was silent, his eyes suddenly glistening with emotion.

Ana accepts me as I am. Even my dark side. She enjoys our play sessions. Not just for me. For herself. My precious girl trusts me enough to offer her submission. Oh, Ana, I'll never squander your gift.

But the fragile moment passed in the fraction of a second, overwhelmed by sheer, smouldering desire and determination. Christian's back straightened.

"Ana, you're topping from the bottom and, as your Dom, I should punish you." A low growl rumbled in his chest, as he gently scolded her.

Earlier, Christian hadn't minded Ana assuming control, but twice in the one afternoon wasn't acceptable. He stared into her face as his thumbs brushed back and forward across her smooth cheeks. After a second of contemplation, he announced, "Your punishment is to wait for what you need, Ana, and you will wait until I'm ready to give it to you. Understand?"

Ana nodded with a tiny sigh and whispered obediently "As you wish, Sir. Whatever pleases you."

Christian couldn't repress a fond smile as he watched her lying languid and compliant by his side. His in every way. "I just want to make love to you, slow and tender, until you're begging me to be inside you, until all you know is the feel of me."

Sensuously, his lips closed over hers, his tongue demanding access to her bruised mouth as he drowned in her trembling and delighted in the shudder of her body. He tangled his fingers in her brown locks, holding her head in place while he devoured her. Ana responded sweetly and greedily as she gave herself up to his demanding lips, his pulling on her hair, the slight pain which confirmed his subtle dominance. She gasped into his mouth as she clung to him, her arms wrapped tightly around his neck, rubbing herself against him, her desire matching his all the way.

When, at last, they had to break for air, Christian smiled down at her. "And if you're a very good girl, Anastasia, perhaps you and I will play later… much later."

Christian pushed her down onto the fluffy pillows, his sculpted torso pressing against her pliant softness, caging her and holding her captive. As one, their passion flared unhindered. A low, long moan escaped from the back of Ana's throat as she delighted in his body touching hers, skin to heated skin. Without haste, one of his hands squeezed between them to encircle her waist before his fingers trailed a wandering path up her body to her sensitive breasts. Almost lazily, he rolled a pebbled nipple between his thumb and forefinger. She arched towards him as damp heat pooled between her legs.

"Christian!" Ana squealed, feeling his hardened cock nudge hard into her hip.

"We'll play later, baby," he whispered against her slender neck. "Right now, I just want to lose myself in you..."

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Incandescent rage burned in Elena's throat, threatening to choke her. Who did they think they were? Who did they think she was? Hadn't she done their bidding without question in the past? Grudgingly, Elena would admit that she'd also benefited from her association with the shadowy people traffickers. But they owed her!

Elena had felt a sliver of apprehensive when she'd put a call through to her contact as it had been answered by someone she'd never dealt with before. When she'd insisted on speaking only to Edward, she'd been informed that he was unavailable for the foreseeable future but, if she cared to relay her request, Chuck, the guy she was talking to, would see her needs were met.

She hadn't appreciated his manner, talking down to her as if she were some silly melodramatic woman, but she hadn't felt in a position to put him straight. She'd make her feelings known, in no uncertain terms, to Edward when he returned.

And she'd been right to worry judging by the news report on the discovery of a body of a Caucasian male found in a derelict warehouse in South Park. It had to be Hyde. It would be too much of a coincidence to expect there would be two murders in the same place on the same day.

Bloody Chuck! He ignored my request and now the police have Jack's corpse. I am screwed! If they can connect me to Hyde, the bullet could be traced to my gun. I need to get rid of it, just not yet. Fuck!

Pouring herself another drink, Elena forced herself to remain calm. After all, there wasn't much chance the SPD would link Hyde to her immediately. It's not as if they moved in the same circles. None of her acquaintances were aware they actually knew each other, and their few meetings had been conducted in secret. She was pretty sure she hadn't left any traces behind in that warehouse. Thank goodness she'd had the foresight to remove Hyde's cell phone.

After giving herself a strict talking to, Elena decided she had to go on with her plans. Though she'd have to act on them sooner rather than later. Her time might be running out. But if things worked out the way she wished, then Christian probably had the wherewithal to make her problems go away.

With that in mind, Elena picked up her cell and found the number of the one person who could help her. Moments later, a quiet female voice answered.

"Hello, Madame Elena..."

"Shut up!" Elena hissed, exasperated once more. "How many times have I told you not to speak that name aloud?" It was more important now than ever that Elena not be connected to this timid girl. She should really make arrangements for Joan to leave GEH, but not before she obtained the information Elena needed.

At the sound of a whimper on the other end of the connection, Elena was prompted to switch tack. It wouldn't do to make Joan too nervous to work. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to snap, but Christian is way over his head with that money grabbing slut. And he was almost killed!" Elena let the silence linger for a second or two. "You know, it wouldn't surprise me if it was Anastasia Steele that was behind that helicopter accident."

"Oh, no! Do you think so?" Clearly Joan was taken aback, but Elena needed her to believe that she was acting in Christian's best interests.

"Actually, to tell the truth, I'm not sure. I mean, the girl obviously wants his money, but I doubt she has the means or the brains to sabotage a helicopter. However, I'd rather see Christian settle with one of my ladies than be fooled by Miss Steele. I need to intervene."

If Joan was honest, she didn't really care what happened to that arrogant sod Christian Grey, but she did want to please Madame Elena. And if Madame wanted inside Escala to talk to Mr. Grey, then Joan would do her best to aid her.

"But to rescue Christian, I need to talk to him. I thought I might get a chance at the hospital, but there were too many of his security team and medical staff around to make that possible. Now he's back in Escala, it should be easier… and, once he sees how upset I am about him getting hurt, I'm sure he'll listen to reason."

"You want the entry codes for Escala?" Joan asked smiling. She could do this and maybe Madame would be so happy with her that she'd actually realise Joan's true worth.

"Yes, my dear, I do!" Elena forced herself to sound pleasant. She'd no idea why Joan's mousey nature grated on her nerves so much, but, at least, the girl was quick on the uptake. "Can you get hold of them?"

"I already have them here," Joan answered, satisfaction colouring her words. From the moment Mrs. Lincoln had spoken to her outside Christian Grey's office, Joan had worshipped the elegant lady and had striven to impress her. Now she'd anticipated Elena's needs. Surely, Madame would appreciate her resourcefulness and deign to notice her for more than just a spy. "We're in luck with that. Normally, the codes are changed every few days, but because of Mr. Grey's accident, things have been a bit chaotic at Grey House and the numbers have stayed the same."

A tiny shiver of unease spread through Elena. It was unlike Christian to be sloppy enough to allow his entry codes to remain unchanged. Yet, perhaps Joan was correct, and he'd had other things to worry him lately, or he'd allowed himself to become distracted by his ridiculous infatuation for Miss Steele. Whatever the reason, Elena was about to put a stop to Christian's foolish behaviour for his own sake... and the sooner the better!

In truth, she firmly believed Christian would start to tire of Ana's naive submissive streak and, surely, the girl would run screaming when Christian unleashed his more extreme dominant tendencies. Christian wasn't exactly hard core, but he could be unbelievably stern when crossed. Elena convinced herself that both parties would be grateful for her intervention.

She chose to forget the one fact which had prompted her to visit Christian at all costs… the announcement of the couple's engagement.

She'd been unable to get any updates on Christian's condition while he was in the hospital, but it had been reported that he'd been discharged this morning. Thank God he was OK and she'd made sure he wouldn't fall fowl of that madman again.

Maybe I should tell Christian. He might look more kindly on me if he knows what I did to save him. On the other hand, Christian never liked guns. Best to keep quiet about that for now…

And it seemed fate was playing into Elena's hands since she could take advantage of the lapse in security. Within a very short time, Elena had touched up her make-up, swept her blonde hair into a chignon and dressed in a habitual black sheath dress. Checking herself in her full-length mirror, she decided she didn't look at all bad for a woman approaching middle-age. Yet Elena was delusional in all things, she was well past her fiftieth-fourth birthday and her years of burning the candle at both ends were beginning to show.

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Mrs. Jones had prepared Italian meatballs and spaghetti for Ana and Christian, the perfect comfort food for his first night at home. The couple often ate at the breakfast bar but, due to Christian's disability, for the present they'd decided to eat at the dining table. To go with the meal, Christian had chosen a Sicilian red wine which gave Ana a warm contented glow after a couple of glasses. Though, perhaps the glow was due to the fact she had her man back home and the promise he would indulge her later with some of his delicious kinky fuckery. Ana couldn't believe how addicted she'd grown to his sexual play. Not the belts and canes, so much, but she wouldn't mind exploring some of his other toys and she'd learned there could be pleasure in pain.

Ana, behave! Christian is still recovering. I have to be patient.

"So, how was work?" Christian asked with genuine interest. From their first meeting in Grey House, Ana was the only woman who had piqued his curiosity. With his previous subs he'd only required they be open with anything that impacted on his time with them. Anastasia was different. She was his everything. He wanted to hear more about her thoughts and opinions and, especially, her dreams for the future. More than anything, he hoped to make those dreams come true.

"It's good. We fixed the fault fairly easily and the print run will go ahead. I'm still settling into my new job, but I love it. Problems and all! Of course, it'll take time till I'm completely up to speed." Ana placed her fork down and moved to the edge of her seat. She leaned closer to Christian in her eagerness. "But I enjoy learning about my new responsibilities and being able to take the fiction department in the direction I think will benefit SIP, the authors and our readers. Thank you for giving me that chance!"

Christian reached out and took her hand. "Ana, I've told you before. I didn't do anything. Roach made his own decision. Have more faith in yourself and your talents. I've told you before. I do!"

"I know you do. And I believe I can do this job. Better than Hyde ever did, even if that's not setting the bar very high," she added with just the hint of a sneer, before her mood quickly changed to one of enthusiasm. "I have lots of ideas, Christian, especially in digital publishing. Traditionalists still like real books… and I understand where they're coming from. There's nothing like curling up in a comfy chair to read a great novel in actual print. But the younger generation want digital, to load as many stories as they can onto their e-readers or tablets. They don't want to cart around heavy, cumbersome books. And, you have to admit, they're great for travelling..."

"You don't have to convince me, Ana. I agree."

"Good! I just hope I can win over Roach and the other editors, some of whom seem to be stuck in the dark ages."

"Just talk to them the way you've talked to me. Your energy is contagious. Besides, if SIP doesn't join the digital age, it'll crash and burn within a few years." Christian set his cutlery down carefully on his empty plate. "That's the reason I first became interested in SIP, before I ever knew you were going to work there. It's a failing business and that's what I do. Buy these struggling dinosaurs over and fix them… only in this case, you'll fix SIP for me."

Ana's eyebrows lifted in surprise. "Christian, I'm not sure what you mean..."

"No?" Christian smirked. Ana was usually much quicker on the uptake. "Jerry Roach is looking to retire in a couple of years, and I plan on you taking over as Editor-in-Chief of the rebranded Grey Publishing."

"Oh, my God!" Ana looked shocked and just a little horrified. "Christian, I can't… I mean, I think I can be a good editor, but the rest. I couldn't fill Jerry's shoes. My major was English Lit, not business studies. I know nothing about running a company, even a publishing one."

"Well, you're very smart and you do have two years to learn. If you weren't ready, I could probably persuade Jerry to stay on for a bit, particularly if we offered him part-time work."

"No, Christian, you don't understand. I don't have any desire to learn the business side." Ana's face paled, upset that she was spoiling Christian's ideas for her future. She loved him and his dominant ways, but in the bedroom not running her whole life. "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I don't want that."

A frown appeared on Christian's face and Ana's heart fell, but she wouldn't give in. Not in this. She hurried to explain. "I know you only want what's best for me, Christian, but I'm not you. The thought of dealing with financial spread sheets and contracts and advertising leaves me cold. I just want to find new writing talent and encourage them… I doubt I'll ever be good at the stuff you excel at." Her voice stuttered to a halt and her head fell forward. She couldn't look at him. "I'm sorry," she said quietly.

Christian chuckled, causing Ana's head to snap back up. "Baby, don't be sorry. We can't all thrive on the same things. That doesn't mean I don't value what you bring to the table." He reached out and pulled her chair closer to him, then snaked his hand around her shoulder. "Do you remember I once told you that the key to my success was in finding talented individuals and encouraging them to work well for me?" Ana nodded wide-eyed. It had been one of the first things she'd learned about him. "So we do that at Grey Publishing. You take care of the artistic side of the business and we find trusted employees to look after all the rest. And if you need any advice, I'll always be there for you."

A small smile turned up the corner of Ana's mouth. "You always have an answer for everything." But it was said kindly.

"That's what I do. Problem solve."

"But wouldn't it be better to just find someone like Jerry who's responsible for the whole thing. I'm quite contented being fiction editor."

"Ana, you're forgetting that I intend to change SIP to Grey Publishing and when I do that, you'll already be my wife, Mrs. Anastasia Grey. Who better to be in charge than a Grey." Christian buried his fingers in her hair at the nape of her neck and gently massaged her tension away. "Trust me, baby. It will work out fine."

There was the sound of a throat being cleared as Taylor marched into the room from the direction of the staff office. "Excuse me, Sir. I don't like to interrupt your dinner, but I've just had word from the concierge that Mrs. Lincoln is on her way up. It appears that she used the security codes."

Christian pushed back from the table. "Fuck! I'd forgotten we gave Joan the opportunity to pass on the codes. I guess that proves we were right about her."

"Christian, if you're not ready for this, I can show her out," Taylor suggested, realising that his boss might not be in the right mood for a confrontation with the bitch troll.

Ana was by Christian's side in a second, her hand on his arm. She'd never liked the 'Spider and the Fly' plan and it was harder to accept now that Christian wasn't fully fit. "Maybe that would be best, Christian. You just got back from the hospital this morning." Anxiety churned in her gut and, involuntarily, her teeth worried her bottom lip again.

Finding his crutches, Christian manoeuvred himself into a standing position, his gaze softening as he smiled down at Ana. "Don't worry, sweetheart. The timing's not ideal, but there's no point in putting it off, since she's here." He leaned down to whisper in Ana's ear, his voice a caress. "You're biting your lip, sweetheart, and you know what that does to me." His eyes twinkled. "Laters, baby. I promise." With a final smouldering glance at Ana, Christian turned back to Taylor. "Let's get this over with."

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I hoped you enjoyed my latest chapter and I'd love to hear what you thought of it. Your reviews keep me going!

I've started on the next chapter, but I'm not a quick writer, so please have patience. Thanks again!