CHAPTER 7: Bewitched
Christian is carefully listening to this angel voice telling the story of a young sorcerer, an owl, some awful uncle and cousin and magical schools. He is not really interested in the story, never understanding all the fuss about Harry Potter in the first place. At first, he just stayed there to quickly tuck Phoebe in bed before going to his own room. And also because he had to talk with Miss Steele. But now it is as if he is bewitched by her voice. And he cannot help thinking back to the moment when both his hands grazed her thighs earlier this evening, and this indescribable thing that he felt in his stomach in that moment. It was more than just lust, of that he is sure.
"Harry crossed to his bedroom on tiptoe, slipped inside, closed the door, and turned to collapse on his bed. The trouble was, there was already someone sitting on it. End of chapter 1" Miss Steele's voice finally says.
"Oh no, Ana, we can't stop now. Who is on Harry's bed?" Phoebe says. Christian has to say, he kind of agrees with his daughter, partly because stopping a chapter with such a cliffhanger is kind of cruel and partly because he still wants to be able to listen to this beautiful sound. But he can see that both his daughter and Miss Steele are very tired and it is clearly time for all of them to go to bed now.
"Come on Phoebe, that was the deal; And a deal is a deal." He says as he gets closer to the little girl's bedside and kisses her on the cheek.
"Your father is right Phoebe, and that is part of the excitement of reading books: wondering was comes next. It teaches us patience and helps develop our imagination." ." Miss Steele tucks the sheets over Phoebe "Good night Phoebe!"
"Good night Ana!" the little girl answers. Ana smiles at her and leaves the room. Christian is glad that the children have already developed some connection with Miss Steele, both of them, after just one day; another confirmation that they made the right choice.
"Good night darling!" Christian says before leaving the room as well, switching off the light and shutting the door.
"Good night Daddy! Phoebe says, yawning, as she rolls to her right side and closes her eyes.
Christian cannot help thinking of how domestic this all feels, he and Miss Steele putting the children to bed together. It is actually the first time that he is doing it with any woman; Leila never really cared for these moments so it was always Christian or Gail who took care of putting the children to bed. When his mother, sister or sister in law visit, Christian lets them do it by themselves, at the children's request. And with Gail, it is always either one of them that takes care of putting the children to bed, they never do it jointly. Christian kind of likes how this feels and he is a bit shaken by this revelation. He looks up at Miss Steele as they both stand in the hallway, some uncomfortable silence filling the air. She adverts her eyes, biting her lower lip, as Christian clears his voice, ready to get back to business.
"Miss Steele, the state of Washington has been officially declared in a lock down situation, starting on Monday, for at least four weeks. They will tell everyone tomorrow. We, Industrials, have been warned beforehand so we can try to organize a few things. I will leave home very early tomorrow morning to visit all the shipyards, and the most important sites. I should be back home in three days, on Sunday evening. Sawyer is coming with me. Prescott and Ryan will be on duty here, Prescott remains assigned to the children and will relieve you when needed, Ryan will act as an interface with Sawyer. Please don't leave home; if you need anything, tell Prescott, she will take care of everything." Miss Steele nods. "I did not have the heart to tell Phoebe tonight." He adds honestly "I will call you tomorrow during the day when I know more about my schedule so we can set up Skype sessions with the children." Christian hates being away from his children, but this time he cannot avoid it. And it is only for a few days, and then they will all be locked down together. And somehow, he knows the children will be safe at home with Miss Steele. He goes on with the instructions "Lock down means that there will be no school for at least two weeks, and then they might contact us to tell us what to do, probably sending us some homework. But I'd like you to start working with the children as if they were at school; I don't want then to suffer from being kept away from education."
"Of course Mr Grey" Ana nods. Then she adds "Do you want me to prepare your suitcase for tomorrow? And shall I prepare some breakfast for you and Mr Sawyer, before you leave?"
"No, thank you Miss Steele but that won't be necessary, I have a carry on always ready in case of emergencies, and we will leave very early, around 5am I think, so there is no need for you to be up that early." He answers, smiling despite his annoyance at the whole virus situation that is currently putting a strain on his business.
"Okay." Miss Steele answers softly.
Christian had not realized before, but they are actually standing very close to each other. He discretely inhales Miss Steele's sweet scent; it is even better than what he remembered from their first encounter yesterday. He then adds "Okay then, we should go to bed now." "Separately, me in my bedroom and you in yours, unfortunately", he catches himself thinking. He pulls himself together quickly. "Good night Miss Steele. And please, call me whenever necessary; I believe that you received your new phone and that Gail gave you the list of all of the important phone numbers, with mine on top."
Miss Steele nods "Good night Mr Grey" she answers, walking towards her own room, without looking back. Christian watches her walking away then he makes his way to his own room a few doors down. What the hell is happening to him?