A/N: Thank everyone for following my story.
Yep, yep… still here and still going strong. Trying very hard to avoid other FF at this stage as it's hard to write about nice Elena when reading about horrible Elena. It's difficult as I have a LOOOOOOONG list of favourites.
Important: I do not own the Fifty Shades Trilogy or the characters. They belong to the very talented E.L. James.
Ana POV:
I wake up in a bad mood and the bad mood continued all through the very early breakfast. When Jose finally arrives in order for us to leave, I'm grateful for the distraction. Even Kate has given up on trying to cheer me up and said there is no cure for PMS.
Halfway to the lake, in the middle of nowhere, where Jose wants to take the photos, I try again to call Christian and get his voicemail… again. He must still be on his way back from New York as he had to attend an emergency meeting yesterday and decided to stay for the night.
"Grey, leave a message."
"Hey, it's me. I know it's early, but I just wanted to hear your voice. Talk to you later." I whisper into the phone and disconnect. Kate turns and gives me the smile that says she just figured it out.
"You miss Mr. Moneybags. That's why you're in such is pissy mood?" She asks and I nod. "Well, cheer up. You will see him tomorrow."
That is the reason why I'm in such a bad mood. I haven't spoken to Christian since yesterday afternoon. He was busy until late last night and I only got a short e-mail from him before he went to bed saying that he will be flying back to Seattle early this morning and that he missed me, but that was only this morning as I was already asleep by the time he finished his last meeting. At least I will see him tomorrow before the graduation.
"Jose, this is beautiful. I understand now why I had to wake up so damn early." I look out the window and sure enough, it is breathtakingly beautiful. If Kate gets excited about nature, you must know that it is something truly special as she only gets excited about fashion… and now Elliot. The sun is barely up and it gives a magical look to the place. I can almost imagine fairies and little creatures playing in the tall grass surrounding the fog filled lake. All that's missing is the giant red mushrooms growing on the grass.
"I stumbled on this place by accident one day when I just wanted to go for a drive. I think the pictures will look great here." Jose tells us as we get out of the car and walk towards the lake. The cold air is cutting through my jeans, but the sun will be up soon and we shouldn't be here too long. How long can it possibly take to take a couple of pictures?
Well, that question is answered when the three of us leave the lake seven hours later. I'm tired and cold and disappointed that I haven't heard from Christian yet. Jose and Kate are making jokes as we drive home and I must admit that even though I feel miserable now, I had fun today. It took quite a number of shots for Jose to be satisfied with the settings of the camera and then we started to just have some fun. Not that I would want to be a model… ever, but that was not as bad as I thought it would be. There is one he took were I'm sitting in the tall grass that I would like for myself… maybe I could even give it to Christian.
We arrive at our apartment little after three in the afternoon. Strangely enough, I didn't get even one call today. When I take my phone out of my bag to see if there is at least a message from Christian, I'm shocked to see that there are not only eight messages, but also thirteen missed calls and a couple of voice mails. I think I will avoid the voice mails as I can just imagine how he went off on them after Monday.
"Oh crap. Oh crap. Oh crappity crap crap, crap. I'm in big trouble today." I show the phone to Kate who simply rolls her eyes. That is until she looks at her phone and discovers quite a bit of messages and missed calls from both Christian and Elliot. With both trying to get hold of her, she has almost double the number of messages and missed calls, but at least she only has to worry about Elliot. I have his moody, mercurial, pissed off little brother to worry about.
"Oh well, my guess would be that Mr. Moneybags is overreacting again like Monday and got his big brother to hop on the wagon as well." She says nonchalant and press the button of the elevator… several times. She might act unconcerned, but she is definitely not as unaffected with the Grey bothers' need to get hold of us like she wants me to think.
"Where the fuck have you been?" I jump at the sound of a very angry Elliot's voice when the elevator door opens. There is no trace now of the happy-go-lucky guy I thought he was. He is one missed off male and standing next to him is an absolutely livid Christian. I must give him credit though, he knows how to keep his emotions in check. He should give some pointers to Elliot considering we are in public where anyone can see us.
"What the hell are you doing here?" Is Kate's response and I'm tempted to smack her on the back of her head for antagonising them further.
"Excuse me?" Elliot counters, now standing toe to toe with Kate and I hope he is not trying to intimidate Katherine Kavanagh.
"What are you doing here? I thought you would only be here in the morning." She says, turning and walking towards our front door… seemingly unaffected with the anger directed towards both of us. I stay rooted in front of the elevator, eyes fixed on the furious gray one's glaring at me. Christian has his hands in fists by his side and apart from that and the fury in his eyes, there is no sign of his anger. Maybe this is how he gets when he is past furious?
"I think we should discuss this in your apartment, Anastasia," he says before walking behind Elliot and Kate down the hall and into the apartment. I glance at Taylor who mouths "Good luck" before he leaves down the stairs with a man I haven't seen before. This is just freaking perfect, but I pull up my big girl pants and follow Christian into the apartment.
"Kate, where the hell have you been and why have you not been answering your fucking phone?" Elliot starts the second the door is closed behind me.
Kate, with eyes full of defiance and a 'fuck you' attitude, takes her phone and places it on the counter in front of Elliot with her finger pressing the screen so hard that I think it would break. "You see this phone, Elliot? This is my phone. It is in my name and I pay the bill. Therefore, it is safe to assume that I have the right to do with it as I please. If I didn't answer it, it might be because of a number of reasons. I either didn't have signal, I didn't realize it was ringing or I just didn't want to answer the fucking thing. As it turns out, I actually did not have reception and neither did Ana. We didn't notice the missed calls and messages until we reached the elevator down stairs. Now calm the fuck down and I will order us something to eat as we are starving due to the fact that we didn't eat anything since before the sun came up." Oh well then, just in case Christian was not pissed off enough, that will send him right over the edge. When I turn to finally face him, the look in his eyes sends a shiver down my back and I start to feel sorry for myself.
"Anastasia, I would like to talk to you in private." he hisses, walking towards my bedroom door just as Maya comes into hall, probably to see what the commotion is all about.
"You two should be ashamed of yourselves." She says and the four of us turn to face her. We wait for her to continue, but she blows the dust from her nails and holds her hand up to inspect her nails with the nail file in her other hand. It's her distraction technique that Kate perfected after she saw Maya use it a year ago. "These two girls get up before the sun to assist a friend and also work on a surprise for the two of you and what do they get when they come home? Two grumpy men glaring at them. They are tired and hungry and all that you two can think about," she gestures between Christian and Elliot with the file, "is to say your two cents worth and make them feel bad because their service provider failed to ensure continuous coverage in a remote area. Shameful actually. I would kick both of you out and order pizza if I were the two of them. Pizza and wine with a good movie sounds much better that a screaming match," she points to Kate and Elliot, "or a glaring contest," she points to Christian. I look at Kate who is probably also trying to work out what surprise we were apparently working on. When I look back towards Maya, she has returned to her room and with a wink closes the door.
"You mentioned something about her still looking for employment?" Christian asks a bit distracted and I blink up at him.
"Uhm… yes. Public relations." I tell him and look back towards Maya's door.
"She's good. I could definitely use her at GEH." And just when I thought that Maya's little stunt worked, he grabs me by my arm and pulls me into my room.
"You can sit your ass on that chair while I order some Chinese and open a bottle of wine, or you can leave and find someone to shout at as you won't be taking any of that built up anger out on me, Mr. Grey." I hear Kate tell Elliot and when she squeals, I guess Elliot found another outlet for his built up anger. Maybe I should suggest that to Christian as well.
Taking a deep breath, I close the door and keep my hand on the handle with my other hand flat on the door and my eyes closed. I missed Christian and don't want to fight with him, but he is furious and after Monday, I probably should have checked if there was reception before we started.
"I'm sorry," I finally say, turning slowly to see him sitting on the bed with his head in his hands. It's only when he looks up that I see how exhausted he is. He looks as if he hasn't slept at all since Sunday. Red eyes, with dark circles underneath, stare back at me and I sigh in defeat. Even if I wanted to fight with him, it will not go down well as he is always poised and ready for a fight. Add tired to the list and I'm in way over my head. I make my way over to him, removing my jacket and putting it on the table against the wall.
"I'm so sorry for making you worry after I promised on Monday not to do it again. I swear that I didn't do it on purpose." I sit down on his lap with my knees on the bed on either side of him and he shifts a bit to let me get comfortable. I lock my hands behind his neck and put my head on his shoulder. When his hands slowly creep towards my butt, I know the battle is almost won. "I hope you didn't change all your plans to fly to Portland today because I made you worry," I say softly before I kiss his neck, satisfied when I fell him shiver.
"I got your messages after we landed in Seattle and you sounded off. I phoned you immediately and started to worry when I couldn't get hold of you. I went straight to the office to get some work done and later asked Elliot to try and get hold of Kate. When Elliot also failed to get hold of Kate, he came over and we flew down in Charlie Tango while Taylor and Sawyer drove down. We have been looking for you everywhere we could think off while I thought of all the bad things that could have happened to you. I've never felt like I did today and I didn't like feeling like that. You seem to have a talent for bringing out totally foreign feelings in me and not all of them are nice. I've been really very worried, baby." He sounds as if he is about to fall asleep.
"I'm sorry. I tried to call you again just after we left Portland this morning. That was the last voicemail I left you. I honestly didn't know that there would not be any reception at the lake." I apologize again. He takes a deep breath and runs his hands up and down my back.
"You didn't sound yourself on that message."
"I really missed you and just wanted to hear your voice." I confess and he pushes me back to look at me.
"A thousand bad thoughts ran through my head today and hearing you say that just makes it all seem silly." He says and then he places a hand on my cheek, "I missed you too."
"You look as if you haven't slept in days." When he looks down, it seems that I might be right. I put my hands on his cheeks and pull his head up to look into my eyes and that is all the confirmation that I needed. "Why haven't you been sleeping, Christian?" I asked, suddenly very worried. At first he just looks at me and for a minute, I thought that he wouldn't answer me.
"No one ever questions me, Anastasia." He says and I continue to wait for an answer. He is not going to treat me like one of his employees. Eventually he gives me his crooked smile and shakes his head. "I have nightmares. After sleeping so peacefully on Saturday and Sunday, they returned on Monday and I've been struggling to sleep. I try, but I just can't seem to fall asleep and now I'm so tired that I can't sleep." He says and even though I want to ask more questions, I decide to leave it for now. I push him gently on his shoulders until he falls back onto the bed and then get off his lap to lie down next to him. I tap the bed for him to move up. When he is next to me on the bed, I turn around and pull him with me. I don't want to accidently touch his chest, so it is best if I just let him hold me instead.
"Thank you, baby," is the last I hear before I fall asleep, hoping for a peaceful sleep for Christian.
Christian POV:
I wake up with my arms still wrapped around Ana. Relieved that she is once again safely in my arms, I close my eyes and bury my nose in her hair. Her smell is quickly becoming an addiction of mine. If anything happened to her today, I'm positive that I would not have recovered. I have never felt about anyone the way I feel about her and therefore keeping her safe is crucial.
The only thing left to do now is to explain to her about Luke Sawyer. I don't for one minute anticipate the conversation to go down without a fight, but I'm hoping that she will take pity on my sanity and agree to close protection, even if she only does it for me. Never again do I want to go through the frustration and stress that I went through today.
"Did you have a nice nap?" I hear Ana ask and instinctively I tighten my hold around her.
"I did. Thank you." With Kate going away, Ana might consider staying with me at Escala or I will gladly stay at their apartment. Either way, until she wants me out of her life, I plan to get as many peaceful nights as possible. Peaceful sleep, after awesome sex with the amazing woman next to me… what more can a man ask for?
"We should probably get up and get something to eat. Kate doesn't cook, but I'm sure that she ordered food as Maya is going out with Jackson again." She must have realized that I would be confused as she jumps onto her knees facing me. "I forgot to tell you. Maya and Jackson told us on Monday night that they are going to give their relationship a chance and see where it leads. It's always risky dating friends, but we assured them that even if they broke up, it wouldn't change our friendship with either of them. See, Jackson's dad is a bit judgemental about the middle class people so Maya is a bit apprehensive about getting too serious with Jackson and having to spend time with his family again."
"Judgemental of the middle class people? Maybe Jackson's dad is just not a very social guy." I joke, but she seems to be very serious.
"Apart from Kate, Mr. Daily feels that Jackson should be making friends with people from more influential families. That's one of the reasons why Jackson doesn't want to work for his father and because he sees him as fake and judgemental." She jumps of the bed and holds out her hand to me, "Listen to me gossiping. Come on, let's get something to eat."
When we get to the living room, Kate and Elliot is already waiting for us. I cannot believe that I took a nap in the middle of the day and it's already after eight. A nap with Ana in my arms when I could be doing something a lot more interesting and I don't regret it one bit. What is this woman doing to my life?
"So glad you two could join us. The food is getting cold. Enjoy your little nap?" Elliot asks, pouring himself another glass of wine.
"Yes, thank you. Since when do you drink wine voluntarily?" One thing about Elliot is that he likes beer and only drinks wine when forced due to social obligation or my mother who refuses to allow beer at the dinner table.
"Kate offered, how could I say no?" To this Kate almost chokes on her wine.
"Why didn't you tell me you don't like wine?"
"You asked if I wanted a glass of wine, Katie, not if I liked wine. Besides, I was waiting for Sleeping Beauty to wake up to go with me to the liquor store to get some beer with another bottle of wine." He points to me and I reach for my jacket. No use in arguing and the wine they are drinking is sweet red wine. There is absolutely no way that I will drink that.
I go back to Ana's bedroom to put on my shoes and take the opportunity to steal a kiss. Problem is that the second my tongue entered her mouth, I forgot that I was supposed to be going with Elliot. I close the door softly and push her against it, just in case one of them decides to come and see what is keeping us.
"Christian," she moans softly, but makes no attempt to stop me when my hand slips under her shirt until I reach her breast. "Elliot is waiting for you."
"He can wait." I say, pushing her shirt over her head and releasing her bra with one hand. Nothing can be important enough for me to leave this room right now. "I need to be with you. I need to be inside you." I say as I start to unbutton my pants.
"Okay," and that's all I needed.
I quickly push down her pants until she could step out of it and lift her at the same time that I push into her. When I'm as deep as I can possibly go, I stop to just feel her around me. This is a feeling that I cannot describe, but it's one that I will crave for as long as I live.
"Christian… please…" she pleads and I smile. The fact that she wants me as badly as I want her is enough to brighten up my darkest day and this was certainly one of them.
"I know, baby. I know. Hold onto me," I say to her, pushing her against the door and fucking her as if my life depended on it. When I feel her tightening around me with her hands in my hair, I almost want to cry knowing that this will be over soon. But then again, she is so beautiful when she climaxes.
"Give it to me, Ana. Come for me," and then she comes, gripping onto my hair and moaning into my shoulder. Every orgasm with Ana is better than the last.
Not having the strength to move to far, I slide down slowly, taking her with me until I'm sitting on the floor with her on my lap. When our breathing has returned to normal, I push her back to look into her eyes.
"Are you okay?" I ask with one hand on her cheek.
"I'm perfect. Never better."
"Well that's good. I think Elliot is starting to think we fell asleep and you should eat something." As I help her up, I remember again what I went through today when I couldn't get hold of her and grab onto her… holding her close to my chest and paying no attention to the numbing pain shooting through me. "Ana, you can't do to me again what you did today. I don't think you have any idea how worried I was. I understand that it was not intentional, but I don't ever want to have another day like today." I say into her hair and then breathe in the scent.
"It won't happen again." Oh baby, you are so right about that, but that is a discussion for tomorrow.
"I know. Let's go."
Ana POV:
"Who are you and what did you do to my Annie?" I hear behind me and turn to face my dad, grateful that Christian chose this moment to make a couple of urgent phone calls.
"Dad, thank you for coming." I give him a hug and afterwards he holds me at arm's length, looking me up and down.
"You look so grown up."
"Don't forget sexy." I hear Kate say behind me before I'm lifted off the ground with arms around my waist.
"Ray, I think it's time I take this girl off your hands. You know I will look after her," Ethan tells Ray who simply laughs. Ethan has been telling Ray that he is going to marry me since we met, but the spark was never there.
"Ethan, I told you before, I know people who will make it look like an accident." Ray jokes. The first time he said that to Ethan, he refused to talk to me for month until he found out Ray was joking. "Katie, look at you. I will have to get bodyguards for the two of you when you get to Seattle." Oh hell no, but before I get the opportunity to respond, I look up and into Christian's eyes that goes down and stops at the arms around my waist.
"Christian, this is my dad, Ray Steele and this," I slip out of Ethan's grasp and go to stand next to Christian, "is Kate's brother, Ethan Kavanagh."
"Christian, nice to meet you. Kate told me a little about you." Ethan says with his hand extended.
After a couple of intense seconds, Christian finally takes his hand, "Mr. Kavanagh, nice to meet you." Then he turns to Ray and my heart stops, "Mr. Steele, good to see you again." It of course takes me a couple of seconds to remember that he must have met Ray when Ray arranged for Taylor to escort me to the club last week.
"Ray, you know Ana's boyfriend?" And again… leave it to Kate to make things worse. Next to shopping, I'm beginning to think it's her new favourite hobby.
"Boyfriend?" Ray asks and turns very slowly to face me still standing next to Christian.
"Oh, you didn't tell Ray yet?" she asks me, voice laced with fake innocence to those who know her well. When I give her my death glare, which isn't really much of a death glare at all, she simply winks at me and takes a sip of the horrible wine they are serving at the graduation.
"No, I guess that must have slipped her mind when we spoke during the week." But, surprising all of us, he smiles with his hand extended to Christian, "Mr. Grey, this is a pleasant surprise. I honestly did not expect to see you here. I'm guessing Jason is somewhere close by."
"Naturally… safety first."
"Try telling Annie that," and just like that, these two found common ground.
"Dad, this is Elliot Grey, Christian's brother." I go for distraction and pat myself on the back for being successful for once.
"Aah, that would explain the two CPO's," he says, pointing left of us where Taylor is standing next to another man in a matching black suite with white shirt and black tie. "Nice to meet you, Elliot." I look at Kate who seems just as confused as I am. That is… until Elliot confirms what I was thinking.
"Oh, he's not with me. I prefer not to have witnesses to every move I make." Elliot says with a wicked smile to Ray while looking at Kate.
When Christian freezes next to me, everything falls into place within seconds.
"Being with Christian means no privacy, constant paparazzi presence and close personal security." Elena said to me during lunch. I just thought it will be at least a couple of months before that happened.
"It won't happen again."
"I know. Let's go."
"We can discuss this in private later," Christian whispers into my ear with a hand on my elbow.
I can hear the conversations around me, but I don't participate. On the other side of the restaurant I can see Jason and the man who I now know as Luke Sawyer. Christian is quietly observing me. I would like nothing more than to scream at him right now. In fact, I would like to do a lot more. Then storm out. Then switch off my phone just to teach him a damn lesson.
"Ana? Are you listening to me?" I hear after being kicked under the table by who could only be Kate.
"Sorry, dad. You were saying?"
"Have you decided when you are leaving to see your mom? She called about ten times this morning reminding me to take a lot of pictures for her. She will love seeing you in the plum dress you are wearing today." He says, scrolling through the photos on his phone.
"Uhm… yes, it's Kate's," is all I can think of saying.
"And? Have you decided?" I stare at Ray. I should really be paying more attention.
"Decided on what?"
"Ana, are you okay honey? You seem a bit off? Everything okay?" I should stand up and scream that I'm not okay. I should tell him that apparently I'm getting a bodyguard in order for Christian to track my every move. I should tell him that although everyone knows that I hate it when decisions are made regarding my life without consulting me, Christian apparently do not care what I think. And I should tell him that this man sitting next to me seems to be under the impression that he can make decisions regarding my life after knowing me for less than two weeks.
But I don't and instead put a smile on my face and reach for Christian's hand on the table in front of him, "I'm fine, just have a lot on my mind. You were asking?"
From the corner of my eye I can see Christian relax for the first time since we left the graduation. We should have taken the drive here alone in order to have the conversation and get it over with, but he decided that Jason and Luke have to drive with us. Seems that he even gets to decide when we have private discussions. But if I'm honest with myself, I don't like seeing him this tense.
"When are you going to visit your mom?" Oh, that.
"I was thinking to leave on Tuesday, but have not decided yet. I will let you know as soon as I decide."
The conversation shifts to Ethan and his plans to travel the world and not long afterwards, we get ready to leave. Ethan and Elliot will go with Kate to our apartment and Ray will be going back to Seattle. That leaves me alone with Christian. It's a pity that Jose had to go with Maya with Jackson and his dad in order to give emotional support to Maya.
The drive to the Heathman was intense. I didn't even know that twenty minutes could feel that long. Not one word was spoken with Jason and Luke within hearing distance. I actually hate that I feel this way right now after waking up next to him, happier than I've ever been.
When we get into the elevator, I hold my breath and pray a silent prayer that his room is on the first floor… knowing full well that he would probably be in the penthouse again. For all I know he owns the damn thing.
Halfway up, he comes to stand in front of me. Even with my eyes closed I can feel his presence… I can smell his aftershave… and worst of all, I can imagine him touching me. I want so badly to stay mad at him, but want him to make love to me at the same time. Can you have sex with someone you are mad at?
"I'm not going to apologize," I hear him say and open my eyes to look up. He is standing closer than I thought he was. Close enough for me to slap him actually.
A/N: Another update before the weekend. Please remember to take a minute and let me know your thoughts :-)