“Yes.”
I smack her hard across her backside.
“Yes, Sir,” she says immediately.
“Part your legs.” I push my right foot against hers, widening her stance. “That’s better. After this, I’ll let you sleep.”
Her back is a perfect curve, each vertebra outlined from her nape to her fine, fine ass. I trace the line with my fingers. “You have such beautiful skin, Anastasia,” I say to myself. Bending over her, I follow the path my fingers have taken with tender kisses down her spine. As I do, I palm her breasts, trapping her nipples between my fingers, and tug. She writhes beneath me, and I plant a soft kiss at her waist, then suck and gently nip her skin while working her nipples.
She whimpers. I stop and stand back to admire the view, growing harder just looking at her. Reaching for a second condom from my pocket, I quickly kick my jeans off and open the foil packet. Using both hands, I wrap it around my cock.
I’d like to claim her ass. Now. But it’s too soon for that.
“You have such a captivating, sexy ass. What I’d like to do to it.” I stroke my hands over each cheek, fondling her, then slide two fingers inside her, stretching her.
She whimpers again.
She’s ready.
“So wet. You never disappoint, Miss Steele. Hold tight. This is going to be quick, baby.”
Clutching her hips, I position myself at the entrance of her vagina, then reach up, grab her braid, wind it around my wrist, and hold it tightly. With one hand on my cock and the other around her hair, I slide into her.
She. Is. So. Fucking. Sweet.
Slowly I slide out of her, then grip her hip with my free hand and tighten my hold on her hair.
Submissive.
I slam into her, forcing her forward with a cry.
“Hold on, Anastasia!” I remind her. If she doesn’t she might get hurt.
Breathless, she pushes back against me, bracing her legs.
Good girl.
Then I start pounding into her, eliciting small, strangled cries from her as she clings to the post. But she doesn’t back down. She pushes back.
Bravo, Ana.
And then I feel it. Slowly. Her insides curling around me. Losing control, I slam into her, and still. “Come on, Ana, give it to me,” I growl, as I come, hard, her release prolonging mine as I hold her up.
Gathering her in my arms, I lower us to the floor with Ana on top of me, both of us facing the ceiling. She’s utterly relaxed, exhausted no doubt; her weight a welcome comfort. I stare up at the karabiners, wondering if she’ll ever let me suspend her.
Probably not.
And I don’t care.
Our first time together in here, and she’s been a dream. I kiss her ear. “Hold up your hands.” My voice is husky. Slowly, she raises them as if they’re weighted with concrete, and I slide the scissors beneath the cable tie.
“I declare this Ana open.” I murmur, and snip, freeing her. She giggles, her body juddering against mine. It’s a strange and not unwelcome feeling that makes me grin.
“That is such a lovely sound,” I whisper as she rubs her wrists. I sit up so that she’s in my lap.
I love making her laugh. She doesn’t laugh enough.
“That’s my fault,” I admit to myself as I rub some life back into her shoulders and arms. She turns her face to me with a weary, searching look. “That you don’t giggle more often,” I clarify.
“I’m not a great giggler,” she says, and yawns.
“Oh, but when it happens, ’tis a wonder and joy to behold.”
“Very flowery, Mr. Grey,” she says, teasing me.
I smile. “I’d say you’re thoroughly fucked and in need of sleep.”
“That wasn’t flowery at all,” she scoffs, scolding me.
Lifting her off my lap so I can stand up, I reach for my jeans and slip them on. “Don’t want to frighten Taylor, or Mrs. Jones, for that matter.”
It wouldn’t be the first time.
Ana sits in a sleepy daze on the floor. I clasp her upper arms, help her to her feet, and take her to the door. From the hook on the back of the door I grab the gray robe and dress her. She’s no help whatsoever; she really is exhausted.
“Bed,” I announce, kissing her quickly.
An alarmed expression crosses her drowsy face.
“For sleep,” I reassure her. And bending down, I gather her in my arms, cradle her against my chest, and carry her to the sub’s room. There I pull back the comforter and lay her down, and in a moment of weakness climb into the bed beside her. Covering us both with the duvet, I embrace her.
I’ll just hold her until she’s asleep.
“Sleep now, gorgeous girl.” I kiss her hair feeling utterly sated…and grateful. We did it. This sweet, innocent woman let me loose on her. And I think she enjoyed it. I know I did…more than ever before.
Mommy sits looking at me in the mirror with the big crack.
I brush her hair. It’s soft and smells of Mommy and flowers.
She takes the brush and winds her hair round and round.
So it’s like a bumpy snake down her back.
There, she says.
And she turns around and smiles at me.
Today, she’s happy.
I like when Mommy is happy.
I like it when she smiles at me.
She looks pretty when she smiles.
Let’s bake a pie, Maggot.
Apple pie.
I like when Mommy bakes.
I wake suddenly with a sweet scent invading my mind. It’s Ana. She’s fast asleep beside me. I lie back and stare at the ceiling.
When have I ever slept in this room?
Never.
The thought is unnerving, and for some unfathomable reason it makes me uneasy.
What’s going on, Grey?
I sit up carefully, not wanting to disturb her, and stare down at her sleeping form. I know what it is—I’m unsettled because I’m in here with her. I climb out of bed, leaving her to sleep, and head back to the playroom. There I collect the used cable tie and condoms and stash them in my pocket, where I find Ana’s panties. With the crop, her clothes, and her shoes in hand, I leave and lock the door. Back in her room, I hang her dress on the closet door, place her shoes beneath the chair, and lay her bra on top. I take her panties from my pocket—and a wicked idea comes to mind.
I head for my bathroom. I need a shower before we head to dinner with my family. I’ll let Ana sleep awhile longer.
The piping-hot water cascades over me, washing away all the anxiety and unease that I’d felt earlier. As first times go, that was not bad, for either of us. And I’d thought that a relationship with Ana was impossible, but now the future now seems full of possibility. I make a mental note to call Caroline Acton in the morning to dress my girl.
After a productive hour in my study, catching up on my reading for work, I decide that Ana has had enough sleep. It’s dusk outside, and we have to leave in forty-five minutes for dinner at my parents’. It’s been easier to concentrate on my work, knowing that she’s upstairs in her bedroom.
Weird.
Well, I know she’s safe up there.
From the refrigerator I take a carton of cranberry juice and a bottle of sparkling water. I mix them in a glass and head upstairs.
She’s still fast asleep, curled up where I left her. I don’t think she’s moved at all. Her lips are parted as she breathes softly. Her hair is tousled, tendrils escaping from her braid. I sit on the edge of the bed beside her, lean down, and kiss her temple. She mumbles a protest in her sleep.