Christian walked up the stairs while untying his tie. He was pretty sure he knew what Ana wanted to talk about and that she was probably mad. He reasoned in his head that she was going to have to get used to some things and he wasn't going to budge. He walked into the room and didn't see Ana. He went to the bathroom and peeked in. No sign of her. He went to the closet and that's where he found her, leaning against the wall. He walked in and sat across from her. She looked at him.

"Hi."

"Hi."

"Why are you sitting in here?"

"Why did you get me all these clothes?" she said. "Are you ashamed of the clothes I wear?"

"Ana the very last thing I am is ashamed of what you wear."

"I just went shopping with Jason and Gail where they bought me a ton of clothes."

"I know but all you bought were jeans and t-shirts. Not that I don't looking at you in a pair of skinny jeans but I also like looking at you when you wear dresses that show off your spectacular legs. Your body is gorgeous. Don't blame me if I want to see you in clothes that hug your delicious curves. When you go to work, I understand you are comfortable in jeans."

"Okay but what about the fancy dresses?"

"Sometime I will have a dinner engagement and I will want you to go with me. Sometimes it might be a fundraiser."

"I get that but why did you buy so much?"

"Because I can."

"I don't like that answer."

He sighed. "Ana, I am a billionaire and I've only spent my money on family. Now I have you and I plan on spending whatever I want on you."

"I don't like you buying me things. I don't want people to think that is why I am with you."

"I know that isn't the reason and I don't give a damn what people think."

"That much is certain."

He laughed and then stood up, "Come. I know your mad but you might as well be mad about everything."

She narrowed her eyes and at him and let him pull her up right into his arms. He kissed her and she responded with as much wanting as him. He smiled at her and led her to a dresser that she started using. He pulled the first drawer open and looked, gasped. She started pulling out lingerie.

"You need to be in silk and lace."

"Oh my." She whispered as she lifted out each piece of lingerie.

"Look in the second drawer." She did. "There are long nightgowns, short gowns and some two pieces in there."

"Why did you get all of this?"

"I know all lot of your things were ruined when that physco cut them. When Taylor took you shopping you only bought what you needed. Well you need all this."

"I appreciate everything but please, this is a bit much. I don't need all this. I just need you."

He moved closer to her and placed a kiss on her lips. "I just need you too. Now go get ready we are going to be late."

Christian was sitting in the kitchen talking to Taylor when Ana came down. He turned when he heard her and was speechless. Dressed in a light blue floral maxi dress with blue heels that matched, she was beautiful. She blushed when she noticed that Christian didn't take his eyes off of her. Taylor cleared his throat.

"You look lovely Ana."

"Thank you Jason." She said and then looked at Christian. I'm ready when you are."

"Then let's go."

They walked to the elevator and before they could get in he pulled her close and whispered. "You look mouthwatering. Expect more clothes to find their way into your closet."

With Taylor driving, they pulled into the driveway of the Grey home. Ana sat in awe when she saw the house come into view.

"You grew up here."

"This was home."

"It's so big and beautiful."

They parked and were soon walking to the door, holding hands. They barely reaching door before it opened and a smiling Grace met them.

"Christian, Ana it so good to see you."

"Mom." Christian said while giving her a hug. Ana received a hugs as well.

"It's nice to see you too." She said.

"Come in, please."

They followed her inside and greeted Carrick. After drinks were offered and accepted, they sat in the family room. Grace watched with silent glee when she saw her son pull Ana closer to him. Carrick has noticed this as well and shared a look with Grace.

"Christian, how are things at work?"

"It's busy. We are working on several different deals."

"Mom says you go buy every day to check on them." Grace said to Ana.

"I do. I usually get off early afternoon and I swing by to take them some baked goods and to see them."

"I appreciate that. She mentioned something about the three of us having lunch and going shopping afterward."

Christian snorted and Ana hit on the arm. "Ana doesn't like to shop."

"You don't."

"Not really. I never have."

"Mom said that Kate cut all your clothes and we needed to go shopping."

"Oh Jason and Gail already took me shopping. I bought just what I needed."

"Jason?" Carrick asked.

"We haven't talked much so I haven't told you. It appears that Jason and Ana are cousins."

"What? Really." He said.

"Jason's mother and Ana's father are brother and sister. There was some bad feeling between Ana's mother and her grandmother. They never knew about her until recently."

"All this time I thought I only had Ray but I had a family the whole time." She said softly.

"Have you met them?"

"No. There some animosity because of Carla."

"You had nothing do with it."

"I know but they are skittish and I don't blame them. Carla is a piece of work."

They were interrupted by the maid, who looked at Christian like he was dinner. Ana took a glimpse at him and he wasn't even paying attention to her.

"Mrs. Grey, dinner will be served in five minutes."

"Thank you Gretchen." Grace said. "Let's go to the dining room."

They followed her and Christian pulled out a chair next to his for Ana. Once they were seated, Gretchen began to bring the dishes out, lingering a little bit more than necessary when she had to come near Christian. Grace dismissed her and they began serving themselves and began eating.

"Where's Mia?" Christian asked.

"Hanging out with her friends. She wanted to stay but she can be a bit overwhelming and I wanted to Ana to have a nice quiet evening with us. She did say she was going to drop by when Christian wasn't home so you two could get to know each other."

"So how are things going at the bakery?" Carrick asked.

"They are good. Gabby has a lot going on right now that she's letting me create the menu for each day and do most of the baking." She said. "Her daughter is getting married and they have a lot to do."

"She put you in charge, like the manager."

"Basically."

"Is that what you plan to do, work in that bakery. Didn't you go to college?"

"Dad." Christian warned.

"No it's ok." She said. "I went to college because I wanted to work in publishing. I love books and reading. I also minored in business management. When I graduated I applied at every publishing house I could. No one was hiring. I walked into this bakery to sit down and figure out what I was going to do. The lady behind the counter seemed to be overwhelmed with customers. I noticed the for hire sign. I asked about the job and got hired on the spot. By the end of the week, my recipes were being featured two days a week. As for your question, I love baking just as much as I do reading. It helped me a lot after my incident. I figured that if I couldn't get into to publishing I could get into baking. I had thought of opening my own bakery but that wouldn't happen to much later down the road."

"Well your baked goods are delicious. How do you come up with your recipes?"

"Most times it's a familiar recipe that I just put a twist on. Gabby's daughter asked me to do her wedding cake."

"You didn't tell me that." Christian said.

"I've never done a wedding cake before so I'm kind of nervous. I have a few sketches of what I think she would like."

"I'm sure whatever you create will be stunning."

"Thanks Christian."

"I agree." Grace said. "Next weekend we were thinking of having a barbeque. Are you both free?"

"Saturday or Sunday?"

"Sunday. I thought we would have it in place of the Sunday dinner."

Ana looked at Christian and he nodded. "We'll be here. What do you want us to bring?"

"Grandma is bringing a salad. Mia said she would make vegetable skewers."

"We'll bring a fruit tray and some kind of dessert." Ana said.

"Who all is coming?"

"Just the family."

Plans were made and dinner was finished. Christian took Ana on a tour of the grounds. They sat on the dock with Ana in between his legs.

"It's really lovely out here. I would place a blanket on the ground, read a book and just enjoy the weather."

"Would you be wearing a bikini while doing that?"

"No." Ana laughed. "I'm self-conscious about my scars."

"I was too." He said. "I still am but everyone has seen them. They all know not to talk about it."

"No one has seen mine other than doctors and my dad. Oh and Kate. I liked to swim when no one was around. I never swam when she had people over."

"Speaking of Kate, her father called my office. He wanted to meet because he has a favor to ask."

"Did you agree to the meeting?"

"I did. I'm curious to hear what he has to say. You said he doesn't know about anything that went on between you and Kate."

"Not unless she told him, which I doubt." She said. "Please don't tell him."

"I won't unless it cones up."

"How would that come up?"

Christian shrugged his shoulders. "That's enough talk about them. What do you want to do this weekend?"

"I have to work tomorrow until two."

"Want to take a trip with me?"

"A trip? Where?"

'Anywhere you want. I thought we could get away for a day. We could leave tomorrow evening and come back Sunday night."

"We don't have to do that. I'm perfectly content to stay in or here."

"I know but I want to take you somewhere, anywhere. Think about it and let me know tomorrow."

They stayed outside for a few more minutes before they went inside. As they slid the doors open, voices could be heard from the family room. Ana asked Christian where the bathroom was. He walked her to the one down the hall and waited. She was surprised that he was still there. He reached out his hand to her and took it happily. As they neared the voices, she noticed Christian body language change. He walked a little more ridged, a little stiffer. She peeked at him and saw the stern look on his face. They walked into the family room and the first thing she notice was a tall woman with a skin tight dress on. She had bleached blonde hair and a face that had seen too many Botox shots. She turned when Grace called to them.

"Here they are. Ana, I would like to introduce you a family friend. Elena, this is Ana, Christian's girlfriend."

She saw Elena narrow her eyes at her. She saw the hostility there. She also felt the grip he had on her hand.

"It's nice to meet you, Ana." Elena said. "Hello Christian." She purred.

"Elena." He said stiffly.

"I was just telling Elena about you two."

"You shouldn't be telling anyone."

"Oh I know how you like your privacy but this is Elena." She said. "We've known Ana for a while but Christian just met not too long ago. She lived next door to my mother."

"Mom we need to go. I just remembered I have a conference call with Roz."

"Oh okay." She moved to hug them. "It was nice having dinner together. I'll call you sometime during the week Ana."

"Thanks you for inviting me to dinner and I will be expecting your call."

Hugs were given and soon they left. Christian didn't say a word on the way home but he held her hand in a grip the whole time. Once they entered the penthouse, he went straight to the kitchen and returned a few minutes later with two bottles of water. He let out a breath.

"We need to talk. We can do it here or in the bedroom."

"Umm. The bedroom."

She walked silently up the stairs with Christian behind her. She didn't know what he had to tell her but it was obvious it was serious. He motioned for her to sit on the bed, once she was sitting in the middle, he sat on the floor against the wall. She found that worrisome since she thought he was going to sit on the bed with her. He cleared his throat. She spoke before he did.

"This has to do with the woman who was at your parents doesn't it."

"Yes." He said. "I want you to listen carefully at what I am about to tell you. I've been trying to wrack my brain on how I was going to tell you the biggest secret in my life. I already told you some of what happened to me as a child. This has to do with when I was a teenager. I don't want any secrets between us but when you told me about what happened to you, I got scared."

"Just tell me." She whispered.

"I had a lot of problems when I reached the age of fifteen. I started drinking, getting into fights. I got expelled from schools and my parents didn't know what to do. My mom would talk about my problems to her friend and one afternoon she told me that I had to go to her friends to some work. They thought that I needed something to do. I went and was told do work in the yard. After being there about an hour, this friend came out in a what I thought at the time was a sexy nightgown. She asked me if I was thirsty and to come inside to get something to drink. I'm not going to lie. To my fifteen-year-old self, she was hot. I got an attitude with her and she slapped me and then she kissed me, hard. I was shocked at first but then I realized I like it. I ran home and locked myself in my room. I didn't know whether to tell my parents or not. I didn't say anything. I didn't think they would believe me. The next day I was told to go back. She asks if I could return because I wasn't finished. She came out wearing another sexy outfit and asked me to come inside. She had me follow her to a room downstairs toward the basement. She opened the door and I walked in and I was stunned at what I saw. Do you know what BDSM is."

"Yes."

"That is what she was into. She was a Domme. Before I knew what was happening she had me naked and tied up." Ana gasped and he closed his eyes. He told her what they did and for how long it lasted. He told her about how his problems seemed to stop and his parents were happy with him. He told her about how she trained him to be the Dom and how he would do things to her. He went on to say how he had his first sub and liked the power he had over her. Contracts were signed between parties and that some lasted between three months to a year. She was told there were never any feelings on his part. They were all just faceless women who he had sex with. He knew she was crying because he could her and it gutted him but she needed to know. After he told her everything, he picked his head and looked at her.

"How many have you had? Subs?'

"Fifteen."

"You beat them." She whispered.

"I canned them, flogged, and yes I spanked them. It was consensual. I didn't do anything they didn't want me to do."

"When was your last one?"

"About a year ago." He said. "The last sub I had wanted more and I didn't. I never wanted more with any of them."

"Why haven't you had one in a year?"

"I guess you could say my eyes opened. We were having a gathering for my parent's anniversary and I finally saw how in love they are with each other after all these years. Then I looked over at my grandparents and they were dancing like they were the only ones in the room. I decided I wanted that but didn't think I deserved it after everything."

"Do you want me for a sub? Is that why you want me?"

He moved fast toward the bed, which had her backing up.

"Sorry."

"You have nothing to be sorry about." He said. "No Ana. I don't want you as my sub. I want you in my life for much more than that. I want you to be mine in every sense of the word and I'm willing to wait however long it takes to get there. You see Ana, I didn't think I deserved happiness."

"Everyone deserves to be happy but you have to make your own happiness."

"I know but I believe my happiness is you."

He wanted to wipe away the tears flowing from her eyes but was afraid to touch her. she hadn't asked the question that he was waiting for but knew that it was coming.

"You know what my mother did to me. You know what she beat me with."

"I know but I promise you, I never beat any of them. We played. It was consensual. I never even kissed any of them. It was just sex. Plain and simple. I never made love to any of them. The last thing I would ever do is hurt you intentionally. I would rather hurt myself before I hurt you."

"You have never made love?"

"No."

"It was Elena wasn't it. Your mothers friend."

"Yes."