Chapter 6: A List of Reasons to Say No, Part 1

Knowing Anastasia as he did, BB realized that his baby girl would need to take some time to consider Christian's proposal, which he had repeated as soon as he'd ended that steamy kiss. He wanted to write a completely new contract with her, and she could have anything she wanted, carte blanc. He would do just about anything if she would agree to be his submissive.

BB knew damn well that his best friend had never kissed any of his submissives or any girl in the past. That had been Christian's first kiss that he'd witnessed, but you wouldn't have known it. The man knew how to kiss instinctively. BB felt confident that he'd figure out the intimacy thing with Anastasia. Once he'd seen that, he was all for allowing his friend to dominate his girl.

But now, that decision lay in Ana's hands, and she was still afraid and confused. Everything she'd believed about the Grey Wolf was turning out to be different than reality. Was it really possible that she could have the type of BDSM arrangement AND relationship that she wanted with none other than the Grey Wolf?

Her brain wasn't functioning properly after that kiss, and BB knew it. He understood how her brain worked. She needed time to process everything that had just happened before she could think intelligently or make any decisions.

"OK, listen up, children," BB told them. "We've all got work to do. I've got a meeting in ten minutes, and my guess is you've both got shit to do at work as well. We've accomplished all that we scheduled this breakfast meeting for. Now… Grey, if you're serious about that double date, I suggest we get together today after work. I'll take Ana home with me, and Jose will be home early. Meet us at our place at… Can you be there by 6:30? Would 7:00 work better?"

"I'll be there at 6:30," Christian agreed. "And yes, I'm serious about everything I've said, including the double dating. And the flowers."

BB smirked, "Great, but no flowers today, Christian. No phone calls either, or texts or emails. No surprise visits to her office. Our girl needs time to process all this shit without any interference from you. You've just knocked her off her feet. She can't think right now. By tonight, she's going to have some questions for you. Don't make any assumptions, my friend. Once her brain's working again, she's going to have some tough questions for you."

"I'll be ready for them, then," Christian responded confidently.

Sure enough, when Anastasia and BB left 200 Spring Street together at around 5:30 that afternoon, Ana's brain was working more clearly, and she had more questions than she had answers. BB wasn't much help because he was determined for her to get her answers from Grey himself. If it was going to work between them, they had to learn how to communicate clearly and build trust with each other.

They got to BB and Jose's house with plenty of time for Ana to shower and change in her guest room, where she kept a few clothes for various occasions. She had no idea what was going to happen, but she decided to prepare herself just in case things worked out. She was between waxes, so she made sure she was completely shaven and ready for a Dominant. As ready as she could be.

"Ooh, wear this," Jose encouraged her, holding up the dress she'd worn to his birthday party last summer. "It makes your tits look fantastic."

She took his advice and wore the sleeveless pink shift, mentally preparing herself for the conversation she needed to have with Christian. She ran her fingers through her chestnut curls and kept her makeup minimal. Just some mascara and pink lip gloss.

Christian arrived about ten minutes early, and Ana was waiting for him in the living room. BB had warned Jose that they needed to give Christian and Ana some space. It didn't stop BB from eavesdropping, though, just to make sure things were going OK.

Anastasia looked more beautiful than Christian had ever seen her, and he wanted nothing more than to kiss her again like he had that morning. He wanted to feel her lips against his and taste her tongue. God, she was delicious. And that dress she was wearing now… gorgeous didn't even begin to describe her. It was all he could do to keep his hands to himself.

Anastasia knew that she needed to speak the things on her mind while she could, before she lost her nerve. As soon as he sat down on the sofa next to her, she began. "Mr, Grey, I've been thinking about… your proposal… most of the day. I confess, I didn't get much work done. I'm just… I have a few reasons why I'm afraid… I don't see how this could possibly work."

Well, that wasn't a very good start, but Christian was undeterred. He told her, "Call me Christian when we're like this, Anastasia. We aren't… anything yet. We're certainly not in a scene. Call me Christian until I tell you otherwise. What are your concerns, sweetheart? Let's talk through them. What's stopping you?"

"There are many things stopping me… Christian," Anastasia responded. She was surprised he'd asked her to call him his given name. Most Dominants, especially Dominants like him, wanted all submissives to call him Sir or by his title and surname.

"Like what?" he challenged her. He leaned forward on the sofa and waited for her to respond.

"Do you need a list, Sir?" she asked. Which thing should she start with? There were several.

"Watch your tone," he warned her. "And yes, I do. Give me a fucking list, Anastasia."

Anastasia swallowed. His sharp tone turned her on, and she wasn't sure she could hide that from him. She took a deep, calming breath before she began to speak again. "OK, number one, BB has been telling me no for months. Number two, you'll only want me for three months at the most. What happens after that? Number three, you've never done intimacy, and even though you said you want to change, and you… proved this morning that you can be intimate… I want to be collared. I want to wear your training collar now, and I want to go into this with the understanding that if things work out, then you'll give me a more permanent collar at the end of our first contract. I'm not sure you're open to the idea of having a collared submissive. But I can tell you beyond a certainty that I can't do fucking with no intimacy. I just… can't. Number four, and I probably should have started here, you almost ruined my life eighteen months ago, and if it weren't for BB, I'd probably be homeless right now instead of the head of an up-and-coming publishing house. Number five…"

"Enough!" Christian interrupted. "Number one, you started in the right place. BB is the Dom who's currently protecting you, so you should always start there. And yeah, I realize he's been telling you no for months. He's been telling me no for months, too. But he gave me permission to kiss you this morning. He's allowing this conversation right now. He set it up. Do you really think he's still saying no?"

"No, that's not my point," Anastasia replied. "My point is that BB had good reason to wait months to give his consent. That, to me, is… OK, maybe not a red flag any longer, but still a yellow one. This is new territory for both of us. You're not the experienced Dom that I thought you were, at least not with the type of relationship that I want to have, and that you say you want to have. But BB's your best friend. If you respect him enough to listen to him when it comes to me… I can get past number one."

Christian nodded. "Yeah, OK. One of the reasons he said no… we'll get to it. Now that you know who I am, and we're about to clear up our misunderstandings from the past, he doesn't have to keep us apart any longer."

"OK, number two," Anastasia continued. "I know from reading Leila Williams' memoir that hers was the only arrangement that you extended beyond three months, and it didn't last long after that. So, I'm just wondering… if we do sign a contract, how long will it be good for? To me, three months is no time at all. We can barely even get to know each other in that time."

"Did I not make this clear to you this morning?" Christian asked. "No, maybe I didn't. Anastasia, I want you for as long as I can have you. I'm ready to sign a six-month contract with you right fucking now. Or how about a one-year contract. How long do you want? Two years?"

"What good is any of that when you know that you can end the contract whenever you want? What difference does the time limit on the contract make? At some point, you're going to end it. How long will it take you to grow tired of me?" she asked.

"I can't imagine ever growing tired of you, Princess," Christian told her imploringly. "You intrigue me. I've been watching you for months. I can't get off without thinking about those luscious lips wrapped around my cock, or about myself buried inside you. YOU, sweetheart! Why do you think I have to seek out those ocean blue eyes of yours every fucking time I scene with one of those bitches that you've made me realize are as fake as their tits? It's been that way from almost the beginning, when you first joined Down Under; you just didn't realize it until recently. I crave you, Anastasia. It has to be you. I don't expect to get my fill of you in three months, or even three years."

"How can you know that?" she asked surprisedly. "You haven't even fucked me yet."

"I know an easy way to remedy that," Christian said suggestively. He even wiggled his eyebrows.

Anastasia almost giggled, but instead, she rolled her eyes. "I'm not going to fuck you in BB and Jose's living room, Christian."

Christian's tone wasn't gentle at all as he told her, "Don't roll your eyes, Princess. And be honest. When you're mine, if I want to fuck you right here on this sofa, will you need to safe word? Think before you answer, sweetheart, and keep in mind that your protector is my best friend. I know for a fact that you're an exhibitionist, and you can't wait to show yourself off at Down Under. You wouldn't mind it if they watched us fuck. In fact, you'd love it."

Anastasia couldn't hide her deep blush, but she didn't verbally admit the truth. But yes, he'd hit the nail on the head. She was, indeed, an exhibitionist, as long as she felt safe. She wanted to be able to trust her Dom to keep her safe.

When Anastasia didn't respond to him verbally, Christian reached out and rubbed her cheek with the back of his finger. "Your blush is telling, Princess. In fact, I love that shade of pink. I can hardly wait to make your ass that color. Tell me you're not wet right now. You can't, can you? No, I know you are."

Anastasia sighed and admitted, "I can't hide my attraction to you, but I'm worried about what will happen when you're done with me. You're the Grey Wolf, Sir. You'll eat me up and spit me out, and I'll never recover."

"That's not going to happen, Princess. But I can probably do a better job of convincing you of that by moving on to Number Three on your list," Christian suggested. "Do you want to wear my training collar?" He looked… excited.

Anastasia had expected him to be repulsed by the idea. Her shock was evident. "The Grey Wolf never collars his subs."

"Correction, Princess," Christian said, "The Grey Wolf has never collared a sub. Yet. It doesn't mean that it can't happen, and with you, it will happen. Haven't I made it clear that I want intimacy with you?"

"But… Yes, you did, but the Grey Wolf doesn't do intimacy," she reminded him. "Are you going to go back to your old ways when we get to Down Under?"

"What the hell do you want, Anastasia?" he asked, his tone full of the frustration he felt. "I'm telling you that I want you to wear my training collar. I've never said those words to any sub before you. What else do you fucking want?"

Anastasia stared at him in shock. "Do you really mean that?" she asked.

"I never say anything unless I fucking mean it," he snapped.

"What does that mean to you?" she asked. "If I agree to wear your training collar… what will you expect from me?"

"I'll expect you to be mine. I expect 24-7 TPE when we're together. I've never had that, Anastasia, but I want it with you. I don't even know what that'll look like. We'll figure it out together."

Anastasia's shock was evident on her face. "You want 24-7 TPE? And… everything that goes along with it? Like… you want me to spend time in your house, sleeping in your bed, depending on you for everything?"

"Does that appeal to you?" he asked her.

"Oh, yes," she replied. "It appeals to me. I'm just shocked that you're suggesting it."

He confessed, "Hell, Anastasia, for the past year… more than a year… I haven't even taken a woman home. I only fuck at Down Under. I have my own playroom in my penthouse, but I haven't used it in well over a year. I haven't trusted my subs, so I haven't wanted to take them home. But with you… I don't want to just fuck you at Down Under. I want to fuck you anywhere and everywhere. I get off thinking about you in my playroom. I want to suspend you from the ceiling and see how well you can give a blowjob while you're hanging upside down. And I want to be the first to claim your ass."

Anastasia's mouth was now hanging open in shock, and she was unable to respond to anything Christian had just said, although the idea of him suspending her had made her a little wetter than she already was.

"You should be careful with that mouth of yours, Princess," Christian said, as he leaned over and caressed her lips with one finger. "When you let it hang open like that, you never know what kinds of things might come along and fill it. And before we do any of that, we need to finish our conversation." With that said, he pushed her lips closed and caressed her cheek.

Anastasia recovered enough from his words to have the where-with-all to ask him, "How did you know... about my ass... about being the first to claim my ass? Did BB tell you about that, too?"

Christian smiled his panty-dropping smile again. "Princess, your ass happens to be my obsession. I make it my business to know everything about anything that I'm obsessed with. And yes, BB told me. You already know that your current protector happens to be one of my best friends, and that's saying a lot because I don't have many friends. And I've been hounding him for months about you."

"Well I know that now, but I'm surprised that he told you… that I'm an ass virgin? What else did he tell you about me?" Anastasia asked, sounding astounded.

"That you're not my type," Christian answered distastefully. "If he thinks the bitches Elena has been setting me up with are my type, then he's right, you're not. I have to know, Anastasia... what did you mean this morning when you said Elena's evil? I've been thinking about it all day, and I need to know why you said it the way you did."

"Sir... I can't..." Anastasia responded with fear. "BB warned me, and I never should have said it. A good submissive doesn't disparage a Dominant, any Dominant. I can't talk to you about her, Sir. Please, don't ask me to."