Disclaimer: Don't own Fifty Shades Trilogy!

A/N: So happy many of you are still with me despite the long wait. And welcome to the new readers who've fave'd and followed the story. I'll do my best to update at least weekly.

Enjoy!

CPOV

It's a little after two in the morning. No longer Halloween, technically, but I can't wait to take Ana back to my place and ravish her. Since the first moment I put that wedding band on Ana, I've been counting the damn minutes until I could fuck her as she roleplays my wife and I like her husband. As I turn my wedding band around my finger, I can hear her crying out, "Husband!" as I pound into her from behind. Who would have thought marriage would turn me on? I certainly didn't. It doesn't help, either, that I know what Ana is wearing under her tight little black dress with the high thigh slit. I know where I'm starting first with her.

Running my fingers along the soft skin of her legs, hearing her soft sighs of contentment, I'm ready for the first indication that she has had enough of this get together with her friends. Too bad for me and my cock, I've been waiting all damn night with no near end.

We are currently in the Kavanaughs' media room, where none of us are watching some horror flick my sister picked. Ana and I share an armchair that has been turned around 180 degrees. Same as us, Kate and George—her boyfriend of two years I learned—share another armchair that has been turned to face away from the big flat screen. Ana sits on my lap as Kate sits on George's. Facing us, Elliot is sandwiched between Mia and Lily on the couch. Mia's other friend, Beverly, left with Kate's and Ethan's cousin, Jared.

Most everyone left a half hour ago. Ethan and Madison turned in hours ago. I'm still here waiting. After making plans with Ana's friends to do things at a later date around midnight, I'd expected us to be heading out ourselves. But nope. My sunshine wants to spend as much time as she can with Kate, as she thinks they haven't been hanging out as much as they did before I entered the picture. I'm surprised Elliot is still here after failing to get some from Kate, but given Mia's fascination with Ana, I feel he's staying longer to get to know Ana better and support me should I need it.

I'm running my lips along Ana's bare shoulder when Kate asks, "So, Ana, how's Cason been? I haven't heard from him in a while." She takes a sip from her beer.

I'm not sure who tenses first, Ana or me. I shift in the seat in discomfort, adjusting Ana on my lap as she squirms.

"Um," Ana says, sounding unsure. Kate waits, blind to the hatred burning under my skin. "I spoke to him a few days ago, and he's okay. Been under the weather for the past week."

What. The. Fuck.

She's been in contact with the bastard? He's spoken to her, called her? Why the fuck haven't I been made aware of this?

"That sucks. We should go visit him soon, bring him soup or something."

George scoffs, saying, "Babe, he's a grown ass man. He can take care of himself. You don't need to coddle him."

Kate huffs and sets her drink on the cupholder embedded in the armrest. "This coming from the big baby who needed me to be a bedside nurse when he had his wisdom teeth pulled. Please." She rolls her eyes but turns around to kiss his cheek.

"No, he's right, Kate," Ana interrupts. "I offered to go take care of him, and he said he wasn't up to see anyone for a while. Said he looked a mess."

Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck! Fucking damn it! Are you fucking kidding me, Ana? After everything that asshole has done to you! I scream at her in my head. What an idiot. Shit watch it, Grey! This is why she needs you, this is why she needs you, this is why she needs you! Deep breaths, Grey. In and out. In and out. I inhale and exhale softly, doing my best to avoid attention. My heart is thundering in my chest.

Mia speaks up. "Who's Cason, and is he cute?"

Lightning fast, I snap, "Shut up, Mia."

Unfazed, she asks, "Why? Who is he?"

"He was my father's best friend and business partner." Ana's eyes are on her lap. I rub my hand up her spine and neck and feel the tension. Maybe what she's saying is something she doesn't truly feel. I would like to think that I know her quite well, and if I am reading her right, she just wants this conversation over. Oh, sunshine. Taking her hand in mine, her wedding band warm against my skin, I entangle my fingers through hers.

Kate clears her throat, then adds, "He's like her father now. They're really close." Unable to help myself, I harrumph rudely. God, I feel bile rising. How the hell can she think that? And does Ana actually think that, too? I hope fucking not. I stifle a gag.

"Whoa, bro. What's your problem?" Elliot asks, his gaze shifting from Ana, Kate, Mia, to settling on me.

Laughing, Kate interjects before I can answer, thankfully. "When Christian and Cason met, it was hate at first sight. Ana told me what happened, Christian, and you have my sympathy. Case is okay when he likes you but is a mean fucker when he doesn't." She and George laugh. Ana forces a smile.

George adds, "Sorry, Grey, but at least I'm not on his shit-list anymore. Asshole made me cry when he found me spending the night on Ana's couch after Kate kicked me out of my apartment that one time. Remember Kate?"

"Wait, wait," Mia jumps in. "What did you do, Christian, to get him to hate you?"

Kate answers for me again. "It wasn't his fault, Mia. Case is intensely protective of Ana, and he figured out that Christian had sex with Ana and he just lost his shit."

Elliot nods in understanding and smirks at me. "Aw, poor, Christian. Don't worry. You'll just need to kiss this guy's ass and eventually, he'll stop thinking about killing you." Everyone but Ana, Mia, and I laugh.

Fucking piece of shit deserves to be fucking dead, not get his ass kissed. Unable to bear being a part of this conversation longer, I clear my throat and whisper to Ana, "Excuse me, sunshine. I need some air." I lift her, stand, and sit her back down on my spot.

She grabs my wrist and looks up at me. "Are you okay?"

I try to smile but a grimace emerges instead. "Just need air." And to get a fucking update from Taylor. Westbrook should not have been able to contact Ana without us knowing. For fuck's sake, I thought Sawyer made things pretty fucking clear that Ana was off-limits.

As I give Ana a quick peck on the lips, Mia continues the conversation. "But Ana's a grown woman capable of making her own decisions. It's not just Christian's fault, and he shouldn't have to kiss up to anyone." Oh, my sweet sister.

For the first time in a while, Lily speaks up. "That doesn't matter, Mia. How do you think your dad will feel knowing you are having sex, let alone actually meet the guy you did it with?"

"It's not the same thing."

Elliot chuckles and wraps his arm around our sister. "Mia, that's how it is. Parents are always going to hate the guy sleeping with their daughter. And all things considered, Christian, at least he didn't catch you doing it with Ana. A girl's dad once found us, and he chased me out of the house with a baseball bat. I didn't even have time to put my clothes on."

Not dignifying that with an answer, I head out to the door.

Behind me, Mia says indignantly, "But he's not her father. She doesn't even have a family. Her real dad was murdered, and her mom abandoned her. This guy has no right to be mad at Christian."

A chill goes up my spine. Fucking Mia. . .

Silence takes over the room, only to be broken by the screams from the movie playing in the background. I slowly turn around, finding Kate throwing daggers at my sister. George and Lily look uncomfortable. Elliot is glaring at Mia, who's clueless. Ana is. . . Fuck. She stares at Mia with an open-mouth expression of shock and hurt.

"What the fuck? Did you seriously just say that?" Kate demands, standing up.

Mia shrinks back and leans more into Elliot. "I just said this Cason guy isn't Ana's dad. What's the big deal?"

"Mia," I hiss.

She throws her arms up, exasperated. "What? I didn't say anything that wasn't true. Why are you getting mad?"

"Who told you that about my dad and mother?" Ana asks quietly. Kate sits on the armrest of Ana's seat and wraps her arms around Ana. Tears are welling up in Ana's eyes.

Finally, Mia's eyes widen in understanding. Her face turns a bright red. She opens her mouth, but no words come out. Instead, her eyes shift to me. Instantly, six pairs of eyes are turned to me, in varying degrees of shock, pity, and anger.

"What?" Kate again breaks the quiet. This time, she sounds softer, as if silently asking Ana what her next move is concerning me.

I say, "Ana," at the same time Ana says, "Kate."

I shut up and let her speak, my chest hurting at the slight tremble in her soft voice. "Kate. It is really late now. I should start heading out."

"Okay, sweetie," Kate replies, kissing her friend's cheek and helping her stand. "You know, you can sleep here. George can take the couch and you bunk with me."

"Definity, Ana. You should stay," George agrees.

Ana shakes her head and smiles stiffly at both of them. "It's fine. I have things I need to do early tomorrow anyway."

"You mean later today?" George jokes, quite lamely.

Forcing a chuckle, Ana says, "Sure. Whatever, you ass." Facing the rest of the room, Ana offers a small wave. "It was nice meeting you, Lily and Mia. And nice seeing you again, Elliot."

All three stand, with Elliot stepping close to give Ana a hug. "It was great having the chance to actually talk to you this time. Can't wait until we can do this again." Elliot whispers something in her ear, to which Ana nods automatically. Mia and Lily don't offer any goodbyes to Ana.

Kate links her arm through Ana's after Elliot lets her go. I think she's trying to keep her away from me. "I'll walk you out, babe."

After receiving a kiss goodbye on the cheek from George, Ana lets Kate guide her from the room. When George excuses himself to the restroom, I finally unleash my anger at my sister.

"Why the fuck would you say something like that, Mia?"

Mia crosses her arms and looks down at her feet. "I wasn't thinking, Christian. I'm so sorry."

Elliot huffs. "You should be. You just cost him his first girlfriend, brat."

NO! I haven't thought of that, only of how Ana is hurt and sad about her parents. She won't leave me, right? Not for something my sister inconsiderately said.

"She did not. Maybe that girl shouldn't be so sensitive." Lily puts her hands on her hips and alternates glaring at Elliot and me.

Elliot flings out his arms in disbelief. "Sensitive? Her dad died and her mom ran out on her. She has every right to be sensitive if some spoiled brat she just met just blurts it out like nothing. Where the fucks your filter, Mia, and your heart?"

Mia quickly adds, her shame gone at the prospect of gossip, "No, not just dead. Killed, dead. Her dad was murdered. How did you say, Christian? He was stabbed?"

I grit out through my teeth, "Shut. Up. Mia."

"But, Christian, you know I didn't mean it like that. I was just pointing out that that guy shouldn't be pissed about you dating Ana because he's not her dad. I was just defending you."

Again, Lily butts in. "Yeah. Don't be a jerk. She's looking out for her brother."

"You didn't have to go and be a bitch about it to her and blab to the whole room," Elliot mutters, running his hand through his hair.

Mia straightens her shoulders and a gleam I don't particularly like enters her eyes. She always looks like that when she's about to spin some tale of how innocent she is and everyone else against her is bad. I hate this side of my sister, which is always brought out whenever she's with her dumb friends. "Well, if it's too sensitive for her, then maybe she shouldn't have said anything to Christian, who then told me."

I wince. I did fuck up royally on that part. Serves me right for trusting her.

"Of course," Elliot says sarcastically. "Everyone is in the wrong but you. Grow up."

"You grow up!" She fires back, stomping her foot.

"I don't have fucking time for this," I growl, stalking out of the room.

Elliot calls out as I enter the hall. "Hold up!"

I slow my pace but don't stop. As he walks alongside me, he says, "I'll give the two brats a ride home. Go fix things with Ana."

I nod. After we pass the kitchen, I ask quietly, grimacing at the weakness in my voice, "She won't leave me because of Mia, right?"

He shrugs. "Depends."

"On what?"

"Did she tell you about her folks or did your goons-in-black tell you?"

Running my hand through my hair, I ask, "Does it matter?"

He huffs. "Fine, let me put it this way. Did you wait until she trusted you or did you go behind her back to gather her personal information and then chat about it to someone she doesn't know?" At my silence, he adds, "You're dumb as shit."

I swallow thickly. "What would you do in my situation?"

"Buy her a puppy? A boat? Grovel? I really don't know, Christian. It's never been like how you and Ana are. I get it if she ends things between you guys, but maybe it won't come to that. Maybe she'll need time to trust you again or whatever. I've known many women who withhold sex as punishment."

I hope she does that if it means she'll forgive me.

Upon reaching the front door, Elliot stops and ruffles my hair. I bat his hand away, not appreciating the gesture, well-meant or not. He says, "I'll go back and get the girls. Call me tomorrow and tell me how things are with you and Ana. I'm rooting for you guys. I like her. And don't worry. I'm going to scold Mia as soon as we drop off Lily."

"Thank you."

Outside, Kate is hugging Ana tightly. Not knowing if I should approach or not, I head for Taylor and Sawyer standing vigilant beside the SUV, both pointedly not looking at the women. My chest aches as I hear Ana softly sniffling. Damn Mia. Damn me.

"Mr. Grey," Taylor greets me as I stop in front of him.

At my hand gesture, Sawyer comes closer. "Sir."

Quietly so as to not be overheard by the women on the other side of the SUV, I demand, "Update on the fucker. Now."

Quick like a bat, Taylor reports, "He returned to the house he visited last Friday. Disappeared into the house for ten minutes, exited, and returned to his apartment."

"Who was he visiting?" I look back at Ana as Kate kisses her once more on the cheek after wiping away a few tears.

"House owner is a Gavin Shoemaker. No known connection at the moment. Welch is digging."

My gaze returns to Taylor. "Good. How the fuck did Westbrook get in touch with Ana this past week?" The two men start. At their silence, I continue. "They spoke on the phone. You told me it was taken care of, Sawyer."

His eyes don't falter from mine, but a hardness that puts a chill up my spin enters his eyes. "I did, and I will take care of it again. Permission to break something other than his nose, sir."

"Break whatever it takes to take care of it for good." He could kill the fucker, for all I cared.

"Sir." Sawyer nods at me, then breaks from us to walk around the SUV to Ana's side. He opens the backdoor, and says with a gentle voice, "Ms. Steele."

Ana turns to him, a soft smile brightening her red face. "Mr. Sawyer," she mocks lightly. "Bye, Kate. I promise I'll call in the morning."

"You better," Kate warns in a joking manner. She steps back so Ana can climb in. After giving me a death glare, she heads back to the house. Sawyer hops onto the passenger seat.

"Mr. Grey," Taylor calls. He holds open the door for me. After getting in, he closes it firmly and gets in the driver's seat. He starts up the SUV.

Buckling up, I can't help but look at Ana. My poor girl keeps her face turned out the window, away from me. She sniffles again. I pull out my handkerchief and hold it out to her. "Here, sunshine."

She peeks quickly over her shoulder and deftly takes it. She first wipes under her eyes, then her nose. Why won't she at least look at me? Is she truly thinking of breaking up with me?

Taylor interrupts my rising panic. "Where to, sir?"

I clear my throat. Why is he asking? "Escala, Taylor." I'll talk to her there.

"My apartment, please," Ana whispers, sounding loud in the silence.

"Ms. Steele," Taylor says and begins the ride, headed to her place.

Taylor brings the SUV in front of her building and puts it to park. Both he and Sawyer exit. The entire drive, I thought of everything I could say to her to get her to change her mind about breaking up with me. I briefly entertained lying and telling her she did, in fact, tell me about her dad and mom. She just forgot telling me all that. Of course, she isn't stupid so that idea was scratched out as soon as it entered my head.

The next idea was spoiling the crap out of her, but I know showering her with gifts would not win her over. She was close to ending things when I bought her three pairs of heels. I'm half tempted letting her spank me if it'll help.

Groveling is my best bet.

"Thank you for the ride." Ana only offers me a stiff small smile. "I'll call you later."

She doesn't want to talk. Is that a good sign? I quickly grab her wrist and prevent her from exiting the vehicle. "We need to talk." Sawyer opens her door as Taylor opens mine.

"We really don't." She yanks her arm back. She thanks Sawyer and climbs out.

"Ana," I call, getting out as well. I run after her. Taylor and Sawyer stay by the SUV. She enters the elevator, not acknowledging me. "Ana! Please! Just let me talk." At the last moment, I thrust out my hand between the closing elevator doors, which open immediately. I step inside, the doors closing behind me. Ana's face is turned to the dirty floor. She clutches my handkerchief in her fists, the white material stained black and red from her running mascara and smeared lipstick.

I step close to her and put my hand under her chin. I tilt her head up. Her eyes are red and wet, her bottom lip trembling. "Oh, sunshine." I wrap my arms around her, allowing her to bury her face into my chest. "I'm so sorry for what my sister said. She was inconsiderate and wasn't thinking about how her words would affect you."

Ana doesn't respond; she doesn't even hug me back. Her hands press against my stomach. I kiss the top of her hair.

The elevator comes to a stop, and the doors open. I let her go enough to allow her to walk to her apartment, keeping one arm slung over her shoulder. At her front door, Ana pauses and hiccups, "I left my stuff at your place. My clothes, my wallet…My keys."

I rub my fingers up and down her arm. "Then let's go back to my place."

She shakes her head. "Can you grab the spare key on top of the sconce?"

I look at the sconce right beside her door. It's a few inches higher than I am tall. I reach with my free arm and blindly search until my fingers touch an object. I grab it, feeling the shape of a key. "It's not safe to keep spare keys right outside of your home, Ana. Anyone could use it to just waltz in, and your building isn't as secure as it should be."

"Whatever," she grumbles, snatching the key from my palm. She quickly unlocks the door and holds the key back out to me. "Can you put it back please?"

I bite back the reprimand I'm tempted to give her. Can't give her more reasons to dump me. Instead, I reach back up over the sconce and let the key slip into my sleeve instead of leaving it where she asked. How would she know? She's too short to reach it herself.

"Thank you." Ana walks into her apartment and I hurry after her, shaking my arm as inconspicuously as possible, letting the key return to my hand and promptly slip it into my pants pocket.

"You're welcome, sunshine." Using her pet name won't hurt, right?

Ana drops my handkerchief on her coffee table and kicks off her black high heels. She removes her thigh holster next, leaving it to hang on the coat rack. I remove my suit jacket and holster as well—shoulder holster—and place it with Ana's. "We'll need to remember to get back our fake pistols from the Kavanaugh residence."

"I'll let Kate know." Ana wanders to her bookshelf, custom built by Ray Steele. She traces the edge of a shelf with her finger. A sob escapes her.

I'm across the room in a second, taking her into my arms. "Oh, sunshine. It's okay." She trembles in my arms.

She mumbles incoherently against my chest. I pull back slightly for her to repeat herself. "How did Mia even know about my parents? I never told you about my dad's murder, or Carla leaving me."

I swallow, then answer. "I told her. Please forgive me."

She pushes me away with a sudden fury. New tears falling from her eyes, she demands, "Again, I never told you the details. How do you know?" I don't answer. "I never told you because it's a fucking painful thing to talk about. My father was taken from me, and my mother chose to leave me. I never told you. So, how do you know all of that, and why did you think it's okay to pass on that information?"

"I—" I clear my throat. "I'm so sorry."

Ana wipes her tears away with the back of her hand. "I didn't ask for an apology. I asked how and why."

I hold my hands up in surrender in front of me. What the fuck can I tell her? "The last thing I want is to upset you further."

"It's that bad?" She sighs deeply. "If you can't tell me, then its best you go." She gestures to the front door.

I reach for her, and she bats my hands away. Feeling like a rock is in my stomach, I try again and fail again. "Please. I can't do that either, Ana. I need to know that we're okay. Tell me that we're okay."

"We are not okay! Tell me how you know or leave. Did you talk to someone from my home town? Did you hire someone to follow me around or something? How do you know?" Ana crosses her arms in front of her, her tears still falling.

"I can't, Ana," I say. You can't leave me. Please don't leave me.

"Then get out."

Running both hands through my hair, I take a deep breath. "Promise you won't leave me."

She says nothing.

My palms are sweaty and my heart is racing. "Please, Ana. Promise you won't leave me."

She looks me dead in the eyes. "I'll leave you if you don't tell me."

I sigh in relief and put my hand over my heart. She won't leave me. Thank fuck! "I ran an extensive background check on you." Her red face is blank. "After we met and you left, I wanted to get in contact with you again. The night we met was a special night for me. You made an impression, and I couldn't get you out of my head. I needed to know who you were."

After absorbing the information, she licks her pretty red smeared lips. "Why the extensive background check?"

I nod, grateful for her cool attitude. "It's for security reasons. I showed you how much I am worth. Everyone who will be in contact with me or my company goes through it. Potential employees, business associates, everyone."

"Even one-night-stands get the same treatment?"

"I've never had a one before. All of my lovers, if you could call them that, underwent hurdles before anything could happen. Signing an NDA, STD test, OB-GYN checkup. Again, all of it was a precaution to protect me. With you, I just needed to have you. It was irresponsible and stupid of us to have sex just on say so that you're on the pill and we're both clean. We're lucky nothing came of it."

She wipes away her tears, which appear to have finally vanished. "It was stupid. I never had a one-night-stand, either, and I got caught up in the moment."

I approach her slowly. "We both were, and I'm grateful. If I hadn't done the background check on you, Ana, we never would have been reconnected. I wouldn't have spent the best month of my life with you. It was a good thing."

She steps back before I can touch her. "Fine. But why did you tell your sister? Who else did you tell?"

I hold my hands up. "Only my security knows, and again for safety. Mainly yours." She rolls her eyes, and I quickly add. "Say someone comes and claims to be your dad or mom in order to harm you or me. My security needs to know everything in order to protect us to the best of their abilities."

"Fine," she grinds out. "Now explain to me why you think it was okay to tell your sister."

"I was wrong too," I admit, finally holding her hands in mine. "I have a bad tendency to trust my sister, and it bit me in the ass tonight. I can't tell you how sorry I am. Believe me, she didn't mean it the way she said it. I trust me when I say I will do anything to make it better, Ana." I kiss her cheek. My heart swells when I see her soft smile.

"You have some serious ass kissing to do," she murmurs, standing on her tiptoes. She presses her lips to mine.

I groan, so fucking happy Ana isn't dumping me. Pressing against her, my cock twitches in my pants. I need her now. I need to feel her come around me. I need to know we're okay.

I pick her up bridal style and walk to her bedroom. Let's get this ass-kissing underway. She giggles against my mouth. "Hold up, tiger, we're not finished," she laughs, kicking her feet as I walk down the short hall and enter her room. I hit the light switch with my elbow.

"I think we are." I throw her onto the bed, laughing with her. I climb on top of her and press her back against the bed.

Leaning down to kiss her, she covers my mouth with her fingers. "We are not done, you ass. I still have questions."

I kiss her fingers softly, mumbling against her skin, "Ask away." I force my knee between her legs.

"My background check. What did it have?" She moans when my mouth attacks her neck.

"Usual things. Your info like birthday, address, number, place of work. Parents, schools, all past relationships."

Ana stills under me. "Relationships? That shows up?"

"Usually. My team is quite thorough. It's rare when they miss something." I kiss her collarbone.

"So, that showed up on my background?"

My heart stops. I hold myself up with my hands on either side of her head. Is she asking if I know about Westbrook and her? Is this a conversation that should be had now?

"What do you know, Christian?" Ana's eyes search mine. She's gone pale.

I close my eyes. I can't lie to her, but it wasn't in her background check. Do we talk about this now? The plan was Ana coming to me, but what if she never does? From her quiet panic now, I'd say she's a long fucking way to ever volunteering this information anytime soon. Does she think she can never tell me?

I bite the bullet. "I know everything, Ana."