A/N: So several of you asked for a POV from Christian and since some readers need to hear from Christian to understand what's going on more fully, I've written two chapters from his POV. After these two, the narrative from Ana's POV will continue again, picking up with Ch. 30. In order for the numbers to align however it will of necessity be Ch. 32 when I pick up the Ana thread. Just so you know, the last sex scene will be duplicated here from Christian's POV so you can see things from his side, rather than just Ana's. The D/s thing upsets some readers who think he's hurting her so I wanted to be clear that though Ana is a dependable narrator, it's still biased somewhat since she can only tell her side of things.

Christian's POV

"Jobe said even the airdrops aren't safe anymore. Our crew is at risk with the flyover —they have to reduce altitude to make the drop and it makes them vulnerable to surface-to-air missiles—and there's no guarantee the supplies won't get into the hands of the insurgents, thereby aiding and abetting them. It's too risky all around, Christian."

"So what does he suggest then, Ros?"

She shrugs. "Sit tight for now."

"Unacceptable. Should we just tell those starving people to hold off on eating until it's safer for us to get them food supplies? There's got to be a way around this problem, Ros. We pay them enough to work out viable logistics, for God's sake. Maybe do the drop elsewhere and have local mercs take it by tank to the needed areas? Or perhaps even start moving the people themselves to the food? This is supposed to be their area of expertise—tell them to come back to us with a solution within 48 hours. I'm not playing games."

"Aye-aye, sir." Ros gets up and gives me a mock salute. As soon as she closes my office door behind her I give vent to my frustration and kick the nearest object, which just happens to be a huge pewter floor vase that normally holds tiger lilies. Fortunately it's currently empty. It makes a satisfying clanging noise as it meets the marble floor and rolls halfway across the large room.

Nothing is going right today and it's putting me into a foul mood. What I need is to get laid, I realize, and like magic Ana's back inside my head, front and center where she's been residing prominently since the day our paths crossed at the restaurant that long ago evening.

Before the last two hours when problem after problem arose—first with the patent infringement lawsuit, then with the aid shipment—Ana had been on my mind all day.

I snort… More accurately, all week, all month, all fucking year. The young woman deftly slipped past all my defenses right from the start and she's firmly ensconced under my skin now.

Tomorrow night. I told her we'd go back for a second round in my dungeon and as usual when it comes to Ana, I'm horribly conflicted.

I tried to scare her off the first time—make it intimidating—but she's brave, almost stupidly so, and met all the challenges I threw at her. What's more, I could easily see it excited her tremendously. I distinctly remember when I first encountered Irina's dungeon and had the same reaction. I know in my gut that Ana's a sexual submissive but I'm resistant to taking her down that path. She's so lovely in her innocence and I hate to be the one to corrupt that first blush of her youth that's so irresistibly appealing.

On the other hand, I've never had more fun in my dungeon. Being with her stroked every part of my libido. There was an electrified sexual energy in the room that I'd never before experienced—at least not that I could remember. Not even my first time.

Usually I dominate a woman and she submits—the scenes are predictable in that sense. With Ana, I know it could go sideways at any time because even though she's physically excited by the thought of submission, the obedience goes against her rambunctious grain. I find myself smiling all of a sudden, thinking about that facet of her personality. Even more surprising, instead of that element in the dynamic being irritating, I find it enhances the experience almost exponentially. There's also the fact that I have feelings for her, another first for me. With Ana it's all about firsts.

Glancing at the clock I see it's just after two. Ana told me she'd be home by four and to drop by anytime afterward. I was planning to stay in the office until five but it's been such a pissy day that I'm going to cut out early, take the convertible to Ana's. I need to feel the wind whip through my hair… and my beautiful girl squirm underneath me. As soon as those twin images slide into my mind, I shoot out of my chair, almost desperate to put this day behind me.

Before I can escape Andrea finds me.

"Mr. Grey. The opera house needs confirmation of your attendance at the charity ball. I asked for six tickets. Is that correct, sir?"

"Six?"

"Your parents, your brother and his guest, Ms. Kavanaugh, your sister, and you."

"Yes, well, I'll be taking a guest, as well. Anastasia Steele. Please let them know. I'm not sure if Mia will go solo. Call my mother or sister and double check, please."

She looks surprised. No, astonished might be a more apt word. I suppose it's because my family attends that fundraiser every year and I never take a date when I'm with my family. It just doesn't happen. Of course, everything's different with Ana.

"Andrea?"

She verbally stumbles—highly unusual for Andrea. She's so efficient that I sometimes suspect her of being a robot disguised as a hot blonde. "Yes, Mr. Grey. I'll take care of that right away, sir."

"Thank you. I'm leaving for the day. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes, sir. Good evening."

...

Right now I'm so hard it's bordering on dangerous. I glance at Ana and grin as her eyes take in my erect cock. I suppose it is impressive at the moment. Catching her eye, I tilt my head toward it. "Take a seat."

I could see her trembling slightly and as she swings one of those long, luscious legs across me I make a split-second decision to try a little dominance right here, right now, just to see how she responds. I grip her thigh to arrest her progress so she's half over me and I can see her tight little pussy pulsing above my throbbing erection. I think I'm about to split open.

"Do you want to continue with the D/s, Ana?"

"Yes, I do."

"Good. I want you to lace your fingers together behind your head. Do it now."

Eyes as wide as saucers, she nonetheless complies instantly and her obedience is like fingers stroking me. This little girl may unman me before I ever get near her, much less inside her pink heat. I steel myself to push any thought of orgasm far away from my mind.

"Very good. Now do not move those hands under any circumstances. Understand?"

"Yes."

Her voice is barely there. I try not to laugh at her apprehension but she's so damn cute in all her nervous innocence. "I'm going to widen your knees. Keep your balance as best you could. If you start to lean or tip one way, wait for me to right you. Do not move your hands. Got it?"

"But why?"

"No questions, Ana. Just obedience. Can you do it?"

"Yes, of course,"

I wrap my hands inside her knees and push them wider and wider still until I see she's about to lose her balance. I want her attention fragmented: part of her mind will focus on staying upright; part will attempt to pay heed to my directives. I don't want her overthinking her submission for when she does, the intellectual part of her tells her it's wrong, that a strong woman shouldn't want to submit to a man. This is purely about sex and I want her to enjoy it. It strikes me then that it's true: I'm much more concerned with her pleasure than I am with my own. And there's another first… and a very big one at that.

As I watch her struggle to maintain the position I've put her into, I lean back and begin to stroke my cock. I see fire flare in her eyes as she watches me. Ana may be innocent but she has taken to sex like a fish to water and has a very healthy libido—and I know for a fact that she likes my cock. I never even have to ask her to suck it—she does it on her own and eagerly every time we're together. I take time to caress her beautiful tits, the soft skin on her belly, and lower still, but I can see her orgasm will come too soon so I retreat.

I'll instead test her commitment to keeping her hands where they are so I reach over and gently pinch her nipple. Her hands instantly fly out in front in a protective gesture.

"Ow," she shrieks.

"Put them back," I say, putting steel in my voice and she immediately obeys.

"I told you, Ana, not to move your hands. Now in response to that breach in discipline, I will go harder on your other nipple. Do not move."

Again I see the worry in her eyes and try not to smile. I barely touched her and she screamed. She's expecting terrific pain so the moment I give her the slightest erotic pain, she wildly overreacts—and thoroughly believes she's justified too. I didn't hurt her just now but she was expecting me to. Let's see what happens when I go a little harder.

"Ana. Do you see how this works?"

"Yes, I think so."

I nod solemnly. "Good. This is an exploration in trust, Ana. I want you to trust me implicitly. That means that if you began to fall face first, you wouldn't put your hands out to break your fall. You'd trust that I would catch you. You have to train yourself—I'll help of course. We'll start slowly like this. Are you with me so far?"

I know she won't be able to extend her trust that far but if I tell her I expect it, she'll see I set the bar high. She'll try her best. Another epiphany hits me with the force of a brick that I truly do want to earn her trust—they're not just words a Dom says to a sub. Not this time. What's more, I want to trust her more than I've ever dared to hope. I've never had any desire to extend my heart out on a limb before. Love was never worth the risk of getting hurt.

"Yes." Her voice brings me back into the moment.

"Okay. Now I'm going to fuck you. The rules remain in force: do not move any part of your body no matter what I do."

I reach for her other nipple and tweak it, just a little harder than the last. On a scale of one to ten, with ten being intense pain, I'd say it was about a two or three. Not even like a gentle clamp… or maybe just like a gentle clamp. In any case, she yells out lustily again and I have to shake my head at her histrionics. Still, she didn't move her hands. Progress.

"Good girl. That time was much better. Work on the over-the-top screaming, though."

Before she could react to my admonishment I lift her over my hard-on, positioning her before yanking her down. I expect her to climax with my entry but she fools me. Fuck, she feels like hot silky heaven and I want to just give into it and come. I force myself to control it. I want her to have a fantastic orgasm before I even think of my own. In order for that to happen I have to keep her away from it for a little bit. I look up and her eyes are closed.

"Ana, open your eyes. I want you to ride me. Do you need to bring your knees in closer for balance?"

"A little would help," she admits.

I move her legs just enough to give her some purchase—I want her off balance. While she focuses on riding me, I focus on making her come. One hand goes for her tits and the other reaches between her legs for her clit. I'm very good at this, applying just the right amount of pressure and friction to bring her to the very edge of the precipice. I'm watching her face and see her muscles start to contract, in welcome of her approaching orgasm. Then I spring it on her.

"Don't come, Ana."

"What?"

It takes a monumental effort to keep a straight face. The shock etched in her expression is just priceless but I keep my face blank and my voice stern. "You heard me. Do. Not. Come."

I pinch her clit and see her struggle to exert control.

"Christian, I can't."

"You can, Ana, and you will. This is about control; it's about discipline over your body. Mind over matter. Now go slowly on the rise, fast coming down. Focus on what you're doing, not what I am."

"Easier said than done," she says through gritted teeth.

I watch her closely. She's perspiring profusely so I know it's hard work. I'm going to give in to her in a moment but the longer I make her wait, the harder she'll come and that's my goal. Why bother having ordinary sex if you could have sex on fire?

"Christian, if you don't want me to come, stop touching me. I can't hold back any longer."

I count to five. "Okay, you may come now," I tell her and deliver a ringing slap to her pretty ass as I pinch her clit hard with my other hand almost simultaneously. As soon as I release it, her orgasm roars over her and watching it brings my own moment of crisis ever closer. I'm seconds away from surrendering to it.

"Good girl, you managed to keep your hands in place. I'm proud of you, Ana. Now I want you to work on giving me an orgasm." I lie back and put my hands behind my head… and wait.

She's a fast learner: she uses her muscles to squeeze me on the way up and I can't hold back much longer. Ana's learned to read me so damn fast. I grab her hips, interrupting her rhythm to set my own. Three short hard thrusts and I'm down for the count.

"Ah, baby."

Goddamn it. I may have found my nirvana when I wasn't looking.

...

"Mmm, this is delicious, Ana. Everything tastes so fresh." Ana made us dinner so we could stay in and watch a film—a French comedy titled The Intouchables.

"It is; I got everything except the chicken today at the farmer's market."

"Ah. Well it really makes all the difference. So," I say, sipping my wine, "what else did you do?"

"Funny you should ask. I ran into someone and it kind of ruined an otherwise perfect day."

"Oh? Who?"

"Fiona."

"Fiona? My sister's friend?"

"Yes. Or to hear her tell it, your girlfriend. In fact, she claims that very soon you'll decide to settle down and when you do it will be her you choose to do it with."

I'm speechless at the temerity of the woman. "You have got to be kidding. What did you say?"

She looks slightly ashamed of herself when she tells me.

"I might have said you would be settling for, not down or something to that effect."

I'm in disbelief. What the fuck? "I cannot believe the nerve of that woman. One lapse of judgment…"

"The problem is, Christian, that when you fuck a woman, she tends to think you might be somewhat interested in her. See how that works? Crazy, right?"

"I'll speak to her."

"She might speak to other women as well. She mentioned Nastassja and some other woman… I think she said a politically connected woman?"

"Where did she ever get this idea? I spent very little time with her."

The look she gives me is withering. "She got the idea when you saw her at Irina's and decided to fuck her, Christian. Now she knows all about your… um, inclinations. She could cause you some major problems."

I shake my head and hold up my hand to stop her from continuing. "I'll take care of it, Ana. No need to worry. Give me a minute, will you?"

I pull out my phone, retreating into another room for privacy. I don't want Ana worrying about anything, least of all the women in my past. First of all, she's got a very healthy streak of the green-eyed monster running through her veins. More troubling, though, is her insecurity. I have to chuckle at that since I have a tediously long list of insecurities of my own. Maybe we were meant to be together?

Taylor picks up on the end of the first ring, my dependable right hand. "Taylor, I've got a problem I need you to see to, A-S-A-P."

"Mr. Grey?"

"Fiona St. John? My sister's friend. I believe you drove us the one time I took her home from Irina's?"

"Yes, sir, I do recall."

"Good. It appears that Ms. St. John encountered Ana today and harassed her. I don't think I need to tell you how I feel about that."

"No, sir, you do not. I'll pay the woman a visit. Impress upon her the restrictive parameters of your relationship with her. Remind her to maintain a minimum of a hundred yards from Ms. Steele in future or she will be in breach of the NDA. The exact wording of the contract is to remain said distance from any family member or personal friend of yours unless prior permission is granted. Ms. Steele qualifies as such."

"Yes. Bear in mind that Fiona is a friend of my sister's and could cause me major problems. I'll also be forced into her company from time to time at my parents' house. You do have to tread lightly in this matter, Taylor."

"Yes, sir, I understand."

"To clarify, I don't want you to scare her but I want it made abundantly clear to the woman that she is legally bound to keep her mouth shut… and make sure she understands about maintaining the 100-yard buffer… I don't want her anywhere near Ana ever again. Is that clear? Right away, Taylor, this evening if possible. Let me know the moment it's done."

...

"Christian, please come over for dinner tonight. Zander is home from school for the week so I want all to show. Bring Ana, too."

"I'll see, Mom. I don't know if she's available on such short notice."

"Tell her it's for Zander and she'll make it. I know she will."

"Mom, you barely know Ana and you're already employing emotional blackmail on her?"

I can hear Grace mutter under her breath, "Oh stop."

I chuckle for I know my mother is right as usual. Ana will feel compelled to come for Zander's sake. "Is Elliot coming?"

"Yes, why?"

"I need to speak to him about a building renovation. What time do you want us there, Mom?"

"Seven the latest. See you then, darling. Oh, and Christian? Can you pick up some of those colorful French macarons from the lovely pastry shop near your office?"

"Yes, sure, Mom. See you tomorrow." Just as I disconnect Andrea comes in. "Mr. Grey, your ten o'clock has arrived. Shall I show her in?"

My eyes dart to my calendar: I thought I was meeting with one of my lead attorneys, Mark Engel, on the patent infringement suit. "Her? I thought Mark was my ten o'clock meeting."

"Mr. Engel sent his assistant, Patrice Young."

What? I give Mark Engel monthly billing of anywhere from twenty to fifty grand. The least he could do is show up to meetings himself. Annoyed I make a mental note to mention it to him. "Show Ms. Young in, please."

"Yes, sir."

Ten seconds later, Patrice Young saunters through my office door. She's a very nice woman but unfortunately for both of us, she used to date Elliot. Perhaps date is too strong a word. It might be more appropriate to say she used to fuck him… or he used to fuck her regularly for a month or two—Elliot's MO before meeting Kate Kavanaugh. I'm still unconvinced that he won't go back to his usual patterns once the novelty of this relationship wears off. Time will tell, I suppose.

I stand and extend my hand, trying to push away my unease, though her very presence discomfits me. "Ms. Young. It's very nice to see you again."

"Mr. Grey. Mark sends his apologies but he had to be in court today. Trust that he's working very hard on your suit, almost at the expense of his other clients. Grey Holdings takes first priority with Engel, Rice, and Crawley."

"How reassuring to know. Thank you. So I imagine you're here to give me an update?"

"Yes, Mr. Grey. We filed three separate briefs with the court this week and…"

Finally my meeting with Patrice Young is over. Our lawsuit is proceeding very slowly—the wheels of justice and all that—and though I'm confident we'll prevail in the end, the time lost will be of considerable expense.

Shit. I run my hands through my hair. Did I forget to tell Ana about dinner tonight at my parents' house? I think I did. Checking for my phone I realize I gave it to Andrea to clear and recharge. I press the intercom.

"Yes, Mr. Grey?" The voice on the other end is Carly, our newest intern and a bundle of nerves in my presence. She drives me a little crazy.

"Carly, get me Anastasia Steele on the phone please."

"Yes, sir. Right away."

"Thank you."

With three minutes the intercom buzzes. "Mr. Grey, Ms. Steele on line 2."

I depress the button. "Ana?"

"Hi, Christian. What's up?"

"I was supposed to invite you to my parents' house for dinner tonight but it slipped my mind. Please tell me you're free otherwise my mother will kill me."

She laughs and at the sound of the clear high-pitched giggle my blood pressure sinks back down. "Of course I'll make it, Christian. What's so important anyway?"

"Zander's home from school for a break and Grace wants to throw a little impromptu party, I suppose."

"Aha. Which she-demon from the past will I meet tonight, I wonder?"

Chuckling, I cross my fingers because she can't see me. "Hopefully none. I'll pick you up at six-fifteen. Does that work?"

"Yep. See you then, Mr. G."

"Mr. G?"

"Yes. That's what Minx and I used to call you when we first met."

"But you didn't know my name then."

"No. The G doesn't stand for Grey."

"Oh? Then what?"

"Not telling you, Mr. G. See you later, alligator."

She disconnects and I laugh to myself. After all the models and sophisticated debs I've dated, I can't believe the girl who makes them all fall by the wayside speaks to me in nursery rhymes. I shake my head. Robbing the cradle indeed.