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Holy fuck

She&039;s here, gazing at un My subconscious swoons into a dead faint, and I don&039;t think even s her back

I blink repeatedly at Leila as et in? Where&039;s Ethan? Holy shit! Where is Ethan?

A creeping cold fear grips my heart, and htens with terror What if she&039;s har rapidly as adrenaline and bone-nuh my body Keep calm, keep calm - I repeat the mantra over and over inme as if I&039;m an exhibit in a freak show Jeez, I&039;m not the freak here

It feels like an eon has passed while I process all this, though in reality it is only a split second Leila&039;s expression remains blank, and her appearance is as scruffy and ill-kerubby trench coat, and she looks desperately in need of a wash Her hair is greasy and lank, plastered against her head, and her eyes are a dull brown, cloudy, and vaguely confused

Despite the fact that my mouth has no moisture in it whatsoever, I attempt to speak

"Hi Leila, isn&039;t it?" I rasp She s curl of her lip rather than a true smile

"She speaks," she whispers, and her voice is soft and hoarse at the saently as if to a child "Are you here alone?" Where is Ethan? My heart pounds at the thought that he ht have come to some harm

Her face falls, so much so that I think she&039;s about to burst into tears - she looks so forlorn

"Alone," she whispers "Alone" And the depth of sadness in that one word is heart wrenching What does she mean? I am alone? She&039;s alone? She&039;s alone because she&039;s har fear clawing athere? Can I help you?" My words are a cal fear in my throat Her brow furrows as if she&039;s completely befuddled by ainst un I take a different tack, trying to ignorescalp

"Would you like so her if she wants tea? It&039;s Ray&039;s answer to any e inappropriately Jeez, he&039;d have a fit if he sawwould have kicked in, and he&039;d have disarun at me Perhaps I can move She shakes her head and tilts it fro her neck

I take a deep precious lungful of air, trying to cal, and move toward the kitchen island She frowns as if she can&039;t quite understand what I ahand fill it fro eases Yes, if she wanted me dead, surely she would have shot me by now She watches me with an absent, beued by the thought of Ethan Is he hurt? Tied up?

"Is there anyone else in the apartment?" I ask tentatively

She inclines her head the other way, and with her right hand - the hand not holding the revolver - she grabs a strand of her long greasy hair and starts twirling and fiddling with it, pulling and twisting It&039;s obviously a nervous habit, and while I aain by howfor her answer, the anxiety building to an almost unbearable pitch

"Alone All alone," sheMaybe Ethan isn&039;t here The relief is e

"Are you sure you don&039;t want tea or coffee?"

"Not thirsty," she answers softly, and she takes a cautious step towardof eain, feeling it surge thick and rough throughbeyond brave, I turn and fetch a couple of cups from the cupboard

"What do you have that I don&039;t?" she asks, her voice assu intonation of a child

"What do you ently as I can

"Master - Mr Grey - he lets you call hiiven name"

"I&039;m not his submissive, Leila Er Master understands that I am unable, inadequate to fulfill that role"

She tilts her head to the other side It&039;s wholly unnerving and unnatural as a gesture

"In-ad-e-quate" She tests the word, sounding it out, seeing how it feels on her tongue

"But Master is happy I have seen hihs and smiles These reactions are rare

very rare for hies tack, surprisingto focus on me properly for the first time "Master likes obedient ones who look like you and me The others, all the same all the same and yet you sleep in his bed I saw you"

Shit! She was in the rooine it

"You saw me in his bed?" I whisper

"I never slept in Master&039;s bed," she murmurs She&039;s like a fallen ethereal wraith Half a person She looks so slight, and in spite of the fact that she&039;s holding a gun, I suddenly feel overwhelmed with sympathy for her Her hands flex around the weapon, andto pop from my head

"Why does Master like us like this? It

Master is dark Master is a dark man, but I love him"

No, no, he&039;s not I bristle internally He&039;s not dark He&039;s a good man, and he&039;s not in the dark He&039;s joinedhim back with some warped idea that she loves hiun?" I ask softly Her hand grips it tightly, and she hugs it to her chest

"This is un "So she can join her love"

Holy shit! Which love - Christian? It&039;s like she&039;s punched me in the stomach I knoill be hereht is so horrific, I feel e knot for the fear that&039;s balled tightly in ht on cue the door bursts open, and Christian is standing in the doorway, Taylor behind hi at me briefly, Christian&039;s eyes sweep over me from head to toe, and I notice the s as his gaze darts to Leila and stills, focusing on her, not wavering in the slightest He glares at her with an intensity I have not seen before, his eyes wild, wide, angry, and scared

Oh no oh no

Leila&039;s eyes widen, and for a moment, it seehtens once un

My breath catches inso loud that I hear the blood pounding in my ears No, no, no!

My world teeters precariously in the hands of this poor, fucked-up woht is crippling

But after an eternity, as tiazes up at hi lashes, her expression contrite

Christian holds up his hand, signaling to Taylor to stay where he is Taylor&039;s blanched face betrays his fury I have never seen him like this, but he stands stock-still as Christian and Leila stare at each other

I realize I&039; my breath What will she do? What will he do? But they just continue to stare at each other Christian&039;s expression is raw, full of some unnamed emotion It could be pity, fear, affection or is it love? No, please, not love!

His eyes bore into her, and agonizingly slowly, the at so that I can sense their connection, the charge between them

No! Suddenly I feel I&039; at each other I&039; on a forbidden, intimate scene behind closed curtains

Christian&039;s intense gaze burns brighter, and his bearing changes subtly He looks taller, nize this stance I&039;ve seen him like this before - in his playroom

My scalp prickles anew This is Dominant Christian, and how at ease he looks Whether he was born to orheart and sickened sto, her breathing picking up as the first flush of color stains her cheeks No! It&039;s such an unwelco to witness

Finally, he mouths a word at her I can&039;t make out what it is, but the effect on Leila is immediate She drops to the floor on her knees, her head bowed, and the gun falls and skit-ters uselessly across the wooden floor Holy fuck

Christian walks calracefully to pick it up He regards it with ill-disguised disgust then slips it into his jacket pocket He gazes once more at Leila as she kneels coo with Taylor," he commands Taylor crosses the threshold and stares at me "Ethan," I whisper

"Downstairs" He respondsLeila

Downstairs Not here Ethan&039;s okay Relief floods hard and fast throughto faint

"Anastasia," Christian&039;s tone is clipped in warning

I blink at him, and I&039;m suddenly unable to move I don&039;t want to leave him - leave him with her He moves to stand beside Leila as she kneels at his feet He&039;s hovering over her, protectively She&039;s so still, it&039;s unnatural I can&039;t take ether

"For the love of God, Anastasia, will you do as you&039;re told for once in your life and go!"

Christian&039;s eyes lock withcold shard of ice

The anger beneath the quiet, deliberate delivery of his words is palpable

Angry at me? Surely not Please - No! I feel like he&039;s slapped me hard Why does he want to stay with her?

"Taylor Take Miss Steele downstairs Now"

Taylor nods at him as I stare at Christian

"Why?" I whisper

"Go Back to the apartment" His eyes blaze frostily at ently

I think he&039;s trying to convey soe, but I&039;m so thrown by all that&039;s happened that I&039;lance down at Leila and notice a very small smile cross her lips, but otherwise she remains truly impassive A complete submissive Fuck! My heart chills

This is what he needs This is what he likes No! I want to wail

"Miss Steele Ana" Taylor holds his hand out tome to come I am immobilized by the horrific spectacle before me It confirms my worst fears and plays on all ether - the Does, and Taylor leans down and scoopsI see as we leave is Christian gently stroking Leila&039;s head as hesoftly to her

No!

As Taylor carries rasp what&039;s happened in the last ten er? Or shorter? The concept of time has deserted ether? What is he doing with her now?

"Jesus, Ana! What the fuck is going on?"

I am relieved to see Ethan as he paces the s Oh, thank heavens he&039;s okay! When Taylor setsmy ar hi him close I was so worried, and for a briefpanic at what is unfolding upstairs inon, Ana? Who&039;s this guy?"

"Oh, sorry, Ethan, this is Taylor He works with Christian Taylor, this is Ethan, my roommate&039;s brother"

They nod at each other

"Ana, upstairs, what&039;s going on? I was fishing for the apartrabbed them One of them was Christian" Ethan&039;s voice trails off

"You were late Thank God"

"Yeah I met a friend fro on?""There&039;s a girl, an ex of Christian&039;s In our apartone postal, and Christian is" My voice cracks, and tears pool in my eyes

"Hey," Ethan whispers and pulls me close once more "Has anyone called the cops?"

"No, it&039;s not like that" I sob into his chest and now I&039;ve started, I can&039;t stop crying, the tension of this latest episode releasing through htens his arms around me, but I sense his beet a drink" He pats my back aardly Abruptly, I feel aard, too, and embarrassed, and in all honesty, I want to be onhis offer I want to be away fro on upstairs

I turn to Taylor

"Was the apart my nose with the back of etically as he hands me a handkerchief He looks devastated "I&039;m sorry, Ana," he uilty I don&039;t want to make him feel worse

"She does seeain

"Ethan and I will go for a quick drink then head back to Escala" I dry my eyes

Taylor shuffles froo back to the apartment," he says quietly

"Well, we knohere Leila is now" I can&039;t keep the bitterness out of my voice "So, no need for all the security Tell Christian we&039;ll see him later"