fifty-shades-of-grey

“Are you hungry?” he asks, distracting me from my thoughts.Oh no… food.“No.”“Have you eaten today?”I stare at him. Honesty… Holy crap, he’s not going to like my answer.“No.” My voice is small.He narrows his eyes.“You have to eat, Anastasia. We can eat down here or in my suite. What would youprefer?”“I think we should stay in public, on neutral ground.”He smiles sardonically.“Do you think that would stop me?” he says softly, a sensual warning.My eyes widen, and I swallow again.“I hope so.”“Come, I have a private dining room booked. No public.” He smiles at me enigmaticallyand climbs out of the booth, holding his hand out to me.“Bring your wine,” he murmurs.Placing my hand in his, I slide out and stand up beside him. He releases me, and hishand reaches for my elbow. He leads me back through the bar and up the grand stairs to amezzanine floor. A young man in full Heathman livery approaches us.“Mr. Grey, this way sir.”We follow him through a plush seating area to an intimate dining room. Just onesecluded table. The room is small but sumptuous. Beneath a shimmering chandelier,the table is all starched linen, crystal glasses, silver cutlery, and white rose bouquet. Anold-world, sophisticated charm pervades the wood-paneled room. The waiter pulls out mychair, and I sit. He places my napkin in my lap. Christian sits opposite me. I peek up athim.“Don’t bite your lip,” he whispers.I frown. Damn it. I don’t even know that I’m doing it.“I’ve ordered already. I hope you don’t mind.”Frankly, I’m relieved, I’m not sure I can make any further decisions.“No, that’s fine,” I acquiesce.“It’s good to know that you can be amenable. Now, where were we?”“The nitty-gritty.” I take another large sip of wine. It really is delicious. ChristianGrey does wine well. I remember the last sip of wine he gave me, in my bed. I blush atthe intrusive thought.“Yes, your issues.” He fishes into his inside jacket pocket and pulls out a piece of paper.My email.“Clause 2. Agreed. This is for the benefit of us both. I shall redraft.”I blink at him. Holy shit… we are going to go through each of these points one at atime. I just don’t feel so brave face to face. He looks so earnest. I steel myself with anothersip of my wine. Christian continues.“My sexual health. Well, all of my previous partners have had blood tests, and I haveregular tests every six months for all the health risks you mention. All my recent tests are