Christian sat in his home office on a conference call with his earbud in. His little girl was upstairs dressing herself so they could leave as soon as he was finished. They had a family dinner to attend at his father's country club and if the fuckers on the phone didn't shut up soon, they'd be late or he'd be forced to reschedule the rest of the meeting and subject himself to even more of their shit.

Just as he was checking his watch again, Ana came flouncing into his office in nothing but a slip and a garter belt holding up her thigh high tights. She didn't even have any fucking shoes on. She could have slipped anywhere on the hard flooring.

He gave her a scowl that made her stop in her tracks. She watched with wide eyes as he stood slowly from his chair.

'Dress.' He mouthed it clearly to her. 'Now.'

Her eyes danced over his face for a second before she shook her head.

Without a sound, he was across the room with a hand on her neck, pressing her against the wall. She was panting and wiggling, but the hand on her throat kept her pinned against the wall.

Putting a finger to her lips, he motioned for her to keep quiet before letting his finger trail down the center of her body until it reached her sex. She nodded, giving him a smile. It was exactly what she wanted. She came down to seduce him into giving her his mark.

'Please, Daddy' she mouthed.

Watching her closely, he dipped a finger into her folds and had to bite back a groan when he felt how slick she was. He ran a finger in a circle around her clit before slipping two fingers into her, forcing her to bite back a moan.

He listened to his marketing team on the phone, answering when necessary while he brought her to the brink of orgasm and pulled away. When she opened her mouth to complain, the hand on her throat tightened, shutting his bratty girl up quickly.

Putting his finger to her lips once more, he released her throat and bent down on his knees to clean her up for later. He didn't plan on allowing her panties, but he couldn't leave her dripping for every male to smell it on her thighs and dress for later.

He lifted her leg over his shoulder, grabbed her ass cheeks and spread them so she opened up for him. When his tongue met her center, she gasped, but stayed good, hoping he'd let her come that time.

She reached down to grip his hair while she ground against him, but he stopped her. He grabbed both of her hands and forced them behind her back, holding both of them in one hand while the other helped to keep her open for him.

When she felt the beginning tugs of her orgasm, she bit down on her lip to try to keep quiet, but he pulled away. She growled out in frustration, earning her a sharp nip on her inner thigh from him.

Standing, he licked his lips clean then kissed her. 'Dress.' He mouthed.

Pouting from her throbbing, needy center, she decided she better do what he asked in hopes that he'd relieve her ache on the way.

XxXxXx

"Why are you being a brat?"

Taylor was driving them to the country club, but Christian had the partition up, giving them privacy.

She shrugged, looking down at her fingers. "I don't know."

"Don't lie to me, little girl. I'll put you over my knee and make sure that pretty cunt is quivering all evening."

Her head jerked up and, looking at him, she knew he was serious.

"The club makes me nervous. I-I wanted your mark. It calms me."

"And you thought being a brat would get you that?"

"Well, no... I didn't intend to be a brat. I came to try to seduce you, but you were working and got mad seeing me so... it just kind of happened."

He sighed, frustrated with her. "If you would have been patient, you could have been sitting on my lap right now while I gave you what you wanted. Instead, you disrespected me."

She wiggled in her seat at the thought. "I'm sorry, Daddy. I wish I could take it back." Turning to look out the window, she willed herself not to cry. She was so nervous about being at the country club, worried she'd embarrass his family and that mixed with feeling emotionally raw from her sexual frustration, had her struggling to keep her composure. She knew she deserved her punishment, but she was still learning to not take each one to heart. That was on her though.

Christian could see her struggling internally. She always knotted her fingers together tight and looked away from him when she was struggling emotionally. He knew he couldn't leave her like that. She'd be miserable all night and he wouldn't allow it. She already struggled with doing anything with his family, always worried she'd say or do something wrong.

"Take your panties off, Princess."

She turned to look at him, her pout growing even though she began to pull them down. "You're taking my panties, too, Daddy?"

"It's hard to give you my cum with them in the way."

She gasped and then smiled, pushing to her knees so she could climb over to him. "Really? Thank you, Daddy! I won't come, I promise."

Pulling himself out of his pants, he reached for her. "My baby, your punishment is over. I want you to come. I know you're going to worry enough."

He helped her slide down his length, groaning when she sheathed him completely. "You're my good girl, princess. Ride Daddy hard. We only have a few minutes."

XxXxXx

"So, Anastasia, what are you doing these days? Do you work?" Grace gave Ana a polite smile as they sat at the country club.

"Oh, um, I'm a student."

"A student? You don't work?"

"Her job is to get her education, Mother." Christian's voice was warning.

"Okay." Grace's eyes slipped from Christian back to Ana. After the disaster that had been Leila three years ago, she had a hard time trusting women with her son. "What are you majoring in, Anastasia?"

"I'm getting my degree in English and Comparative Literature." Ana tucked her hair behind her ear and could feel herself trembling. She felt like his parents were always judging her.

"What kind of career will you be seeking after you graduate?"

Ana's lips turn into a smile. "I'd love to work in Publishing. Maybe write on the side. I've always wanted to be a writer."

Grace frowned. "A writer? That's... that's interesting. That's a tough career move, Anastasia. Every bum living on the street calls themselves a writer. Maybe you should rethink your career path."

"Mother! Enough. She had already mentioned about doing it on the side. Have some respect."

Ana reached for her wine, her mouth suddenly feeling dry, but her hands were trembling too much and she ended up dropping it on the table.

Christian and Elliot hopped into action and threw their napkins over it while one of the waiters hurried over to help. Not only was his family staring at her, she felt like the whole place was. She had embarrassed the family so deeply by dropping the glass and she just knew his parents hated her even more for it.

"Christian..." She squeaked. "I'm not good enough for this." She whispered into his ear.

"Ana!" He looked her over and saw just how overwhelmed she was. She needed to walk away. Leaning into her ear, he told her to step away. "Go to the car for a few minutes. You need to step away. I'll tell you when everything is cleaned up."

Frowning, she nodded. He was mad at her. She left the table, begging herself not to trip or look at anyone else on her way through the room. At the doorway, she met Taylor, who had seen the horrific event himself and she had to swallow back even more tears.

"Will you unlock the car, Taylor? I'm in time out."

He nodded. "I'll come with you, Ms. Steele."

He escorted her to the car and opened the door for her before slipping into the front seat to give her some privacy.

After twenty-five minutes of being in the car alone, she had realized that he had sent her away so he could eat with his family in peace. She didn't belong with him and that day just reiterated the fact.

Christian yanked the back car door open, startling Anastasia who was curled up with her head in her knees. She had cried off most of her makeup and her face was bright red and blotchy.

"I've been texting you for fifteen minutes! Our food is sitting there, getting cold!"

She sniffled. "I don't have my phone. My purse is inside."

He got his first good look at her and it was like a knife to his chest. Hopping in, he shut the door behind him and pulled her into his lap. "Baby girl."

"I'm sorry I embarrassed all of you. I really am. They're right. I don't deserve you."

"Baby, there's no reason to be sorry. It was an accident. It has nothing to do with your worth. You're perfect for me."

"Then why'd you send me to time out?"

His heart dropped. "I didn't send you out here as punishment. I wanted you to have a breather. I'm sorry, princess. This is all my fault."

"I thought-I thought you wanted to get rid of me so you could have dinner alone with your parents."

He rocked her and kissed her hair. "No, baby, no. I would never. I'm so sorry I didn't communicate better. I failed you today."

"No, Daddy, no. It's my fault."

"Hush now. None of this is your fault. This is a learning experience for me today and I promise to do better." He pulled back to look at her face. She was a mess. There was no way that he'd make her head back inside feeling and looking like this. He'd never do that to her just to play happy family.

Hitting the speaker button on the side, he got Taylor's attention. "Please retrieve Ana's handbag from the table and tell my mother I'll call her later. Anastasia's indisposed at the moment."

"Yes, sir."

Christian turned his attention back to his girl, he hugged and swayed her, kissing every inch of skin he could get his lips on. "We'll have Taylor go through somewhere to get us food and then we'll overdose on terrible food and I'll run a bubble bath and wash the day off of you. I'll do everything I can to make sure you're comfortable, warm, and relaxed."

He hated that he fucked up so badly. She didn't deserve the pain and anxiety she just went through. He should have reiterated that he was having her step away for herself, not because she was in trouble. Hell, he should have went with her. He should have went after her as soon as she didn't respond to his text messages. He fucked up on every level. He didn't deserve her. He'd make it up to her, though. He'd make sure that this shit between his parents and her would be resolved and until then he'd grovel at her feet.

XxXxXx

Christian sat in his office at Grey House, staring at his phone. He knew he had to call his mother, but he really didn't want to be in a bad mood the rest of the day if it didn't go well. He was pretty sure his mother just saw Leila when she looked at Ana and it pissed him off.

Sure, Leila fucked him over and it took longer than he'd like to admit before he really realized. The girl had been a gold digger and had stolen millions before he noticed. He had loved her and they seemed so good together, but it turned out she was just a good actress. He had given her everything she could ever want and she was still going behind his back every month and withdrawing money from his account and depositing it in one she opened for herself.

His accountant tried to tell him that she was taking out more money than seemed right, but he waved him off, telling him to let it go. Christian had been in complete denial over it. By the time his accountant forced him to sit down to look at the numbers and even brought one of his lawyers in with him, she had stolen over two million dollars.

He had been completely heartbroken. He stayed on the couch at Grey House for two days mourning the loss of the person he thought she was before he had the balls to go home and fight it out with her. They went to court and he couldn't even bring himself to ask for the full amount back. Since they were both on his account and he knew it could get messy, he just requested for half of it back. He didn't keep it, though. He ended up dividing it and donating it the various battered people shelters across the area.

He didn't need the money, but he didn't want her to be able to live so lavishly after what she did. He hated that he cared enough for her still to not want her to go without. The one million was more than enough to live on for a long time if she played it right. Plus, she had so many jewels and designer clothes she took with her; there was plenty of money to make reselling those.

But Ana wasn't like Leila. She couldn't hurt him like Leila had. There wasn't a bad bone in her body. Her soul was sweet and sensitive. Bright and colorful. She always felt awkward when he spent money on her and would tell him to stop spending so much on her. She didn't care about the money. Hell, she didn't even know that he had added her to his main account last month. She just thought she had a credit card that he paid for. She hadn't asked for access and she wouldn't. Eventually, he'll tell her, but for now, he'd wait. She had her credit card and he always left money in her side drawer of the bedroom if she wanted cash.

His phone rang, pulling him out of his thoughts and saw that it was his mother. Obviously, he took too long to contact her for her liking.

"Hello?"

"Hi, Christian! I was just calling to see if everything was okay after yesterday? You never waste food, so it made me worry."

He sighed. "Everything is fine now. Ana was overwhelmed and embarrassed over what happened and I couldn't in good conscience bring her back inside. She needed a break."

"From what?"

He laughed. "Really? You disrespected and degraded her. She wants nothing more than for you to accept her and she was worried sick just coming and then you show her that she had good reason to feel that way. Then she spills her drink and you sneer at her while she's trembling, worried that she embarrassed you two in front of all your friends!"

"Calm down, Christian! It wasn't that bad. You're making a mountain out of a mole hill."

"Bullshit. You won't even give my girl a chance. She doesn't deserve this. I won't have her being subjected to this anymore. If you can't accept her, then things are going to change."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I won't force her to be around you and I won't leave her to come see you, so if you don't accept her, you won't be seeing me."

"I am your mother!"

"Yes, and as my mother you should take my happiness under consideration. I love her. More than I have ever loved a woman. She's my forever. I won't allow you to hinder that. I've already sworn to protect her at all costs... and that includes my detrimental parents. Elliot loves her. Mia is sweet to her, but you and Dad are devastating."

"You love her? Do you even know this girl? She could screw you over and once again your love for her will keep you blind."

"She is not Leila."

"I- I never said she was, but it doesn't hurt to be a little more aware of the stakes this time. The girl is living under your roof, not working, forcing you to pay her college tuition while she sits around eating bon-bons and spending your money!"

He wanted to tell his mother to fuck off, but he kept his cool. She wouldn't listen if he lost it. "She isn't forcing me to do anything. I had offered. Hell, I had to convince her. I want her to put all her time and effort into her schooling so she can go on to find a career she loves and make her own money. She wants a career. Leila never wanted that. She was the one laying around eating bon-bons!"

"What do you want me to do, Christian?"

"I know you got bitten by Leila, too. I know you loved her and had a close relationship with her until the end. She played us all. I'm not asking you to be best friends with Anastasia... but can you at least be cordial? I would love to come see you just once without Ana hyperventilating on the way over."

"Jesus, Christian. I didn't know how bad it was. I don't want anyone going into overdrive like that over me. I'll apologize to her. I'll try to be cordial. I'll do my best."

"That's all I ask."

She sighed into the phone. "You love her."

He grinned. "Completely."

XxXxXx

Christian and Ana were on their way to the Grey residence for dinner after Christian explained that his mother asked for a chance to apologize. Still, it didn't keep Ana from fussing about, asking about what she was wearing and changing multiple times before he pulled her into the elevator at Escala.

"Is my makeup okay?"

She turned to look at him one last time at the entrance to their home, but never got an answer because they were met by his mother.

"Hello, you two! Thank you for coming. Let's go to the dining room and have a seat. Gretchen is just now pouring the wine."

They followed his mother through the house and he helped Ana into her chair before sitting beside her and taking her hand.

Gretchen came by with the drinks and sat a hard plastic tumbler in front of Ana. She looked at it confused before Carrick smiled at her.

"Since we've got ourselves a butter fingers we thought that this would serve you better."

"Oh." She stared at the plastic cup in front of her, embarrassment seeping into every cell of her body. They didn't even want her touching their glasses. She wasn't worthy of having a wine glass now that she made a scene and embarrassed them at their country club.

"What the fuck, Dad!" Elliot was shocked.

"That's insulting. I won't allow it. Ana and I will go home if you don't apologize." Christian's blood was boiling. After his talk with his mother he couldn't believe they did this.

Ana turned toward Christian. "Christian, it's okay. I don't deserve a real glass." Tears stung her eyes and her breathing picked up, but she begged herself to keep it together.

"Oh, no, it was meant to be a joke, sweetheart!" Grace hurried around the table to Ana's side and crouched down. "We weren't serious. We would never expect you to drink out of that. I'm sorry. I guess that joke was in poor taste. We were trying to make you smile."

Carrick hurried back into the room with a wine glass for Ana and set it down before taking the plastic cup. "We are sorry, Anastasia. We didn't mean to upset you. We know we've been hard on you and that isn't your fault. We haven't given you a real chance."

"Thank you." Ana's voice was tight and she nodded, but couldn't look either of them in the face. She was still spiraling and she needed a few more minutes to find her control.

Christian grasped the back of her neck firmly and pressed his nose to the skin above her ear.

"Listen to my voice... feel the pressure of my hand... and let them ground you. You are here. You are strong. You are sweet, caring, and beautiful. I am here. I am in control. You are safe with me. You are loved by me. Let this sink in and calm you, my baby. Take a deep breath."

She did as he commanded.

"Exhale."

Her shoulders relaxed.

"Once more."

Feeling back in control of her body after that, she turned to look at Grace who was still crouched beside her. "I'm sorry I didn't understand your joke. I have some anxiety issues, but I'm working on that. I'm sorry you have to witness my falling apart."

Grace shook her head. "No, Ana. Don't be sorry. I hate that we have caused you so much strife. Things are going to be better from here on out, okay?"

She nodded.

During dinner, they all made smalltalk and his parents kept the conversation off of Ana so she had some time to relax. Halfway through, Grace tried to talk with her, openly this time... but it wasn't that easy. Ana still had her guard up.

"So, Ana, how is school going? Didn't the semester just end?"

Ana froze at her name and blinked at Grace a few times. Last time they brought up her schooling they made fun of it.

"Um, yes, it's good. I made the Dean's list."

Grace smiled. "That's great! You're a smart girl. Have you started writing, yet?"

Ana felt her hands begin to shake. "Uh... writing?"

Grace nodded.

"I... I'm not going to write." Ana admitted.

She frowned at her. "Why?"

"Because, uh, it was just a stupid idea... a waste of time. A dream is all it was. They're not real."

Christian frowned and leaned into her ear. "We're going to talk about this when we get home." She had never said this to him. He was pissed that she was going to allow others to decide her fate.

"Oh, no, I hope what I said before didn't sway your decision. What I said was vicious and uncalled for. I suppose I was still bitter after what Leila did to Christian."

"Leila?" Ana didn't know who that was. She looked at Christian and saw him scowling at his mother. Obviously he didn't want this Leila brought up. "Who is Leila, Christian?"

Clearing his throat, his gaze fell to Ana. "That's the name of the last woman I was with. The one that lasted two years."

"Oh, yes. I remember. What'd she do?"

Christian's jaw clenched. "She stole two million dollars from me."

Ana's jaw dropped and her hands came up to cover her mouth. "No! How-how could anyone do that to you? You're such a beautiful person, Christian! How could she do that?" Her eyes filled with tears and she turned to look at his parents. "You-you two think I could do that? I would do that? I know you don't know me every well, but surely that's not normal human behavior! If it is for your circle, then I'd be looking for new friends! I couldn't even have come up with an idea to do something so insidious." She turned back to Christian. "I want to know where this bitch lives. Show her a fight with someone her own size and gender."

Christian cracked a grin. She was sitting there, a trembling little ball of anxious anger. "Do you know how much you resemble a Chihuahua right now?"

Ana began to scowl, but then burst out in a laugh. "Good. They're vicious."

"I'm really starting to like you, Anastasia. You surprised me tonight. You're a firecracker." Carrick toasted his tumbler toward her before taking a drink.

Swallowing, she noticed her mouth was dry, but when she reached for her water goblet, her hands were shaking.

"Is it too late to ask for that plastic cup back?" Everyone laughed at her pitiful joke. "Christian?" She pointed to her water. "Will you help me?"

"Of course, baby."

He held the glass steady while she brought it to her lips and sucked down the water. For the first time since meeting his parents a few months ago, she felt positive about her future with them.