Chapter 1

I'm sitting at the table in the living room of my suite at the Heathman Hotel. My laptop is open in front of me and I'm performing the banalities of my job; responding to emails, checking on shipments etc. I more than once find my mind unintentionally wandering to the enigma that is Miss Anastasia Steele. I can't get the image of the way she looked today out of my head. She was all tight jeans, petite waist and luscious brunette hair. Although unquestionably more beautiful than any of my previous subs, that isn't as far as my attraction to her goes and I'm left wondering what it is about her that has my mind in such a mess. Is it her smart mouth? Her intellectual mind? Her shyness? I just can't put my finger on it, all I know is I want to see her again.

My BlackBerry buzzes on the table next to me and I swoop it up and answer curtly.

"Grey."

"Err… Mr. Grey? It's Anastasia Steele."

I smile. She sounds breathless and slightly nervous. The tone of her voice does things to me and I have to compose myself for a moment before I respond.

"Miss Steele. How nice to hear from you." Well, that was the understatement of the century. I'm over the moon. Ecstatic even. This means I'll see her again! Wait, what the fuck am I doing? I'm acting like a damn schoolgirl, that's what. I do not get excited because a girl calls. I am Christian Trevelyan-Grey.

"Err – we'd like to go ahead with the photo-shoot for the article. Tomorrow, if that's okay. Where would be convenient for you, sir?"

My breath hitches at the sound of her calling me 'sir' and I can only hope that soon she will be doing so a lot more often. I'm smiling widely when I reply.

"I'm staying at the Heathman in Portland. Shall we say, nine thirty tomorrow morning?"

"Okay, we'll see you there," she says, still in that breathy tone of voice.

"I look forward to it, Miss Steele." Another understatement. She hangs up.

At nine twenty-five the next morning, I get a call from reception to inform me that Miss Steele has arrived and which room number they're setting up in. I thank the woman on the phone and make my way down to the room. I can't quash the excitement building up in me at the mere thought of seeing Anastasia again. Jeez, no woman has had this effect on me. Ever. And I'm only now beginning to understand what this means. But all I can offer her is a Dom/sub relationship. That's all I'm willing to give and I'm not even sure if she'll go for it, in fact, I doubt she will, but, God, I hope she does. That's the only type of relationship I want, isn't it?

I shake the thoughts from my brain as I arrive at the room. I open the door and my gaze immediately finds hers. I don't take my eyes away from her face as she slowly looks me up and down. I'm dressed in my usual: grey flannel pants and a white linen shirt. My hair is still slightly damp from the shower I took not too long ago and, at the moment, I'm glad, because Miss Steele is looking at it as if she wants to run her fingers through it. And, damn if I don't want her to. Her hands are down by her sides and her fingers involuntarily twitch. She probably doesn't even realise she's doing it. I smirk at her.

Taylor comes into the suite behind me and quietly shuts the door.

"Miss Steele, we meet again." I extend my hand and she does the same. My fingers close around her delicate hand and the pull I felt when we first shook hands shoots through me. Her erratic breathing tells me she feels it too. I let go.

"Mr Grey, this is Katherine Kavanagh," she mutters, waving her hand in the general direction of her friend. Ah, yes, the persistent Katherine. She looks at me with menacing eyes and I get the feeling she already doesn't like me. I'm not sure why. Perhaps she's just a good judge of character. She is definitely good looking. She has strawberry-blonde hair and shrewd green eyes that shamelessly assess me. Unquestionably gorgeous, yet I send a silent 'thank you' to a deity that it was Anastasia that literally fell into my life and not her friend.

"The tenacious Miss Kavanagh. How do you do?" I ask, giving her a small smile. "I trust you're feeling better? Anastasia said you were unwell last week," I say as I extend my hand. She grips it firmly and shakes, without breaking eye contact, showing her confidence.

"I'm fine, thank you, Mr Grey. Thank you for taking the time to do this."

Thank you for being ill last week.

"It's a pleasure," I tell her and turn around to look at Ana once again. She blushes. Yes, it's most definitely a pleasure.

"This is José Rodriguez: our photographer," she says, smiling fondly at the young man. He smiles affectionately back at her. What the fuck is this? Oh, shit, is he her boyfriend? If Welch overlooked something as crucial as this, he is definitely getting an earful. Fuck, fuck, fuck. I maintain my cool demeanour despite wanting to throw something, preferably at José.

"Mr Grey," he says, nodding politely.

"Mr Rodriguez," I reply in what can only be described as an arctic tone. "Where would you like me?" I ask.

Katherine takes over at this point, clearly the one in charge. "Mr Grey – if you could sit here, please? Be careful of the lighting cables. And then we'll do a few standing, too," she says, indicating for me to sit on a chair near the wall. The kid in charge of lighting directs a spotlight at me, almost blinding me in the process. He quickly mutters an apology. The kid stands back with Anastasia while the photographer begins to snap away. Why I've agreed to do this, I just don't know. Actually, yes, I do. I know exactly the reason and she's standing a few feet in front of me. The shoot is rather tedious as I'm instructed to move this way and that. For goodness sake, how many pictures do they need? I catch Anastasia's eye twice and both times she quickly turns away as that beautiful shade of pink creeps across her perfect skin.

After a while, the photographer declares that he has enough pictures. Thank fuck. Now, to more important matters. I'm thanked again and I shake hands with Katherine and José.

"I look forward to reading the article, Miss Kavanagh." I turn to Anastasia who is standing silently near the door. "Will you walk with me, Miss Steele?" I ask her.

"Sure," she replies, looking anything but sure.

"Good day to you all," I tell the others. My gaze catches the photographer's as I turn toward the exit and his scowl deepens. If she isn't his girlfriend, he definitely wants her to be. That won't be happening. I open the door and gesture for Anastasia to vacate the room before me. I exit as does Taylor, who is following closely behind me. Anastasia is fidgeting nervously with her hands.

"I'll call you, Taylor," I tell him, effectively dismissing him. Anastasia looks even more nervous when I turn back to her. Maybe she can sense that my tastes are for less conventional fare and that I'd like to do things to her she's probably never even considered. I hope she'll consider them for me.

"I wondered if you would join me for coffee this morning," I say. Anastasia's mouth opens and closes a few times and there's a look on her face that tells me she didn't expect me to say that. What's wrong with me asking her for coffee? I thought that was a normal thing to do when you're attracted to someone. Perhaps she doesn't see just how attracted to her I am. This, I find difficult to believe considering my breath catches in my throat every damn time she smiles. She must realise this. I wonder if she even knows just how alluring she is. I doubt it; she certainly seems like the modest type.

She clears her throat and announces "I have to drive everyone home." She's still fidgeting with her hands and I badly want to reach out and stop her. But I refrain.

"Taylor!" I call, making her jump.

"Are they based at the university?" I ask her, softening my voice so she doesn't jump again. She's so flighty. I briefly wonder why that is. She nods to answer my question.

"Taylor can take them. He's my driver. We have a large 4x4 here, so he'll be able to take the equipment, too."

"Mr Grey?" Taylor asks.

"Please can you drive the photographer, his assistant and Miss Kavanagh back home?"

"Certainly, sir," he says.

"There. Now you can join me for coffee." I smile at her. You're not getting out of this, Anastasia.

She frowns and looks down briefly. "Um – Mr Grey, err, this really… look, Taylor doesn't have to drive them home." She looks over my shoulder nervously. "I'll swap vehicles with Kate, if you give me a moment."

I smile widely at her and she stares at my mouth for a moment, making me want to put it to better use. Instead, my smile just widens. I open the door to the suite so she can speak with her friend. When she enters, I turn to Taylor and mouth 'phew'. He looks down to hide his grin. He's never seen me take a woman out for coffee before. Hell, he's never even seen me with a woman aside from my family, Elena or one of my subs. I think he can tell this time is different. Is it different, though? I still just want her to be my sub. I think. No, I know. Yes, I just want her to be my sub.