"You feel railroaded?" he whispers.
I nod.
He closes his eyes and runs his hand through his hair in agitation. "I just want to give you the world, Ana, everything and anything you want. And save you from it, too. Keep you safe. But I also want everyone to know you're mine. I panicked today when I got your email. Why didn't you tell me about your name?"
I flush. He has a point.
"I only thought about it while we were on our honeymoon, and well, I didn't want to burst the bubble, and I forgot about it. I only remembered yesterday evening. And then Jack . . . you know, it was distracting. I'm sorry, I should have told you or discussed it with you, but I could never seem to find the right time."
Christian's intense gaze is unnerving. It's as if he's trying to will his way into my skull, but he says nothing.
"Why did you panic?" I ask.
"I just don't want you to slip through my fingers."
"For heaven's sake, I'm not going anywhere. When are you going to get that through your incredibly thick skull? I. Love. You." I wave my hand in the air like he does sometimes to emphasize my point. "More than . . . eyesight, space, or liberty."1
His eyes widen. "A daughter's love?" He gives me an ironic smile.
"No," I laugh, despite myself. "It's the only quote that came to mind."
"Mad King Lear?"
"Dear, dear Mad King Lear." I reach up and caress his face, and he leans into my touch, closing his eyes. "Would you change your name to Christian Steele so everyone would know that you belong to me?"
Christian's eyes fly open, and he gazes at me as if I've just said the world is flat. He frowns. "Belong to you?" he murmurs, testing the words.
"Mine."
"Yours," he says, repeating the words we spoke in the playroom only yesterday. "Yes, I would. If it meant that much to you."
Oh my.
"Does it mean that much to you?"
"Yes." He is unequivocal.
"Okay." I will do this for him. Give him the reassurance he still needs.
"I thought you'd already agreed to this."
"Yes I have, but now we've discussed it further, I'm happier with my decision."
"Oh," he mutters, surprised. Then he smiles his beautiful, boyish yes-I-am-really-kinda-young smile, and he takes my breath away. Grabbing me by my waist, he swings me around. I squeal and start to giggle, and I don't know if he's just happy or relieved or . . . what?
"Mrs. Grey, do you know what this means to me?"
"I do now."
He leans down and kisses me, his fingers moving into my hair, holding me in place.
"It means seven shades of Sunday," he murmurs against my lips, and he runs his nose along mine.
"You think?" I lean back to gaze at him.
1 Craig, W.J., ed. "King Lear." The Complete Works of William Shakespeare. Scene 1, Act 1. New York: Random House Value Publishing: 1997.
"Certain promises were made. An offer extended, a deal brokered,"
he whispers, his eyes sparkling with wicked delight.
"Um . . ." I am still reeling, trying to follow his mood.
"You reneging on me?" he asks uncertainly, and a speculative look crosses his face. "I have an idea," he adds.
Oh, what kinky f**kery is this?
"A really important matter to attend to," he continues, suddenly all serious once more. "Yes, Mrs. Grey. A matter of the gravest importance."
Hang on - he's laughing at me.
"What?" I breathe.
"I need you to cut my hair. Apparently it's overlong, and my wife doesn't like it."
"I can't cut your hair!"
"Yes you can." Christian grins and shakes his head so his overlong hair covers his eyes.
"Well, if Mrs. Jones has a pudding bowl." I giggle. He laughs. "Okay, good point well made. I'll get Franco to do it."
What? No! Franco works for her? Maybe I could give him a trim. After all, I cut Ray's hair for years, and he never complained.
"Come." I grab his hand. His eyes widen. I lead him all the way to our bathroom where I release him and grab the white wooden chair that stands in the corner. I place it in front of the sink. When I look at Christian, he's gazing at me with ill-disguised amusement, thumbs tucked in the front belt loops of his pants but his eyes are smoking hot.
"Sit." I gesture to the empty chair, trying to maintain the upper hand.
"Are you going to wash my hair?"
I nod. He arches one brow in surprise, and for a moment I think he's going to back down. "Okay." Slowly he begins to undo each button of his white shirt, starting with the one beneath his throat. Nimble, deft fingers move to each button in turn until his shirt hangs open. Oh my . . . My inner goddess pauses in her celebratory jaunt around the arena.
Christian holds out a cuff with an "undo this now" gesture, and his mouth twitches in that challenging, sexy way he has.
Oh, cufflinks. I take his proffered wrist and remove the first one, a platinum disc with his initials engraved in a simple italic script - and then remove its matching twin. As I finish I glance at him, and his amused expression is gone, replaced by something hotter . . . much hotter. I reach up and push his shirt off his shoulders, letting it fall to the floor.
"Ready?" I whisper.
"For whatever you want, Ana."
My eyes stray from his eyes to his lips. Parted so that he can inhale more deeply. Sculptured, chiseled, whatever, it is a beautiful mouth and he knows exactly what to do with it. I find myself leaning up to kiss him.
"No," he says and places both of his hands on my shoulders. "Don't. If you do that, I'll never get my hair cut."