3rd Person POV:

Ana had come out of the shower and sat near Christian on the bed.

There was an awkward silence that fell between them and whatever spell of bold confidence that occupied both before seemed to have faded away.

Neither knew what to say to each other, even sitting normally seemed mentally out of reach.

"So…"

"I…"

They both tried talking at the same time and then gave a nervous chuckle and went back to staring at the comforter.

"Was it a good shower?" Christian lamely asked just needing to say something.

"Um yeah, yeah it was, did you want to…"

"Oh um, not right now maybe later."

Finally Ana had enough, "alright this is ridiculous, I mean clearly there is something between us, we… click. We should be able to have a conversation without it being this awkward… I mean it wasn't this awkward when we where trapped in the elevator why is now any different?"

Christian thought for a moment and then grabbed Ana's hand,

"Go with me on this," He said leading her off the bed and opening the nearest door, it was a linen closet mostly just shelves and not big enough to fit them, the 2nd door he tried opened up to a modest sized walk in closet.

He pulled Ana inside and sat them down on the floor, similarly to how they had been sitting in the Elevator.

"Better?" He asks.

Ana smiles, "Yeah, actually I think it is."

They shared another chuckle and now the silence that was between them was more comfortable and far less strained.

"I've never felt that kind of passion with anyone," Ana admitted to him, the close quarters making her feel braver.

Christian smiled, "Neither have I."

"Really?" Ana asked doubtfully, "A rich bachelor such as yourself, surely there have been some steamy nights with models and actresses,"

Christian grinned, "No, believe it or not. I am very private and would never invite more attention by associating with someone in either of those fields."

"Is that because your afraid it'll be found out... that you dabble in BDSM?"

"It's more then dabbling Ms. Steele, it's all I've known since I was 15 years old." Christian admits.

Ana doesn't miss how whenever he feels vulnerable or uncomfortable he switches back to formalities trying to distance himself from her, but then something else occurs to her,

"What do you mean... it's all you've known since 15, I can't imagine a lot of high school freshmen asking you to tie them up tie them down."

Christian pauses for a moment before deciding to disclose something he has never admitted out loud to anyone before aside from Flynn...

"I was the one tied, actually."

"Really? What made you ask for something like that?" Ana says surprised.

"I didn't exactly ask." Christian admits.

Ana remains quiet not knowing what to do with Christian's revelation.

"It was a friend of the family, I had been sent over to her house as punishment for getting into another fight at school. She had me doing yard work at first and then on the third day she brought me out some lemonade and I made a smart ass comment. She slapped me and then kissed me. I was completely shocked. I walked home in almost a daze trying to understand what had just happened."

"Then what happened?" Ana asked gently.

"Nothing, not for a couple days anyway. I started thinking I had imagined the whole thing, maybe the heat had gotten to me and I misunderstood but then the next day she asked me inside, said she had some boxes she needed help moving in the basement...

I had never seen anything like it, chains and whips were the least of it, she had a whole dungeon down there... It was strange but odder was I don't remember being afraid, I mean that would have been any normal kid's response but I remember being amused and intrigued."

"You were amused?" Ana asked needing clarity.

"Yeah, I mean if you were to walk by her house, it would look like the American dream... you would never guess inside would be anything more daring then Tiffany lamps. I started to wonder how many others in the pristine neighborhood of Bellevue were secretly fucked up freaks. It made me feel less alone. It was like being shown the physical embodiment of myself, pretty on the outside, dark and damaged on the inside."

"I guess I can understand that."

Christian looked up surprised, he assumed Ana would be frightened off or would cast judgement on him but instead she had surprised him by being sympathetic.

"Really?" He asked.

"Yeah, there were a couple years during my childhood where I experienced utter hell but on the outside I was required to appear normal, boring, mousy...inconsequential."

"I can never imagine you being mousy with those stunning eyes of yours," Ana blushed in embarrassment unused to such a compliment.

Christian leaned forward and tilted her chin up forcing her to look at him again,

"I mean it, the first time I saw you, you took my breath away, you're a true natural beauty with such a fiery personality... you could never be inconsequential." He told her emphatically.

Ana's eyes flitted down to his lips and he leaned forward giving her a gentle kiss.

"Thank you,"

"Your welcome," He told her sincerely.

She sat back down and reached out to hold his hand, she studied the lines of his knuckles before asking what she wanted to know,

"What happened with that woman with the dungeon... your Mrs. Robinson?"

Christian laughed, "Mrs. Robinson, I'll have to tell her you said that, she'll get a kick out of it."

The hand Ana had been using to trace the lines on Christian's stilled,

"You still talk to her?" She asked completely perplexed by the notion.

"Not as much anymore but she's always remained a close friend of my Mother's and occasionally we do see each other,"

"How... how can you stand to be anywhere near her?"

Christian scrunched his eyebrows together not understanding the change that had taken over Ana but finally he caught on,

"No you misunderstand, she didn't do anything against my will," He tried to tell her,

"But you said you didn't ask for it."

"I didn't but I did consent,"

"You were 15 you could hardly consent,"

"Perhaps not legally but in my heart and mind nothing was done without my understanding and approval."

Ana got quiet not knowing what to say to that.

"I'm sorry I guess I just don't understand, I had a step father... husband #3 when I wasn't much younger than you, who abused me, I could never see him as anything other than a sick bastard."

"Ana, that's completely different." Christian tried to tell her.

"Is it? I mean I didn't ask for it but I was frozen still in shock the first time it happened and I didn't say the word no or stop... does that mean I approved?"

"Of course not, and I filled with a murderous rage over that animal putting his hands on you but it's not the same, I was old enough to understand what was happening... I had been abused in my earlier years and trust me this wasn't that, Elena gave me tools to survive in life, to get where I wanted... where I needed to go. She helped me until I was able to help myself."

"I supposed I just don't understand that but who am I to tell you you're wrong, it wouldn't make me feel very good if someone disagreed with what happened with me... how I saw it, how it made me feel. I guess only you can know what happened between you and her... I won't try to convince you otherwise."

Christian was shocked, the only person who knew beside him and Elena had been Flynn, his psychiatrist and he had for years been trying to convince Christian he had been abused by Elena but hearing Ana say that only he could know and she wouldn't pressure him to feel differently provided him with such a tender understanding he had never been shown before.

A feeling started to bloom in him over Ana and he knew whatever it was about to grow into he would cherish beyond anything else.