Chapter 26

Ana PoV

I was about to start the lunch service when my phone rang in my bra. I didn't have any pockets on this dress, so I only had so many options with where to put it. I Will Cross the Ocean for You blared out of my cleavage. I blushed crimson and ran into the back office. "Christian," I answered, breathless.

"Hey baby, were you running?" he asked, chuckling.

"Yes, well, I was at the front of house when my phone started ringing in my cleavage," I explained. "I booked it to the office as fast as possible. I guess I forgot to switch it to vibrate."

"I don't want anything vibrating in your cleavage. Just me," he replied suggestively.

"I wasn't aware that you could vibrate," I answered. "So to what do I owe the pleasure of your call?"

"Well, I stopped by Steele Designs today," he began.

"Oh, is everything alright?" I asked, suddenly worried.

"Business-wise, yes. Everything's perfect. Anita is doing fantastic. She told me to remind you that you told her that you don't pay her enough."

"She's absolutely right," I agreed, laughing. "So what else is up, then?"

"Are you free? Can you come to GEH or home? I need to discuss something with you. And I'd rather not do it over the phone." Hmm, that seemed odd. Home was closer to the restaurant than GEH, so I suggested we meet there.

"Shall I bring lunch from the Diner?" I asked.

"Sounds great, baby. I'll see you in twenty."

"Mia," I said as I hung up from the call. "Can you handle things for a while? I have to run home and meet Christian for something."

"Really Ana? A mid-day quickie? Even Ethan and I can keep it in our pants during the day."

"Oh it's nothing of the sort. He said he had something to discuss with me… at least I don't think it's for that reason. Now I'm not sure," I joked.

I packed up my few things, grabbed a couple to-go boxes with hot hoagies and fries and headed home. "Honey I'm home," I called out, knowing Christian had beaten me home.

"Hey baby, smells good," Christian replied, appearing from the stairwell. "Food smells good, too," he added after kissing me hello.

"So what's with the impromptu lunch meeting?" I asked.

"You had a visitor in your office today," he answered. "Anita tried to get him to leave, but he was very insistent that he stay until you arrived. Even if it meant staying all day and coming back first thing in the morning. Luckily, Anita didn't tell him that you were at the Diner, or he probably would have shown up there. I shudder to think of what kind of scene would have played out."

"Who was he?" I finally asked. I could tell Christian was stalling.

"His name is Pierre Bhutan," he said. "He told me he thinks that you're his biological daughter." He said the words so fast as if it would shock me less.

"He said what?"

"Please don't make me repeat it. If I didn't know you'd ream me a new one if I kept the information to myself, I would never have told you. Given how you reacted to finding out Elena was your grandmother, I figured you'd want nothing to do with any biological ties."

"Did he know about me?" I asked. If he knew all about me and only now decided to come forward, I'd know it was only about my money and status he was after, but if he hadn't a clue that I existed, it was a different matter altogether.

"No. Not until he saw a news story on you." He continued with this man's tale of recognizing Rebecca Louis' photo from the news bio they did on me before the restaurant was opened. "He said he never even knew Rebecca was pregnant. I'm usually pretty good at reading people, Ana. And I believe him. The question is, do you want to get to know him? Do you want to meet him?"

"What did you tell him?" I asked. I couldn't think of what to do, or what to say. This was such a shock to my system. I thought we were going to be done with drama for a while. What the hell did this man want from me?

"I said that I would relay his message to you, took down his contact information, and told him that if you were interested in contacting him that you'd do so. Otherwise I would tell him to bugger off, more or less."

"Bugger off?"

"Yes, well, the man had an accent, so my go-to was a British phrase. So sue me." He shrugged, smirking at me. I giggled and stepped into his arms. "I think we should retire by the time you're 30," he added.

"What? That's only a few years away. Why on earth?"

"Because, I want you all to myself for a good long time, Miss Steele. If we're both retired, we'll have nothing but time together."

"I'll consider it. And I'll consider talking with Mr. Bhutan. Let's eat lunch first." And with that we dug into the food I brought from the diner. Christian's frequent moans of approval told me that it was another star on the menu. Mia texted me a couple times to tell me all was well, and I didn't need to come back if I didn't want to, and she'd be sure to let me know if she got in over her head.

"I'm sure she can handle it," Christian said when I relayed her message. "I can take the rest of the day, too. Shall we go for a dip in the hot tub?"

"That sounds excellent," I agreed. He whipped out his phone and sent a quick text message to Ros to let her know that he wouldn't be returning and that she was to take over on the few meetings he had left.

"I've got to meet this Ros sometime," I said as I shed my clothing and stepped into the tub. "She sounds remarkable."

"Almost as remarkable as you," he replied, eying me shamelessly.

"Mr. Grey. Are you saying I have competition?"

"Perhaps if she wasn't a lesbian," he joked. "Her wife is quite amazing as well. Perhaps we can double with them some time." He stepped into the tub then and I gawked at his chiseled physique the entire time.

"Double? As in double date?" I asked.

"Yes, of course. What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing at all… I've just never heard of you suggesting that before. We've never doubled with anyone before. And those few dinners that involved your siblings and mine don't count because they were all business related. They weren't double or triple dates."

"Are you saying you'd like to do that more often?" he asked.

"Well yes," I decided. "If you haven't noticed, I don't exactly have a lot of friends. Or any for that matter. Anita and Reynolds are the closest I have to friends. Otherwise it's just been me and my siblings my entire life. My siblings…. Holy shit. Do you think that Bhutan guy has other kids? Do you think I have other brothers and sisters?"

"I'm not sure yet, baby. I called Welch after I called you, to have him do a background check on the guy. We should know shortly." As if on cue, we heard Christian's phone ringing from inside the bedroom. He'd left it on the night stand when he started removing his clothing. "I'll check it in a while. Right now, I want you. So badly."

I reached down and felt his growing member harden in my hand. "Why yes of course, Mr. Grey." I turned around and sat on his lap with my back against his chest. I could feel him sliding in between my folds, teasing me. I sat up slightly and let myself slide down on him, feeling him fill me to the hilt.

There was nothing quite like that initial feeling of him inside me. It was almost better than the earth-shattering orgasm that would soon follow. Sometimes more than once, or even three times if I was lucky and his stamina was extra high. We came together more often than not, which was excellent as well. I loved the feeling of him losing control and spilling himself into me. It was like having part of him with me all the time. And considering we made love every day, multiple times a day, I was always connected to him on that level.

I began to move up and down, using his thighs to balance myself. He gripped my hips and helped set the pace. "You know baby, this is a great position for me to take your other entrance from." This made me freeze mid movement. "If and when you're ready, baby. I'm not going to do it now. But trust me when I say you can gain great pleasure from that as well."

"Okay, we can try it someday," I consented and continued moving on him. "You know, Mia thought that I was ditching for a quickie."

"A quickie? Oh no, Miss Steele. I'm going to savor you. You're going to come so many times before I do, it'll make your head spin."

And I'm surprised that my head wasn't literally spinning once he finally came inside me. After six orgasms I lost count. Three in the tub, then when we realized we were getting pruny, we moved to the bed where he gave me at least three more. He made slow passionate love for a while, then he'd fuck me senseless, causing me to claw at the sheets, at the headboard, whatever I could get my hands on to help absorb the pleasure. The orgasms got more and more intense with each passing one. They were almost becoming painful at that point. I told him as much and he soon relented his torture on my body and came. "That's some self-control you've got there, Mr. Grey."

"I've been saving that one for a rainy day," he told me. "I knew after my news that you'd need some kind of distracting release, so I was only too happy to oblige. Don't be expecting me to hold off that long all the time. You've no idea how hard it is not to come as soon as I enter you."

"Is that so?" I ask.

"Oh yes. The moment my cock breaches your delectable pussy, it's all I can do to keep from squealing and coming instantly. It takes intense control, my dear. You're so amazing."

"I was thinking, the moment you enter me is almost as amazing as the orgasms that you give me. The initial sensation of you filling me is enough to send me over the moon. Even if I didn't get the amazing climaxes, just the feeling of you being connected to me would be enough."

Christian PoV

Her words were making me so endlessly happy and I felt exactly the same about her. I decided it was the perfect moment for me to show her my latest purchase. I hoped she was receptive to it.

"I love you so much, Ana. I want to show you how much I love you."

"Um, I'm fairly certain that you just did. What more could you do?"

"Would you consider wearing a token of my love?" I asked, slightly wary of her reaction.

"Depends on the token," she answered. I could tell she was wondering whether I was about to produce an engagement ring.

"Well, I saw this the other day, and I know you said no sparkly or shiny things, but I couldn't resist. It's not an engagement ring. Just a promise that I will love you forever, and when we're both ready, I will be replacing it with something different." I reached out for my suit jacket that had been discarded earlier and retrieved the small Cartier box from within.

I opened the box and presented it to her. Inside the box was a ring that was solid platinum embellished with tiny diamonds all around the band. At the top of the ring was a carving of two hearts in an infinity symbol. The hearts were filled with tiny rubies. I'd had the inside engraved with my name and hers. "I got a matching one for myself. I know it's not traditional for men to wear promise rings, but I want the world to know that I'm off the market."

"Christian, it's beautiful," she whispered. "I love you so much." She took the ring from the box and placed it on her left finger. "I don't know if it's traditional for promise rings to go on the left hand, but either way, I don't care. The world can know that I'm yours and yours alone." I followed suit with my own ring which had sapphires in place of the rubies on her ring. She reached over and ran her thumb across the ring.

"This suits you, Mr. Grey. I think it'll complement everything you wear," she told me.

"What if the only thing I want to wear is you?"

"Well it complements me best of all," she agreed.

After a shower, we got dressed and headed down to the kitchen. Ethan and Kate had arrived, Elliot was on his way, and Mia was still at the Diner, overseeing the dinner shift. Soon, the owners wouldn't have to be at the diner every day, and could rely on the managers to ensure everything was running smoothly. But for the first few weeks, it was good for either Ana or Mia to make an appearance, schmooze with the customers and make good rapport with the employees.

"Ana!" Kate bellowed, eying the ring. "What on earth is that?!"

"A promise," Ana replied simply. She wouldn't elaborate further than that, and neither would I.

We ate a simple meal of spaghetti Bolognese and dessert was a Tiramisu that Mrs. Jones sent over from Escala. She still liked to cook for me every now and then, and felt odd just cleaning a house that was already spotless considering I hadn't set foot there since moving in with Ana. I offered the master bedroom to Taylor and Gail, but they politely refused, insisting that the staff quarters were more than sufficient.

Eventually I'd have to sell that place and perhaps Gail would someday make an honest man out of Taylor. I'd buy them a house as a wedding gift, or at least commission Steele Designs to have it built to match their dream house. I was sure that Ana's brilliant teams could conjure something up that would make those two very happy. It'd be a place that Taylor could have his daughter to, whenever he wanted.

I found myself thinking of children. With my previous lifestyle, children were never on the table. Even now they're not, considering Ana can't bear children. A fact that hadn't bothered me and never would. If the time came that she and I wanted to be parents, we could adopt. Of all the people in the world, she and I should be all for adoption.

Gazing at Ana, I watched her ring sparkle and shine when it caught the light, throwing prisms around the room. Mine would do the same, but it was firmly tucked under the table, grasping her right hand tightly within.

"I have some news," Ana said once the dishes had been cleared. "Christian went by Steele Designs today and I had a visitor."

"Who was it?" Ethan asked. "A new hot-shot client?"

"Not exactly," she replied. "His name is Pierre Bhutan, and he's claiming to be my biological father." Collective gasps were heard around the table.

"I know that name," Elliot states. "It's super familiar, but I can't quite place it. Let me think a moment."

I realized that I hadn't checked my phone message that Welch had left. Running upstairs, I snatched it off the bedside table and quickly checked the messages.

"Sir, Welch here. I checked into that name and learned that he's a big business man back in New York. He's got properties all over the island of Manhattan and some overseas in France. He's mostly into real estate, rental properties are the majority. High-roller ones that are ten-grand a month to rent. I do show a brief vacation during the time that Miss Steele would have been conceived in which he spent a good share of time in North Carolina, particularly on the Outer Banks.

I checked into Rebecca Louis' history and show that she was living in foster care in Outer Banks at that time. From what I could tell, she was traipsing up and down the beach trying to find someone who would pay her for drawings that she'd done. She was an artist before the drugs took over.

Only my opinion Sir, but this man has enough net-worth to rival you, so I hardly believe he'd be here after Miss Steele's money or yours. If I can get my hands on a DNA sample of his, I can run a paternity test to ensure his claims. Or perhaps Miss Steele would insist on one anyway. I might suggest that to her if I were you, Sir.

I dug as deep as I could and everything about him is completely legitimate and on the level. No sour business deals, no disgruntled employees, no sordid love affairs apart from the one he allegedly had with Rebecca Louis. He's been married twice, has three children between the two marriages. Ages 19, 17 and 12. No history of infidelity. His parents are still living in France, retired teacher and architect. That's all the information for now, Sir. Please let me know if there's anything else you need and I'll be sure to get right on it.

I pulled the phone away from my ear, took a deep breath and headed back downstairs to my angel and to tell her the news I'd just heard. It might have been a better idea to just have her listen to the message directly. "Angel, I have that information that Welch looked up," I whispered to her. "Do you want to listen to the message?"

"No, just give me the cliff's notes," she replied.

I relayed the information, stressing that Welch believed the man to be legit and honest. "If Welch believes it, then I would, too. I've always trusted his judgment and he's not once led me astray."

She considered my words for a moment, her nose twitching back and forth as she thought. How had that little quirk slipped by me all this time? It was adorable. She looked like a rabbit. All she needed was a few whiskers and a carrot to munch on.

"Where's his number?" she asked. I pulled the card he gave me out of my wallet and handed it to her. She picked up her phone and dialed it quickly. "Mr. Bhutan? This is Anastasia Steele. … I'm fine thank you…. Yes I would like to meet…. Can you come by my office tomorrow morning at nine AM? … Perfect. I'll see you there. Thank you."