ONE WEEK LATER.

At the moment, Ana was chatting with the others. Elena and her father were discussing politics, while Kate was busy with her phone, laughing loudly. Apparently one of her Facebook friends had posted a hilarious joke on her wall. Calinico was busy in the kitchen, while Ana's eyes darted towards Christian, locking with his.

He had been watching her the whole time. But they hadn't had the chance to speak in private with each other since their phone conversation that afternoon, one week ago. As his eyes bored into hers, Ana's cheeks immediately turned a darker shade of pink, so she instantly avoided his gaze by looking the other way.

As a sigh escaped her red lips, Ana's mind drifted off to their passionate kisses in the limo…

Christian noticed that she looked the other way, so he decided to take matters in own hands. He couldn't take it any longer, desperately wanting... no needing to be alone with Ana. At that, Christian decided to just go and 'kidnap' her, so he could have her all to himself. He got up at that, and walked straight to Ana's direction. With a smile on his face, Christian finally stood right in front of her. He then cleared his throat, 'forcing' Ana to look up at him.

"Ana, would you like to get some fresh air?" Christian asked, his eyes locked on hers, and his voice filled with need.

At that she nodded shyly and as her eyes stayed locked on his, Ana swore that he probably saw right through her soul...

She got on her feet, and slowly followed Christian outside, her heart pounding against her chest.

Kate noticed the two walking out the front door, so she decided to tease them." Your highness, make sure you bring Cinderella home before the clock strikes 12!" she exclaimed, making the others chuckle while Ana's dad shook his head, smiling.

XXX XX XXX

Hand in hand, Ana and Christian walked down the path and they ended up in the garden.( he used one crutch this evening) They both were silent, afraid that words were going to ruin the perfect evening. As Ana's eyes landed on the double swing set, she laughed softly.

At that, he turned her way and looked at Ana." So… you wanna try it out?" he asked.

"Uhmm, yes, I'd like that. But only if you will join me." Ana replied, her heart kicking up a notch.

He smiled at that, and shook his head." That won't be necessary. I'll push the swing for you." Christian commented.

"No! Your knees, Christian." she exclaimed.

"Don't worry, I… uhmm, I swallowed some painkillers this afternoon." He replied, sounding very convincing.

At that, Ana furrowed her brows, and looked at Christian with concerned eyes.

"Don't worry, I only use the pills when I really need them, Ana." He promised, so she let him help her sit on the swing.

Christian stood behind Ana, and began pushing the swing with one hand, making Ana's lips curl into a genuine smile. She looked so endearing!

"When we were little, Kate and I used to go to the playground. My mom used to take us." Ana whispered, the tone of her voice sad, while it trembled lightly.

Christian heard joy but also the pain in Ana's voice. Mr. Steele had once told him that his loving wife had died years ago. At that, he wanted to ask Ana about her mom, but he hesitated. He didn't want to hurt her by bringing up the past… her past. From his own experience, Christian knew that bringing up the past, talking about it, could make old wounds and of course pain resurface. So, he just sighed and silently pushed the swing.

Christian hadn't come near the swing set in a while now. Since Demetrios, he never came to this side of the garden anymore. When his son was 1 year old, he had asked his employees to install the double swing set. He used to come here a lot, sitting on one of the swings with Demetrios on his lap. His son always enjoyed it, asking him to go higher and higher.

As the memory clung to his mind, Christian suddenly felt a huge lump forming in his throat, a gut wrenching pain nestling in his heart again.

After a few minutes, Ana broke the silence.

"Christian?" Ana began, reluctant to continue with her question.

"Yes?" he asked, his mind now focused on only her.

At that, Ana let out a breath, but she still didn't continue, so Christian walked around the swing set and stood right in front of her. Ana had her head down, her eyes fixed on her hands on her lap, so he tilted her head up with a finger. At that, she looked straight into Christian's eyes, her gorgeous orbs sparkling like stars. Christian noticed that something was bothering her immensely.

"What's wrong, Ana?" he asked, his voice genuinely concerned.

She sighed at that, and nervously began playing with a lock of hair.

"Well, I'd like to know something. It has been bothering me since I visited you at the hospital." Ana whispered, her fingers still moving around.

At that, Christian raised an eyebrow, wondering what it was that she wanted to ask." What is it, Ana?"

She still hesitated for a moment, but then decided to just say it. "OK, here goes. In the hospital, when I was in your room with Leila... Why, uhmm… why did you say her name first? I mean OK, you and I hadn't talked yet about us… and you were out for quite some time and I know I don't have the right to…" Ana blurted out, but he gently cut her off.

"Ana. Let me explain, please. I woke up, my eyes slowly opening and the first thing I see was you sitting next to her and I knew… I just knew that Leila was trying to manipulate you in some way. I knew she was trying to keep you from me, so the first thing I said was indeed her name, but you didn't stay to hear the rest of my sentence, Ana. Instead you ran. In that split second, I wished that I was able to run after you and stop you and tell you that I wanted you by my side. But I couldn't, because I wasn't able to walk yet..." Christian explained, as he looked at her lovingly.

At that, a tear rolled down Ana's cheek, so he carefully wiped it away.

"What… uhmm, was the whole sentence? What did you tell her?" Ana asked.

At that, Christian sighed."I said: Leila... Leila, why don't you get the hell out of here! And leave Ana alone!" he said.

Ana burst out into laughter at that, making Christian join her.

"You really said that?!" she asked, her face lighting up like a Christmas tree.

He chuckled at that, and nodded."Oh, definitely! Do you know how long I have been waiting to say that to her?" he responded.

At that, Ana smiled widely, but then her eyes landed on her watch."Oops! It's almost midnight!" She announced.

"Aaaah… Yes, I know. Your best friend told me to bring you home before the clock strikes 12. She's kinda bossy isn't she." Christian stated.

"Yup." Ana answered and nodded.

"OK, then. Let's go get you home, Ana." Christian replied, and grabbed her hand once more.

XXX XX XXX

Again, they silently walked back towards the villa, still hand in hand. At a certain point, they arrived at Ana's bedroom door, so Christian grabbed her hand and kissed it softly.

"Good night, Ana." He whispered, as he looked her deep in the eyes.

Christian wanted nothing more than to kiss her lips instead of her hand, but after the fiasco in the limo, he didn't dare to. Ana had forgiven him for the way he acted earlier that week, so he didn't wanna push it. Christian didn't want to pressure her into doing anything, so he smiled at her once more and walked away.

But the second he had kissed Ana's hand, she felt her stomach do their infamous flip flops. At that, her heart had kicked up three notches, pounding against her chest wildly, making her afraid to even breathe. So, when she saw him walking away from her, Ana decided to stop him.

"Christian…" Ana said, her voice low.

At that, Christian totally lost control over himself. He instantly walked back towards her… it was then when Ana grabbed his hand and led him into her bedroom. She asked him to sit on her bed, so he did. He was observing her, his heart ramming against his rib cage, at this point switching his super senses on. Her scent was driving him crazy! The sound of Ana's heart, pounding loudly in Christian's ears, made it hard for him to act calmly. All he wanted right now was to wrap her in his arms and never ever let go. At one point it almost was too overwhelming for him, almost making him run away from her. Christian hadn't been with a woman since he had divorced Leila. And that was years ago.

He was nervous and afraid that he would do something wrong, plus he didn't want Ana to do something she wasn't ready for.

At that, he shook his head and got up from her bed."Ana." He said, desperation in his voice evident, while his eyes raked over her pretty face.

Ana nodded at that, and placed a finger on his lips."Shhhh…relax, Christian." she whispered, her voice sultry and inviting.

Ana didn't know if this was the right time, but at the moment, she couldn't help herself. Her heart was almost exploding in her chest for him. She was utterly and hopelessly falling hard for Christian. And... she wanted, needed to be with him this instant.

The look in Ana's eyes made Christian sit back on her bed. At that, she sat next to him and gave him a peck on the lips, looking him deep in the eyes. Oh, that was it! In that second, he completely lost it. He was so afraid that she would change her mind, making him hold his breath. At that, she ran her fingers slowly and tortuously across his cheeks, his eyes instantly falling shut. The sensation of her fingertips on his hot skin was too overwhelming at one point. Christian shivered at her touch and leaned into her. As their mouths finally collided, he gently bit her bottom lip, sucking on it, making her whole body tingle from her head to her fingers and her toes. When he stopped sucking on her lip, Ana took her turn and shoved her tongue inside his warm mouth. His lips tasted sweetly, but she wanted… needed more. More of him! As Ana bit on his bottom lip, Christian's other self surfaced for a second, making him growl softly into her mouth. At that, her hands raked over his back, clawing at it without mercy.

"Mmmm." He murmured enjoying her warm body close to his.

At that, Christian cupped her face roughly with his large hands, while she tugged on his hair, and with her other hand pulled him impossibly closer, her body molding perfectly into his. As their tongues dueled, Ana began to tug harder on Christian's hair, making him moan loudly into her warm mouth, the pain causing him more pleasure.

At one point, he wondered.' God! She was killing me right now. Was I doing it right?'

But when he heard Ana whimper softly into his mouth, while his hand explored the skin under her shirt, caressing her gently, he knew that he was indeed doing it right. At one point, both their chests were heaving violently and their breaths had become very ragged. And yet it wasn't enough. They both wanted and needed more! At that, Ana helped him out of his shirt, and when his upper body was bare, Ana's eyes hungrily landed on his perfect chest and stomach.

At that, her fingers slowly trailed a path on his bare skin, his eyes once again fluttering shut, his heart beating erratically. At this point, Christian couldn't hold back anymore. He couldn't stand her sweet torture anymore. His other self craved and demanded more! More of Ana. So Christian grabbed her hand to stop her from torturing him, and roughly crashed his lips onto hers once more. At that, Ana was able to feel the passion and love in that particular kiss, making her heart swell gloriously, almost bursting into her chest.

At the moment Ana was wearing a long skirt and a white blouse with spaghetti straps. Christian slowly lowered each side of the straps at that, and kissed her bare shoulders one by one. The feel of his lips on her shoulders made her dizzy... it felt so damn good! At a certain point, her soft moans turned into loud ones, and as they escaped her red plump lips, Christian felt his other self demanding more and more! Of course that was what he desperately wanted also. But he resisted and focused on her... on giving Ana the pleasure. At that, he kissed her jawline, his lips kissing her chin and then he went for one of her most sensitive spots; her neck, kissing and biting softly on the warm skin there...

As his lips and teeth grazed her collar bone, Ana made a content noise. At that, she grabbed his face roughly and brought his lips back to hers. She needed him so badly. Their kisses had become more passionate by the minute, their hearts and bodies leaving their minds behind…

At a certain point, Christian tugged on the hem of her blouse, and as she nodded, he roughly pulled it over her head. His eyes instantly landed on Ana's chest at that, the realization of her beautiful body driving him completely mad! Ana was wearing a white silk bra, his eyes hungrily raking over her gorgeous form. When Christian ran his finger along her bare stomach and chest, Ana swore that her brain had stopped working. At that, she needed to hold onto something because his touches were driving her insane! As her eyes fluttered shut, her fingers landed in his hair again, tugging on it real hard.

He growled at that, making Ana whimper softly." Christian, more... " she began, but then in one split second, as his thumb grazed her scar near her hip, the only one she owned on her whole body, in that split second, Ana violently got shoved back into reality.

And instead of Christian's loving touches, her mind brought her back to the past… to her horrible past… to a time where she was afraid to even step out of her own apartment, terrified to see him… her ex…

The sudden flash of memories were at one point too much and too painful for Ana's heart and mind to handle. At that, she instantly pulled away from Christian." Don't… don't touch me… Stop, please stop." she whispered, as her whole body trembled.

At that, Christian was taken out of the 'spell' and with pain in his heart, he looked at her, carefully getting up from the bed. Ana had wrapped her arms around herself, her knees up in a sitting position, while tears flowed down her cheeks, fear written all over her pretty face.

"Ana…" he pleaded.

But instead of listening to him, Ana turned her head the other way. At that, she broke down, loud sobs escaping her lips. Ana thought… she really thought that her past was in the past, but it clearly was haunting her still. She didn't know what to do… she was so torn.

So even though Ana knew that it was going to cause Christian pain, and it was going to gnaw at her heart and soul, she said." Christian, please leave?" her voice a mere whisper, while it trembled heavily, making his heart break into bits.


Note: Oh, my. Poor Ana... Poor Christian. :(

*Sighs* Will he ask her about her past? And will she tell him though?

Well, that was chap 16.

Tell me what you think of the chapter? Thank you in advance, you all. :)

And of course Thank you for all the support, and REVIEWS and for putting my story as your fave and for following it! :)

Till next chapter.

J