Baby take off your coat Real slow

Take off your shoes I’ll take off your shoes

Baby, take off your dress Yes, yes, yes

You can leave your hat on

–You Can Leave Your Hat On – Joe Cocker–

---

Christian is racing to get out of the apartment the next morning when I walk out of my room. I look at him with a blank expression. After last night’s revelations I neither like nor hate him right now but he is obviously someone I am going to have to get along with on some level. For both Ana’s and Elliot’s sakes. He is hopping trying to get his shoes on and he stops at the hall mirror and fumbles with his tie. I put down the cup of tea I am drinking and wander over to take it out of his hand.

“You sort everything out, Grey?” He shudders back from my touch as I go to put the tie on him. I pause and shrug. “I’m not going to molest you.” He closes his eyes for a moment then nods. I manage to secure the Windsor knot without touching him at all. He looks down at the tie and then at me.

“Thanks.” He whispers. “Kate, I do care about her.” Care enough to smack her into submission? Maybe I should show you how much I care.

“Yeah, well you’ve got a funny way of showing it, Christian.” I try for just a hint of anger rather than the whole Kate Kavanagh spectrum. I can see that he gets my meaning but there is still that hardness in his eyes, trying to warn me off. Not in this lifetime, Grey.

Then he says something that stops me in my tracks. “Please, take care of her for me. I can’t see her until Saturday.” He looks pained at that thought. Very telling Mr Grey. You care more than you are letting on.

“I will but not for you. I just wonder who is going to do that when I am not around? You know I am going away for two weeks. What happens then? Are you going to hurt her more because I’m not here?” He looks shocked and guilty. Like he has his hand caught in a cookie jar. I am not giving anything else away.

“I am hoping that by Saturday, Ana and I will both know where we stand. She will have all the power and protection she wants. You have my word.” Something in his body language changes and it is kind of eerie to watch. “Good day Katherine.”

Back to Katherine, huh? “Good day, Sir.” He shoots me a startled look quickly then it is gone and so is he. I wonder what will change by Saturday. Shit, she is going to sign a contract! Part of me is curious enough to go and raid her computer but I don’t want to betray her trust. Of course, that is why he as teched her up! Otherwise all of this stuff would be on my computer. Smart move, Grey.

---

Ana goes off to her last day of work in her new Audi A3 that Christian has bought for her. I am all for her not driving Wanda the deathtrap any more but giving her a car seems really over the top. Of course, my apartment, my car, my clothes all come courtesy of my very over generous father so who am I to talk. Who’s your daddy, Ana? By the time she gets home she has a blackberry as well and I choke back all my smart comments about Christian the control freak. I think Christian might have some strange stalkerish ideas about her safety and needs but I have to hand it to him, he is trying.

Going through all the ways he shows he cares in my head, I make a list. So far he has rescued her from being run over by a bike, rescued her from drunk molestation outside a bar (up until last night I hadn’t seen Jose as a threat but now I am not so sure), bought her clothes, a phone, a computer, Very expensive first edition classic literature and a much safer car than she has ever driven before including mine. He watches her like a hawk, he has taken her to Seattle, to dinner, to coffee. He has met her dad and she has met his mom. Whatever kinky secrets he is keeping she seems to know at least something about them.

I suspect that he has also introduced her to a darker side of sex and taken things a little too far. Far enough to not only physically but emotionally hurt her and my head is wrestling with which one is worse. She has shed more than a few tears but at least he is moving heaven and earth to make sure she is okay when he does fuck up, isn’t he?. The problem is it feels very much like he is trying to control every aspect of her world. How would that feel? More importantly how can I shake it up? Not that I want to see Ana hurt but he seems to want all of this without the type of commitment that Ana wants and deserves. Is he even capable of it?

Then there is all this other stuff, including someone trying to destroy his world and perhaps Elliot too. Maybe I should cut him some slack as far as Ana is concerned. I want to ask Ana how she feels about it all but I get the feeling that she is not ready to talk. Maybe in two weeks, when I get back from Barbados, she might feel more relaxed about it all. Maybe she will have decided to move on from Christian Grey.

There are so many questions in my head, about Elliot, Christian, Ana…all I can do right now is keep my ears and mind open. I know that Elena Lincoln seems to be key to a lot of shit in their lives and I am going to have to tread carefully if I want to find anything out. What my heart tells me though is that Ana and Christian have a genuine, if somewhat kinky connection and that Elliot at least thinks he is being sincere. Is that enough? Right now it will have to be but we all have a long way to go.

---

We are still packing that evening when there is a knock on the door. Ana goes to answer and that guy Taylor, the chauffeur/bodyguard, is on the doorstep. A light bulb goes off for me? Taylor, could this be the Jason that Elliot talked about? He is here to pick up Wanda and dispose of her which makes him okay in my book. Ana gets the keys and they head to the car. I am curious so I stand at the door, out of sight, listening. Eavesdropping is not a cool look but he works for Christian. Surely that makes him open territory.

Ana is chatting to him by the car and asks how long he has been working for Christian. Four years. This must be Jason.

“He’s a good man, Miss Steele.” I hear him say. Why do I hear that description of him a lot? I move back inside before they see me.

Later Jose turns up with takeout and we sit down to watch tv for what will be the last time. The three musketeers are breaking up and it is bittersweet. Partly because it is the end of an era and mostly because now I don’t know if he is behind the photo that was sent to my father. Dad has emailed me the photograph but I haven’t had more than a brief look. When Ana goes to the kitchen to open another bottle of wine I collar him.

“Jose, I need to ask you if you took this photo?” Holding up my phone to him I wait while he studies it.

“Kate, I took photos of you and Grey but I was sitting in the car. These look like they have been taken from across the street – see…” He holds the screen back to me and I can immediately see what he is talking about. “Where did you get this from?”

“Some stalker sent it to my Dad at the paper.” I shrug taking the phone back.

“And you thought it was me?” Poor Jose, he looks disappointed and hurt.

“I’m sorry, I guess I was just thrown by it. If it is any consolation I really hoped that it wasn’t you.” My humiliated blush has spread down to my toes. Way to ruin a friendship, Kate. Ana walks back in the room and we drop the subject quickly but I somehow think that I may have done irreparable damage.

We go back to watching tv when there is a knock at the door and I get up to answer it. Elliot fairly bursts through as soon as the door opens and sweeps me up into his arms, making me laugh.

He looks at me for a second then plants a very hot and intense kiss on my mouth while moving me into a Hollywood style dip. Oh my, this man is something else. I hear the uncomfortable silence from the couch as we unclinch ourselves and look at them to smile.

Next thing I know Jose and Ana have left the apartment in search of the bar to give us some privacy. What kind of friend am I? A horny, in lust friend I guess is the answer. Elliot picks me up and walks over to the couch to sit down. I curl up in his lap and stroke his five o’clock shadow. This man is so gorgeous in all of his many states. He turns to kiss me and after a while he lays me down on the couch and eases himself out to lie on top of me. We kiss like horny teenagers, for a long time and it feels so good… although it is tainted by the million questions I want to ask him.

“Are you even going to say hello?” I ask, coming up for air ten minutes later. His grin is infectious.

“Hello.” He smiles and strokes my face and then kisses my jaw and neck.

“Elliot. Stop.” I laugh and push him up so that we are sitting upright facing each other on the couch.

“What? What did I do?” He asks, looking genuinely confused.

“You did nothing. But there has to be more to us than just hot, horny sex, and what are you doing here anyway?”

“I came up to move you tomorrow. Remember?” He looks confused. Obviously, he always planned on coming up tonight and staying over to get an early start. He just forgot to tell me. Men.

“Okay. Thanks for sharing the finer details of your plan. How do you know I don’t have my hot Spanish lover here waiting for me in my bed?” I ask teasing him. His eyes go wide and he is up on his feet.

“Where is the fucker?” He storms through the apartment. Shit, he thinks I’m serious. So I run after him and just as I catch up with him in the hall outside my room he spins with a big grin on his face and tackles me around the legs throwing me over his shoulders and carting me into my room, laughing.

“Neanderthal.” I smack him on the back to let him know I am not pleased. He smacks me on the bum and then throws me down on the bed.

“Mmmm…wo-man.” He grunts at me in his best caveman voice and then launches himself onto the bed. I roll away just as he lands and scramble to my feet on the bed panting. He stays in his prone position and groans as if he has hurt himself. “Ohhhhhhh”

Oh no. “Baby, are you okay. Did you hurt anything?” I am down on my knees beside him trying to check out his body parts when he rolls grabbing me around the waist and drags me onto his stomach. I scream and swat him with my hand which he grabs and holds at a distance from his body. I am struggling to push it back toward him but he is so strong and I can’t get any leverage.

“Feisty Miss K.” He grinds out through clenched teeth. I try throwing all my weight into moving my arm but get nowhere. Then he rolls me onto my back and pins my arms above my head kissing me passionately. I clamp my lips closed but he forces his tongue inside so I bite gently. Oh, I like this game. He lifts up to look into my eyes as if he is checking if I am okay. I smile to reassure him. Then he reaches over the bed and pulls the belt out of my dressing gown which is hanging on the post of my bed. He shifts me up and ties my wrists firmly to the bed head. I only put up the slightest resistance but mostly I am helping him by shuffling my body into place.

“Kate, are you okay with this?” he asks so gently and it makes me feel safe. If this is the type of role play game he is into, it is fine with me. I really want this. Nodding enthusiastically with wide eyes, he seems to accept my decision and begins what I can only call an all out assault on my body. Using his tongue and lips he licks and kisses down my jaw and neck while undoing my shirt. He pauses to look when he discovers I am not wearing a bra.

“You have the most beautiful breasts, Katie.” He sounds almost reverent as he worships them with his hands and his mouth, kneading and sucking them. My nipples become hard little nubs. I am so needy and my body is squirming until he places a heavily muscled leg between mine and firmly anchors my hips in place. “Keep still baby.”

He runs his tongue down to my stomach, gently tracing his palms down to my waist. His face is a study in passion as he licks around my naval leaving a sensual trail. Languid kisses are peppered across my torso as he undoes my jeans. I toe off my shoes to help out. Sliding down my body he slowly removes my pants kissing my thighs, knees and calves as he goes. Lifting my leg he licks behind my knee sending me into a sensual spasm. Now I am mostly naked and he is fully clothed which doesn’t seem quite right.

“You’re turn Grey. Give me the ‘full monty’.” His eyes light up as he gets the reference and he disappears out to the living room. I am lying there trussed up and waiting when he reappears with the ipod dock and a cowboy hat that was hanging in the hallway. I don’t know whether to laugh or not as I recognize the opening strains of You Can Leave Your Hat On explode from the speakers. He dons the stetson looking all Brad Pitt in Thelma and Louise as he slowly unbuttons his shirt and strips it off. Oh my, you can really move and I am mesmerized by his thrusting hips. My tongue involuntarily snakes out to lick my lips and I’m in a slow burn of want, waiting for him to come back to me but he just keeps on dancing. He moves a chair into the center of the floor and begins the agonizingly sensual task of dry humping it, first facing me and then straddling it to lean into an extended back bend that has his abs rippling. His body is a study in ripped and toned muscle with the only thing missing being a lathering of coconut oil. Fuck, you are so hot!

Walking over to me he unties my hands then lifts my body easily moving me to the chair and tying me back up with my arms behind my back. All the while he is strutting around like a carefully choreographed male stripper and I think I am going to spontaneously combust. He stands close to me before straddling my thighs in a deep plie and stroking down his own thighs. I am fairly sure that I am dripping cream all over the seat and he is so good I want to scream like one of those sad women at a male strip club.

With his crotch firmly planted in front of my face he slowly unbuttons his jeans and slides down the zipper and I swear I could come just watching. My tongue snakes out as he holds the flap open to one side and then the other, letting me see his boxers underneath. He grinds a couple of times into my face and I kiss his hard cock through the denim while he holds my head. Then he steps back and strips them right off.

The rest of his body is as ripped with muscle as his back and stomach. He is all bronze skin and fair hair and simply delicious to watch. I am biting my lip hard trying not to lose control. He turns around and straddles me again but with his butt in my face and I can’t resist the chance to rub my face across his firm cheeks. I try to grab his boxers with my teeth but he moves away, turning and then moves in, front on, for me to try again. This time he lets me succeed and I gingerly try to pull down his shorts with my teeth. He laughs.

Sitting down on my lap, with one hand he palms down my body and I arch into his hand. He steps away again and moving to the music he drags his hands down my thighs which I have firmly clamped together to stop myself from exploding. His intentions are clear when his face is down at hip level and I snap my thighs open so that he is staring straight at my hot wet folds dripping on the seat. His eyes pop and then he tips his head back to look at me.

“Can I help you with that, mam?” He smirks up at me in his best Texan accent. I smile.

“Oh, why yes, Sir,” I reply in a Southern drawl, “I should think a big strong cowboy like yourself might be help me out.” I bat my eyelids at him and he smiles looking directly at my nether regions with hunger.

“Yes mam, I think I have just the thing for that.” And then his fingers thrust inside me as he kisses me. God it feels so good and I lift up and writhe against his touch trying to give him more. Meanwhile my hands have come free of the tie and I shake it off lifting my arms to stroke his back. Reaching over, I pull his shorts down to reveal his firm, proud erection. I bend quickly to give it a lick and he doesn’t remove his fingers from me.

Swiftly, he picks me up off the chair and then turns around to sit down in my place and I slide down on top of him taking his shaft straight into my body. We are both so ready it is incredible and within a few short thrusts we both come hard and fast screaming out each others name.

Right now, all thoughts of my father’s investigations are forgotten, as are my reservations about Christian and Ana. There is only me and Elliot and my heart going a hundred miles a minute. I don’t want to fall in love so fast but what I see in his eyes, feel in his touch – it is almost too hard to resist. Almost.