"No, Anastasia, I'm a very lucky man."
"Thank you." Stretching up on tiptoes, I put my arms around his neck and kiss him . . . not for giving me the bracelet, but for being mine.
Back in the car he's introspective, gazing out at the fields of bright sunflowers, their heads following and basking in the afternoon sun. One of the twins - I think it's Gaston - is driving and Taylor is beside him up front. Christian is brooding about something. Reaching over, I clasp his hand, giving it a reassuring squeeze. He turns to look at me, before releasing my hand and caressing my knee. I'm wearing a short, full, blue and white skirt, and a blue, fitted, sleeveless shirt. Christian hesitates, and I don't know if his hand is going to travel up my thigh or down my leg. I tense with anticipation at the gentle touch of his fingers and my breath catches. What's he going to do? He chooses down, suddenly grasps my ankle and pulls my foot on to his lap. I swivel my backside so I am facing him in the back of the car.
"I want the other one, too."
Oh! Why? I glance nervously toward Taylor and Gaston, whose eyes are resolutely on the road ahead, and place my other foot on his lap. His eyes cool, he reaches over and presses a button located in his door. In front of us, a lightly tinted privacy screen slides out of a panel, and ten seconds later we are effectively on our own. Wow . . . no wonder the back of this car has so much legroom.
"I want to look at your ankles," Christian offers his quiet explanation. His gaze is anxious. What now? The cuff marks? Jeez . . . I thought we'd dealt with this. If there are marks, they are hidden by the sandal straps. I don't recall seeing any this morning. Gently, he strokes his thumb up my right instep, making me wriggle. A smile plays on his lips and deftly he undoes one strap, and his smile fades as he's confronted with the darker red marks.
"Doesn't hurt," I murmur. He glances at me and his expression is sad, his mouth a thin line. He nods once as if he's taking me at my word while I shake my sandal loose so it falls to the floor, but I know I've lost him. He's distracted and brooding again, mechanically caressing my foot while he turns away to gaze out the car window once more.
"Hey. What did you expect?" I ask softly. He glances at me and shrugs.
"I didn't expect to feel like I do looking at these marks," he says. What? Reticent one minute and forthcoming the next? How . . . Fifty! How can I keep up with him?
"How do you feel?"
He gazes at me, his eyes bleak. "Uncomfortable," he murmurs. Oh no. I unbuckle my seatbelt and scoot closer to him, leaving my feet in his lap. I want to crawl into his lap and hold him, and I would, if it were just Taylor in the front. But knowing Gaston is there cramps my style in spite of the glass. If only it were darker. I clutch his hands.
"It's the hickeys I don't like," I whisper. "Everything else . . . what you did" - I lower my voice even further - "with the handcuffs, I enjoyed that. Well, more than enjoyed. It was mind-blowing. You can do that to me again anytime."
He shifts in his seat. "Mind-blowing?" My inner goddess looks up startled from her Jackie Collins.
"Yes." I grin. I flex my toes into his hardening crotch and see rather than hear his sharp intake of breath, his lips parting.
"You should really be wearing your seat belt, Mrs. Grey." His voice is low, and I curl my toes around him once more. He gasps and his eyes darken, and he clasps my ankle in warning. Does he want me stop? Continue? He pauses and scowls.
What now?
He fishes his ever-present BlackBerry out of his pocket to take an incoming call and glances at his watch. His frown deepens.
"Barney," he snaps.
Crap. Work interrupting us again. I try to remove my feet but his hand tightens on my ankle.
"In the server room?" he says in disbelief. "Did it activate the fire suppression system?"
Fire! I take my feet off his lap and this time he lets me. I sit back in my seat, buckle my seat belt, and fiddle nervously with the fifteenthousand-euro bracelet. Christian presses the button in his door armrest again and the privacy glass slides down. I realize that this is for Taylor's benefit.
"Anyone injured? Damage? I see . . . When?" Christian glances at his watch again then runs his hand through his hair. "No. Not the fire department or the police. Not yet anyway."
Holy crap! A fire? At Christian's office? I gape at him, my mind racing. Taylor shifts so he can hear Christian's conversation.
"Has he? Good . . . Okay. I want a detailed damage report. And a complete rundown of everyone who had access over the last five days, including the cleaning staff . . . Get hold of Andrea and get her to call me . . . Yeah, sounds like the argon is just as effective, worth its weight in gold."
Damage report? Argon? What the hell? It rings a distant bell from chemistry class - an element, I think.
"I realize it's early . . . E-mail me in two hours . . . No, I need to know. Thank you for calling me." Christian hangs up, then immediately punches a number into the BlackBerry.
"Welch . . . Good . . . When?" Christian glances at his watch yet again. "An hour then . . . yes . . . Twenty-four-seven at the off-site data store . . . good." He hangs up.
"Philippe, I need to be onboard within the hour."
"Monsieur. "
Shit, it's Philippe, not Gaston. The car surges forward. Christian glances at me, his expression unreadable.
"Anyone hurt?" I ask quietly.
Christian shakes his head. "Very little damage." He reaches over and clasps my hand, squeezing it reassuringly. "Don't worry about this. My team is on it." And there he is, the CEO, in command, in control and not flustered at all.