Fifty Shades Trilogy 01 - Fifty Shades of Grey

to me. “What have you been doing in here?”
    Jeez, she’s forward. I blush scarlet.
    “Showing Anastasia my rowing trophies,” Christian says without missing a beat, completely poker-faced. “Let’s go say goodbye to Kate and Elliot.”
    Rowing trophies? He pulls me gently in front of him, and as Mia turns to go, he swats my behind. I gasp in surprise.
    “I will do it again, Anastasia, and soon,” he threatens quietly close to my ear, then he pulls me into an embrace, my back to his front, and kisses my hair.
    Back in the house, Kate and Elliot are making their farewells to Grace and Mr. Grey. Kate hugs me hard.
    “I need to speak to you about antagonizing Christian,” I hiss quietly in her ear as she embraces me.
    “He needs antagonizing; then you can see what he’s really like. Be careful, Ana – he’s so controlling,” she whispers. “See you later.”
    I KNOW WHAT HE’S REALLY LIKE – YOU DON’T! – I scream at her in my head. I’m fully aware that her actions come from a good place, but sometimes she just oversteps the mark, and right now so far that she’s into the neighboring state. I scowl at her, and she pokes her tongue out at me, making me smile unwillingly. Playful Kate is novel, must be Elliot’s influence. We wave them off at the doorway, and Christian turns to me.
    “We should go, too – you have interviews tomorrow.”
    Mia embraces me warmly as we say our goodbyes.
    “We never thought he’d find anyone!” she gushes.
    I flush, and Christian rolls his eyes again. I purse my lips. Why can he do that when I can’t? I want to roll my eyes back at him, but I do not dare, not after his threat in the boathouse.
    “Take care of yourself, Ana dear,” Grace says kindly.
    Christian, embarrassed or frustrated by the lavish attention I’m receiving from the remaining Greys, grabs my hand and pulls me to his side.
    “Let’s not frighten her away or spoil her with too much affection,” he grumbles.
    “Christian, stop teasing.” Grace scolds him indulgently, her eyes glowing with love and affection for him.
    Somehow, I don’t think he’s teasing. I surreptitiously watch their interaction. It’s obvious Grace adores him with a mother’s unconditional love. He bends and kisses her stiffly.
    “Mom,” he says, and there’s an undercurrent in his voice – reverence maybe?
    “Mr. Grey – goodbye and thank you.” I hold out my hand to him, and he hugs me too!
    “Please, call me Carrick. I do hope we see you again, very soon, Ana.”
    Our farewells said, Christian leads me to the car where Taylor is waiting. Has he been waiting here the whole time? Taylor opens my door, and I slide into the back of the Audi.
    I feel some of the tension leaving my shoulders. Jeez, what a day. I am exhausted, physically and emotionally. After a brief conversation with Taylor, Christian clambers into the car beside me. He turns to face me.
    “Well, it seems my family likes you, too,” he murmurs.
    Too? The depressing thought about how I came to be invited pops unbidden and very unwelcome into my head. Taylor starts the car and heads away from the circle of light in the driveway to the darkness of the road. I gaze at Christian, and he’s staring at me.
    “What?” he asks, his voice quiet.
    I flounder momentarily. No – I’ll tell him. He’s always complaining that I don’t talk to him.
    “I think that you felt trapped into bringing me to meet your parents.” My voice is soft and hesitant. “If Elliot hadn’t asked Kate, you’d never have asked me.” I can’t see his face in the dark, but he tilts his head, gaping at me.
    “Anastasia, I’m delighted that you’ve met my parents. Why are you so filled with self-doubt? It never ceases to amaze me. You’re such a strong, self-contained young woman, but you have such negative thoughts about yourself. If I hadn’t wanted you to meet them, you wouldn’t be here. Is that how you were feeling the whole time you were there?”
    Oh! He wanted me there – and it’s a revelation. He doesn’t seem uncomfortable answering me as he would if he were hiding the truth. He seems genuinely pleased that I’m here… a warm glow spreads slowly through my veins. He shakes his head and reaches for my hand. I glance nervously at Taylor.
    “Don’t worry about Taylor. Talk to me.”
    I shrug.
    “Yes. I thought that. And another thing, I only mentioned Georgia because Kate was talking about Barbados. I haven’t made up my mind.”
    “Do you