A/N: I told myself that after I finished the 'Mine Now' series, I wouldn't write anymore. Well, I'm only halfway through the second one and here I am writing another one! This one, however, is special because I'm writing it with my good friend Sanjana (SanjanaSandeep232), who is an enabler and who can't control her compulsion for fan fiction either. *Smiles*

Don't forget to check out our board 'Sparks' on Pinterest under my name, 'NineN3Quarters'

Disclaimer: We do not receive compensation or own rights to anything Fifty Shades related, although, neither of us would mind owning Jamie for a day...or two.

Sanjana and I hope you enjoy this fan fiction as much as we are enjoying writing it! Now, without further ado...on with the story.

*Christian's POV*

I haven't seen my brother this week, so when he called, practically begging me to come over tonight, I couldn't say no. Lately, my life has consisted of Elliot and work. I've been throwing myself into my work...not that I haven't always done that...but even more now. I haven't had a submissive in three months. Three long months of being celibate can really fuck you up in the brain, but I've forced myself into work, trying to put the thought of my neglected dick to the back of my mind. I work, I eat, I sleep, I even shower at work. Escala seems so large and cold now, it isn't worth even going anymore. My playroom is still there. Although I know I need to get rid of it, something is keeping me from giving Taylor the approval to destroy it. I know that part of my life is over, but it's such a big piece of me. By throwing away the BDSM, I feel like I'm throwing away another piece of myself. I'm not willing to part with it just yet. I'm broken and damaged, and don't have many pieces left.

Three months ago, Elliot caught me whipping a little brown-headed girl in my playroom. That day will always stick out in my mind. The look on my brother's face when I faced him, horrified me. I was beginning to lose interest in the lifestyle already, it no longer helping me cope with my rage, so when Elliot barged in, it was just the final nail in the coffin.

My thoughts roll back to the last day I had Emma.

I have my newest submissive, Emma, bent over the whipping bench while I hold my favorite belt in my hand. I am punishing her for coming without permission. Granted, I brought her to the brink of orgasm six times and denied her each time, she still disobeyed me. So unfortunate... even the most established submissives can't control themselves. I can't deny that I did this on purpose; I need a reason to punish her. I have been strung tight for the past week. Ros and I have been busting our asses on this Detroit deal for the last six months and today, it just went south. I stormed out of my office and came home to find Emma in the kitchen cooking dinner. I threw my shit on the counter and ordered her to the playroom.

"You will be whipped twelve times. Count, Ms. Stewart. "

" Yes, sir." She answers.

I lash out the first hit and she starts counting, keeping quiet like a good submissive. As I continue whipping her ass, I feel the rush of control and arousal flood through my entire body, but my rage hasn't diminished. I am breathless and ready to fuck by the time we reach ten, but I am brought out of my euphoria by someone pushing me aside. As I fall on my ass, I see Elliot standing there with a look of disgusted shock on his face and I feel all the blood drain from my own. Elliot is screaming at me while he tries to cover Emma up, but she struggles away from his grip and comes to me on her knees to ask if I am okay.

"I'M FINE, EMMA! JUST GET YOUR SHIT AND GET THE FUCK OUT!"

We both watch as she runs out in tears, but I can't give a fuck because I am on the verge of a panic attack.

My brother rounds on me. "What kind of sick fuck are you?"

We ended up on the couch with a bottle of scotch and I told him everything. Every God-damned thing from Elena, to my lifestyle and my submissives. Fuck, that night I even presented him my contract that I present to all of my submissives. By the time I was done explaining my lifestyle choice, I was prepared for him to tell me to fuck off and never to speak to him again; to anyone in the family, for that matter. Instead, he surprised the shit out of me and hugged me. I struggled to get out of his hold, but he just crushed me to himself tighter, telling me that he loves me no matter what and that everything will be alright in the end. He was furious at Elena, but I took her side like I always do.

After seeing my brother so concerned, I knew I could never continue with my lifestyle choice. I told him I was willing to change and he promised me he'd help and that he wouldn't go spouting off to my parents about all this shit. Since then, we've spent every minute we can together. My brother and I have never been closer. Our newfound relationship is almost worth my dry spell...almost.

I make my way up the walk to his house, knock on the door, and he opens it with a smile.

"Hey, bro! Beer?" He hands me a cold, open beer and I'm grateful.

"Perfect, El. Thanks." I step inside of his foyer and take a large gulp of the frosty beverage, sighing after I swallow.

"Figured you needed a cold one." He mentions, chuckling. "Let's head downstairs. I've already got Halo loaded on the X-Box One."

I let out a dramatic groan as I follow him down to the basement. My brother has always been better at these games than me. Of course, he plays them a lot more than I get to, so it really isn't fair.

We plop down on his black leather sofa, in front of the two televisions and two x-boxes that have been set up, so that we can play against one another. I tease my brother about how far his gaming obsession goes, but he knows how to have a good time.

We're both three beers and four games in when he clears his throat.

"I just wanted to let you know that my new girl will be stopping by soon."

The grin that's been plastered on my face for the last twenty minutes has fallen. "Why?"

"Well, you have to meet her sometime, Chris."

"Do I? And don't call me Chris, Lelliot."

My brother snorts and pauses the game, turning towards me. "Come on. I want you to meet her! We've been dating for a month now. That's a long time for me!"

I'll give him that much.

"Come on, Christian. I want to see if she passes the brother test."

I chuckle and shake my head, taking a swig of my beer. He pouts dramatically at me and I quirk my eyebrow.

"What I think really matters that much to you?"

He nods, grinning, knowing he's trapped me.

"Fine."

He relaxes back into his seat and unpauses the game. "Great. She'll be here in fifteen minutes...and she's bringing a friend."

I pause the game. "What. The. Fuck."

Elliot chuckles and opens another beer. He's finding this shit amusing.

"Christian...it's time to try a regular relationship."

"Relationship? I don't do-"

"Yea, yea...I know. You don't do 'vanilla', whatever the fuck that means! Will it kill you to go on one fucking date? You're 27 years old for Christ's sake. It's time to pop your dating cherry, dude."

I rub my face roughly with both hands. My brother is fucking mental. "I don't think you could classify this as a date."

He shrugs. "It's not. We're just hanging out. I wouldn't throw you to the wolves, dude. If you like her, then make your move. If not, then move on."

I throw my hands up, succumbing to my fate. "Fine. Can you at least tell me this girl's name?"

"Anastasia."

My mouth bobs open a bit.

"Hot, right?" He grins, wiggling his eyebrows at me.

I hear footsteps overhead and cock an eyebrow at him.

"She has a key."

"SHE HAS A KEY?" My eyes bug out of my head, but he coughs loudly to cover up my surprise as the girls come down the stairs.

He stands up and I follow his lead, not happy about being sucked into this shit. The girls come around the corner and I notice a tall, strawberry blonde in a short black and white jumpsuit with black heels and I can't help but notice her legs go all the way up. A petite brunette steps from behind her, wearing a white button down, tight jeans and navy chucks. Oh, fuck me.

Please let the blonde be Kate.

I watch Elliot greet the blonde and I can't help my smirk. Not that the girl isn't beautiful, but she's trying to hard. I don't mind blondes, but they don't do anything for me. Perhaps being with Elena has sworn me off of them. I almost snort at the thought.

"Christian, this is my girl, Kate, and her best friend, Anastasia. Girls, this is my brother, Christian."

I shake Kate's hand first, greeting her, and then move to Anastasia. She looks up at me with the biggest blue eyes I have ever seen and every nerve-ending in my body lights up. I'm fucked. I concentrate all my energy on keeping my dick from introducing himself.

As she's shaking my hand, her eyebrows knit together and I realize that she had no idea that I was going to be here. My brother is a fucking asshole.

She greets me politely and cocks an eyebrow at Elliot, looking for an explanation. "I wasn't aware that anyone else would be here."

He shrugs. "It's just my brother."

"Don't worry, Anastasia. I seemed to have missed the same memo."

She gives me a soft smile and my breath catches again when it causes her eyes to light up. "Call me, Ana."

*Ana's POV*

I could just kill Kate for doing this to me! She told me that we were just coming to Elliot's to hang out for a bit, because she had an early morning. I've only met Elliot twice before and she's been busy, so I agreed. I haven't see Kate in almost three weeks, because she's started a job at the Seattle Times and the hours are ridiculous. Thinking nothing of it, I throw on some old jeans and chucks, making myself comfortable, and then I'm greeted by the most beautiful man I have ever laid eyes on. The man is an Adonis. Now I'm stuck here in Elliot's basement watching him and Adonis shooting at each other on the X-Box while Kate roots for Elliot. Watching Kate do this does make me laugh. She never cared about video games when her brother, Ethan, was playing. Kate doesn't have much of an attention span when it comes to men, so I don't imagine her keeping this charade up for long, although it is entertaining to see her so enthralled with him. She tells me he's different than the others, but we'll see how this pans out.

My eyes keep wandering to Adonis on the other couch and can't help, but crack a smile at how cute he is while trying to beat his brother. Maybe being here isn't so bad.

"Ana..."

My head jerks away from Mr. Adonis and my eyes find Kate, who is staring intently at me.

"What is going on?" She asks quietly, a look of worry on her face.

My eyebrows knit together. "What do you mean?"

She looks over at the men, making sure they're still watching the game, and turns back to me. "Something is going on. You're skinny as a rail, your mind keeps drifting when I'm talking to you, and you look like you haven't slept in ages."

I chew my lip and look down at my fiddling thumbs. I knew I couldn't keep this from her.

"Ana...tell me." She coaxes, sliding closer.

I shrug. "I lost my job."

Her eyes bulge. "When?"

"Um, about five weeks ago."

"Anastasia Steele! Why didn't you tell me?"

I shake my head. "I just..." I look away for a second, trying to find my bearings. "I just didn't want to make a big deal out of it."

"What happened?"

Should I tell her? Should I lie? Oh, who am I kidding? I'm a shit liar.

"If I tell you, you've got to promise not to go thermonuclear on me. What's done is done, and I just want to move on."

She nods. "Okay, I promise. Now tell me."

I rub the back of my neck for a second and take a deep breath. "My boss, Jack..."

"The owner?"

I nod. "Yes. One day he called me into his office and tried to hit on me, but I told him I wasn't interested. I didn't want to be that girl. He didn't take it very well and he tried to force-"

"HE ATTACKED YOU?" Elliot's voice is loud and makes me wince.

Crap.

Looking over, I see that the game is paused and both men are looking at me.

"Um...I guess you could say that." I wring my hands and pray that this couch will open up and swallow me whole.

"Ana...did he...?" Kate looks panicked, but I shake my head quickly.

"Nothing happened. Another employee came in and I booked it out of there. He sent me a text, warning me not to tell anyone and that he'll let it go if I came back to work. I tried to go back, but I just couldn't. When I told him I wasn't coming back, he said a few colorful words and told me I'd never find a job in publishing again. So far, he's been right. I've had three interviews, but after, I never heard anything back."

Kate throws herself at me in a hug and lets out a sob. "Oh, Ana! Why didn't you tell me? How are you getting by? Why don't you come live with me?"

My eyes widen. "Oh, no, Kate. Thank you, but I'm alright." She releases me and sits up. She doesn't look happy at my answer. "Really...I'm fine. Things have been tight, but I've gotten through. I've got another interview at Seattle Independent Publishing on Tuesday. I'm feeling good about it."

"Are you sure?" It looks as if I've broken her heart and it makes me feel guilty.

"Yes, I'm sure. Thank you."

"When was the last time you've eaten?"

"I had an apple a couple hours ago...you saw me eat it."

"That's not what I mean, Steele."

I roll my eyes. "I am fine. Stop being like that."

*Christian's POV*

I'll kill the fucker.

I don't even know who this Jack is, but I'll find him. He attacked Anastasia and left her with no source of income or job security.

When she mentions SIP, my ears perk up. I immediately pull my phone out of my pocket and pull up Roach's email.

'If you hire Anastasia Steele, you've got yourself a deal.'

I've been looking into publishing and came along SIP when I heard that the owner, Steve Roach, was wanting to sell it and retire. The only problem we've had is that we can't settle on a number. He states that my numbers are too low; I know his numbers are too high. I've got more fucking money than I know what to do with, so why not use it to help someone out? Anastasia will never have to know.

While I'm busy with my phone, I hear Kate ask Anastasia when the last time she's eaten was. My whole body goes rigid and suddenly, I want to punish Anastasia for being so careless about her nutrition. Kate is right; she's too thin. Before I can stew too much, her phone rings and she jumps up, making we way out of the room.

I need a drink.

I stand and stretch, trying to work the kinks out of my rigid muscles. "I'm grabbing a beer. You want one?"

Elliot nods. "Thanks, bro."

I make my way into the other room, where the basement kitchen is located, and find Anastasia leaning over the counter, holding her stomach.

"Is everything okay, Anastasia?"

She straightens up immediately. "Huh? Oh, yes. Everything's fine. I just found out that my interview has been changed to tomorrow morning and I'm just a little nervous is all."

I give her an uncertain nod and make my way to the fridge.

"Do you want anything to drink?"

"No, thank you. I should probably get going, so that I can prepare for the interview." She pushes off the counter and takes a step before grabbing her head.

"Anastasia?"

"I'm...I'm fine. Just a little..." Her eyes roll back in her head and I lunge out to grab her just before she hits the floor.

Just fucking great. If she had been eating properly, this would have never happened. Now, I really want to punish this sweet little ass of hers.

I shuffle her in my arms until I've got her behind her knees and back and carry her back into the other room.

*Ana's POV*

My eyes flutter open and I'm greeted by three worried faces. Oh, god! I groan and cover my face with my hands. I am absolutely mortified. I feel a poke in my ribs, making me startle and let out a squeak, and I pull my hands away from my face to glare at my best friend.

"What the hell happened?" Kate's angry.

I ignore her and begin to push myself up, a bunch of hands grabbing at me to help me. Honestly. Could this be any more humiliating? Once I'm sitting, I pull my knees up to my chest and hide my face.

"You know you can't hide forever." Elliot sounds amused and it only makes my cheeks burn more.

"I'm fine." I answer through my knees.

"Like hell you are! If you were fine, Christian wouldn't have had to catch you before you broke your face!"

"Oh my god." I peek up and see them staring at me. My eyes find the Adonis. "I'm sorry."

I watch his jaw tick a few times and he swallows. He looks annoyed...angry even. "You need to eat, Anastasia."

I nod. "I intend to when I get home. I've just been busy today, I haven't really thought-"

"You'll eat now."

My mouth clamps shut in surprise. "I'm...I'm sorry?" Did I hear him right?

"You heard me. Come." He stands up and I watch him with my mouth gaping.

My eyes flick over to Kate and I find her trying to hide a silent giggle behind her hand. The cow finds this funny!

"Don't make me carry you." My eyes snap back up to the copper Adonis. It's a warning.

"You wouldn't..." Would he?

He comes towards me to grab me and I throw my hands out. "Okay, okay! I'm going!" I jump up and he stops in his tracks.

"Wise choice, Miss Steele."

I begrudgingly make my way towards the stairs and have to force myself not to stomp up the steps on my way up like a child. I must do a poor job of controlling myself, because I hear him chuckle behind me. Oh, how I'd love to turn around and give him a nice little push. When I reach the top of the stairs, he places a hand on the small of my back and steers me into the kitchen, Elliot and Kate trailing behind.

"Sit." He points to the stool at the breakfast bar and I cock an eyebrow at him, but I do as he says...and I don't know why.

"Has anyone ever told you how domineering you are?"

He gives me a full-out, pantie-dropper smile and I almost liquify in my seat. Holy crap.

"A fair few."

Elliot chuckles behind him as he goes to the fridge to find something. Is Elliot as domineering as Christian? He doesn't seem to be that way. In fact, he seems pretty easy going. I wonder if they get along well; being brothers probably creates a lifetime bond that can't be broken. Being an only child, I won't ever understand that bond. I've seen Kate and Ethan together and their relationship is so sweet. Suddenly, I'm feeling lonely. I really need to make more time for friends. I've been boxed up in my little studio apartment pouting and feeling sorry for myself for the last month. I need to get out.

I hear the door of the fridge shut, pulling me out of my thoughts. Elliot shoves something in the microwave and starts it before turning back to us, leaning against the counter. Kate takes a seat next to me and suddenly it's quiet. This is so awkward. I should have never come. I should have convinced Kate to come to my apartment or to see Elliot by herself.

Five long minutes later, the microwave dings and Elliot pulls it out, sifts through the silverware drawer, and stirs the black container. He plops it down in front of me.

"Food." He states, grinning.

Looking down, I see that it's mac and cheese. "Thank you, chef. It looks delicious." I grin up at Elliot before digging in and taking my first bite. I groan. So good.

I look up and find all three of them staring at me. "I feel really self-conscious with all of you staring at me." I look down at the box and poke at a few pieces with my fork.

"Kate...why don't we give these two a few minutes?"

These two? My head jerks up in time to see Christian giving his brother a slight nod and eyebrow raise. What the hell does that mean? Why do I have a feeling I'm about to get chastised like a two-year-old.

Kate squeezes my shoulder and makes her way to Elliot, who takes her hand and escorts her out of the room. Christian moves and my eyes automatically follow him, seeing him pull out another fork. My eyebrow quirks at him as I watch him make his way around the counter and he takes a seat next to me. He reaches over to my black container full of mac and cheese and my eyes follow his hand. Holy shit, his hands are sexy.

I squeeze my eyes shut for a second, chastising myself. What am I thinking? How can a hand be classified as sexy?

He pulls the container over so that it's between us and dips his fork in.

"Help yourself there, Grey. Would it be easier if I just fed it to you?" Wow. Where did that come from?

His iron gray eyes meet my blue ones and he smirks. "If you would prefer, Miss Steele."

My mouth drops open and his eyebrows raise in amusement. "That's what I thought. Now, eat."

My mouth clicks shut and my look of shock turns into a scowl. So demanding.

"Eat." He states again, pushing the black container toward me a little.

Pick your battles, Steele. I force my eyes off of his annoyingly-beautiful face and concentrate on getting through this meal. We eat in silence and when the container is empty, I offer to take his fork and throw the container in the trash, the forks in the sink.

I force myself to turn around to face him. I wring my hands, a nervous habit, and clear my throat. "I better get going. Thank you for everything tonight. I appreciate you not poking fun at my embarrassment." My cheeks are heating up as I speak and I keep my eyes on my fumbling fingers. I can't look at him.

Suddenly, his Nike's come into view and my chin is being lifted by his warm fingers. My heart beats hard in my chest, but I push my nerves aside, making eye contact with him and I'm surprised to see concern on his face.

"You don't have any reason to be embarrassed, Anastasia." Oh?

"I...well...um, thank you." Bumbling idiot.

The corners of his mouth pull up into a small smile. "You're more than welcome." He releases my chin and steps back, leaning against the cabinet. "How's your stomach? Does it still hurt?"

I take second and realize my stomach pain is gone. "It's better."

His smile morphs into a relieved grin. "Good." He raises his hand, palm out. "Give me your phone."

"What?" He's crazy!

"Let me have your phone."

"Why?"

"So, I can input my number."

Oh, wow.

My hand reaches in my back pocket, but stills on top of it. "Say please."

He rolls his eyes and I cock an eyebrow at him.

He lets out a chuckle and throws his hands up in defeat. "Please."

"Please, what?" I ask, trying and failing to conceal my smug grin.

"Please, may I have your phone?" His tone is flat.

I let out a giggle and hand him my phone. "You may."

I wait patiently while he puts his number into my phone and hands it back. "If you ever need anything, please don't hesitate to ask, Miss Steele. I never want what happened tonight to happen again."

"Oh...well, thank you, but I'm sure I'll be fine. It's never happened before and I'm sure it won't again." He cocks an eyebrow, disbelieving. "Really...I'm fine. I've got that interview tomorrow and I'm optimistic."

He gives me a nod. "I have no doubt that they'll hire you, Anastasia."

I want to roll my eyes at him. He doesn't even know me! I know he's just trying to be nice, so I smile sweetly and thank him. I excuse myself and find Kate and Elliot 'wrestling' on the couch. Their lips are locked, they're half-naked, and grinding all over each other.

I hear a cough behind me, and turn my head to see Christian, looking put-off.

Kate jumps off of Elliot and reaches behind her to re-zip her one-piece. I cover my smile behind my hand while she runs around, trying to find her discarded shoes. Elliot watches her in amusement, too, not bothering to get up to help. He lets her fret over finding her shoes for a few more seconds before he reaches behind him and produces both of her shoes. She gives him a scowl and rips them out of his hand.

"You're a menace."

Elliot gives her a cheeky grin.

Kate slips on her black heels and straightens herself before acknowledging my presence.

"Ready?" She asks with a flushed face.

I giggle. "You going to be okay?"

She gives me a playful scowl and rolls her eyes. "I'm fine. Let's go."

XxXxXx

The next morning I wake to my doorbell ringing. I sit up quickly, checking the time.

7:00 am.

The doorbell rings again and I jump out of bed, grabbing my fuzzy pink robe, and head towards the door. I look through my peephole and see three people with bags in their hands.

"What the hell?"

I unlock my door and open it a little.

"May I help you?"

"Anastasia Steele?" A blonde man with brown eyes asks.

"Yes?"

"Delivery from Carson's grocery."

"I'm sorry? I didn't order anything." I am beyond confused.

"Here." He hands me a piece of card stock and I step back, allowing the three people with hands full of groceries in, while I look at it.

It's a thick, white, 3x5 card. On one side in silver it reads Christian Grey. I flip it over and there's a hand-written note...well, word.

Eat.

I laugh. My index finger slides over the word while I grin. So demanding.

"Miss? Where do you put your dry goods?" I'm pulled out of my moment by a pretty Indian woman.

"Oh, just put everything on the counter. I'll put it away, thank you."

Remembering a tip, I hurry to my handbag and pull out my last bill, a $20. I hand it to the Indian woman, but she puts her hand up, denying it.

"Already taken care of. Have a wonderful day, Miss Steele." She smiles at me and the other two men wave as they make a quick exit.

That man.

*Christian's POV*

I'm just slipping on my Rolex when I hear my phone vibrate on my nightstand. Looking at the clock, I grin. Right on time.

*Thank you, Christian.*

*You're welcome, Anastasia. Now, do as the card instructs.*

*So domineering, Mr. Grey.*

I laugh. *So stubborn, Miss Steele.*

*Not so. As matter-of-fact, I'm making myself an omelette as we speak.*

*Good. Enjoy your plethora of groceries, Miss Steele.*

*Plethora is an understatement, Mr. Grey. They barely fit in my kitchen. Too many for one person. I'm worried it might waste.*

*We can't have that, Miss Steele. Maybe you should cook for two. As a thank you, maybe?*

I can't help, but hold my breath. I've never had problems with women falling at my feet, quite literally, but with Anastasia...she seems unaffected. It intrigues me.

It takes her a couple of minutes, but she finally texts me back. *Maybe, I will.*

I grin. *Maybe, soon?*

*Maybe, tomorrow?*

*Maybe...*

*Maybe...7ish?*

"Ish." I state out loud, snorting. I wait a few minutes on purpose, slipping on my jacket and making my way into the kitchen for some orange juice before answering.

*Ish.*