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Christian continues to drive past single-story, well-kept, clapboard houses where kids play either clustered around their basketball hoops in their yards or cycling and running around in the street It all looks affluent and wholeso the trees

Perhaps we&039;re going to visit someone? Who?

A few minutes later, Christian turns sharply left, and we&039;re confronted by two ornate white h, sandstone wall Christian presses a button on his door handle and the electrichums quietly down into the doorfra open in welcoed He looks uncertain, nervous even

"What is it?" I ask, and I can&039;t mask the concern in my voice

"An idea," he says quietly and eases the Saab through the gates

We head up a tree-lined lane just wide enough for two cars On one side, the trees ring a densely wooded area, and on the other there&039;s a vast area of grassland where a once-cultivated field has been left fallow Grasses and wildflowers have reclai a rural idyll - a h the grass and the evening sun gilds the wildflowers It&039;s lovely - utterly tranquil, and suddenly I i up at a clear blue su yet e reason How odd

The lane curves around and opens into a sweeping driveway in front of an impressive Mediterranean-style house of soft pink sandstone It&039;s palatial All the lights are on, eachbrightly illuminated in the dusk There&039;s a se, but Christian pulls up outside the grand portico

H?

Christian glances anxiously at ine

"Will you keep an open mind?" he asks

I frown

"Christian, I&039;ve needed an open mind since the day I met you"

He smiles ironically and nods "Fair point well o"

The dark wood doors open, and a woman with dark brown hair, a sincere srateful I changed into my new navy shift dress to i killer heels like her - but still, I&039;m not in jeans

"Mr Grey" She smiles warmly and they shake hands

"Miss Kelly," he says politely

She smiles at me and holds out her hand, which I shake Her isn&039;t-he-dreao unnoticed

"Olga Kelly," she announces breezily

"Ana Steele," I mutter back at her Who is this wo us into the house It&039;s a shock when I step in The place is ee entrance hall The walls are a faded primrose yelloith scuff- All that reht fixtures The floors are dull hardwood There are closed doors to either side of us, but Christian gives

"Coh the archway in front of us into a larger inner vestibule It&039;s do staircase with an intricate iron balustrade but still he doesn&039;t stop He takesarea, which is e I have ever seen Oh - and there are four crystal chandeliers

But Christian&039;s intention is now clear as we head across the rooe stone terrace Below us there&039;s half a football field of manicured lawn, but beyond that is the vie

The panora even: twilight over the Sound Oh e Island, and further still on this crystal clear evening, the setting sun sinks slowly, glowing blood and flae, beyond Olympic National Park Vermillion hues bleed into the sky - opals, aqua with the darker purples of the scant wispy clouds and the land beyond the Sound It is nature&039;s best, a visual symphony orchestrated in the sky and reflected in the deep, still waters of the Sound I a to absorb such beauty

I realize I&039; my hand As I reluctantly turnanxiously at ht me here to admire the view?" I whisper He nods, his expression serious

"It&039;s staggering, Christian Thank you," Imy eyes feast on it once more He releases my hand

"Hoould you like to look at it for the rest of your life?" he breathes

What? I whip ray I think ape at him blankly

"I&039;ve alanted to live on the coast I sail up and down the Sound coveting these houses This place hasn&039;t been on theI want to buy it, demolish it, and build a new house - for us," he whispers, and his eyes glow, translucent with his hopes and dreaht I&039; Live, here! In this beautiful haven!

For the rest of my life

"It&039;s just an idea," he adds, cautiously

I glance back to assess the interior of the house How much is it worth? It must be, what - five, ten million dollars? I have no idea Holy shit

"Why do you want to dehtly

Oh no

"I&039;d like to ical techniques Elliot could build it"

I gaze back at the roo by the entrance She&039;s the realtor, of course I notice the rooreat room at Escala There&039;s a balcony above - that e fireplace and a whole line of French doors opening onto the terrace

It has an old-world charm

"Can we look around the house?"

He blinks at s, puzzled

Miss Kelly&039;s face lights up like Christhted to take us on a tour and gives us the spiel

The house is enormous: twelve thousand square feet on six acres of land As well as thisroom, there&039;s the eat-in - no, banquet-in - kitchen with family room attached - Family! - a music room, a library, a study and, much to my amazement, an indoor pool and exercise suite with sauna and steam room attached Downstairs in the baseaames could we play in here?Miss Kelly points out all sorts of features, but basically the house is beautiful and was obviously at one time a happy fa that some TLC couldn&039;t cure

As we follow Miss Kelly up the nificent main stairs to the second floor, I can hardly containI could ever wish for in a ho house ?"

Christian blinks at me, nonplussed "I&039;d have to ask Elliot He&039;s the expert in all this"

Miss Kelly leads us into the ht s open onto a balcony, and the view is still spectacular I could sit in bed and gaze out all day, watching the sailing boats and the changing weather

There are five additional bedrooht hastily to one side I have tooto Christian how the grounds could accoes of h

"The paddock would be where the meadow is at the htly

To rass and have picnics, not for soed fiend of Satan to roam

Back in the main room, Miss Kelly discreetly disappears, and Christian leads hts fro on the far side of the Sound

Christian pulls er, staring intently down at me

"Lot to take in?" he asks, his expression unreadable

I nod

"I wanted to check you liked it before I bought it"

"The view?"

He nods

"I love the view, and I like the house that&039;s here"

"You do?"

I smile shyly at him "Christian, you had me at the meadow"

His lips part as he inhales sharply, then his face transfor into my hair and his mouth is on mine

Back in the car as we head for Seattle, Christian&039;sto buy it?" I ask

"Yes"

"You&039;ll put Escala on the market?"

He frowns "Why would I do that?"

"To pay for" My voice trails off - of course I flush

He smirks atrich?"

"Yes Show me soet off that subject quickly

"Anastasia, you&039;re going to have to learn to be rich, too, if you say yes," he says softly

"Wealth isn&039;t so I&039;ve ever aspired to, Christian" I frown

"I know I love that about you But then you&039;ve never been hungry," he says si

"Where are we going?" I ask brightly, changing the subject

"To celebrate" Christian relaxes

Oh! "Celebrate what, the house?"

"Have you forgotten already? Your acting editor role"

"Oh yes" I grin Unbelievably, I had forgotten

"Where?"

"Up high at my club"

"Your club?"

"Yes One of theh Club is on the seventy-sixth floor of Coluher even than Christian&039;s apart views over Seattle

"Cristal, ne as I sit perched on a barstool

"Why thank you, sir " I stress the last word flirtatiously, batting azes atwith me, Miss Steele?"

"Yes, Mr Grey, I a to do about it?"

"I&039;," he says, his voice low "Come - our table&039;s ready"

As we approach the table, Christian stops me, his hand on my elbow

"Go and take your panties off," he whispers

Oh? A delicious tingle runs down my spine

"Go," he commands quietly

Whoa, what? I blink up at hi - he&039;s dead serious Every lass of chane, turn sharply on my heel, and head for the restroo to do? Perhaps this club is aptly nan - all dark wood, black granite, and pools of light froens In the privacy of the stall, I srateful I changed into the navy blue shift dress

I thought it appropriate attire toto take this unexpected course

I ahtly resent how easily I fall under his spell I kno that on&039;t be spending the evening talking through all our issues and recent events but how can I resist hiht-eyed and flushed with excitement

Issues schmissues

I take a deep breath and head back out into the club I one panty less before My inner goddess is draped in a pink feather boa and dia her stuff in fuck-me shoes

Christian stands politely when I return to the table, his expression unreadable He looks his usual perfect, cool, calm, and collected self Of course, I no differently

"Sit beside me," he says I slide into the seat and he sits "I&039;ve ordered for you I hope you don&039;t arding me intently and under his scrutiny, hs I tense and part htly

The waiter arrives with a dish of oysters on crushed ice Oysters Theroo his contract Oh boy We&039;ve co way since then

"I think you liked oysters last time you tried them" His voice is low, seductive

"Only time I&039;ve tried the me His lips twitch with a smile

"Oh, Miss Steele - ill you learn?" he muses

He takes an oyster froh I flinch in anticipation, but he reaches for a slice of le His long, skilled fingers gently squeeze the le the shell close to ently places the shell on my bottom lip "Tip your head back slowly," he murmurs I do as he asks and the oyster slips down my throat He doesn&039;t touch me, only the shell

Christian helps himself to one, then feeds me another We continue this tortuous rou-tine until all twelve are gone His skin never connects withme crazy

"Still like oysters?" he asks as I s the final one

I nod, flushed, craving his touch

"Good"

I squirm in my seat Why is this so hot?

He puts his hand casually on his own thigh again, and I oddess is on her knees, naked except for her panties - begging He runs his hand up and down his thigh, lifts it, then places it back where it was

The waiter tops up our chalasses and whisks away our plates Moments later he&039;s back with our entree, sea bass - I don&039;t believe it - served with asparagus, sauteed potatoes, and a hollandaise sauce

"A favorite of yours, Mr Grey?"

"Most definitely, Miss Steele Though I believe it was cod at the Heath spikes, but still he doesn&039;t touchI try to concentrate on our conversation

"I see roo contracts"

"Happy days," he says, set to fuck you" He moves his hand to pick up his knife

Gah!

He takes a bite out of his sea bass He&039;s doing this on purpose

"Don&039;t count on it," Iof contracts," I add "The NDA"

"Tear it up," he says simply

Whoa

"What? Really?"

"Yes"

"You&039;re sure I&039; to run to the Seattle Tihs and it&039;s a wonderful sound He looks so young

"No I trust you I&039;ive you the benefit of the doubt"

Oh I grin shyly at hiht up "I&039; a dress," he h my already overheated blood

"Why haven&039;t you touched rinning He&039;s amused the bastard

"Yes," I seethe

"Eat," he orders

"You&039;re not going to touch me, are you?"

"No" He shakes his head

What? I gasp out loud

"Just iine how you&039;ll feel e&039;re hoet you home"

"It will be your fault if I coritted teeth

"Oh, Anastasia We&039;d find a way to put the fire out," he says, grinning salaciously at oddess narrows her eyes in quiet, devi-ous contea our meal at the Heathman I take a bite out of my sea bass It isthe taste When I open theinhs

Christian pauses momentarily, a forkful of fish suspended midair

TouchI take another bite of sea bass, ignoring hiers up the inside of ertips It&039;s distracting even tohis touch

Christian pauses once " His voice is low and husky

"I know that you know, Mr Grey," I reply softly "That&039;s the point" I pick up an asparagus stalk, gaze sideways at hius into the hollandaise sauce, swirling the tip round and round

"You&039;re not turning the tables onhe reaches over and takes the spear froain No, this isn&039;t right - this is not going according to plan Gah!

"Open yourthis battle of wills I glance up at hi ue across my lower lip Christian smiles and his eyes darken further

"Wider," he breathes, his lips parting so that I can see his tongue I groan inwardly and bite my bottom lip, then do as he asks

I hear his sharp intake of breath - he&039;s not so ioddess fist-pu my eyes locked on his, I take the spear in ently

delicately on the end The hollandaise sauce isquietly in appreciation

Christian closes his eyes Yes! When he opens theain, his pupils have dilated The effect on h To rab my wrist

"Oh, no you don&039;t, Miss Steele," he ently brushes my knuckles with his lips, and I squirm Finally! More, please

"Don&039;t touch," he scolds me quietly, and places- this brief unsatisfactory contact

"You don&039;t play fair" I pout

"I know" He picks up his chalass to propose a toast, and I ratulations on your prolasses and I blush

"Yes, kind of unexpected," I ht has crossed hisyou home until you&039;ve finished your meal, and then we can really celebrate" His expression is so heated, so raw, so cory Not for food"

He shakes his head, thoroughly enjoying himself, but narrows his eyes at me just the saht here, and we&039;ll entertain the other diners"

His words make me squirm He wouldn&039;t dare! He and his twitchy pal up an asparagus stalk, he dips the head into the hollandaise

"Eat this," he ly coh You&039;ve lost weight since I&039;ve known you" His tone is gentle

I don&039;t want to think aboutthis slio horins

"So do I, and ill Eat up"

Reluctantly, I turn back to my food and start to eat Honestly, I&039;ve takenI feel like a child who has been denied candy He is such a tease, a delicious, hot, naughty tease, and all mine

He quizzes me about Ethan As it turns out, Christian does business with Kate and Ethan&039;s father Hmm it&039;s small world I&039;m relieved he doesn&039;tit difficult to concentrate on our conversation I want to go ho between us He&039;s so good at this Makingthe scene Between bites, he places his hand on his thigh, so close to mine, but still doesn&039;t touch me just to tease me further

Bastard! Finally I finish my food, and place irl," he murmurs, and those tords hold so much promise

I frown at hi at my belly Oh, I want this man

"Now? We leave I believe you have certain expectations, Miss Steele Which I intend to fulfill to the best of my ability"

Whoa!

"The best of your a bil ity?" I stutter Holy shit

He grins and stands

"Don&039;t we have to pay?" I ask, breathless

He cocks his head to one side "I am a member here They&039;ll bill me Come, Anastasia, after you" He steps aside, and I stand to leave, conscious that I aazes at lory in his carnal appraisal It just makes me feel so sexy - this beautiful et a kick out of this? Deliberately stopping in front of him, I smooth my dress over my hips

Christian whispers in et you home" But he still doesn&039;t touchabout the car to the oddess is incandescent with anticipation Jeez, she could light up Seattle

Waiting by the elevators, we are joined by two ed couples When the doors open, Christian takes lance around, and we&039;re surrounded by dark slass mirrors As the other couples enter, one reets Christian

"Grey," he nods politely Christian nods in return but is silent

The couples stand in front of us, facing the elevator doors They are obviously friends -

the women chat loudly, excited and animated after their meal I think they&039;re all a little tipsyAs the doors close, Christian briefly stoops down beside me to tie his shoelace Odd, his shoelaces aren&039;t undone Discreetly he places his hand on, skating deliciously over asp of surprise as his hand reaches ape at the people in front of us, staring at the backs of their heads They have no idea e&039;re up to Wrapping his free arshit in here? The elevator travels s at the fifty-third floor to let so attention I a around now ain I stifle a groan when his fingers find their goal

"Always so ready, Miss Steele," he whispers as he slips a long finger inside asp How can he do this with all these people here?

"Keep still and quiet," he warns,in , trapped in an elevator with seven people, six of theer slides in and out ofJeez, it&039;s e I want to tell hiainst hiainst ain at the forty-fourth floor Oh how long is this torture going to continue? In out in out Subtly I grind er After all this ti me, he chooses now! Here! And it makes ly unaffected as yet twocrowded Christian moves us both farther back so that we&039;re now pressed into the corner, holdingme further He nuzzlescouple in love, canoodling in the corner, if anyone could be bothered to turn round and see e&039;re doing And he eases a second finger inside aggle of people in front of us are still chatting away, totally oblivious

Oh, Christian, what you do toers

"Don&039;t come," he whispers "I want that later" He splays his hand out on htly, as he continues his sweet persecution The feeling is exquisite

Finally the elevator reaches the first floor With a loud ping the doors open, and al Christian slowly slips his fingers out of lance round at hiain at Mr Badly-fitted-brown-suit who returns his nod of acknowledgment as he shuffles out of the elevator with his wife I barely notice, concentrating instead on staying upright and trying toand bereft Christian releaseson hiaze up at him He looks cool and unruffled, his usual composed self

Hmm This is so not fair

"Ready?" he asks His eyes gleaer into his hty fine, Miss Steele," he whispers I nearly convulse on the spot

"I can&039;t believe you just did that," Iapart at the seams

"You&039;d be surprised what I can do, Miss Steele," he says Reaching out, he tucks a lock of hair behindhis aet you horins down at me as he takes my hand and leads me out of the elevator

What! Sex in the car? Can&039;t we just do it here on the cool marble of the lobby floor

please?

"Come"

"Yes, I want to"

"Miss Steele!" he admonishes me with mock-amused horror

"I&039;ve never had sex in a car," I ers underdown at me

"I&039;m very pleased to hear that I have to say I&039;d be very surprised, not to sayup at him Of course, I&039;ve only had sex with him I frown at him

"That&039;s not what I meant"

"What did you mean?" His tone is unexpectedly harsh

"Christian, it was just an expression"

"The famous expression, &039;I&039;ve never had sex in a car&039; Yes, it just trips off the tongue"

Jeez what&039;s his proble For heaven&039;s sake, you&039;ve just um, done that to me in an elevator full of people My wits are scattered"

He raises his eyebrows "What did I do to you?" he challenges

I scowl at hi time Now take me hohs, surprised Now he looks young and carefree Oh, to hear hih I love it because it&039;s so rare

"You&039;re a born romantic, Miss Steele" He takesto where the valet stands by my Saab

"So you want sex in a car," Christian nition

"Quite frankly, I would have been happy with the lobby floor"

"Trustarrested at this tiht, and I didn&039;t want to fuck you in a restroom Well, not today"

What! "You mean there was a possibility?"

"Oh yes"

"Let&039;s go back"

He turns to gaze at hter is infectious; soon we&039;re both laughing - wonderful, cathartic, head-held-back laughter Reaching over, he places his hand on ers I stop laughing

"Patience, Anastasia," he murmurs and pulls into the Seattle traffic

He parks the Saab in the Escala garage and turns off the engine Suddenly, in the confines of the car, the atlance at hi heart He&039;s turned toward ainst the door, his elbow propped on the steering wheel

He pulls his lower lip with his thu

I want it on ray My oes dry He smiles a slow sexy smile