I assist Ana out of the Eurocopter, Hermès edition. Fucking French with their designer helicopters. Maybe I can get Ralph Lauren to redo the interior of mine. She is smoking hot in her outfit. She is wearing skin tight, satin cigarette pants. I am please to find no discernable panty lines. Her red, patent leather heels from our Apfelwein adventure make her legs go on forever. She is wearing her cream and white striped boatneck sweater and large gold hoop earrings. She has dark smoky eye make-up and perfectly lined red lips that make me want to do things to that mouth. Her hair is swept into a low, side bun making her neck look as graceful as a swan. Damn, I'm a lucky fucker!
During our flight to Paris, Ana took great joy in texting Kate pictures of us all dolled up on our own Eurocopter adventure. She was sure to make sure to get the Hermès logos in a few shots. Apparently, Kate has been on some sort of waiting list for a particular Hermès bag for years. Unbeknownst to Ana, I already have Leo reaching out to the designer for two of the bags in question. Ana gets one and so does her roommate. I may be new to relationships, but I'm not a stupid man. The roommate yields the make it or break it factor for most relationships. Elliott better not give all the Grey men a bad name by association before I have a chance to friend-woo Kate.
An SUV meets us on the helipad to whisk us to our hotel. I did have to make more than one call to secure the particular hotel suite that Ana deserves. To give our overnight jaunt a bit more intimacy, I left our security detail in Brinard. Taylor pulled some of the guys from the Paris team to secure the hotel room and stay close but out of sight.
When arranging for all of the hearts and flowers that I could, I debated about where to take Ana to dinner. In the end, I decided to avoid activating Hurricane Mia. The Paris culinary community is tight. If we show up in any of the best restaurants, Mia Grey will be alerted of our presence before our wine is poured. For that reason, Ana and I will be dining in tonight.
Ana has visited Paris on several occasions with the Tsais. The City of Lights alone will not impress her. I am hoping that what I have planned is enough to wow her and make tonight a memorable one.
The concierge unlocks our room for us. I let Ana enter first. She walks through the sitting room, slowly taking in the views from the floor to ceiling windows. Through the open French doors, she walks out onto the suite's terrace. It is lined with thousands of peonies of varying shades of pink. The arrangements are designed in such a way as to make it look like the flowers are cascading over the railings and down the walls. A string quartet is set up on the adjacent terrace. No need to point out that this is probably the balcony for the room housing our security. The quartet is playing classical covers of some of Ana's favorite songs (according to her iTunes account). In the middle of our terrace sits a table cloaked in a white linen table cloth. On the table is a small silver candelabra that holds three candles. No further light is necessary. From our balcony we have a near perfect view of the Eiffel Tower, illuminated in all of its nighttime glory.
Ana keeps walking slowly until she reaches the ledge of the terrace. She remains silent with her hands clasped to her heart. I walk up behind her and wrap my arms around her waist.
"Do you like it, baby?" I whisper in her ear.
She nods her head, too overcome to speak just yet. I nestle my chin into her neck and take in the view just as I know that she is doing. We stand like this for several minutes, absorbing the view, the music, and the soft fragrance of the flowers. When Ana turns, she will see a photographer standing on the other balcony with the quartet, capturing still after still of our first moments in Paris together.
Ana finally regains her voice. She cups my face in her hands and whispers thank you as she cries. I wipe away her tears with my thumbs and kiss their path.
"Don't cry, sweet girl." I murmur.
"This is all so overwhelming. Good overwhelming, but overwhelming," she whispers with a smile.
"Do you want to take a break for a bit? We can go back into our room, shut the doors, and see what's on the television. Tonight, we go at your pace, Anastasia. We do what you want to do and nothing else." I kiss from the corner of her mouth to the warm spot just under her ear. She hums in appreciation.
"No, I don't think that I will ever want to leave this balcony. It's so incredibly perfect. Do you think that, maybe, we could sit down out here and have a glass of wine or something?"
Without having to be asked, servers appear with a cushioned settee that they place facing the Eiffel Tower. They place a round tray on top of an ottoman in front of the settee. A silver champagne cooler and glasses appear. We take our seat while a server pops the cork on a rose champagne that I am hoping Ana will love. A platter with fruits and cheese appears. Just as they arrived, the servers disappear without a sound and we are alone again save for the quartet nearby. At one point, Ana looks over the back of our loveseat and gives the photographer a look that says, 'that's enough, creeper.' He disappears with no further prompting.
We sip and snack. Ana loves the champagne, yes! I learn that she is more of a fruit than a cheese girl, but she does try each variety before settling in to finish the strawberries and grapes. She is so cute, moaning over how good the melon is while it drips down her chin. I tilt her head to me so that I can lick off the juice. Her eyes twinkle with delight when the quartet begins playing the strings version of Wrecking Ball. We hold hands and kiss and nibble some more on the fruit. A server appears to uncork a second bottle of champagne. We toast to the beauty of the Parisienne night.
A slower song begins and I ask Ana to dance. I steal kisses as she rests her forehead in the crook of my neck. Even with her high heels, she is still so tiny in my arms. We stay like this for hours, dancing some, cuddling together on the settee some, and staying present in the moment. Ana tells me to close my eyes and memorize the smells that surround us. She tells me to listen to the sounds of not just the music but of the traffic on the street below us. She pulls out her phone and takes a picture of the view and then several selfies of us sipping champagne on our perch. Just when I think that the night could not get any better, Ana stands and faces me.
"Give me a few moments to get ready for bed and then come join me," she says before giving me the perfect view of her behind in her gorgeous satin pants. She is going to need a pair of those in every color.
I'm not really sure what constitutes 'a few moments.' A couple of minutes would be two minutes so does that mean a few moments is three minutes? Not wanting to rush Ana, I give her fifteen minutes.
I walk back inside and make my way to the bedroom door. Upon opening it, I am greeted by a sight far more beautiful than the view from our terrace. Ana is seated at the head of the bed, resting against the oversized pillows. Her feet are tucked up under her. She is wearing the sweetest night gown made of deep pink silk. Spaghetti straps meet the sweetheart neckline. The silk clings to her perfect body stops mid-thigh. The gown is both sexy as fuck while playing up Ana's virtue if such a thing is possible. I track across the room to my prey. I give her a chaste kiss and ask for just a moment. I head into the bathroom to brush my teeth and find the package that I requested. I strip down to my black boxer briefs, grab the red gift bag, and return to the siren that awaits me.
I set the bag on the bedside table before I make my way onto the bed. I crawl up to her perfect form. I cup her cheek in my hand as I take a moment to stare into her beautiful blue eyes.
"What's in the bag, Grey? Condoms?" She asks with a bit of mirth.
"Nope, those should be in the drawer." I open the bedside table and pull out a foil packet and toss it on the bed while giving her a wink.
"This bag, here, contains the hearts part of your evening." I pull the bag over to the bed. Ana perks up to see what I have.
"Why, Mr. Grey. I believe that you have already given me all of the heart that I can handle this evening," she chides with her hand to her chest.
Sitting on my knees, I begin to pull out the contents of the bag.
"Well, just to make sure that you get all of the hearts that you deserve, I've got a few baubles here for you."
I open the first red, leather box to reveal a wide, gold bangle bracelet with a ruby in the shape of a heart at its center. I motion for Ana to give me her wrist where I clasp the piece in place.
"Oh, Christian, it's stunning!" She says and makes a show of sticking her wrist out to admire the bracelet. "I love it!"
I am rewarded with a slow kiss punctuated by Ana sucking on my top lip for just a second.
"Kiss me like that again, and you'll be wrist to elbow in bracelets," I tease.
Ana giggles and peeks into the bag to see what else I have. I pull another leather box out and let her open it this time. She inhales deeply when she sees the diamond and ruby tear drop earrings inside.
"Put them on," I encourage her. The gems look beautiful against her alabaster skin.
I reach into the bag again.
"Christian, there's more? You shouldn't have," she says but is unable to feign disapproval.
I open the box to reveal a teardrop lavalier made from diamonds and rubies to match her earrings. She stands to look at her new pieces in the mirror. She reaches up and puts a hand to her necklace before turning back to me. She crawls into my lap and gives me an incredible kiss.
"Thank you, Christian. I will treasure these always."
"You have my heart," I whisper, wrapping my arms around her waist.
"Yes, I do," she whispers back, giving me a sweet kiss. "Now let me give you mine."
Ana turns to wrap her legs around my waist and her arms around my neck. I reach behind her to turn off the lamp before I lie her down on the bed and show her just how much of my heart she owns. Soon, the last of our clothing is lost on the floor. Ana and I take turns worshipping each other's bodies for the rest of the night and well into the early morning hours.
The sun begins to peek through the windows. Ana and I lie awake, facing each other. We stare into each other's eyes, unable to break this holy connection that we have made in this bed. I stroke her cheek as she runs her fingertips along my forearm. It is in this moment that I am ready to share what I have known for some time now.
"Anastasia Rose Steele, I love you with all that I am," I whisper without breaking our stare.
She blinks and nods.
"And I love you with all that I have, Christian Trevelyan Grey."
With these words, we make unspoken promises to each other of our future together, our support of each other, and our commitment to one another. We lie in this moment until neither one of us can fight it any longer and we make love again in our private little Parisienne paradise.