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I ith a jolt I think I&039;ve just fallen down soht, momentarily disorientated It is dark, and I&039; has woken lance over at the alar, but I feel rested Why is thatOh - it&039;s the tiia Holy crap I need to take rateful for whatever it is that has woken me I can hear faint notes fro This I rab my bathrobe fro on ical sound of the reat room
Shrouded in darkness, Christian sits in a bubble of light as he plays, and his hair glints with burnished copper highlights He looks naked, though I know he&039;s wearing his PJ
botto beautifully, lost in thefro to interrupt him I want to hold hily lonely - or nant sorrow He finishes the piece, pauses for a split second, then starts to play it again
I move cautiously toward him, drawn as the lances up at aze returns to his hands Oh crap, is he pissed off that I a him?
"You should be asleep," he scolds mildly
I can tell he&039;s pre-occupied with so
"So should you," I retort not quite aswith a trace of a s me, Miss Steele?"
"Yes, Mr Grey, I am"
"Well, I can&039;t sleep" He frowns once er flashes across his face With nore his facial expression and very bravely sit down beside hi ers caress the keys He pauses fractionally, and then continues to the end of the piece
"What was that?" I ask softly
"Chopin Opus 28, number 4 In E minor, if you&039;re interested," he murmurs
"I&039;m always interested in what you do"
He turns and softly presses his lips against my hair
"I didn&039;t mean to wake you"
"You didn&039;t Play the other one"
"Other one?"
"The Bach piece that you played the first night I stayed"
"Oh, the Marcello"
He starts to play slowly and deliberately I feel the ainst him and close my eyes The sad, soulful notes swirl slowly and ly beautiful piece, sadder even than the Chopin, and I lose myself to the beauty of the lament To a certain extent, it reflects how I feel The deep poignant longing I have to know this extraordinary man better, to try and understand his sadness All too soon, the piece is at an end
"Why do you only play such sad aze up at his in answer to my question, his expression wary"So you were just six when you started to play?" I pro After athe piano to please my new mother"
"To fit into the perfect family?"
"Yes, so to speak," he says evasively "Why are you awakeDon&039;t you need to recover from yesterday&039;s exertions?"
"It&039;s 8:00 in thefor me And I need to take my pill"
He raises his eyebrows in surprise
"Well remembered," he murmurs, and I can tell he&039;s impressed His lips quirk up in a half smile
"Only you would start a course of time-specific birth control pills in a different time zone Perhaps you should wait half an hour and then another half hour to
So s eventually you can take them at a reasonable time"
"Good plan," I breathe "So what shall we do for half an hour?" I blink innocently at hiray eyes bright I gaze back i look
"On the other hand, we could talk," I suggest quietly
His brow creases
"I prefer what I have in mind" He scoops me onto his lap
"You&039;d always rather have sex than talk," I laugh, steadyingon to his upper arms
"True Especially with you" He nuzzles my hair and starts a steady trail of kisses from below my ear to my throat "Maybe on htens at the thought Piano Wow
"I want to get soht," I whisper as oddess closes her eyes, reveling in the feel of his lips onhis sensual assault
"Always so eager for infor out?" he breathes against entle kisses
"Us," I whisper as I close my eyes
"H my shoulder
"The contract"
He lifts his head to gaze down at hs He strokes his fingertips down my cheek
"Well, I think the contract is moot, don&039;t you?" His voice is low and husky, his eyes soft"Moot?"
"Moot" He sape at him quizzically
"But you were so keen"
"Well, that was before Anyway, the Rules aren&039;t htly
"BeforeBefore what?"
"Before," He pauses, and the wary expression is back, "s
"Oh"
"Besides, we&039;ve been in the playroo for the hills"
"Do you expectyou do is expected, Anastasia," he says dryly
"So, let me be clear You just want me to follow the Rules element of the contract all the time but not the rest of the contract?"
"Except in the playroom I want you to follow the spirit of the contract in the playroom, and yes, I want you to follow the rules - all the time Then I know you&039;ll be safe, and I&039;ll be able to have you anytime I wish"
"And if I break one of the rules?"
"Then I&039;ll punish you"
"But won&039;t you need my permission?"
"Yes, I will"
"And if I say no?"
He gazes at me for a moment, with a confused expression
"If you say no, you&039;ll say no I&039;ll have to find a way to persuade you"
I pull away from him and stand I need some distance He frowns as I stare down at hiain
"So the punishment aspect remains"
"Yes, but only if you break the rules"
"I&039;ll need to re-read the to recall the detail
"I&039;ll fetch them for you" His tone is suddenly businesslike
Whoa This has gotten serious so quickly He rises from the piano and walks lithely to his study My scalp prickles Jeez, I need so discussed at 5:45 in theelse
- is this wiseI head into the kitchen which is still shrouded in darkness Where are the light switchesI find them, flick thee in my purse that I left on the breakfast bar and find them quickly One s, and I&039; on one of the bar stools, watching o" He pushes a typed piece of paper toward s out
RULES
Obedience:
The Subiven by The Dominant immediately without hesitation or reservation and in an expeditious ree to any sexual activity dee those activities which are outlined in hard lierly and without hesitation
Sleep:
The Subht seven hours sleep a night when she is not with The Dominant
Food:
The Subularly tofrom a prescribed list of foods (Appendix 4) The Submissive will not snack between meals, with the exception of fruit
Clothes:
While with The Do only approved by The Doet for The Submissive, which The Submissive shall utilize The Do on an ad hoc basis
Exercise:
The Dominant shall provide The Submissive with a personal trainer four three tireed between the personal trainer and The Submissive The personal trainer will report to The Doress
Personal Hygiene/Beauty:
The Submissive will keep herself clean and shaved and/or waxed at all times The Submissive will visit a beauty salon of The Do at tio whatever treatments The Dominant sees fit
Personal Safety:
The Submissive will not drink to excess, ss or put herself in any unnecessary danger
Personal Qualities:
The Submissive will not enter into any sexual relations with anyone other than The Dominant The Submissive will conduct herself in a respectful and nize that her behavior is a direct reflection on The Dodoings and misbehavior committed when not in the presence of the Dominant
Failure to comply with any of the above will result in immediate punishment, the nature of which shall be deter still stands?"
"Oh, yes" He grins
I shake my head amused, and before I realize it, I roll my eyes at him
"Did you just roll your eyes at me, Anastasia?" He breathes
Oh fuck
"Possibly, depends what your reaction is"
"Sahtly, his eyes alight with excitement
I s instinctively and a frisson of exhilaration runs throughto do?
"Yes?" He licks his lower lip
"You want to spank me now"
"Yes And I will"
"Oh, really, Mr Grey?" I challenge, grinning back at hi to stopto have to catch rins, slowly getting to his feet
"Oh, really, Miss Steele?"
The breakfast bar is between us I have never been so grateful for its existence than in thisyour lip," he breathes,slowly to his left as I move to mine
"You wouldn&039;t," I tease "After all, you roll your eyes" I try reasoning with him He continues to move toward his left, as do I
"Yes, but you&039;ve just raised the bar on the exciteame" His eyes blaze, and wild anticipation emanates from him
"I&039;m quite fast you know" I try for nonchalance
"So ato come quietly?" he asks
"Do I ever?"
"Miss Steele, what do you mean?" he set you"
"That&039;s only if you catchyou catch me"
"Anastasia, you may fall and hurt yourself Which will put you in direct contravention of rule nuer since I met you, Mr Grey, rules or no rules"
"Yes you have" He pauses, and his brow furrows slightly
Suddenly, he lunges forroo the table between us My heart is pounding and adrenaline has spiked through ain, though that&039;s not right I watch him carefully as he paces deliberately toward me I inch away
"You certainly kno to distract a man, Anastasia"
"We aim to please, Mr Grey Distract you from what?"
"Life The universe" He waves one of his hands vaguely
"You did see"
He stops and folds his arms, his expression aet you, and it will just be worse for you when I do""No, you won&039;t" I must not be over-confident I repeat this as a mantra My subconscious has found her Nikes, and she&039;s on the starting blocks
"Anyone would think you didn&039;t want me to catch you"
"I don&039;t That&039;s the point I feel about punish you"His entire dees in a nanosecond Gone is playful Christian, and he stands staring at me as if I&039;d slapped him He&039;s ashen
"That&039;s how you feel?" he whispers
Those four words, and the way he utters them, speaks volumes Oh no They tell me so much more about hi I frown
No, I don&039;t feel that bad No way Do I?
"No It doesn&039;t affect ives you an idea," Ianxiously at him
"Oh," he says
Crap He looks co fro a deep breath, I azing into his apprehensive eyes
"You hate it that much?" he breathes, his eyes filled with horror
"Well no," I reassure hi him?
"No I feel ambivalent about it I don&039;t like it, but I don&039;t hate it"
"But last night, in the playroom, you " he trails off
"I do it for you, Christian, because you need it I don&039;t You didn&039;t hurt ht
That was in a different context, and I can rationalize that internally, and I trust you But when you want to punish ray eyes blaze like a turbulent storm Time moves, and expands and slips away before he answers softly