AN: Can't believe this is winding down already... thanks again for all reviews and messages :D

Chapter Twenty-Three

"So, I was thinking." Christian said as he came over to the couch where Ana as engrossed in reading Treasure Island. They were getting so much more comfortable with each other, every day that passed the more ordinary living with each other had become. Ana had perked up so much more again in the week since they'd seen Ella and things just seemed to be settling more between the pair of them.

Christian had finally got round to showing Ana more of the apartment and that he actually had a library in the huge apartment, and she'd been slowly making her way though his entire collection of books.

"You were thinking." Ana said placing the book down, hoping he had a good reason or interrupting her flow.

"While you're at lunch with my Mom, I'm going to have lunch with Elena. Then, I thought we could spend the afternoon together, have an adventure." Christian said lifting Ana's feet up so he could sit, and then bringing her feet to his lap.

"Sure." Ana nodded, she'd learned that Christian like giving her surprises and she knew he wouldn't do anything to hurt her. Therefore, she was happy to go with the flow on this even if her instincts, as always, told her to question more.

"Ok." Christian smiled relieved that she hadn't asked any more questions, he loved the light that filled her eyes when he surprised her and he wanted to spend his life making that shine appear.

"You know you're going for lunch with Elena, I know she was your Domme when you were fifteen but what's your relationship like now?" Ana felt incredibly anxious asking, she wasn't sure if she was supposed to ask these kinds of questions, and if she had a right to ask. This was after all her first experience of a relationship.

"We're friends and business partners." Christian explained.

"But you don't sub for her anymore?"

"God no." Christian chuckled and wiped his hand over his face. "Our sexual relationship ended when I was eighteen." He explained and Ana let out a relieved breath. "You're ok with me having lunch with her right?"

"Yeah." Ana replied too quickly.

"Ana, baby, she's my friend." He said gently. "That's all. She's one of my closest and actually my only friend but nothing more."

"How come you stayed so close to her?" Ana asked trying to appear nonchalant. It wasn't that she wanted to be the kind of possessive girlfriend or anything, but he did use to not only have a sexual relationship with this woman but one where he was under her control. Ana couldn't help but be bothered by that.

"Well… I guess… my teenage years were her you know and then when I went to college, I was a bit obsessed with becoming a Dominant. She taught me and as I have told you, I had those kinds of relationships but she's the only person I guess I ever bonded with enough to keep them around. Other than you of course." He tickled her foot on that last statement and she giggled. "But I promise you Ana…"

"I know." Ana nodded. "I guess it just weirds me out a little." Ana shivered, she didn't mean to feel this way and she didn't even know how to voice it. "How would you feel if I was still having lunch with Jack Hyde?"

"That is completely different." Christian stated as he glared at Ana.

"Not really, Jack Hyde took advantage of me when I was eighteen years old, manipulated me to think he was taking care of me and doing right by me. You were fifteen years old when Elena did similar to you." Ana smoothed her hands down her jeans and avoided Christian's gaze. "I mean, at least I was technically a consenting adult."

"Wow." Christian shook his head. "Ana, Jesus, I know you had it rough in life but Christ not everyone is a monster you know."

"I never said she was a monster, those are your words, I'm saying she took advantage of you." Ana bit, this conversation was not going well and she was starting to regret even bringing it up.

"Well she didn't, I was fully consenting, fully participating. I knew what I was in for and I chose to turn up to her house when she requested it. I mean, if I wanted it to stop all I had to do was say no." Christian exclaimed. Ana shrugged, she didn't want to argue about this bottom line was, he had still been a minor when his relationship with Elena started.

"You're also business partners?" Ana asked deciding to leave that part of the discussion there, it wasn't worth getting into a fight about it.

"She gave me the loan that allowed me to start GEH when I dropped out of college, so I returned the favour by investing in her salons, it allowed her to expand and make a bigger profit." Christian explained and Ana nodded, fair enough. "Honestly though Ana, she is just my friend and since you've been here, I haven't seen her, so I figured seeing as you were going for lunch with my Mom I'd grab lunch with her."

"Ok." Ana said. "That's fine Christian. I'm not going to start telling you who you can and can't have lunch with. I was just intrigued by the nature of your relationship with her."

"We're friends." Christian said before leaning over and kissing Ana, which she immediately deepened.

"No, finish your book. There will be plenty of time for that later." He teased pulling away.

"But you said we were going on an adventure." Ana pouted.

"There will be time for both." He winked before skulking away leaving Ana questioning what on earth they would get up to this afternoon.

Christian drove himself to meet Elena at the Mile-High Club while Luke Sawyer took Ana over to a little bistro in Bellevue to meet Grace. Christian couldn't stop thinking about the conversation he and Ana had shared about his friendship with Elena. Ana truly had nothing to worry about, but maybe he should be a little more considerate of how uncomfortable she would be about their friendship. Fine, he didn't agree with her comparison that it was similar to her relationship with Jack Hyde, but he again could see her perspective.

He couldn't lose Elena's friendship. To start with he didn't have any other friends who knew and understood him the way she did. He could trust her and that wasn't something he found easy to do.

"Christian." She smiled and stood to greet him, her hands wrapping around his biceps as she kissed his cheek.

"It's good to see you Elena." Christian replied before sinking into his own seat.

"I took the liberty and ordered the wine." Elena said reaching for the bottle.

"I best not, I'm driving and taking Ana out on The Grace afterwards." Christian said grabbing the water jug instead.

"Suit yourself." Elena smirked before topping her own glass up. "So Ana, your Mom was telling me you're just smitten with her."

"Yeah." Christian chuckled uncomfortably and rubbed at his lip. Despite the years that had gone by and the friendship they shared, Elena was still able to make him squirm.

"Tell me about her." Elena put her elbow on the table, rested her hand against her cheek, and smirked at him, she knew exactly how to make him feel uncomfortable.

"There's not much to tell." Christian shrugged before running his hand through his hair. "She's Ana, she's amazing."

"You've fallen in love." Elena pouted her Botox filled lips a little but her eyes still sneered. "I thought you were stronger than that Christian, you know love will get in the way of your business, isn't that what you always said, why you became a Dom in the first place?"

Christian was grateful that the waiter came to take their order at that moment because it gave him a second to think. His own words from years gone by were coming back to haunt him. Though it should have mattered, it wasn't Elena's business if he and Ana were in love or what effect that would have on his business, that was his to worry about and the way he felt about Ana he'd give it up for her in a heartbeat.

"Well?" Elena asked as Christian watched the waiter walk away.

"Well what Elena? I didn't plan this, it wasn't deliberate, it just happened and I think I'm already a better man for it." Christian retorted, he wasn't in the mood for Elena's games.

"Oh Christian." She pouted and reached for his hand across the table, which he reluctantly allowed her to take. "Your Mom was telling me about her past, this girl will never be able to love you the way you clearly love her. Don't let yourself get hurt…"

"I think you're completely wrong about that and whatever my mother has been telling you, it isn't her place to tell. Ana has her history but that is hers to share." Christian pulled his hand back; he didn't like the way Elena was talking about Ana and he was seriously pissed that his mother had been blabbing her mouth too. He and Ana had been using her as a confidant, he expected Grace to share things with Carrick but not with Elena. Grace should have known what Elena was like when she had information about people, it made her powerful.

"Well if you change your mind, I have the perfect submissive lined up and waiting for you." She purred and Christian rolled his eyes, he had no interest in having another submissive.

"Elena, my life has been so much better since Ana came into it. I'm home more than I'm at work, I'm making time for my family, I've built a much better and stronger relationship with my Mom and I treat my employees better too. All this because she came into my life and flipped it on its head. You don't think if things don't work out between us, I'd want to go backwards do you?"

"Christian, you said it yourself, the lifestyle is more convenient…"

"It was Elena." Christian snapped. "When I was working every hour God sent to build my company from the ground up. I don't need to do that now. I can sit back a little now and let the people I pay to do the job, do their jobs while I have a bit more of a life. I've earnt it don't you think?" It was totally a rhetorical question and while Elena took a long sip of her wine their lunch was finally served, giving them both a brief respite from their conversation.

"Maybe Ana should come with me next time, so you can meet her properly and get to know her. She has a spellbinding effect on everyone who comes into contact with her."

"I don't think that's a great idea, Christian, she seems so sensitive." Elena replied shuddering a little. Christian eyed her more, it was weird how Elena didn't want to get to know Ana. Christian had always thought she'd be the type to want to vet his girlfriends.

"Ana's the strongest person I've ever met." He told her as he cut up his meat, he didn't see the eyeroll Elena gave in response. "I think you'd get along."

"Hmm, we'll see if she sticks around first." Elena replied dryly.

"I'm going to ask her to marry me at some point Elena…" Elena near choked on the wine she was taking a sip of which Christian struggled not to laugh at. He passed a napkin over to her which she snatched before patting at her mouth and chin.

"Marry?" She asked. "Don't you think it's a bit soon?"

"Yes and if you'd have let me finish, it's a bit soon but I do intend to ask her, when the time is right." Christian explained.

"On your own head be it Christian Grey, that's all I'll say about that." She replied pointing at him as though she were scolding a child. Christian shook his head and half-laughed under his breath. He'd had a feeling that Elena wouldn't be over the moon at the fact he was planning on getting married but he also hadn't expected her to be so openly against the idea either.

"How's Eric doing?" He asked, deciding it was time to leave that conversation behind them.

"Eric is Eric, he does his own thing you know that. We haven't been together in years."

"You live together and you're married." Christian chuckled.

"Yeah which is why I can tell you marriage is a bad idea." Elena dismissed with a flick of her hand.

"What about George?" Christian went on, simply because he didn't want the conversation to head back to Ana. George was Elena's current submissive and he was an absolute masochist, he wound Elena up relentlessly, and it didn't matter how sadistic Elena got with him, he continued to push.

"I'm so bored with him. I like the screams you know, he doesn't scream I'm out of options short of slicing and dicing and I learned a long time ago not to leave permanent marks." Elena replied and Christian shivered, he had no permanent marks from his time with Elena, but he felt sorry for any poor soul who did. Elena was a vicious Dominatrix and she would cause pain when she wanted to. "I need someone younger."

"Any younger it's illegal Elena." Christian said his fork halting in mid-air. "Be careful." She flapped her hand again dismissing it but Christian couldn't help but worry about who would fall into her clutches next. Seeing how badly Ana had been hurt over the years, he didn't want to see anyone manipulated as she had been.

After they were done with their meal, Christian collected Ana and drove them to Elliot Bay. Ana was in good spirits and filled Christian in on the time she and Grace had spent chatting, Christian was so happy Ana and his mother had become so close. It was good for Ana to have a woman to talk to about things and also stopped Grace pining after Mia.

They left the car and walked hand in hand over to a boardwalk dock. They passed dozens of boats but Christian kept walking until they got to the very end and there stood a majestic bright white yacht.

"Ta-da." Christian smiled as Ana's mouth dropped wide open. "Thought we could spend the night out on the water."

"Are you for real?" Ana asked leaning into Christian. "Is this your boat?"

"Yep. It's called The Grace." Christian beamed proudly. "Come on, let's get on board."

Ana was guided up the ladder with Christian right behind her. An older man was there on the deck, fiddling with some ropes but he stopped what he was doing when he saw them come on board and walked over to them.

"Mr Grey." He smiled reaching to shake hands.

"Mack, it's good to see you. Ana this is Mack, Mack my girlfriend Ana."

"Pleasure." He saluted which made Ana giggle lightly. "Everything is ready to go for you, I'll see you tomorrow when you dock."

"Brilliant, thanks Mack." Christian smiled and the older man made his way from the boat the way Ana and Christian had come on. She realised it was going to be just the two of them tonight.

"Ana, come with me." Christian said taking her hand and he led her to the cockpit where there were two steering wheels each with their own seat. "Sit here, make yourself comfy, but don't touch anything." He told her and she nodded and watched as Christian disappeared. Looking around her she could see that directly in front of her was the way into the body of the boat. There was a large dining table with benches, which was on the deck of the boat, a sort of al fresco dining area, opposite that were some more benches with cushions on, then through the gap Ana could just make out more couches in the distance. Christian had said they were staying aboard tonight, so she figured they would have a sleeping space, she wondered if it was like a makeshift bed like in an RV, though the boat looked big enough to have at least a decent sleeping space. Not that she knew what a decent sleeping space on a yacht was.

Christian returned and fired up the engines. Ana was in complete awe watching him working away, she was momentarily forgotten while he got them going. Ana looked at the steering wheel in front of her, just on the other side of it was this crazy looking keyboard with loads of buttons and the one on Christian's side was exactly the same, he was already pressing things and Ana took a deep breath just enjoying the moment.

"Open water. Time to get the sails out… would you like to help?" Christian asked stretching as he stood.

"Do you need my help?" Ana asked nervously. Christian shook his head but looked suspiciously at her. "I'm scared I'll do something wrong." She explained.

"Ok, watch this time, I'll expect you to be so proficient next time you'd be able to do it without me." He winked making Ana giggle.

Christian really didn't need her help, he tugged the ropes, tied others, the huge white sails opened up like blankets and Ana felt the shift in the way the boat glided along the blue water.

"I've set the autopilot." He said coming back over to her. "We're going north, we'll anchor near mutiny bay and stay there overnight."

"Mutiny bay, that doesn't sound like the wisest place to anchor overnight, unless you're going to tell me you've got enough gunpowder on board."

"Gunpowder…mhh…" He pulled her into him, wrapping his arms around her waist. "Forgot the gunpowder."

"Darn it." Ana teased before Christian met her lips in a gentle kiss.

"Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum will have to do instead." He laughed making Ana grin at him. She liked him like this, all relaxed and playful. "Come on, let me show you inside." Christian said and he led her in through the space she'd seen from the steering wheel.

"So this is the upper deck, seating area one…" His hand signalled the small U shaped seating area before he led her down a small set of steps and into another seating area which had a TV and a nice, full, bookshelf. "Living space, through here is a small double bedroom, then we have the kitchen." The kitchen was incredible, it looked like a proper high-class apartment, not what Ana expected to see on a boat!

"Two further small bedrooms and bathrooms down there too." He signalled them but made no move to show her inside the cabins. Instead, they went down the steps that led from the kitchen and onto the lower deck.

"That way, engine room, you'll have no need to ever go in there." Christian signalled. "But down here…" Ana followed him down a narrow path that was all lit with gorgeous gold uplighters to a white door. "The master suite." Christian said opening the door.

"Oh my goodness." Ana gasped. It was a huge master suite with a king-size, four-poster bed with crisp white sheets, to the left another seating area and to the right a working desk, and wardrobe.

"Through there is the master bathroom, couple's sinks, and everything." He winked playfully and Ana shook her head, this was unreal. "There are a couple more bedrooms, I'm sure you saw the doors along the corridor, but well we don't need them." He said turning to face Ana. "Will it do?"

"Will it do? Christian it's incredible." Ana said. "Thank you for bringing me here."

"You're welcome. Now… this bed… has never been used…" He said and he didn't need to say anymore. Ana latched her lips onto his and they headed to nirvana together.

After an afternoon of antics, Ana and Christian sat at the alfresco table demolishing a picnic that had been prepared and supplied by Mrs Jones. They both were wrapped in nothing more than bathrobes having decided to forgo clothes knowing otherwise all they would be doing would be removing them all over again later.

"You know you said the bed had never been used…" Ana rolled her finger around the rim of her wine glass and stared at that rather than looking at Christian. He realised this was likely to be an uncomfortable question. "I know you had your submissive partners… did they never come on the boat?"

"No Ana. They never came on the boat, they never flew in my helicopter, they never went in my bedroom. I don't think you really understand the kind of relationships I had before you." Christian took the wine glass from her hands and placed it on the table, forcing her to give him her undivided attention. "Before you, I had submissives, they were consenting partners, they arrived at my apartment on Friday evenings, they slept in a guest room and they left on Sunday's. None of them ever even met my Mom. They were my secret. We had written agreements and when they came to an end the relationship did too."

"Did you pay them?" Ana asked and Christian's eyes almost fell out of his head.

"No."

"See that makes no sense to me, why would anyone do that if they're not getting paid for it?" Ana asked her hands moving animatedly as she spoke.

"Ana, what you believe is BDSM, is not BDSM at all sweetheart. BDSM is as much about pleasure as it is pain, some people find pain pleasurable. What you experienced at the club was not BDSM, it was selfish Doms. Do you recall one ever paying any mind to what you experienced during a scene?" Ana shook her head; this was so awkward. "Look, I don't want to get into this right now. We will talk about this more, we will need to have the conversation, but not today." Ana sighed, what difference did it make if it was today or not.

"I have another question." She stated, now looking at her fumbling hands in her lap. "Why do you never let me give you pleasure?"

"What do you mean?" He asked, tipping her chin so she would look at him again.

"Like, you don't let me give you a handjob or oral… does what I used to do put you off it?"

"God no." Christian shook his head. "I can't wait for the day, when you put those rose-red lips around me Ana because I know it will be the first time you do it because you want to give me pleasure, not because you're being paid to do it. But at the moment, I'm more than satisfied sharing pleasure with you, I get pleasure from seeing you experience it. I don't need that."

"But see I want to give it to you, I want to see you pleasured because of what I do…" Ana was frustrated by this point, the only conclusion she had been able to come to was that he didn't want her to do that to him because of what she had done before.

"And you will." Christian took her hand and kissed it softly. "But we don't need to rush this." He added. "We have time, to discover each other, to be with each other. Please Ana…"

"Ok." She replied petulantly. "But sooner rather than later ok." She said and he chuckled, she was an impatient woman.

"Deal." He leaned forward, captured her lips in her own and she moaned softly into the kiss.

"I have something I need to tell you." Ana said as they parted. Christian picked up his wine, sentences like the one she had just spoken made him nervous. "Uh, so you know when we went to see Ella." She said her hands fumbling in her lap again. "She gave me a number for a shrink, one that works with kids like me and so I've made an appointment to see her after work on Monday." Ana looked at her lap and Christian's hand reached over and picked up her chin.

"That's great Ana, I'm proud of you." He told her and she smiled shyly. "Baby steps yeah?"

"I want to really think about going to see my step-father. I wasn't very nice to him at the cemetery and I feel like maybe I should talk to him you know." Ana mumbled. "But I need to deal with things a little first, believe that maybe my life won't always be filled with nightmares and shitty memories."

"Baby steps." Christian said giving her hand a squeeze and she nodded, baby steps was right, she couldn't rush all of this, meeting Mary Griffith would be a huge step to start but then she needed to take it a session at a time and then see how she felt. It wasn't going to be an easy journey, coming to terms with her past, but she knew it was time to do so.