Chapter 21

Ana PoV

I was just about to call 911 when he finally came to. "Ana," he breathed. "You're still here." He looked so relieved, I couldn't help but smile. I leaned down and kissed his forehead.

"Of course I'm still here," I replied. "For one thing, I live here. For another, why would I go anywhere?"

"Ana, this has to change… everything. I'm related to that monster." Oh for the love of God.

"Honestly, Christian. Why would it? Did your finding out Elena was my grandmother change how you felt about me?"

"No, of course not," he replied. "I did think it would change how you felt about me, though. I didn't think you'd want to be with someone who'd slept with your grandmother. There are several very wrong things about that." Oh, that explained a thing or two about a thing or two.

"Oh, so you think that little of my feelings for you then. Great, thanks a lot." I began to stand up and walk away but he grabbed my elbow, pulling me back down onto the bed.

"What are you talking about?" he demanded.

"You're sitting here assuring me that these facts haven't changed how you feel about me, but they have. They've instilled doubt in you. You doubt my feelings for you. You doubt how deeply I love you. Elena is my grandmother, and you think that I'll love you less for it. Jack Hyde is your biological father and you think I'll love you less for it. That shows that you think my love for you is so shallow and fleeting that I could simply walk away after learning those pieces of information. You told me that these things don't affect how you love me and I believe you. Why can't you do the same?"

"I…I…" he stuttered.

"Forget it Christian. I'm out. Come find me when you've learned that there's nothing, not one single thing that will ever make me stop loving you. Not even when you're being stupid, stubborn, thick-headed, jealous, over-bearing, controlling or down ride rude. I will love you and only you forever." I wrenched my arm out of his grasp and headed for the door.

In the foyer I grabbed a random pair of shoes, my purse, and my keys. I heard Christian calling for me as I slammed the door behind me. Once in the car I drove to Steele Designs. I hadn't been in the building since Hyde-gate, and from the look of things, neither had anyone else. I had Anita send out an email that everyone could be off for two weeks, paid, without using up any of their time off. I figured people would need some time to cope with what had happened.

When I arrived at my office, Anita was there. Dutifully going through emails and rescheduling meetings for me. "Ana! You're here! Are you okay? How are Kate and Ethan? How's Christian?" she asked.

"I'm fine, Anita, thank you. Kate and Ethan are okay. Christian, well he's getting better. We're hoping for a full recovery in his arm, and it's likely."

"Oh, I'm so glad," she replied.

"How are you? And what are you doing here? I gave everyone two weeks off. You've still got another week, hon."

"I know, but I happened to log into my email from home and saw how much work there was to do, and I had to come in and try to catch up a bit," she replied.

"I don't pay you enough," I told her. "Remind me that I said that when it's time for handing out raises." She laughed and nodded.

"José called a few times. He saw the news about what happened and wanted to make sure you're alright. He said and I quote, 'When were you going to tell me you had a boyfriend? What's the deal with this bomb threat? What in the hell is going on Ana?' He seemed pretty worried."

"Of course he did," I said, rolling my eyes. "I expect Christian will show up before too long. You can let him in this time," I added as I strolled into my office.

But he didn't. I was at the office for upwards of twelve hours, catching up on emails and calling clients who'd left a million voicemails. Luckily, I didn't lose any clients due to what happened. Most of them simply called to find out if everything was okay and if their deadlines would have to be pushed back at all. Christian never showed up, never even called.

I thought he'd come to his senses mere minutes after I walked out the door, but apparently not. Perhaps I imagined him calling out to me. Perhaps his feelings for me really did change.

When I finally got home later that evening, Christian's car was no longer in the driveway. Inside, he was nowhere to be found. Not even a trace of him. He didn't even leave a note in the bedroom. My bed was immaculately made, the sheets having been freshly washed. Did he do this? I thought he was moving in; wouldn't more of his things be in my house by now?

I made a small meal for myself then went to bed, exhausted after the hundreds of emails and phone calls I dealt with all day. In the morning, he still wasn't there. Again, there was no trace of him. He must not have come back. I didn't know what to think about it. Perhaps he thought twice about moving in with me. I was okay with that. As much as I wanted to spend every waking moment in his arms, I knew we both had lives to live, work to do, and other things that would require leaving the bedroom.

Or maybe he thought my leaving yesterday was me leaving him. Oh no. That wasn't good. I quickly showered and got ready, intent to head to the office for a few quick meetings then I would head to Escala. If he wasn't there, I'd go to GEH, and if he wasn't there, I'd go to his parents' house. He had to be somewhere nearby, right? He wouldn't just up and leave Seattle without telling me… would he?

When I arrived at my office, Anita was sitting at her desk, as usual. She looked up at me and pursed her lips, an apologetic look on her face. "José," she mouthed. Oh dear lord. I didn't want to deal with him.

"José!" I greeted as I opened the door to my office. He was seated on my black leather couch, his feet resting on the coffee table, which he knew I hated. Yet, he did it on purpose.

"Ana!" he greeted in return, hopping up from the couch and rushing over to me. He stopped about a foot short of me, leaned in and kissed my cheek. This was his normal greeting. I knew he wanted to hug, me but in the 15 years I'd known him, I never had let it happen. Until now.

I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around his waist, pulling him close. He gasped audibly before enveloping me in his arms and hugging me tightly. "What is this?" he asked.

"Let's just say I've gotten rid of a few demons," I replied as I pulled away from him. He was reluctant to let me go, but a single glare from me and he stepped back immediately. "How was Peru?" I asked.

"Oh it was amazing, Ana. Just the best ever!" He pulled out his tablet and handed to me to let me scroll through the photos. I sat on the sofa and swiped through the files, marveling at each one.

"José, these are really amazing. They're not all for just that travel guide, are they?" I asked.

"No, some are, of course, but I'm displaying my photos at a gallery show in Portland in a couple months."

"Oh, wow! That's great, José. Congratulations!" I set the tablet down and leaned over to hug him again. He misinterpreted my intent and instead angled himself so his lips came in direct contact with mine. Oh shit. He pressed his lips tightly to mine. I kept my mouth closed in an effort to keep his tongue from attempting to explore.

He was kissing me, nibbling my lips in a very un-seductive manner and began groping at my skin. I tried to push him away but he maneuvered me around so that I was laying down, my head against the arm-rest of the couch and him on top of me. He wouldn't let go of my lips no matter what I did. I pushed against him more, but he mistook it for passion and only kissed me harder.

Finally he let me breathe, and I yelled, "José, get off of me! What the hell do you think you're doing?"

He pulled back and looked at me as if I'd skinned his cat. "What? I thought you wanted that." I sat up and when I did so, Christian was standing in the doorway.

Christian PoV

When Ana walked out the door I felt the devastation all over again. I thought she was leaving me. No she just is upset. You made her upset and you have to fix it, I thought. I called out to her, but she ignored me, slamming the door on her way out. I needed to let her cool down for a bit.

I hopped out of her bed and fished my phone out of my pocket. There was only one person I could talk to other than Ana. "Christian? You left the hospital. You weren't discharged yet," my mother scolded me.

"I know mom, I'm sorry. I just couldn't be away from Ana anymore, and she was being kept from me."

"I heard about that," she said. "I don't think you should see that therapist anymore."

"I agree, but mom, there's something else I have to tell you. And I assume you don't know this already, considering my birth certificate was blank."

"What are you talking about?" she asked, confused.

"Jack Hyde, the man that raped Anastasia, and orchestrated the attack the other day… is my biological father."

"Where are you?" she asked me.

"I'm at Ana's, still. She just left. Angry. She's angry with me."

"Over this? Is she judging you because of your accidental biological relation to that man?"

"Well, no. She's angry because I assumed that she would judge me on that," I replied.

"I'm coming over. What's the address?" I gave her the address and went downstairs to meet her at the door. A few minutes later, she appeared, her medical bag in tow, to check my wounds. She changed the dressing and adjusted my sling to sit more comfortably.

We then launched into a long discussion over my conversation with Ana that morning. My mother said that Ana loved me deeply and unconditionally. It didn't matter where I came from, what I did in my past, nor who my parents were, she loved me. It took a lot of convincing and even a conversation with Kate and Ethan.

Ethan said he'd kick my ass if I wasn't injured for making his sister upset. Kate gave me a similar threat, only added if I ever hurt Ana again that she'll kill me herself. I then went back to Escala to oversee the packing. It seemed as though everything was going smoothly. In the morning, I decided I would go find Ana. If I knew her, she'd be at her office.

"Is she in?" I asked Anita as I stepped off the elevator in front of Ana's office.

"Yes, Mr. Grey. She has a visitor, but I doubt she'd mind if you went right in." She smiled, seeming relieved that I was there. Perhaps Ana had been worried about me.

When I opened the door, my heart sank to the ground floor. Ana was lying on the couch with a strange man atop her, kissing her passionately. Of course she would move on from me. Now that she was no longer afraid to be touched, she could have her pick of any man she wanted in the world. Why on earth would she want Fifty Shades of Fucked Up Christian Grey?

I was about to turn to leave when I heard her yell. "José, get off of me! What the hell do you think you're doing?" I looked to see him bolt upright and reply, thinking she wanted him to kiss her.

Just as she was about to reply, she looked up and saw me standing in the doorway. "Christian!" she breathed. "Thank god you're here." She stood up and turned toward José. I figured this was the José Rodriguez, the photographer who relentlessly asked her out for years. He turned at looked at me, trying to figure out who I was.

"You!" she yelled at him, causing him to whirl his head around to face her. "In what universe would you ever think I wanted that? I've turned you down at least twenty-seven times in the past fifteen years. What did you think changed? You knew I had a boyfriend, José.

"I'm sorry Ana, but I couldn't help it. First you hug me for the first time ever, and then I thought you… You know how I feel about you. I lo—"

"Get out!" She bellowed, cutting him off. I knew he was about to say he loved her and she didn't want to hear those words from him. She grabbed him by the ear, which made him shoot up on his feet. He towered over her by about eight or nine inches. Easily taller than me. She glared up at him, not bothering to hide her rage and dragged him out of the office by the ear.

"Anita, see that Mr. Rodriguez is paid for his most recent photo spread and then find a new photographer," she said to her assistant before slamming her office door in José's face.

"Ana," I started. She turned to me her eyes brimming with tears. "Oh Ana."

"I thought you'd left me," she cried.

"You thought I left? You're the one who stormed out of the house yesterday," I replied.

"Yes, but I thought you'd come after me. I thought you'd show up at the office minutes after I did. And I was here for hours and hours, and you never came. Never called. And you never came home last night." She clung to me like a barnacle to the side of a ship. I wrapped my arms around her and caressed her back.

"You told me to come find you when I've learned that there's nothing, not one single thing that will ever make you stop loving me," I told her. "It took me a day or so, but I figured it out." I gave her a smile which she scrutinized for a moment before stretching up on her toes and pressing her lips to mine.

"Now do you want to tell my why on earth that man was kissing you?" I asked.

"Oh god," she replied. She was still angry. "That was José, as I'm sure you figured. I think he got the wrong idea because I let him hug me earlier. He'd never been that close, and now that I'm less afraid of contact, I figured I'd give him a hug. Then later I went to hug him again when he said a bunch of his photos were going to be displayed at a gallery show, he took it wrong and kissed me. No matter how much I pushed against him, he kept kissing and got me to lie down like that. Just as you entered, he pulled away to let me breathe and that was when I yelled at him."

"He didn't touch you anywhere, did he?" I asked, or rather, growled.

"No, not anywhere in appropriate anyway. Just my face, arms and waist." She pointed to each spot as she explained.

"I don't want other men kissing you, Anastasia," I gritted.

"Neither do I, Christian," she bit back. "And I didn't let him kiss me. He accosted me and had me at a disadvantage on the couch. I couldn't get enough leverage to shove him off of me."

"Are you going to press charges?" I asked.

"I really should," she replied.

"But you won't."

"I haven't decided."

"My Dom instincts are telling me to punish you, Anastasia," I said in my most authoritative voice.

"What? Why? Because I left yesterday?" she asked, backing away from me slowly.

"No, because you were in another man's arms, with his lips on yours."

"I told you it wasn't consent! I didn't want him to kiss me, he just did. You saw how big he is, I may be strong but gravity was on his side and against mine. I'll admit that I should have judged it better and not gotten so close to him, but the one you should be angry at is José, not me. He already knew I was in a relationship, yet he did that anyway."

"I don't want to punish you, Ana. I never want to, but the instincts are still there. They've been ingrained in me for the better part of a decade now. I won't act on them, my love, but I just felt the need to tell you," I explained. She visibly relaxed. "What I am going to do is undress you slowly and have you ride me on that couch."

I stepped towards her slowly, eying her up and down. She was wearing a simple pair of yoga pants and a baggy t-shirt. Not her normal stylish clothing, I wondered why that was. "Um, you're not supposed to be doing that. Your arm isn't healed," she stammered.

"I'll be fine. I need to bury myself in you, Ana. Please do not deny me."

She paused for a moment before lifting her shirt off of her body and tossing it at me. "Come and get it then," she whispered seductively. I smirked and moved closer to her. My arm was still in a sling, so I could only use the one to undo her bra and pull down her pants. It took longer than normal, but she was helpful and soon I was seated on the couch, my pants and boxers around my ankles, my shirt completely open, and a very aroused Ana bouncing up and down on me. Carefully, albeit. She didn't want to jostle my arm and break my stitches.

With my good arm, I squeezed her hip and guided her up and down my shaft. She grunted and growled along with me, keeping her balance by gripping the back of the couch on either side of my head. "Oh Christian, I'm almost there," she panted. I knew it was true as her body was tightening around mine. I reached around and squeezed her ass as she came, pumping my own release into her.

After an immeasurable moment, she climbed off of me and found her clothing. "Well now we've christened the desk and the couch. What's next?" she asked, jokingly.

"Every available surface in your office, my office, your house, my apartment and every car you and I own," I answered seriously.

"Even the play room?" she asked.

"When and if you're ready. Definitely." I gave her my biggest smile and stood up from the couch. She scurried over and helped pull my pants back up, kissing my treasure trail as she did so. She needed to stop before I got hard all over again.