"Congratulations, Miss Steele. Now will you tell me where?" he teases.
"You don"t know?"
He shakes his head, frowning slightly.
"Why would I know?"
"With your stalking capabilities, I thought you might have... " I trail off as his face falls."Anastasia, I wouldn"t dream of interfering in your career, unless you ask me to, of course." He looks wounded.
"So you have no idea which company?"
"No. I know there are four publishing companies in Seattle - so I am a.s.suming it"s one of them."
"SIP"
"Oh, the small one, good. Well done." He leans forward and kisses my forehead.
"Clever girl. When do you start?"
"Monday."
"That soon, ehI"d better take advantage of you while I still can. Turn round."
I am thrown by his casual command, but do as I"m bid, and he undoes my bra and unzips my skirt. He pushes my skirt down, cupping my behind as he does, and kissing my shoulder. He leans against, me and his nose nuzzles my hair, inhaling deeply. He squeezes my bu**ocks.
"You intoxicate me, Miss Steele, and you calm me. Such a heady combination." He kisses my hair. Grabbing my hand, he tugs me into the shower.
"Ow," I squeal. The water is practically scalding. Christian grins down at me as the water cascades over him.
"It"s only a little hot water."
And actually he"s right. It feels heavenly, washing off the sticky Georgia morning and the stickiness from our lovemaking.
"Turn round," he orders, and I comply, turning to face the wall. "I want to wash you,"
he murmurs and reaches for the body wash. He squirts a little into his hand.
"I have something else to tell you," I murmur as his hands start on my shoulders.
"Oh, yes?" he asks mildly.
I steel myself with a deep breath.
"My friend Jose"s photography show is opening Thursday in Portland."
He stills, his hands hovering over my br**sts. I have emphasized the word "friend."
"Yes, what about it?" he asks sternly.
"I said I would go. Do you want to come with me?"
After what feels like a monumental amount of time, he slowly starts washing me again.
"What time?"
"The opening is at 7:30 p.m."
He kisses my ear.
"Okay."
Inside my subconscious relaxes and then collapses, slumped into an old battered arm-chair."Were you nervous about asking me?"
"Yes. How can you tell?"
"Anastasia, your whole body"s just relaxed," he says dryly.
"Well, you just seem to be um... on the jealous side."
"Yes, I am," he says darkly. "And you"d do well to remember that. But thank you for asking. We"ll take Charlie Tango."
Oh, the helicopter of course, silly me. More flying... cool! I grin.
"Can I wash you?" I ask.
"I don"t think so," he murmurs, and he kisses me gently on my neck to take the sting out of his refusal. I pout at the wall as he caresses my back with soap.
"Will you ever let me touch you?" I ask boldly.
He stills again, his hand on my behind.
"Put your hands on the wall Anastasia. I"m going to take you again," he murmurs in my ear as he grabs my hips, and I know that the discussion is over.
Later we are seated at the breakfast bar, dressed in bathrobes, having consumed Mrs.
Jones"s rather excellent pasta alle vongole.
"More wine?" Christian asks, gray eyes glowing.
"A small gla.s.s, please." The Sancerre is crisp and delicious. Christian pours one for me and one for himself.
"How"s the um... situation that bought you to Seattle?" I ask tentatively.
He frowns.
"Out of hand," he murmurs bitterly. "But nothing for you to worry about, Anastasia. I have plans for you this evening."
"Oh?"
"Yes. I want you ready and waiting in my playroom in fifteen minutes." He stands and gazes down at me.
"You can get ready in your room. Incidentally, the walk-in closet is now full of clothes for you. I don"t want any arguments about them." He narrows his eyes, daring me to say something. When I don"t, he stalks off to his study.
Me! Argue With you, Fifty ShadesIt"s more than my backside"s worth. I sit on the bar stool, momentarily stupefied, trying to a.s.similate this morsel of information. He"s bought me clothes. I roll my eyes in an exaggerated fashion knowing full well he can"t see me. Car, phone, computer... clothes, it"ll be a d.a.m.n condo next, and then I really will be his mistress.
Ho! My subconscious has her snarky face on. I ignore her and make my way upstairs toward my room so, it is still mine... whyI thought he"d agreed to let me sleep with him.
I suppose he"s not used to sharing his personal s.p.a.ce, but then, neither am I. I console myself with the thought that at least I have somewhere to escape from him.
Examining the door, I find that it has a lock but no key. I wonder briefly if Mrs. Jones has a spare. I"ll ask her. I open the closet door and close it again quickly. Holy c.r.a.p - he"s spent a fortune. It resembles Kate"s - so many clothes hanging neatly on the rail. Deep down, I know that they"ll all fit. But I have no time to think about that - I have to get kneeling in the Red Room of... Pain... or Pleasure - hopefully this evening.
Kneeling by the door, I am naked except for my panties. My heart is in my mouth. Jeez, I thought after the bathroom he would have had enough. The man is insatiable, or maybe all men are like him. I have no idea, no one to compare him too. Closing my eyes, I try to calm myself down, to connect with my inner sub. She"s there somewhere, hiding behind my inner G.o.ddess.