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"Mac will be back soon," he murmurs
"Haze Lord, his eyes are an a the light bouncing off the water through the small portholes into the cabin
"As much as I&039;d like to lie here with you all afternoon, he&039;ll need a hand with the din-ghy" Leaning over, Christian kisses ht now, all mussed up and sexy Makes me want you more" He s the view
"You ain&039;t so bad yourself, captain" I srins
I watch hiracefully about the cabin as he dresses He really is divinely beautiful, and what&039;s ain I can hardly believe ood fortune I can&039;t quite believe that this man is mine He sits down beside me to put on his shoes
"Captain, eh?" he says dryly "Well, I am master of this vessel"
I cock my head to one side "You are master of my heart, Mr Grey" And my body
and my soul
He shakes his head incredulously and bends to kiss me "I&039;ll be on deck There&039;s a shower in the bathroo? A drink?" he asks solici-tously, and all I can do is grin at him Is this the same man? Is this the sarin
"You"
"What about me?"
"Who are you and what have you done with Christian?"
He lips twitch with a sad smile
"He&039;s not very far away, baby," he says softly, and there&039;s a touch ofthe question But he shakes it off "You&039;ll see hih" - he s over, he sh at the same time
"You had me worried"
"Did I, now?" Christian&039;s brow creases "You do give off sonals, Anastasia How&039;s a ain "Laters, baby," he adds, and with a dazzling shts
When I surface on deck, Mac is back on board, but he disappears onto the upper deck as I open the saloon doors Christian is on his Blackberry Talking to who ood Yeah Really? The fire escape stairwell? I see Yes, tonight"
He hits the end button, and the sound of the engines firing up startles me Mac must be in the cockpit above
"Ti me once more as he straps me into my lifejacket
The sun is low in the sky behind us as we make our way back to the marina, and I reflect on a wonderful afternoon Under Christian&039;s careful, patient tuition, I have noed a mainsail, a headsail, and a spinnaker and learned to tie a reef knot, clove hitch, and sheep-shank His lips were twitching throughout the lesson
"I may tie you up one day," I mutter crabbily
His mouth twists with humor "You&039;ll have to catchtome round the apartment, the thrill, then the hideous aftermath I frown and shudder After that, I left hiain now that he&039;s adray eyes Could I ever leave hiain - no matter what he did to me? Could I betray him like that? No I don&039;t think I could
He&039;s givenall the innova-tive designs and techniques, and the high-quality materials used to build it I remember the interviehen I first ht his love was only for the ocean-going freighters his company builds - not for super-sexy, sleek catamarans, too
And, of course, he&039;sbeneath his expert hands He is an exceptional lover, I&039;h, of course, I have no comparison But Kate would have raved more if it was always like this; it&039;s not like her to hold back on details
But how long will this be enough for hi
Now he sits, and I stand in the safe circle of his arms for hours, it seelides closer and closer to Seattle I have the wheel, Christian advising on adjust as old as the world,"1 he murmurs in my ear
"That sounds like a quote"
I sense his grin "It is Antoine de Saint-Exupery"
"Oh I adore The Little Prince"
"Me, too"
It is early evening as Christian, his hands still onfro off the dark water, but it is still light - a bal, an overture for what is sure to be a spectacular sunset
A crowd gathers on the dockside as Christian slowly turns the boat around in a rela-tively small space He does it with ease and reverses smoothly into the same berth we left earlier Mac jumps on to the dock and ties The Grace securely to a bollard
"Back again," Christian murmurs
"Thank you," I murmur shyly "That was a perfect afternoon"
Christian grins "I thought so, too Perhaps we can enroll you in sailing school, so we can go out for a few days, just the two of us"
"I&039;d love that We can christen the bedrooain"
He leans forward and kisses me under my ear "H every single hair follicle on my body stand to attention
How does he do that?
"Coo back"
"What about our things at the hotel?"
"Taylor has collected them already"
Oh! When?
"Earlier today, after he did a sweep of The Grace with his team" Christian answers my unspoken question
"Does that poor ht Flight Translated by Stuart Gilbert New Jersey: Prentice Hall, June 1932 (First published in 1931 under the original title of Vol de nuit )
"He sleeps" Christian quirks an eyebrow athis job, Anastasia, which he&039;s very good at Jason is a real find"
"Jason?"
"Jason Taylor"
I reht Taylor was his first name Jason It suits him - solid, reliable For some reason it makes me smile
"You&039;re fond of Taylor," Christian says, eyeing me with speculation
"I suppose I am" His question derails me He frowns "I&039;m not attracted to hi Stop"
Christian is al - sulky
Jeez, he&039;s such a child sometimes "I think Taylor looks after you very well That&039;s why I like him He seems kind, reliable and loyal He has an avuncular appeal to me"
"Avuncular?"
"Yes"
"Okay, avuncular" Christian is testing the word and row up, for heaven&039;s sake"
His mouth drops open, surprised by," he says eventually
"That you are Very" I answer softly but then roll my eyes at him
"What memories you evoke when you roll your eyes at rins
I smirk at him "Well, if you behave yourself, maybe we can relive some of those memories"
His mouth twists with humor "Behave myself?" He raises his eyebrows "Really, Miss Steele - what makes you think I want to relive them?"
"Probably the way your eyes lit up like Christmas when I said that"
"You know me so well already," he says dryly
"I&039;d like to know you better"
He smiles softly "And I you, Anastasia"
"Thanks, Mac" Christian shakes McConnell&039;s hand and steps on the dock
"Always a pleasure, Mr Grey, and good-bye Ana, great to meet you"
I shake his hand shyly He must knohat Christian and I were up to on the boat while he went ashore
"Good day, Mac, and thank you"
He grins atme flush Christian takes my hand, and alk up the dock to the marina&039;s promenade
"Where&039;s Mac from?" I ask, curious about his accent
"Ireland Northern Ireland," Christian corrects himself
"Is he your friend?"
"Mac? He works for me Helped build The Grace"
"Do you havewhat I do I don&039;t cultivate friendships There&039;s only - " He stops, his frown deepening, and I knoas going to e the subject
I nod Actually, I&039;m famished
"We&039;ll eat where I left the car Come"
Next to SP&039;s is a small Italian bistro called Bee&039;s It reminds me of the place in Portland - a few tables and booths, the decor very crisp and raph of a turn-of-the-century fiesta serving as a mural
Christian and I are seated in a booth, poring over the lance up fro at me speculatively
"What?" I ask
"You look lovely, Anastasia The outdoors agrees with you"
I flush "I feel rather wind-burned to tell the truth But I had a lovely afternoon A perfect afternoon Thank you"
He smiles, his eyes warm "My pleasure," he ?" I decide on a fact-finding , Anastasia You know that" He cocks his head to one side, looking delicious
"You don&039;t sees and frowns "I told you, I don&039;t really have tih that&039;s very different from friendships, I suppose I have my fanore the e that you can go out with and let off steam?"
"You kno I like to let off steam, Anastasia" Christian&039;sup the business" He looks puzzled "That&039;s all I do - except sail and fly occasionally"
"Not even in college?"
"Not really"
"Just Elena, then?"
He nods, his expression wary
"Must be lonely"
His lips curl in a small wistful s the subject again
"I&039; for the risotto"
"Good choice" Christian su an end to that conversation
After we&039;ve placed our order, I shift uncoers If he&039;s in a talking e
I have to talk to him about his expectations, about his, u? Tell lance up into his concerned face
"Tell me," he says er?
I take a deep breath "I&039;h for you You know, to let off steaiven you any indication that this isn&039;t enough?"
"No"
"Then why do you think that?"
"I knohat you&039;re like What you um need," I stutter
He closes his eyes and rubs his forehead with long fingers
"What do I have to do?" His voice is ory, and my heart sinks
"No, you , and I know it&039;s just been a few days, but I hope I&039; you to be someone you&039;re not"
"I&039;m still me, Anastasia - in all e to be controlling but that&039;s my nature, how I&039;ve dealt with my life Yes, I expect you to behave a certain way, and when you don&039;t it&039;s both challenging and refreshing We still do what I like to do You let eous bid yesterday" He s you I don&039;t think the urge will ever go
but I&039;ht it would be"
I squir our illicit tryst in his childhood bedroo shyly
"I know" His lips curl in a reluctant smile "Neither did I But let me tell you, Anastasia, this is all new to me and these last few days have been the best in "
Oh!
"They&039;ve been the best in my life, too, without exception," I oddess nods frantically in agreees me hard Okay, okay "So you don&039;t want to take me into your playrooone "No, I don&039;t"
"Why not?" I whisper This is not the answer I expected
And yes, there it is, that little pinch of disappoint, her arry toddler
"The last time ere in there you leftthat could ain I was devastated when you left I explained that I never want to feel like that again I&039;ve told you how I feel about you" His gray eyes are wide and intense with his sincerity
"But it hardly see for you - to be constantly concerned about how I feel You&039;ve es for me, and I I think I should reciprocate in so games," I stutter, my face as crimson as the walls of the playroom
Why is this so hard to talk about? I have done all s I hadn&039;t even heard of a feeeks ago, things that I would never have thought possible, yet the hardest of all is talking to him
"Ana, you do reciprocate, more than you know Please, please don&039;t feel like this"
Gone is carefree Christian His eyes are wider noith alar
"Baby, it&039;s only been one weekend," he continues "Give us soreat deal about us last hen you left We need time You need to trust e, but I like how you are now I like seeing you this happy, this relaxed and carefree, knowing that I had so to do with it I have never - " He stops and runs his hand through his hair "We have to walk before we can run" Suddenly he smirks
"What&039;s so funny?"
"Flynn He says that all the ti hihs "Exactly"
The waiter arrives with our starters and bruschetta, and our conversation changes tack as Christian relaxes
But when the unfeasibly large plates are placed before us, I can&039;t help think how I have thought of Christian today - relaxed, happy and carefree At least he&039;s laughing now, at ease again
I breathe an inward sigh of relief as he starts quizzing me about places I&039;ve been This is a short discussion, since I have never been anywhere except the continental US Christian, on the other hand, has traveled the world We slip into an easier, happier conversation, talking about all the places he&039;s visited
After our tasty and filling entle sweet voice singing over the speakers It allows me a peaceful interlude in which to think I have had aday Dr Greene, our shower, Christian&039;s ad the car Even Christian hi go of so - I don&039;t know
Who knew he could be so sweet? Did he?
When I glance at hiht It strikes me then that he never really had an adolescence - a normal one anyway I shake my head
Mywith Dr Flynn and Christian&039;s fear that Flynn had toldfrom me How can we ht leave if I know hiht leave if he&039;s hiet closer to his ho tension until it becomes palpable As we drive, he scans the sidewalks and side alleys, his eyes darting everywhere, and I know he&039;s looking for Leila I start looking, too Every young brunette is a suspect, but we don&039;t see her
When he pulls into the garage, his rioing to be so wary and uptight Sawyer is in the garage, patrolling The defiled Audi is gone He comes to open my door as Christian pulls in beside the SUV
"Hello, Sawyer," I
"Miss Steele" He nods "Mr Grey"
"No sign?" Christian asks
"No, sir"
Christian nods, grasps my hand, and heads for the elevator I know his brain is working overtime - he&039;s distracted Once we&039;re inside he turns to me
"You are not allowed out of here alone You understand?" he snaps
"Okay" Jeez - keep your hair on But his attitudeand short withonly a week or so ago when he spoke to me this way But now, I understand hi mechanism He&039;s stressed about Leila, he loves me, and he wants to protect me
"What&039;s so funny?" he murmurs, a hint of amusement in his expression
"You are"
"Me? Miss Steele? Why a is hot