Author's note: It has been brought to my attention that some people are not receiving update emails from FF since last week, you might want to check whether you have read chapter 74 before starting to read this chapter, it will make much more sense.
Also, I'll take this opportunity to say, I can't tell you when I will update as Christmas and holidays take up the next couple of weeks.
I will update as soon as I can and in the meantime, I hope you all have a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Christian's POV – Friday 25th June
It's Hyde, it has to be Hyde, why is he so bent on destroying me? I walk back into the suite deep in thought, looking at the surveillance photos from last weekend on my phone, Taylor is next door so we have the suite to ourselves. As I turn around from shutting the door I bump into Ana and as she squeals and starts to fall, I manage to catch her without too much of a jolt, "I'm so sorry babe, I wasn't looking."
"I see that," She says gently, wrapping her arms around my waist and continues quietly, "I was scared and was coming to look for you," and I pull her closer, I don't ever want her scared, we were having such a good week and it has been shot to pieces in the last couple of hours. As I go to press the button to turn off the screen on my phone, Ana says, "Wait, who's that?"
"Well, we're wondering the same thing, apparently she picked up the letter giving her access to the Aspen house and she's the person that turned up here with a man last week." I reply.
"Can I see please?," Ana says and she looks at the first photo and then flicks to the next one and gasps, "That's Elizabeth Morgan and Jack Hyde."
"Fuck me sideways!" slips out before I can catch it.
For the first time in hours, Ana giggles and responds as if it was the most natural statement to make, "What say we try normally first? We can do it sideways later." I just stare at her shocked, my mouth may have even popped open. When did she become so comfortable talking about such things?
She shrugs and blushes profusely but then her face then hardens as she points at the screen, "I'm sure of it, Elizabeth is head of HR at SIP and that is definitely Jack, look at his jaw, you can see his hair is pulled back, he stands with that slight slump with his hands in his pockets, he's removed his earring but it is definitely him."
"Well you appear to have observed Hyde closely." I say sounding just a tad miffed.
"Christian, I am paid on my ability to notice details, I notice details… like right now you are being an arse." And she harrumphs at me and to be honest, I don't blame her, here she is solving our problems for us and I am being juvenile, again, twice within a few minutes.
Running my hands through my hair, I groan and apologise, 'I'm sorry babe, I really am, I am so completely on edge that I am not thinking straight and yes, I'm being an arse, let's go tell Taylor and Welch, maybe you can take the investigation over from them." I finish, annoyed that it has taken Ana to pick the two individuals instead of my supposedly crack security team.
This time Taylor hears me walk in and when I say "It's Hyde and Elizabeth Morgan from SIP," he hisses and nods, "We had picked Hyde and matched him to staff videos but hadn't picked Morgan, Welch, can you run it through?"
It takes less than a minute to hear a "Bingo" and a relieved sounding Welch, "We were looking outside of SIP, I didn't think that his accomplice would be inside, it makes sense then that HR did nothing on Monday given that she was here the day before rigging the house."
Taylor flicks up the photos from the surveillance cameras on the computer screen so that we can see them in detail and it's Ana that says quietly, "She doesn't look happy in any of these photos, like she doesn't want to be there." She shakes her head with a disappointed look on her face, "You know, she was really lovely to me all week but on Friday at the bar, she almost threw a beer at me when she gave it to me and she seemed…. she seemed, really snitchy, I just assumed she'd had a bad day."
As the photos are flicked through, Ana tries to hide a yawn and I say, "Is there anything else you want to ask Ana because it's so damn late?" and Taylor shakes his head and Welch says goodnight and I pick Ana up to leave the room.
Taylor opens the door for me and apologises sincerely to Ana, "I'm sorry Miss Steele for letting you down, we'll be working all night and hopefully we'll have something for you, please know you are completely safe here."
I swear he is pleading for her forgiveness too and she turns a sweet albeit sad smile onto him and pats his arm and says, "Thank you Taylor, goodnight, get some sleep too, their evil will still be there in the morning."
With the door locked behind Taylor, I carry her to the bedroom, "Baby, I know it's late but would you like dessert now?" Ana starts to shake her head and then notices where the dessert is placed and her eyes dart up to mine before resting on the desserts again.
"Well, it's not chocolate cake but …." And she giggles, I think knowing who has perpetrated the crime against us has lightened her mood a little as we know who we are dealing with, the why can wait and we know that Jack is in custody so can't do anything himself, I wonder who else is working with him and I really hope that a tracking device wasn't put on the vehicles so that they know where we are, I just have to trust Taylor to protect us and enjoy Ana. Well, allow Ana the respite she is obviously feeling at the moment.
"Oh baby, I think it might be better than chocolate cake," I respond huskily, the thought of what I could do with the dessert in its delivered state making me jump to attention, although now the banana icecream is just a pool around the tart, I can still see the possibilities.
"Would you like some tea?" I ask and am so surprised by her response and what she does that I nearly drop her as I start to gently place her on the bed.
"I don't want anything but you."
"Oh Ana, you've got me, heart and soul, baby," I whisper as she urgently pulls my head and lips down to hers, crushing them to hers.
Her neediness for me is obvious, her fingers weave through my hair and as I lay her on the bed, keeping my lips on hers, her hands are lifting my t-shirt and working their way across my chest, her finger nails scratching as she runs them lightly back down to my waist. Before my brain has caught up, her hands are past the waistband and my body which is operating at a totally different level to my brain is well and truly at attention, wrapt as her hand moves at first gently and then more urgently as she squirms next to me.
"Baby, slow down." I say gently, I want her to enjoy this, enjoy it all and not rush, I'm also concerned that she is doing this to compensate for what happened earlier and I can't believe I am actually slowing it all down, I need to know what her urgency is, I need to make love to her slowly, she deserves it. More than anyone I know, she deserves to be loved to within an inch of her life, I don't want to rush not now, not after waiting. I don't want her memory of the first time tainted with what has happened tonight. Not to mention, she's still not out of the danger zone with her injury and I can't ruin things for the future by not taking absolute care now.
"Baby, let me love you, there is no rush, no rush at all," but all I can see is the desperation in her eyes.
"What if I lose you? What if he does something to you? He got so close and who knows who else was watching the video feed if he is in custody. What if he had poisoned something that you ate? He could have set up a bomb and killed you. How do we know he hasn't done something to the cars? What happens if he kills you, what am I going to do?" And she is in tears again, pulling me against her body, almost like she is trying to crawl inside me so that we aren't separated.
I twist so I am lying on my back and I cradle her, keeping her close but where I can see her eyes, "Baby, calm down, I have being thinking the same things about you, we have Taylor and an extra team flying in tomorrow and I don't care about me, all I care about is keeping you safe, he got way to close to you. I need you to not worry and I am not going to make love to you while this is going through your head, I don't want your first time to be tainted by his evilness. Baby, you are going to relax and I will help you and we are going to sleep." I can't do it, there is no way I want Jack Hyde in her head while I make love to her, a fear of my loss combined with what she'll be losing is too much, I am not going to let that happen.
The stress of the day, the lateness and my ministrations have her asleep quicker than I expected but just as I can't fall asleep myself, I won't leave her for fear of the nightmares I'm sure are going to surface so I lay holding her, comforting her just by being there and texting Taylor for updates and to share our concerns about the vehicles, I can see now that her thought processes are not that dissimilar to mine when it comes to our situation.
I look at the desserts and shake my head ruefully, with the way we're going, by the time Ana eats cake off my abs I'll probably have a paunch!
.
Ana's POV – Saturday 26th June
When I woke this morning, I wasn't lying on the bed, I was lying in Christian's arms, like he hadn't let me go all night, our bodies entwined, his arms holding me, my head in the crook of his neck and I can feel his calm even breath on my forehead and I don't want to move in case I wake him.
"Good morning Gorgeous," and I realise he is wide awake and so I shuffle so that I can see his twinkling eyes.
"Good morning, I like waking up in your arms like that," I say shyly and you'd swear he'd won the lottery from the look on his face.
"Oh baby, I'd happily hold you in my arms all day and all night if it meant you were happy," he whispers, he nuzzles in and takes my mouth, morning breath and all. It is bliss, I feel safe and I feel loved.
It's him that breaks away again finally, "I want you to see something" and he effortlessly picks me up, he hasn't done much work with Claude lately but all the carrying of me around must be helping his arm muscles. This makes me think of his arms and I run my hands down them, squeezing his muscles as he smiles down at me. "Do you like what you see so far?" he asks cheekily.
"Mmmhmm" I manage and then as we reach the windows I am reduced to an "oooooh" as I sag against him.
"It's still not as beautiful as you but I needed you to see it."
"Oh Christian, that is the most beautiful sunrise I've ever seen." I manage to stammer out as I watch the sun rise over Aspen Mountain, from the grin on his face, you'd swear he'd arranged it just for me, it certainly feels that way. I lean against him, his arms cocooning me as we absorb the beauty and just enjoy being, I don't want to think about the fact that I have taken him away from work again and then I rationalise that it is the weekend and he should be relaxing anyway, and will my brain to just enjoy the beauty and the moment to think of it as a bookend to a beautiful week with just one awful day in it.
As the last of the beauty disappears, revealing the mountain in all its summer glory, he turns into business, stiffening under me, "Well, girly, time for breakfast and then I have plans" and he quirks his eyebrow at me with a smile, "and I am almost going to tell you what they are," he finishes before I can say anything.
He smiles at my fake pout and continues, "Due to the fact that we don't know if the house vehicles have been compromised," which means he was thinking the same things as me, "I have decided to hire a 4 wheel drive jeep and I am taking you up to the top of the Rockies, by the time we get to 12,000 feet, you'll have seen some beautiful scenery and know what we can come back and do when you are well again." He snaps his mouth shut though and I know he has some things planned by the amused glint in his eye and I am more than happy to go along, the nice surprises from Christian are more than worth waiting for so I put my hand in his and pull myself up.
"Well Cowboy, what are we waiting for?" I say laughing and he smacks me lightly on the bottom as I sashay past him, putting his arm around my shoulder he actually lets me walk in instead of carrying me but supports me so that I barely put pressure on my leg. I can feel that it is finally improving and I hope that the cast will be off soon, I can't wait to come back to Aspen able to actually do something.
Hours later, I am deliriously happy as I lie in his arms, this time watching the sunset from the veranda of a secluded mountain cabin. It was a perfect day, Christian coaxed the jeep as gently as possible through rugged remote peaks giving me a feel for the scale of the mountains and stopped to show me the most beautiful waterfalls, hidden valleys and his favourite fishing spots promising to bring Ray as soon as I am fit.
The chef had packed a beautiful picnic basket for lunch and we ate it in a secluded valley, Sawyer, who flew in this morning, had been stationed in his jeep at the top of the road to warn us of anyone else coming down into it. First we had a swim in the pool at the base of the waterfall, the water cascading over our naked bodies was such a renewing force and I was able to appreciate Christian's body in the sunshine, relaxed and toned and totally mine. Just divine!
I was well past the point of being able to control my thoughts let alone my hands when he captured them and pulled me to the side of the pool. His hearty but rueful laughter at my pout was accepted when he said, "Sawyer says there are two busloads of tourists headed our way, they'll be here in five minutes, so we need to get dressed." Then unpacking the lunch fit for a king, we relaxed and ate, sharing the lunch with Sawyer who had followed the buses down and was doing his best to intimidate the tourists wanting to take a photo of Christian. I explained to him that it was because he looked like a god to them with his striking good looks and gorgeous body, "It's just a face, baby," he said once again as he says every time I mention his good looks.
"No honey, your goodness shines," I am determined that he will realise how good he is but he wrapped up our lunch as he became uncomfortable with my insistence and we were back on the road, out of the grotto and on with our sightseeing day trip.
We stopped at a farm to do some quad bike riding but he wouldn't let me actually drive one, insisting that I sit in front of him and then he just toddled around the farm to my annoyance and I promised him that once I was healthy again, we would come back and we would properly ride the bikes and the look of fear on his face had me smiling. I am sure he'll never let me do it and so I store it the back of mind as something I must do, just to show him that I can.
After that, it was a slow walk around Redstone's art galleries looking for artwork to make his apartment ours, and my heart both clenched and swelled at his statement that he understood it looked like a gallery at the moment, great to look at but no soul but now that the apartment had a heart, it needed to reflect that. I clung to his hand a little tighter and we walked silently around until we both stopped in front of one particular piece and with a nod, it was wrapped and we continued, chatting over our afternoon tea.
Sitting now between Christian's legs, watching the sunset as he toasts S'mores over the campfire, to have with our hot chocolates, he has one more surprise for me. Sawyer disappears and returns with our guitars and it couldn't be a more perfect setting and I grin at him and with a slow lingering kiss, I move out of his grasp to have room to play.
Christian puts his finger up and says, "Me first" and he plays "She Don't Know She's Beautiful" from Sammy Kershaw and I can't help but blush and he shuffles over and pulls me into him, his eyes smiling in the firelight and his lips insistent on mine until my stomach grumbles and I groan.
"Now you're going to make me eat aren't you?" and he nods smiling so I say, "Hang on, it's my turn to play" and I break into a song that has him laughing and singing the words while I simply play the music, a grin on his face, "Hey Good Lookin'" the old Hank Williams song.
His laughter is magnified when Sawyer appears out of the shadows with dinner just as the refrain is "Hey, Good Lookin', whatcha got cookin'?" and Sawyer shakes his head smiling and sets up the grill over the coals to cook dinner.
Completely satisfied after dinner and again curled up in Christian's arms, we lie on the blanket looking up at the stars, not saying anything, just enjoying, it is the perfect ending to a perfect day and then, "Make a wish babe" he whispers as a shooting star flies across the sky. I know what I am wishing for however the twitch I feel in the middle of my back indicates that Christian's wish might be a little more basic and I smile in the dark.