Chapter 7

Ana didn't sleep well and she woke up as the sun was coming up. She pulled herself from the bed, padded down the hall into the living room and into the kitchen. Within minutes, she had the coffee brewing, made herself a cup of tea and started pancakes with bacon. She sat at the kitchen island and let her thoughts go. To her dismay, they all went to a grey-eyed, copper-haired dominant. She groaned. It will always be Christian. She knew that now. No matter what, he owned her soul, heart, and her very being. She would never be free of him. She hated him for that and she hated herself for being so weak.

"You are a foolish woman, Anastasia Rose Steele! You thought you could run and hide but he's always been inside you. You tried to make Hank the center of your life. However even though he is a wonderful loving man, you still belong to Christian." She chastised herself.

Elliot heard her and he could hear the sadness in her voice. She was still in love with his idiot of a brother. He always wondered why she left. Christian would only say that he hurt her. Elliot cleared his voice making her look up at him with tears rolling down her cheeks. "Sweetie, it's going to be alright. My idiot brother loves you. He wants you back."

She began to laugh. "Oh, Elliot…Christian does not love. He does not do romance. He does not accept love…he told me." She wiped away her tears. "I'm not stupid enough to think that he has changed that much."

"But, he has, Ana. He's been…more open…more loving. He lets Mom hug him now. She has waited for years to be able to hold him in her arms." Elliot went to Ana. "He loves you. He misses you."

"I'm sorry, Elliot, but I am having a hard time of believing that. When we were together he made it very clear how it was to be and I could not live like that." She shoved herself off the bar stool and made her way to make another cup of tea. "Christian and I are over…I just have to get my heart to understand that."

"You are one stubborn woman, Ana Steele." Elliot shook his head. "I don't know exactly why you two broke up and you ran off to England, but I do know that there has not been anyone else for him."

Ana just shook her head. "Elliot, you wouldn't know if Christian had another su…woman. He keeps his relationships heavily guarded."

"You were his only girlfriend, Ana." Elliot said lowly. "You were the only one he brought home to meet the family."

"I was not the first, Ell…I was number sixteen." She confided in him. She turned back to him with her teacup to see his shocked face. "He wasn't a twenty-seven year old virgin."

"There were fifteen before you?" He asked bewildered.

"Yes, Elliot, your little brother has had other women before me and I am sure after me. He likes sex too much to live without it." She nodded toward the food that she made. "If you are hungry I made breakfast. I'm not hungry anymore; you are more than welcome to it." She placed her teacup in the sink and left the room. She didn't want to talk anymore about Christian or think about him being with another woman. It hurt too much to think that he could replace her so easily, but that was what he did. He contracted women to be at his disposal and when the contract was up or the women became too clingy…he moved on. One woman was the same as the next as long as they did as they were told.

"Ana, I don't care how many women he has had, he loves you and only you."

xxXXxx

Grace sat at her desk in her home office and rehashed the last twenty-four hours. Christian was in love. Ana was back in town and free from her short-lived engagement. And, Elena Lincoln was going to feel the wrath of Grace Grey. It wouldn't be today, but that bitch was going down. Grace knew exactly how to bring Elena to her knees.

"You will never hurt another child again." Grace said lowly. She picked up her cell phone. "Listen carefully. This is off the record for now, but there is a big story brewing. You need to trust me on this and go at my pace. Is that a deal?"

"Of course, Grace." The person whom Grace was speaking to replied.

"This concerns child sexual abuse, endangerment of a child, rape, and BDSM."

"Holy Shit!"

"Yeah, and it's going to get ugly for a few high status people in town. If you want in on this, I need to know that you will be discreet and won't let the bomb drop until I say so."

"Grace, I will do anything you want, you know that. I owe you so much for saving my life last year with my sudden heart attack at the Coping Together Gala."

"So, here is what you need to do. I need you to contact Elena Lincoln of Esclava Salons. Tell her that you want to do a newspaper piece on her as a successful female Seattle business owner. I mean do the whole nine yards of praise and admiration. I want her to think that her shit doesn't stink."

"Grace, are you sure? Elena Lincoln? Aren't you two friends?"

"Not anymore. You are going to see the fall of a bitch dog in heat by the time I get done with her!" Grace nearly growled into the phone. "You will need to be careful. She's very smart and cunning."

"Grace, she didn't fuck Carrick did she? I don't mean to be crude, but Elena has a bad reputation with other women's husbands."

"She didn't fuck my husband. She probably wanted to but Carrick can't stand her." Grace took a deep breath. "How long will it take to get the interview?"

"A couple of weeks, no more than three. Then editing, fact-checking, making sure sources are legit and protected."

"Thanks, Agnes. I do appreciate this. Let's meet up later on this week for a strategy session. Say, a working lunch on Friday?"

"I got you penciled in, Grace."

Grace hung up the phone after saying goodbye to her friend. It was good serving with a newspaper editor and publisher on various charity boards. One had easy access to the press. "Okay, Phase One done." Grace gave an evil giggle as she planned Phase Two which would need to be orchestrated with great care and coincide with the newspaper article that Agnes Kavanagh agreed to work on. Grace figured that in about a month, Elena Lincoln would see that her world was falling apart. Oh, how sweet revenge will be!

Christian woke up and slowly pulled himself out of bed. His head was still achy and he still felt like his heart was too heavy in his chest. "Please, let her come to me. I will treat her like the Queen she is. I will love her, honor her, and cherish her…" He began to laugh. "I will marry her! I will have children with her! I will make every dream she has ever had come true!" He stepped into the bathroom and relieved himself then washed his hands. He looked himself over. He needed a shave and a haircut would do him some good. "I have to call Cartier and get a ring designed and made then where to propose…where…to… it has to be somewhere special to her. Somewhere that will make her see that I am very serious about making her happy and loving her forever." His mind was going a mile a minute as the ideas flooded his brain. His brain flashed ideas of Montesano and her father's home, the campus at Vancouver, his living room here at Escala where they danced to "That Ole Black Magic", but none of those ideas seemed right. He decided to take a shower and think some more. He let the hot water relax his muscles and his mind. He washed his hair twice and gave it a good conditioner. That would make Franco so very happy! He stood underneath the waterfall shower head and let the water bounce over his skin. "I got it. The Seattle Main Library! She loves that place." He could see her speechless while he was on bended knee before her offering her a token of his unending love. He smiled as he rinsed himself then his thoughts grew dark. What if she said no? What if Ray said no even before he had the chance to ask Ana? What if she still wanted her Hollywood hunk? His heart squeezed tightly in his chest. The pain was too much. She had to love him. She had too! He couldn't survive without her. He stood in his shower long after he turned off the water. He couldn't move. He was so tense with panic that he couldn't move his legs. This woman was going to be the death of him!