Chpt. 8 CPOV:

"Did Ana get back to her apartment okay this morning?" I ask as soon as Taylor walks in for our afternoon briefing.

"Yup," he takes his usual seat across from me. "She was going to back up some clothes and whatever else she might need to bring back to our place. She kept asking me though if we were still okay with her staying with us. I guess she thought we would change our mind or something."

"You told her we didn't, right?"

"Of course, man. I assured her she was could stay as long as she needed to. Before we left I showed her Elliot's bedroom so she could put her bags in there when she got back. I gave her the spare key too."

"I'd rather she sleep in my bed again," I admit.

"Me too."

"Even if we don't I'd rather have her in the room next to me than in some hotel across town."

It's funny, no matter how much time I spend with Ana I want to spend more with her. I've never felt this way about a woman before. I constantly wonder about what she's doing, where she is and of course what she's wearing (or sometimes not wearing). It's not just about the sex, the connection is beyond that. It's like a comfort that I'm not sure I've ever felt before. Even before the Air Force and the hell we saw over there, this comfort didn't exist. It's like when I'm with her nothing else matters.

"Did you hear what I said?" Taylor pulls me from my thoughts.

"Uh, no…what?"

"Do you think we need to tell Elliot before we meet with Ana?"

"Tell him what?"

"About…us?"

"I don't see why we need to but I'm not against it," I could care less what the fuck others think about what we're doing in our private lives. I know Taylor cares, but I sure as hell don't. If people don't like it, then they need to just mind their own business. What I don't know though is how Ana feels about people knowing that we're in a relationship. Although going into the restaurant last night she held both of our hands and she's greeted us at her door by kissing both of us so maybe she doesn't mind either.

"When we all sit down to meet with Ana and review her portfolio…I guess I'm just thinking the two of us aren't exactly unbiased when it comes to Ana's work any longer."

"True…but Elliot wanted to hire her long before…well before we got back together. He said it at the wedding, remember?"

"Yeah, so it probably isn't an issue right?"

"I don't think so. If he didn't think her work was up to our standard then he wouldn't have suggested a meeting with her. Let's see how things play out when he returns, but I don't think this is something we're going to hide from him anyway."

"You okay with that?" he asks.

"I'm good, but we need to make sure that Ana is. I don't want her to be uncomfortable but I don't think we should hide our relationship from people either. I mean, how does that even work? She is only seen in public with one of us? While the other person is only with her in the privacy of our apartment?"

I watch Taylor's face pale at the realization of what hiding our relationship would mean. There's no way in hell I could sit back and watch night after night Taylor and Ana go out to dinner, to lunch, to movie, to wherever and not go with them. Or when the three of us did go somewhere, to sit and watch them touch each other, kiss each other all while not being able to kiss or touch Ana. Yeah…that's not going to happen.

"That's not an option," he grimaces.

"Agreed," I have no doubt his mind just went to the same place mine was. "We have another week before Elliot and Kate return, but at some point we'll have to talk to Ana and see how she wants to proceed."

"Yeah."

"So what's on the docket that we need to review?"

Every Friday afternoon we have a standing meeting to review our progress of the week and discuss what's on the table for the following week. We also review any upcoming projects or consultations that are needed with new clients. Other than us and Elliot, the only other people who sometimes join these meetings are the designer team but lately they've been attending less and less because of their own schedules so they send updates ahead of the meeting.

We spend the next couple of hours discussing our current projects which are thankfully all still on the timeframe we outlined to the client. Elliot's absence has created additional work, but we have strong foreman who have really stepped up and kept their crews in line so that no project suffered an unnecessary delay.

"FUCK!" Taylor slams his phone on the table just as I finish replying to an email after we wrapped up our meeting.

"What's wrong?"

"I need to go meet with Thompson tonight."

"Tonight?" It's nearly six already.

"If he doesn't meet with me he's threatening to cancel his contract."

"What's wrong?"

"He's furious with Diana's work-"

"Again?"

Diana is our designer for the commercial side our business. Although we love the company we contract with for our design work for their residential pieces, they have continued to miss the mark on the commercial side. Diana is the third designer the agency has assigned us and unfortunately it seems she is no better than the last two. The complaints are always the same…the designs don't fit the corporate atmosphere they are going for or doesn't represent their company.

"He's saying that the end project is nothing like he approved before he left for vacation. He's furious and refusing to pay for any of the work. I have her last approved design on file so I'll take that with me tonight and see what the final project looks like."

"Want me to come along?"

"No, I've got this. Thompson is all bark, he just needs to be heard and wants someone to agree with him. Go home, have dinner with Ana. I'll be back at some point tonight."

"Call if you change your mind. I can be at his office within an hour from our place."

"I will. Tell Ana I'm sorry I'll miss dinner."

"Will do."

A few minutes later Taylor and I leave the office heading in opposite directions which is not all that unusual. It's pretty odd that either of us keep the same hours, although we've made more of an effort to leave wherever we are at the same time to spend time with Ana. It's an odd feeling driving home knowing that Ana is there; I've never lived with a woman before, although technically I suppose we're not really living together. She's simply staying with us for a few days until the water in her apartment is turned back on.

Walking into the apartment, I set my keys and laptop bag down before going in search of Ana. I know she's here because her car was parked outside, but the apartment is quiet. I check the bedrooms, thinking maybe she laid down to take a nap, but all three bedrooms are empty except for a couple of luggage bags now in Elliot's bedroom. Part of me is disappointed that she didn't put her bags in my room, but I have to remind myself that at least she decided to stay here rather than getting a hotel room like she originally planned. I return to the living room and head to the kitchen where the site before me stops me dead in my tracks. There's Ana, with earbuds in, dancing around my kitchen as she stirs something that smells unbelievable delicious on the stove. She's wearing these tight jeans that show off her ass perfectly. I lean against the wall, watching her move around the kitchen dancing as she goes. Immediately I'm reminding of how her body felt against mine the night we first met, when the three of us were dancing and her body was pressed against mine.

"Oh!" she jumps when I wrap my arms around her and pull her against me not being able to just stand by and watch without touching her. She body tenses just for a moment, but when she realizes it's me she immediately relaxes around me. "You scared me!"

"Sorry," I mumble against her lips as I kiss her. "You smell amazing."

"It's….dinner," she blushes.

"No, it's not," whatever she's cooking does smell good but she smells amazing. Like flowers and vanilla and….just Ana.

"Will Taylor be here soon?" she asks.

"He had to rush across town for an emergency meeting with a client."

"Wow, it's kind of late for a meeting isn't it?"

"The client just got back from vacation and is furious at what he came back to, so Taylor needed to go meet with him and see what the issue was."

"Oh. Do you want to wait to have dinner?"

"We can eat and put aside a dish for Taylor to heat up whenever he gets back. I have a feeling he's going to be awhile."

Ana puts some chicken, mushroom and rice mixture on two plates when I grab a bottle of wine to share. When we walk into the rarely used dining room, I see that Ana had been busy when we were at work.

"You didn't need to clean when we were gone you know."

"I know, I got bored," she shrugs.

The dining room table which was previously covered in files, blue prints and random pieces of mail is now perfectly clear. What was sitting on the table appears to have been neatly piled on the corner of the breakfast bar which is where we normally ate when we were home to eat that is. I can't remember the last time we actually ate at this time…well except for an occasional pizza pie. Typically this was our work area when we needed to work at home. What we really needed was a four bedroom condo so one could be turned into an office, but that was harder to come by and significantly more expensive so we went with the three bedroom using the dining room as an office.

"Wow, this is amazing Ana," there are so many flavors in the dish that she made. I have no idea what all is in it but it's amazing.

"Thanks," she blushes. "I enjoy cooking when I can."

"Do you have any plans this weekend?" I ask during a lull in the conversation; I don't want to assume she is going to spend the weekend with us although I'm hoping she will.

"Not really. Originally I was supposed to start packing-"

"Packing?"

"Two weeks from today I was supposed to be closing on a condo I purchased," the sad look in her eyes tells me that's no longer the plan.

"What happened?"

"I was putting together the final list of documents the mortgage company needed and when they found out I lost my job they said I wouldn't be approved for the mortgage without an income and that even if I found a job tomorrow it would be difficult to get approved by myself since I would be at my new job for such a short period of time before closing. Plus since I'm a first time home owner…."

"Oh Ana, I'm sorry," I leave my chair and immediately embrace her holding her close to me.

"It's okay. It's not a big deal. I wasn't in love with the apartment anyway; it was just…going to be mine."

"It is a big deal," I gently lift her up and carry her to the couch where she rests against my chest. "Is there anyone that can cosign or something for you?" I would offer in a heartbeat but I know with our mortgage on this place, the lease on the office space and our business being only two years old there's no way that I would be approved as a cosigner for a mortgage.

"No," she whispers. "There's no one."

"Did Kate…did she ask you to move out?"

"No! I had been looking for a few months now, before she even met Elliot. I had been at my job for awhile, saved enough money for a down payment and figured it was just time. It's fine, really. I'll look for a place to rent for awhile and then try again."

I want to do something, but I have fucking idea what. I want to fix this for her…somehow. Is it wrong that I want to ask her to move in with us? Elliot was planning on moving in with Kate as soon as they got back from their honeymoon; hell I think he would have moved in before the wedding if they had more than a few days engagement. But with Elliot moving out we would have a third bedroom empty; I just don't know if Ana would want that.

"Thank you," she whispers and tries to sit up but I tighten my hold on her not ready to let her go just yet. She relaxes back into me and I love the way her soft body feels against mine.

"Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," she answers quickly.

"Did you ever tell Kate…about the first time we met?"

"Yes and no," she admits.

"Yes and no?"

"I told her I went out to the club that night and I told her about the guy who kept putting his hands on me. I told her that just before I could move away from him that I met someone who came to my rescue. I told her how we chatted, danced and drank. I told her we went back to the hotel," I feel the heat on her face as I'm sure she's blushing against me remembering that incredible night that we spent together.

"Did you tell her about both of us?" I ask, noticing that she said she met someone.

"No," she shakes her head.

"How come?" I ask after pausing for a moment to figure out how I want to phrase the question. Her answer could be the answer to the question that Taylor and I had about telling Elliot and anyone else about our relationship.

"I…I didn't know how to explain it," she sighs. "I didn't not tell her about you and Taylor; I just…let her assume it was one person instead of two."

"Were you ashamed?" I hold my breath waiting her response, already imagining that she's going to say she didn't want people to know what happened between the three of us that night. And that if she didn't it want it then that she wouldn't want it now. That she wants to keep our relationship a secret and only date one of us in public while the other-

"NO! God, no," she quickly shifts herself around so she's looking at me, her legs now straddling mine. "The only part I was ashamed about was leaving the next morning without talking with you or at least exchanging numbers. I didn't know how to explain…it was weeks later when I finally told her what happened that night. She thought…she told me I was moping around and assumed it was because I was still dealing with my mother's death. But that wasn't the case."

"It wasn't?"

"I know it didn't make sense at the time, since we only knew each other a handful of hours, but I missed both of you. That was the part that was hard to explain to Kate. How could I explain to her that I missed not only one but two guys that I only knew for a few hours when I could barely explain it to myself?"

"You missed us?"

"I did…that night…was incredible. It was like, I don't know…like we had known each other for years instead of hours. I felt so comfortable with both of you. I didn't even think twice about going to your hotel room when Taylor suggested that. You have to understand, I've never done anything like that before. I've never had a one night stand; before that night I had been with only one other person in my entire life so-"

"Wait," I interrupt her knowing I didn't hear right. "Before that night you had only slept with one person, meaning…?"

"Before that night, I had only had sex with one other guy," she blushes an adorable shade of red.

"One guy," I repeat in shock.

"Well, obviously three now," she giggles and buries her face in my neck in embarrassment.

"Three…so you haven't been with anyone else….?"

"No."

Fuck me. Is it wrong that knowing that I was the last person inside of her before Vegas is turning me on? That she hadn't been with anyone else since that night in Georgia…

"Can I ask you something?" she asks quietly.

"Of course."

"Have you and Taylor….have you two…."

"You're the only one we've been with together," I answer the unasked question. I'm glad she didn't ask if we had been with other people in the last two years because we both definitely have. But by the way she relaxes against me tells me that I answered the right question. She was worried that Taylor and I had jumped into a threesome with someone else after she left that morning.

"Good," she whispers and I have to hold back the chuckle.

I don't know how long we sit there, but it feels nice just to hold Ana in my arms. Eventually though we get up and working together clean up the kitchen after putting aside a dish in the microwave for Taylor. I text him asking him how it's going, it takes him a little while but he eventually responds letting me know that the client is no longer furious but we have some work to do to fix the fuck up as he put it. I let him know that Ana made dinner and a plate is in the microwave for him. He responds with thanks but thinks he is still going to be a couple more hours.

"Tired?" I ask when I see Ana hide a yawn.

"Yeah."

"Um….I don't want to assume," I struggle not knowing how to word the question. "If you don't want to, it's fine…"

"Don't want to?" she asks.

"Sleep with me," I blurt out quickly. "I mean-"

"I like sleeping with you," she blushes as I take her hand.

"I sleep really good with you next to me for some reason," I haven't had a nightmare in the past week that we've slept together.

"Me too," there's that look in her eyes again but before I can focus on it the look is gone. Fuck, I want to know what happened to her. I want to ask her about her obvious fear of the dark and then I want to find the fucker that made her afraid of the dark and fuck him up.

"Christian?" she pulls me from my thoughts as she turns to head towards the bedrooms.

"Coming," I shake my head and follow her to my bedroom where we slept together last night.

We briefly part ways, her going into Elliot's room to change and me going into the bathroom to get ready for bed. When she walks into my room wearing only a t shirt that barely covers her ass, I nearly groan at the site. I'm already in bed, waiting for her when she turns off the light but even in the dim room I can see her eyes search for the two nightlights that I bought after seeing them in her room. I watch her visibly relax when she sees them before slipping into bed next to me. I pull her against me, her body immediately molds into mine. The look from earlier in her eyes is gone, but I vow one day to find out what caused it. I want to ask her, to insist she tell me…but I know I can't. I know if she insisted I tell her about my shit I wouldn't; that's shit no one should hear. I'll have to wait for her to tell me, until she's ready…and hope like hell that day eventually comes. That she eventually trusts us enough to tell us what happened-

When her lips find mine I groan against them, loving how soft they feel and how she tastes. I run my hands down her sides until I reach her soft ass and pull against me; she moans when she feels my dick against her stomach. Her hands are everywhere, down my chest, up my sides, around my neck – I love that she can't stop touching me because that's exactly how I feel every time I'm with her. She immediately opens when I tease her lips with my tongue, allowing me to taste her. When I roll her nipple between my thumb and finger through her shirt, she arches into my touch. With her breasts in my hand and my dick against her stomach, she starts moving against me letting me know just how much she enjoys what's happening. When she puts her leg over mine, opening herself up to me so the only thing stopping me from plunging into her is her silk panties and my underwear. I adjust my position so my throbbing dick rubs right against her clit with each of her movements causing us both to groan.

"Need these off," she whispers as starts to push my underwear down.

"As you wish," I quickly lift myself allowing her to push them down further.

I flip Ana over so she lays on top of me, her silk clad sex is rubs against me immediately and my only thought is thrusting inside of her. Her lips are at my neck, kissing and sucking on me as she grinds herself against me. I can feel the wetness through her panties, groaning I reach over thankfully able to reach the nightstand drawer without having to move off the bed. I quickly pull out a condom just as Ana's lips find mine, her tongue thrusts into my mouth surprising me. Her body is tense with need as she rocks against me letting me know just how much she wants me right now. Placing the condom on the bed next to us, I grab her ass with both hands and push her against me just as I arch into her.

"Christian," the plea in her voice is my undoing.

I quickly tear the condom package open, roll it onto my dick as the need to be inside of Ana overcomes me, I grasp the two strings on her hips and pull until her thong tears open. She gasps, her eyes open as she giggles when I pull the thong from her beautiful body. The giggling quickly turns into a moan when she rubs her now bare sex over my dick letting her juices coat the condom. I nearly lose it when she reaches between us to position me at her opening; she slowly slides herself onto me, her eyes never leaving mine.

"Take this off," I beg needing to see more of her.

She gently lifts herself from my chest until she sitting up completely; we both moan when this allows me to slip even deeper into her. I hold her hips against me, not wanting to lose this feeling as she slowly pulls the t shirt over her head. Her face reddens when she catches me staring at her.

"You're so beautiful," still holding her hips firmly, I encourage her to start moving knowing if she doesn't I would come without satisfying her. I love watching her tits move with each bounce, love how her body grips me so tightly, love how warm she is and how she just makes me feel….

"Christian….." her movements become more erratic as the desire becomes too much. Her eyes are closed, her breathing is heavy and her hands are gripping my wrists tightly almost as if she's afraid I'm going to stop.

"Play with yourself baby," I urge.

Her eyes pop open and her movements nearly stop as she takes in my words. I don't say anything, instead I take her fingers, bringing them to my mouth so I can suck them. Her walls clench against me the moment my tongue touches her and it takes everything in me not to come right there. Instead, I focus on her needs, on making sure she comes before I allow myself to give in. I guide her fingers to her clit, placing mine over hers, applying just enough pressure to kick things up a notch without pushing her over.

"Oh God!" she calls out.

"That's it baby," I encourage her loving how she loses control just before she comes. "You feel so amazing; so tight, so hot and-"

"Christian!" she screams out my name as her warm center clamps down on me tightly. It takes everything in me to not let go; instead I focus on the project that starts next week as a way hold off the orgasm just a little bit longer. I've never had felt like this with anyone else….so out of control. It's like I can't get enough of Ana, even when I'm buried deep inside of her.

When she collapses on my chest, I wrap my arm around her waist and hold her against me until I feel her body slowly come down from the orgasm. She leans up, giving me this incredibly shy smile before kissing me. The soft moan on her lips when she finds mine brings the orgasm right to the surface and this time I know there's no holding it back. The ache is there, the need to come is so intense yet all I can think is that I don't want to leave Ana's body.

"Ana…." She buries her face in my neck just as I lift her hips up giving me some room to move. I slowly pull out of her warm body, enjoying the way she tries to pull me back in before I push her down while thrusting up to meet her. She screams out against my neck, her body clenching me as I repeat the process several times. My own body is screaming for it's release, but I'm too stubborn to give in to it just yet.

"I need to feel you come again baby; I want to feel you grip my dick when I'm deep inside of you."

"Christian…" she moans gripping me tighter.

"Play with your clit again," I all but beg her knowing that I'm seconds away from losing control.

With her face still buried in my neck, she slowly slides a hand between us almost cautiously following my request. My hands are still firm on hips as I rock in and out of her, once she starts moaning in my ear I know she's getting closer. Every time I thrust deep inside of her I feel her fingers between us, teasing her clit and brushing against my dick when I pull back out.

"I'm so close Ana…so fucking close," I don't care how that makes me sound.

"Me too…right….there," she pants.

"Come with me."

"God yes."

Not able to hold out much longer, I move faster, nearly pulling completely out before plunging back into her, not stopping until I'm as deep inside of her as possible. She's moaning and whispering my name over and over again as we both chase our orgasm. Her fingers are still between us, not only teasing herself but rubbing against me each time I thrust into her.

"ANA!" I call out her name one final time before slamming her body into mine just as the orgasm rips through me. I vaguely hear her scream out my name as I feel the orgasm wash over her. I wrap my arms around her, holding her against my chest as we both try to slow our breathing down. I don't know what it is about Ana, but it's never felt like this with anyone else. Why the fuck is that?

"That was…" she whispers.

"Yeah," there are no words.

I know I need to get up and take care of the condom, but right now I don't want to be anywhere else. Her slow, steady breathing has me realizing all too soon that she's fallen asleep while still laying on top of me with me softening inside of her. I reluctantly lift her relaxed body from mine, slowly slipping out of her warmness so I can dispose of the condom. I quickly take care of it in the bathroom, wash up and head back into bed where Ana is waiting for me.

I sleep soundly with her body wrapped around mine, only waking when she slips from the bed.

"Where are you going?" I ask.

"Bathroom and to grab a bottle of water."

She grabs the blue button down shirt I wore yesterday from the chair and slips it on over her naked body. Fuck….who knew her wearing nothing but my shirt would be such a fucking turn on?

"Come back to bed," I practically beg.

"I'm hungry, I need food before we go for round two," her face reddens as she giggles.

"Fine," when my stomach growls I realize she isn't the only one hungry. "Why don't you go see if Taylor is awake and the three of us can go out for breakfast?"

"Okay."

She's back only a few minutes later with a water bottle in her hand. The look on her face though surprises me.

"What's wrong?"

"Taylor wants to talk to you…."