Thank you for the kind words. I can walk a lot better already. Also a big THANK YOU for all the lovely reviews. For the guest who was talking about boring. Are you bored with reading about sex or do you think the sex I write is getting boring?

Chapter 38

I make my way to the reserved table at one of the windows. Mr. Roach is already seated and looking over Seattle.

"Good evening, Mr. Roach." I say as soon as I stand across from him.

"Good evening, Mr. Grey." He stretches out his hand and we shake, before taking our seats.

A waiter comes immediately towards us, handing over a menu and asks us what we would like to drink. Mr. Roach leaves the decision to me. I tell our waiter what I want and to serve a bottle of sparkling water next to it.

"Mr. Grey, why the sudden interest in publishing?" Mr. Roach asks me flat out.

"I've been looking into it for quite some time. I like to read in the spare time I do have. It's not much, but I love a good book." I tell him.

The waiter comes back with our entrée, wine and water. He sets everything down in a quick succession and leaves.

"Why my publishing house?"

"You're house has the most potential. You have some great writers contracted, but it seems you can do much better."

"How do you know all of this?" Mr. Roach takes a bite after he asks me that.

"Mr. Roach, I haven't become this successful through lack of work and effort. I always do a thorough check on everything." Even on you. I add in my mind.

"I do have some trouble to keep SIP afloat lately. What do you have to offer?" He asks me, genuinely interested. After his initial hesitation for meeting with me, this is progress in the right direction.

I lay the business-plan on the table and while we are eating our dinner, we discuss every article I've written up.

"When do you want to have my finite answer?" He asks me warily.

"Take all the time you need to think it over and study it more. There is no time-limit on it." I tell him kindly.

Damn! Since when am I a softy in business? Oh, right! I've been hunting SIP for over a year already.

"Thank you, Mr. Grey. I will take this weekend to go over the plan several times and I will have an answer for you this Monday." With that we say goodnight and Mr. Roach leaves with the folder and I relax back in my chair with a smile.

I don't know how long I've been staring out of the window, over Seattle and the hundreds of light, but suddenly something tugs at my heartstrings? I have no clue what to call it and I rub over my chest to elevate the pressure building in there.

Another tug makes me twist around in my chair and try to find out what is wrong with me. Jason comes running as he sees the alarm on my face.

"Christian, what's wrong?" He asks, keeping his voice low.

"I don't know." I say, still rubbing my chest. "There's this tugging feeling."

I want to smack myself as soon as I realize I feel Ana. As I scrutinize the feeling closely, I come to the conclusion that she's feeling anxious about something. I turn to Jason and motion for us to leave this instance.

We drive to Bellevue, the castle is coming into view and the Shifters are all circling around it. Except the two guarding the gate.

I run inside, following the tugging as it has grown stronger the closer we got here and I find Ana pacing in the office. Phone on her ear and she's speaking in Russian I think. Her brows are furrowed, upper lip pulled in a snarl and fire sparking out of her eyes.

She hasn't noticed me yet and I have the time to take in her appearance. Her shoulders are rigid, her hair is all over the place and there a rips in her clothes that look like claw marks. She whirls around, looking me straight in the eye and I see that hers are brighter now.

Ana gestures for me to sit down in the chair behind the desk, as she keeps pacing and talking. Finally after what feels like hours, she hangs up the phone and comes over to me, plopping down in my lap.

"Are you alright?" I ask her concerned.

"I will be. One of the Lords is being an arse about Tyson coming here." She huffs out. "How did your dinner go?"

"It went very good. I think it will be mine soon. After dinner though, I felt something tugging at me and it took some time to figure out I felt you. Or rather your anxiety." I tell her. "What are you anxious about?"

"My Maker being somewhere in the air and on his way here. The Lords keep calling me about that. As if I have any clue about why he's coming here!" Ana spits.

We've been brainstorming over it for over an hour, before Ana has enough of it and fires up her laptop. She opens up the journal we've been reading and quickly goes to the page where we stopped.

We finish the reading part at three am and decide to call it a day or night, whichever you prefer to use.

"Shall we go for a walk around the castle?" Ana asks me.

"Sure."

Hand in hand we walk out the door, taking the same paths as I did that first day, only this time I'm here with excellent company. She tells me more about the grounds on which it was build and why the gardens are the way they are.

"Would you like to see it from up there?" She points to the clear sky and looks at me expectantly.

I can only gawk at her for a moment and nod my head dumbly. She wraps her arms around my waist and tells me to wrap mine around her and hold on tight. This time she's not shooting to the sky, but gently lifting us from the ground.

I don't know how high we are now, but I have an amazing view of the complete premises.

"The castle is a perfect square!" I exclaim as I try to take everything in. Ana giggles at my enthusiasm and nods.

"Even though we didn't have all the equipment back then, humans were very good at building symmetrical and correctly." She explains as I asked about the how.

In the distance I can see the lights of downtown Seattle and the Sound is reflecting the moon. It's really quiet up here and relaxing. Ana floats us over the water and I see my parents' home coming into view.

"Aren't you afraid the paparazzi will see us?" It just occurred to me as well.

"No, they can't get anywhere near the castle. Some of the Shifters are on the water." She points to black dots in the middle. "They are posing as alligators. I know they're not native around here, but they only do it at night." She assures me.

The day begins to catch up with me and Ana senses it at the same time, landing softly on one of the battlements of the castle. She leads me to one of the towers, that's a good thing, because I'm busy enjoying the authenticity of it all.

"Come on before you fall down." She says a bit frustrated as I'm leaning over the edge to look down.

"Ah, but you can catch me before I hit the ground." I grin at her.

"I can, but you should ask yourself if I want to." She smiles wickedly at me.

I make to grab her, but she steps out of my reach and darts through the door. Just before the door closes, I rip it open and I'm confronted with armor. Ana's laugh is echoing through all that metal and I can't pinpoint where it comes from. For all I know she can be dressed in one of these armors.

I carefully maneuver through the room, finding the door and I step through it. Something lands on my back and I'm sprawled out over the landing.

"Lesson one: Always look around you thoroughly." Ana whispers mischievously in my ear.

I roll myself over really fast. I can get used to this newfound strength and speed! Catching her off guard and she's the one that's sprawled out, with me hovering over her.

"And what kind of lesson is this." I rub my nose along her neck.

"Touché Mr. Grey, but…." She stops talking, grabs me by the neck and somehow throws me over her head. I land softly as she moderates every move. "if you want lessons, I can give you some."

As I landed, our heads are next to each other and I turn on my stomach to look in her eyes. The mirth in hers is making me smile.

"What kind of lessons are you talking about, Miss Steele?"

Before she can even open her mouth, howling can be heard somewhere outside. Ana is gone in a flash, leaving me behind in shock.