Ana's POV
Christian and I are in bed. We had just made love and right now we are in our bubble, holding each other and kissing, appreciating each other. I love this gentle side of my husband. But I also love his dominant side. I get the best of both worlds with him. After some time, we slowly pull away from each other, and I start to put my nightgown on.
"Don't even think about it" he says and takes the nightgown out of my hands. "We're sleeping naked tonight, Baby." He kisses my lips before tossing my nightgown out of my reach.
"Christian….." I try to protest, but he cuts me off.
"We agreed" he leans over and plants soft kisses on my neck. "Remember?" He continues to plant kisses down my neck and across my collarbone. "I want you to know just how much I appreciate and love your body." He slowly moves some covers away to make a point and looks down at my body. "Your body is mine to look at whenever and wherever I want." He continues to kiss me and I can't help but giggle."
"Pervert"
"When it comes to you, all bets are off."
"Christian, what if one of the kids needs us?"
"It takes me two seconds to throw on pants." He plants a kiss on my lips and then pulls away. "Now, no more arguments about this, or I'll have to get out the crop." I give him a knowing look, and he raises his eyebrows. "You want me to get out the crop?" I can feel my face blush as I bite down on my lip. "Mrs Grey, you know I'll be all too willing to oblige." I giggle as he climbs out of the bed, and I check him out as he walks around our bedroom.
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Teddy's POV
Becky and I arrived home in Cambridge a few hours ago. We only spent a week at Bellevue. I told her we could stay longer, but she insisted she was ready to come back to our apartment. I held her hand during the entire flight and during the car ride. Reynolds has been with us the entire time, so I told him to take a few days off after he dropped us at the apartment. We have so many security guards with us now, so I know it will be fine.
Sarah hasn't been home yet, but she knows that we are here. She left a note to let us know that there is some lasagna in the refrigerator and that we could heat it up for dinner. I thought we could wait for Sarah to come home, but it's starting to get late and Becky and I haven't eaten anything since lunch. I send Sarah a text to see when she will be coming home, but she doesn't answer right away. I send Michaels a text too because he's been her security while I was away. He does answer and lets me know that Sarah is still working.
"Is everything okay?" Becky asks me. I realize that I've been staring at my phone.
"Yes, everything's fine. Michaels said that Sarah is working."
"If you want to go and check on her after dinner, I'll be fine on my own. I can just take a bath."
"No, Michaels has it covered. I'll just heat up our dinner. How about you find a movie that we can watch?"
Becky and I always enjoyed a nice quiet movie night in our apartment. We would make popcorn or ice cream sundaes and just cuddle on the sofa together. Becky is still recovering from what had happened to her, so I'm hoping that doing the things that we used to do will help her.
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Ana's POV
After Christian retrieved the crop, he had me lie on my stomach with several pillows beneath me. He positioned me so that my ass was sticking up in the air and my hands were near my head with my palms planted into the mattress. He didn't restrain me, but I had to keep my hands there to support my weight. He struck me ten times with the crop, and it was painful. When I called him out on his threat to get the crop I thought it was going to be for play, but after the first two strikes I knew it was punishment. He is serious about wanting me to stop degrading myself about how my stomach looks. After he dropped the crop he gently rubbed his hand over my ass while I was calming down, and then he smacked me a few times with his hand. Before I could react to that he flipped me over and he was instantly inside of me. It didn't take long for us to climax.
Right now we are lying together and coming down from our high. He is still inside of me, and we are both breathing heavily. I don't necessarily like that my husband had just punished me, but at the same time I am grateful for it because I know it is because he wants me to stop obsessing about the way my stomach looks. As I contemplate these feelings I run my fingers through his hair and plant kisses on his forehead. He leans up and kisses me as he slowly pulls out of me, and then he turns over and lies on his back.
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Teddy's POV
Becky and I are sitting on the sofa watching a movie. I have my arm around her and she is resting her head on my chest. Instead of eating popcorn or ice cream we'd decided to eat our dinner. We usually eat our dinner at the table, so this is a first for us.
About half way through the movie, Michaels enters the apartment and steps aside for Sarah to walk in. They both have a few bags in their hands, so I get up to help them. I think Becky pauses the movie because I don't hear it anymore.
"You went shopping?" I ask her.
"Yes, I figured that you probably wouldn't want to go out, so I picked up a few things. Did you eat?"
I know that Becky is watching our interaction, so I immediately carry some bags to the kitchen so that I can join my girl again. "Yes, we had the lasagna. We were going to wait for you, but Michaels said you were still working. Um, Becky this is Sarah, Sarah, this is Becky."
"It's nice to meet you" Sarah says kindly. "I'm really glad you're safe."
"Thank you" Becky says. God, this is awkward. What to do, what to do?
"Becky and I are watching a movie" I tell Sarah.
"I had a long day so I'm just going to go to bed."
"Join us" Becky says. I give her a confused look and she shrugs. "I mean, we should probably get to know each other since we're both living here, right?"
"Um" Sarah says and looks at me.
"She's right. You should join us." I tell her. "After you eat some of your lasagna."
"It was delicious" Becky says. I smile at my girl and she smiles back.
"Thank you" Sarah says. "I'm still learning how to cook, that means a lot."
I join my girl on the sofa again and put my arm around her, while Sarah heats up her dinner.
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Christian's POV
Recently, Ana told me that she was considering plastic surgery to fix her stomach. She's had scars from the C-sections, but this pregnancy with the twins has left extra skin and she hates it. I don't think surgery is necessary. I love Ana the way she is, and I'm afraid of her having any kind of surgery since the last surgery she had left her in a coma. I'm willing to do anything to help her get past these insecurities about her stomach, even if it means punishment.
Right now we are lying in bed next to each other. We had just had sex and I'm exhausted. Hopefully she is too exhausted to try and put on her nightgown again. I insisted that we sleep naked because I think that will help her get over her insecurities. We've done that a few times, but there were times where she either went to bed before or after me so I couldn't enforce it.
She leans up on her elbow and runs her hand through my hair. It feels so good. I close my eyes and enjoy my wife's fingers in my hair, and then I remember. I had just punished her and didn't put any soothing lotion on her. I open my eyes, take her hand away from my hair and plant kisses before I climb out of bed.
"Where are you going?" she asks worriedly.
"I'm just going to get the cream."
"Christian, I'm fine, come back to bed."
"Ana, just relax I'm getting the cream." I really don't like when she argues with me, or down plays how she is really feeling. I hit her pretty hard so I know she must have some discomfort. I find the cream in our bathroom and lazily walk back to our bed. I have her lie down and I gently rub the cream on her bottom. "How does that feel?"
"Mmm it feels cold, but your hands are warm."
After I apply the cream I lean down and plant a kiss on her bottom, and then I move so that my lips are next to her ear. "You are sleeping naked with me. I'll keep you warm." I plant a kiss next to her ear and lie down on my side of the bed.
She leans up again and looks down at me. "How do you feel?"
I look at her and give her a groggy smile. "Pretty good, Mrs Grey. Relaxed."
"Good, because there's something we need to talk about."
She is now sitting up on her sore bottom and she pulls out some papers. "Now?"
"Yes, now. This came in the mail."
"What is it?" I sit up next to her and look at the paper that she is reading.
"It seems your sister had signed a contract to participate in the show Wife Exchange."
"Wife Exchange, isn't that the crazy reality show where the wives switch lives for a week and try to mold the other families into something they're not?"
"That is exactly what it is."
"Christ, only Mia. Well obviously she can't do it."
"And there lies the problem. The network is suing her for breach of contract."
"What?" I'm furious. I grab the papers from Ana so that I can read them myself. "What the hell is wrong with them? My sister is in a fucking coma. What do they expect her to do?"
"I don't know" she answers me. "It's all business. They don't see it as a human being in a coma. They see it as a participant in a major network show backing out, so they have to make an effort to replace her."
"We're going to fight this."
"Unless….."
I look at Ana and I already know I'm not going to like where this is going. "Unless what, Ana?"
"Unless we take her place. We do the show for her."
"What. No, Ana. No fucking way are we doing this."
"Christian, come on. You haven't even thought about it."
"What's there to think about? I don't want to do this?"
"What don't you want to do?"
"I don't want cameras following us around. I don't want them in my house. I don't want the world to know our business. And I especially do not want my wife to be away from me for an entire week with some other man."
"It wouldn't be like that, Christian."
I am fuming, but I need to keep my temper in check. I don't like yelling at Ana, but she is talking some crazy shit right now. I close my eyes and count to ten before I speak again. "Ana, the show is called Wife Exchange. I don't want you spending time with another man, and I don't want to spend time with another woman."
"We wouldn't be sleeping together. It wouldn't be like that. We would just be observing the other family's life and introducing some of the things that we do as a family. And we'd be able to talk on the phone and skype, we wouldn't be banned from contacting each other."
I am so frustrated right now. I don't want this. Why can't she just let it go? I look down and shake my head. "Ana, why do you want to do this?"
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Ana's POV
I look at my husband. I purposely waited until he was sated from sex before talking to him about this, and I'm sure he knows it now. He shakes his head and looks away from me, but then he looks at me and our eyes lock. He looks so sad. I don't like when he looks like this. I want it to stop. I reach over for his chin and plant a soft kiss on his lips.
"Christian, I am not looking for another man. It isn't about that. I just think it would be a fun challenge to switch lives with another woman for a week and see how another family lives. I love our family, and I would never want anyone else. It is always going to be you. I promise. I also think that it would be good for us to do this for Mia. This is something she wanted to do and she can't. When she wakes up from her coma, she'll see that we did this and she'll get a kick out of it." I can't help but giggle, and Christian lightly smiles. I am confident that Mia will wake up from her coma. No ifs about it. He closes his eyes and leans his forehead against mine.
"Let me think about it for a few days" he says softly.
"Ok"
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Teddy's POV
I wake up and Becky's not next to me. I immediately panic, but then I hear voices and giggling in the kitchen. It has to be Becky and Sarah. I climb out of bed, and head to the bathroom to do my business. After I brush my teeth and wash my face I join the ladies in the kitchen. They are making breakfast together. I can't help but smile. Becky turns to me and she smiles a smile that I haven't seen in quite some time.
"Good morning, Baby" she says to me and kisses me.
"Good morning. What are we having?"
"Sarah and I are making French toast, bacon and some hash browns. Do you want to set the table?"
"Of course. I'll get the coffee going."
"It's already made" Sarah says. "The coffee maker is still on so it should still be hot."
"Thank you. How long have you two been up?"
"About an hour" Sarah answers.
"I came in and found Sarah watching television. We sat and talked for a bit and then decided to make breakfast for you."
"I'm a lucky man" I say and smile at my girl. I didn't expect this to work out so easily, but maybe it will.
Sarah finishes breakfast first and goes to take a shower. Becky and I are still eating and I decide to make some more coffee. "You look like you're in good spirits today" I say to her.
"I am. I'm happy to be back here, even though it means the next step is going back to classes. I'll need to meet with my advisor to see how I can make up the work I've missed."
"You know, you don't need to rush into that. We can stay here and take some classes over the summer."
"I'm sure your parents will want you to come home over the summer."
"Summer classes only run for a couple of weeks. I'm sure it will be fine."
Becky looks in the direction of the bathroom and waits until we hear the water running. "I like her."
"Yeah?"
She sips her coffee and nods. "Yeah. I'll admit I didn't want to. I'm kind of jealous that she got to spend all of this time with you while I was….. well you know. But after spending some time with her this morning, she has this sweetness about her, it's kind of hard not to like her."
"What did you two talk about?"
"We mostly talked about you."
"Good things I hope." She giggles and eats some more of her French toast. "It's good to see you eat. You're getting your appetite back."
"It's good to see you relax."
"I am relaxed" I say as I sip more coffee.
"You've been uptight."
I put my coffee down as I think about that. "Have I?"
"Yes, you have. It's okay."
"I was worried that things would be weird with you and Sarah. Plus, I offered to let her stay and you didn't have any input. Are you sure you are okay with this?" I see some hesitation in her face. "Okay, talk to me, tell me what you're thinking about." I take her hand in mine and squeeze it, willing her to tell me the truth even if I don't want to hear it."
"It's just… you know how I said that she was sweet?"
"Yeah"
"Well, she kind of reminds me of your Mom. And they say that men marry women that resemble their Moms, and women marry men that resemble their Dads. Teddy, I'm nothing like your Mom."
"You do resemble my mother in some ways" I tell her.
"I do?"
"Yes, you do. You both have this determination, and you're both stubborn. And I know you won't admit this but you do have your moments of being sweet." I kiss the back of her hand and she smiles.
"I do not."
"You do. And I'm glad that you told me this. I'm glad that you are being honest with me, and I hope you believe me when I tell you that you have nothing to worry about." I reach over so that I am also holding her other hand too. "You and I have had to face a lot of challenges together, and we'll probably face many more. I think the universe is going to continue to test us, and I'll be up for the challenge every time. Because I love you and there is nobody else I'd want to spend my life with."
She blushes and looks away from me. It's rare for Becky to blush. I can't help but smile at the thought.
"Are you saying that…. you see us getting married some day?"
"Yes I do, but not….. not today. I think we should get through college first." I start to stutter. I didn't see this conversation shifting to marriage. Yes, I do want to marry this girl. But I don't think we should get engaged this soon. I don't think we are ready for that. She releases her hands from mine and stands up.
"I should clear these dishes" she says. I know she's upset and she's trying to hide it. I don't want her to do that. I stand and position myself in front of her.
"I should explain."
"No, you don't have to." She tries to walk around me but I block her. "Teddy, it was an inappropriate question. I shouldn't have asked."
"Please, I want to talk about this." I take the dishes from her hands and place them back on the table. "While you were missing, I said this to Sarah and I meant it. I do want to marry you." I can't help but smile while I say this. I reach up and caress her hair and the side of her face for a moment. "I don't see that changing. I just think we should wait. We should focus on college and on your recovery. And focus on ourselves and each other. When I propose to you I want it to be because we are both ready, and I want it to be after we've both have grown and learned enough about ourselves to start that next chapter in our lives."
She looks into my eyes and I start to see hurt in hers. "You mean, you want to wait because I cheated on you. And I need to learn from that."
She walks away before I can say anything. I honestly did not mean it that way. Yes, I do want to wait to make sure that she still wants to be with me after college and after all that has happened, but I don't mean to punish her for cheating on me. I run my hands through my hair and look down at the messy table. I should clean up since Becky and Sarah did all of the cooking.
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Christian's POV
I grab her wrist and practically drag her over to the steps. She trips up the steps and nearly falls, so I pick her up and throw her over my shoulder. All the while she is crying and screaming at me, telling me she is sorry. But that's not going to fly. I use one hand to unlock the door to my playroom and I gently close it after I carry her in. I don't need Taylor or Mrs Jones coming to check on why doors are being slammed.
I put her down and stand at least two feet away from her. This is over, but not before I punish her.
"Take off your clothes."
She is crying and insisting that she is sorry.
"Please, Sir. I am sorry. Please forgive me."
"I will not ask you again. Take off your clothes."
I watch as she slowly removes her clothing, still crying and practically choking. I have no sympathy for her. She slept with another man while under contract with me. If she wanted to be with another man, all she had to do was tell me she was ending our contract. But she didn't do that, and for that she needs to be punished. She has removed everything but her panties. She looks over in my direction but she knows not to look at my face. "Panties too."
"Please"
"Do it now."
She clumsily removes her panties and looks down at the floor as she continues to cry. I walk over and grab her arm, leading her over to the bench. I instruct her to bend over and keep her arms forward. She hesitates but then does what she's told. I walk over to the wall and grab one of my canes. This one will do. I plan to cane her good and then send her on her way. As I get into position I notice that she is shaking with her sobs.
"Keep still" I demand. This won't work if she's moving around. "You are here because you broke one of the rules of the contract by engaging in sex with another man. I will give you fifteen, and you will count with me." I begin, and after the first strike I remind her that she needs to count.
I quickly sit up in bed. I am breathing heavily and I'm sweating. Ana is also sitting up and she is trying to comfort me.
"It was a nightmare, Christian. You're safe. I'm here, Baby." She rubs one of her hands on my back and the other up and down my arm. After a few minutes I am able to see that I am in bed with my wife, and that dream with that submissive was not real. Christ, why would I have that dream?
"Are you okay?"
"Yes, I'm fine." I'm still trying to catch my breath as I say this. "We should go back to sleep."
"No. I want you to tell me about your nightmare. You rarely have them anymore, Christian."
"Ana" I groan.
"Please." She continues to rub her hand on my back and it feels good. I don't want her to stop. It's more proof that I am here with my wife and not back in that playroom. Was I really like that with my submissives? Was I ever like that with Ana? The thought makes me sick.
"Whatever it was, it must have been intense" she tells me. "You were thrashing and calling out something, I couldn't make out what you were saying."
"It was bad, Ana."
She continues to rub my back and my arm. "Tell me anyway."
I let out a long sigh and decide that I need to tell her. "I was back in the playroom. And I was punishing a submissive for having sex with another man. I….. I don't remember which one. I don't remember seeing her face. I was…. harsh, Ana, I….. I was a real monster. Was I ever like that with you?"
"No. You're not a monster." She stops rubbing and wraps her arms around me from behind.
"What about when I hit you with the belt? I was a monster then."
"Please don't do this to yourself. We got past that a long time ago. Why are you torturing yourself with that now?"
I turn around so that I can face my wife. She reaches up and caresses my face. I close my eyes and enjoy it for a few seconds. I then take both of her hands in mine and plant kisses. "I think I had that nightmare because I punished you tonight, and I know you weren't expecting it. We didn't talk about it first and that was wrong. I'm sorry, Ana…."
"Shhh, no. I know we didn't talk about it first, but I'm not mad or upset about it. I know you did it because you love me."
I can't help but chuckle. Of course I love her, but I don't like what I did and now it is haunting me.
"You said that the submissive slept with another man. Do you think that this nightmare also happened because we were talking about the show?"
"I don't know, maybe. I know that you wouldn't cheat on me, Ana. I trust you. But that doesn't mean I can trust another man not to come on to you."
"Even if another man comes onto me, it wouldn't matter. I wouldn't be shy about setting him straight." She kisses me and then cuddles to me. "I love you. And I love how you take care of me. You're the whole package."
"I love you too, Baby."
"Do you want me to get you some water?"
"No, no I'm fine."
She puts her hand on me again and rubs up and down my arm. "You're still shaking."
"I just want to lie down with you, fall back to sleep."
"Ok"
I have Ana lie down first and then I pull her back to my front. "Sleep Baby" I say to her softly. I feel more calm now that I have my wife in my arms.
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Teddy's POV
I walk into our bedroom and find Becky sitting on our bed hugging a pillow. "Baby…."
"I'm fine."
"No, you're not fine." I sit on the bed next to her. "You keep bringing up what you did last fall. I've told you that I've forgiven you for that."
"I know you have" she says softly.
"That's not why I want to wait. I'm not putting off getting engaged to punish you. Please believe me."
She takes my hand and just holds it for a while. "I do believe you. And I agree with you."
"You do?"
She smiles at me, but it is a sad smile. "What I went through, what Carlos did to me, it's going to take me some time to heal from that. I'm not ready to be engaged to you, but I still want to be your girlfriend."
I can't help but beam at her, but she doesn't look equally happy. What's that about? "Of course you are still my girlfriend. I didn't know you were worried about that."
"I am worried, because you're not going to like what I say next."
"What is it?"
She hesitates, but then she answers me. "I think I should live somewhere else for a while."
I look at her and I can feel my smile fade. Did she just say that? "Am I hearing you right? You want to move out?"
"Yes. I mean, it's not necessarily what I want, but I think that would be the best thing for me right now. While I recover."
"I don't want you to go."
She starts to tear up, and I can't help but shed a few tears myself. "Please support me in this. You want me to recover, right? We will still see each other all of the time….."
"But you wouldn't sleep here."
"I could sometimes. And you can sleep at my place sometimes. But I think living apart for a while would be good for me and for us."
"Are you doing this because I don't want to get engaged?"
"No. My doctor actually suggested this but I blew her off. I didn't give it much thought at the time. But now that I think about it, she's probably right. I need some distance so that I can heal on my own and not have to depend on you or my father to hold my hand every step of the way."
I take in a deep breath and let it out. "I don't like this."
"It won't be forever."
"How long?"
"A semester, a year, I don't know. However long it takes."
I just stare at her. I can't believe she is doing this. She's leaving.
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Christian's POV
I am up before Ana so I check on the babies in the nursery. Maddie is awake but Monte is still sleeping. I pick Maddie up and just pace around the room with her in my arms. I love just holding her and listening to her baby babbles. I've done this with all of my kids in the morning so many times. Sometimes I put music on, but I don't want to wake Monte before he's ready. I change Maddie and dress her in one of her outfits for the day. When I finish I turn and see Penny walk in.
"Good morning, Mr Grey. I came to see if they were awake and ready for their morning bottles."
"Good morning. Here, you can take Maddie. Let's let Monte sleep a bit longer." Normally I would help feed the babies in the morning, but I have an early meeting to get ready for. I quickly shower, shave and dress in my gray suit. I'm putting on my tie when I feel my wife's hands on me.
"Good morning."
I turn and give her a morning kiss. "Good morning, Baby." I leave go of my tie and let her take over. I like when she helps me. "You look tired. How 'bout I come home at lunch time and we'll take a nap together?"
She looks up at me and smiles. "Yeah?"
"Why not? I own the company, remember?" She finishes the tie and I plant another kiss on her lips.
"Sounds perfect. But I'm going to need a rain check."
"A raincheck, do you have something more important to do today?"
"I have a meeting" she says with a smile. I'll be going to Grey Publishing for a few hours today. Gail, Penny and Leticia will have the kids covered."
She walks into our bathroom and gets things ready for her shower. I follow her. "Ana, I hired someone to manage operations so that you wouldn't have to worry about Grey Publishing."
"I know" she says as she starts the water. "But I'd still like to attend the quarterly meetings. I don't want to be completely out of the loop with how my company is doing."
I watch as she removes her robe and lets it drop to the floor. "Can I wash your back?"
"Don't you have a meeting, Mr Grey?" She takes a few steps closer to me. Fuck why did I schedule an early meeting?
"They can't start the meeting without me."
She leans up and kisses my lips. "Go" she says. When she turns to walk toward the shower I smack her bottom. She yelps and then turns and smiles at me. I smile back and shake my head. I watch until she disappears into the shower before I leave.
Happy New Year! Thank you so much for all of the comments. They really are much appreciated. This update is shorter than the other chapters, but I wanted to get it posted sooner rather than later. I hope you enjoy it!