Page 5 (1/2)

It&039;s very quiet The light is muted I am comfortable and warm, in this bed Hmm I open my eyes, and for a e unfas I have no idea where I am The headboard behind me is in the shape of a e and airy and plushly furnished in browns and golds and beige I have seen it before WhereMy befuddled brain struggles through its recent visual memories Holy crap I&039;m in the Heathman hotel in a suite I have stood in a rooer Oh shit I&039;et here?

Fractured ht co, the phone call, oh no the phone call, the vo Jose and then Christian Oh no I cringe inwardly I don&039;t re my t-shirt, bra, and panties No socks No jeans Holy shit

I glance at the bedside table On it is a glass of orange juice and two tablets Advil

Control freak that he is, he thinks of everything I sit up and take the tablets Actually, I don&039;t feel that bad, probably e juice tastes divine

It&039;s thirst quenching and refreshing Nothing beats freshly squeezed orange juice for reviv-ing an arid mouth

There&039;s a knock on the door My heart leaps into my mouth, and I can&039;t seem to find my voice He opens the door anyway and strolls in

Holy hell, he&039;s been working out He&039;s in gray sweat pants that hang, in that way, off his hips and a gray singlet, which is dark with sweat, like his hair Christian Grey&039;s sweat, the notion does odd things to me I take a deep breath and close my eyes I feel like a two-year old, if I close my eyes then I&039; Anastasia How are you feeling?"

Oh no

"Better than I deserve," I e shopping bag on a chair and grasps each end of the towel that he has around his neck He&039;s staring at ray eyes dark, and as usual, I have no idea what he&039;s thinking He hides his thoughts and feelings so well

"How did I get here?" My voice is se of the bed He&039;s close enough for me to touch, for me to smell Oh my sweat and body wash and Christian, it&039;s a heady cocktail - so arita, and now I can speak from experience

"After you passed out, I didn&039;t want to risk the leather upholstery in ht you here," he says phlegmatically

"Did you put me to bed?"

"Yes" His face is iain?" My voice is quieter

"No"

"Did you undress me?" I whisper

"Yes" He quirks an eyebrow at me as I blush furiously

"We didn&039;t," I whisper,in mortified horror as I can&039;t complete the question I stare at my hands

"Anastasia, you were co I like my women sentient and receptive," he says dryly

"I&039;htly in a wry s Not one that I&039;ll forget in a while"

Me neither - oh he&039;s laughing at et me

Somehow I&039;ve been made to feel like the villain of the piece

"You didn&039;t have to trackfor the highest bidder," I snap at him He stares at me, surprised, and if I&039;m not y to track cell phones is available over the Internet Secondly, my company does not invest or manufacture any kind of surveillance devices, and thirdly, if I hadn&039;t corapher&039;s bed, and from what I can re his suit," he says acidly

Pressing his suit! I glance up at Christian, he&039;s glaring at rieved I try to bite hter

"Which le "You sound like a courtly knight"

His mood visibly shifts His eyes soften and his expression warms, and I see a trace of a smile on his beautifully chiseled lips

"Anastasia, I don&039;t think so Dark knight maybe" His smile is sardonic, and he shakes his head "Did you eat last night?" His tone is accusatory I shake ression have I committed nowHis jaw clenches, but his face remains impassive

"You need to eat That&039;s why you were so ill Honestly Anastasia, it&039;s drinking rule nuh his hair, and I know it&039;s because he&039;s exasperated

"Are you going to continue to scold ?"

"I think so"

"You&039;re lucky I&039; you"

"What do you mean?"

"Well, if you were mine, you wouldn&039;t be able to sit down for a week after the stunt you pulled yesterday You didn&039;t eat, you got drunk, you put yourself at risk" He closes his eyes, dread etched on his lovely face, and he shudders slightly When he opens his eyes, he glares at me "I hate to think what could have happened to you"

I scowl back at him What is his probleh h the irritation I feel at his high-handed words I flush at the ardness of ht red hula skirt at the thought of being his

"I would have been fine I ith Kate"

"And the photographer?" he snaps atJose I&039;ll need to face hiot out of line" I shrug

"Well the next tiets out of line, maybe someone should teach him some manners"

"You are quite the disciplinarian," I hiss at him

"Oh, Anastasia, you have no idea" His eyes narrow, and then he grins wickedly It&039;s disarry, the next I&039;eous smile

Wow I am entranced, and it&039;s because his s about

"I&039; to have a shower Unless you&039;d like to shower first?" He cocks his head to one side, still grinning My heartbeat has picked up, and lected to fire any synapses to rin widens, and he reaches over and runs his thumb down my cheek and across my lower lip

"Breathe, Anastasia," he whispers and rises "Breakfast will be here in fifteen minutes

You must be famished" He heads into the bathroom and closes the door

I let out the breath that I&039;ve been holding Why is he so dao and join him in the shower I have never felt this way about anyone My horles where his thumb traced overwith a needy, achy discomfort I don&039;t understand this reaction

Hmm Desire This is desire This is what it feels like

I lie back on the soft feather filled pillows &039;If you were mine&039; Oh my - ould I do to be hisHe&039;s the onlyaroundtoo; he&039;s difficult, co One minute he rebuffs me, the next he sends me fourteen-thousand-dollar books, then he tracks me like a stalker

And for all that, I have spent the night in his hotel suite, and I feel safe Protected He cares enough to coer He&039;s not a dark knight at all, but a white knight in shining, dazzling armor - a classic romantic hero - Sir Gawain or Lancelot

I scra forfrom the shower, still unshaven, with just a towel around his waist, and there aawkiness He&039;s surprised to seefor your jeans, I&039;ve sent theaze is a dark obsidian "They were spattered with your vomit"

"Oh" I flush scarlet Why oh why does he always catch me on the back foot?

"I sent Taylor out for another pair and so on the chair"

Clean clothes What an unexpected bonus

"Um I&039;ll have a shower," Iand dart into the bathroo proxielo&039;s David has nothing on him

In the bathroom, it&039;s all hot and stea I strip off my clothes and quickly cla stream of water It cascades overtorrent I want Christian Grey I want him badly Sio to bed with a man I want to feel his hands and his mouth on me

He said he likes his women sentient He&039;s probably not celibate then But he&039;s not made a pass at me, unlike Paul or Jose I don&039;t understand Does he want meHe wouldn&039;t kiss me last week Aht aYou&039;ve slept in his bed all night, and he&039;s not touched you Ana You do the nore her

The water is war Hmm I could stay under this shower, in his bathroom, forever I reach for the body-wash and it smells of him It&039;s a delicious s that it&039;s hi this heavenly scented soap into hs with his long fingered hands Oh ood

"Breakfast is here" He knocks on the door, startling me

"Okay," I stutter as I&039;m yanked cruelly out of rab tels I put my hair in one and wrap it Car the pleasurable feel of the towel rubbing againstof jeans Not only has Taylor brought me jeans and new Converse, but a pale blue shirt, socks, and underwear Oh my A clean bra and panties - actually to describe them in such a mundane, utilitarian way does not do then of soerie All pale blue lace and finery Wow I ahtly daunted by this underwearWhat&039;s more, they fit perfectly But of course they do I flush to think of the Buzz-Cutthis for me I wonder what else is in his job description

I dress quickly The rest of the clothing is a perfect fit I brusquely towel-dryit under control But, as usual, it refuses to cooperate, and my only option is to restrain it with a hair tie I shall search in my purse, when I find it I take a deep breath Ti

I&039;m relieved to find the bedroom empty I hunt quickly foranother deep breath, I enter the living area of the suite It&039;s huge There&039;s an opulent, plush seating area, all overstuffed couches and soft cushions, an elaborate coffee table with a stack of large glossy books, a study area with a top-of-the-range Mac, an enor at a dining table on the other side of the roo a newspaper It&039;s the size of a tennis court or soh I have watched Kate a few times Kate!

"Crap, Kate," I croak Christian peers up at me

"She knows you&039;re here and still alive I texted Elliot," he says with just a trace of hu of the night before All her patented moves used with maximum effect to seduce Christian&039;s brother no less! What&039;s she going to think abouthereI&039;ve never stayed out before She&039;s still with Elliot She&039;s only done this twice before, and both times I&039;ve had to endure the hideous pink PJs for a week fro to think I&039;ve had a one-night stand too

Christian stares ata white linen shirt, collar and cuffs undone

"Sit," he co to a place at the table I make my way across the room and sit down opposite him as I&039;ve been directed The table is laden with food

"I didn&039;t knohat you liked, so I ordered a selection froetic sate of you," I ry "Yes, it is" He sounds guilty

I opt for pancakes, s, and bacon Christian tries to hide a s white omelet The food is delicious

"Tea?" he asks

"Yes, please"

He passes &039;s English Breakfast teabag Jeez, he remembers how I like my tea

"Your hair&039;s very damp," he scolds

"I couldn&039;t find the hairdryer," I mutter, embarrassed Not that I looked

Christian&039;s mouth presses into a hard line, but he doesn&039;t say anything

"Thank you for organizing the clothes"

"It&039;s a pleasure, Anastasia That color suits you"

I blush and stare down at ers

"You know, you really should learn to take a coive you solares at me as if I have offended hiiven me the books, which, of course, I can&039;t accept But these clothes, please let me pay you back" I smile tentatively at him

"Anastasia, trust me, I can afford it"

"That&039;s not the point Why should you buy these for me?"

"Because I can," his eyes flash with a wicked gleam

"Just because you can doesn&039;t mean that you should," I reply quietly as he arches an eyebrow at , and suddenly I feel that we&039;re talking about so else, but I don&039;t knohat it is Which reminds me

"Why did you send me the books, Christian?" My voice is soft He puts down his cutlery and regardswith some unfathomable emotion

Holy crap - my mouth dries

"Well, when you were nearly run over by the cyclist - and I was holding you and you were looking up at s slightly, "I felt I owed you an apology and a warning" He runs his hand through his hair "Anastasia, I&039;m not a hearts and flowers kind of ular

You should steer clear from me" He closes his eyes as if in defeat "There&039;s so it iured that out already"