Chapter 13

Christian pov.

I drive into Escalas underground garage and park in one of the spaces I own, Ana unbuckles her seatbelt and we both get out of the car. I steal glances at her as we walk to the elevator and enter it, I tap the code into the keypad and feel us glide up to the penthouse. I wonder if she would stay with me tonight maybe I should ask her she seems to have enjoyed staying with me so far, I steal another glance at her and think about how beautiful she is. My intentions towards Ana were never harmful I wanted to show her that not every man was going to hurt her, I wanted her to know that not every encounter with a man has to end in heartbreak. However I did not intend to fall in love with her and feel as strongly as I do now for her, I sigh heavily wondering how I can tell her how I feel because I'm not sure she'll trust me enough to be with me like that.

The elevator doors slide open and we enter my apartment together heading towards the kitchen where Ana opens the pantry and starts scanning all the food that's in there, I sit down on the barstool watching her patiently as she disappears into the pantry. I take my phone out and scan my work emails, I quickly type up replies to the important ones and leave the rest for tomorrow. I slip my phone back into my pocket and look up in time to see Ana emerge from the pantry, she's carrying a couple of steaks and a bag of veggies. I watch her move gracefully around my kitchen as she starts to work on the food, I find that I can't take my eyes off of her and she seems to fit very well here this feels almost normal like we've been doing it for years. I watch her cook until there's only a few minutes left until the food is ready then I stand up from my stool, I grab two place mats and some cutlery for us and place them neatly on the breakfast bar. I have a large dining room with a table but I rarely use it since it's normally just me that's here for dinner, once our places are set I get out a bottle of sweet white wine and pour some into two glasses.

Next I get out two plates and place them on the worktop beside her, she smiles and thanks me before carefully plating the food up. Once she's finished she puts the pots she used in the sink and taking out plates we go to the breakfast bar and sit down on our seats. I watch Ana carefully as she eats and she's doing a lot better she seems to be enjoying meals more, she slows down a bit about half way through the meal but she keeps going and manages to clear her plate. I feel a swell of pride as I look at her clean plate and she smiles weakly at me, I get off the stool and take our plates over to the sink then go back to her. I wrap my arm around her back and kiss her head.

"Well done with the meal I'm proud of you slowly but surely you're managing to see that taking care of yourself is important and good" I say and smile at her.

"Thank you Christian you've been a lot of help and you've showed me I need to live my life and stop being so worried" She says.

"You're welcome Ana but it's not just about taking care of yourself it's about trusting other people again especially men don't give up on love Ana" I say trying to see her reaction.

She goes a little bit pale and doesn't answer but I can see she's gone into deep thought, I don't say anything more but take a sip of my wine and wait patiently not wanting to push her. She seems to take a deep breath before finally speaking.

"I don't know if I'll ever be ready for love again Christian I've been hurt too many times and I just don't know if I can trust anyone again" She says.

"Well you've trusted me so far and I haven't left you yet" I say.

"That's different we aren't together Christian we're friends" She says.

"Ana you know our feelings are more than friends you're just afraid to admit it you think I'll hurt and leave you like the others did but I won't I really care for you Ana and I'm not going anywhere" I say.

"Christian I'm sorry I just can't I'm flattered that you feel that way about me but it just can't work" She says.

Before I can say anything else she suddenly stands and runs up the stairs to the second floor, I remember I gave her a tour of the apartment when we first met so I assume she's going to the spare bedroom I showed her to have some space. I sigh heavily and head towards my bedroom closing the door, I drag my hand through my hair in frustration and head towards the ensuite bathroom stripping as I go. I turn the shower on and step under the hot water sighing as it feels like it's washing all the bad things away, I think about what just happened with Ana maybe it was too soon maybe I shouldn't have said anything maybe it was too soon.

Ana pov.

I rush to the spare room and close the door behind me before crawling on to the bed, I curl up into a bed and think about what just happened and how I reacted. I feel a twang of guilt that it went like that he probably thinks I don't feel the same about him now, I know I feel the same about him how could I not fall for him when he's been so good to me but everyone always leaves me how can I trust that he won't do the same. Tears well in my eyes as I think about what to do about this situation, I know that I should put my fears aside and give him a chance but I'm just too afraid but I do owe it to him to talk about it instead of freaking out and running off on him.

I wipe away my tears and sit up on the edge of the bed, I take a deep breath and stand up heading to the bedroom door. I follow the hallway to the staircase and descend to the lower floor, I pad barefoot to Christian's bedroom door and knock on it waiting for an answer. After a minute I don't hear a reply so I slowly push the door open and peak inside, I look around the room and don't see Christian anywhere so I slip inside. I go further into the room and I notice an open doorway, I move towards it without thinking and peak inside to see a very naked Christian switching the shower on and going inside the cubicle.

I'm about to turn away to give him some privacy when he to the side giving me a good view of his member, everything below my waist heats up as I see how big he is and I can't tear my eyes away from him. I force myself to look away and exit the room because I don't want to get caught watching him and I don't want to invade his privacy, I go back upstairs to the spare bedroom to wait for a few minutes then I'll go back down to see if he's out the shower. I lay down on the bed and can't help but wonder what it would feel like to have him inside of me, I feel myself getting hot again and I spread my legs and let my hand wander down.

I start to rub circles on my clit thinking of Christian and his member, I moan as my folds starts to get wet and move my hand down to slide a finger inside. I ease my finger in and out moaning loudly forgetting about my surroundings for a minute, I move my finger faster rubbing my inner wall and moaning louder as I feel myself starting to build. I move my hips and moan loud as I start to cum on my fingers, I moan one more time as I start to come down from my high and pant heavily. I blush deeply when I remember where I am and realise how loud I was moaning, I say a silent prayer that Christian is still in the shower and didn't hear me.

I steady my breathing and fix my clothes before climbing off the bed, I go into the bathroom and check myself over in an attempt to make myself look presentable. Satisfied I go to the bedroom door and slip in to the hallway, I can hear a faint sound of music coming from downstairs so I follow the sound of it to the living room. Christian is sitting at his piano gently pressing the keys with his fingers listening intently, I stand in the shadows for a minute listening to the sweet melody he is playing. After a few minutes I approach the piano making myself known and I sit beside him.

"I'm sorry about earlier I shouldn't have freaked out the way I did you were just trying to be honest with me" I say.

"It's okay Ana I understand how you feel it's scary trying to love again when you've been hurt by someone but I'm not like them Ana I won't hurt you I promise" He says.

"I know and because you were honest with me I'll admit I do feel the same way about you Christian how could I not fall for you when you've treated me with so much tenderness and kindness" I say.

"We can take things slow Ana all I ask is that we try you can set the pace everything will be in your control" He says.

I smile at him feeling a little better now that we've talked, I go quiet for a little while enjoying the sound of him playing the piano. Finally after thinking for a while I make my decision and turn to him.

"Okay I will give it a go but I can't promise this will be easy Christian I won't trust quickly" I say.

"I know you won't Ana and I'll be patient with you and show you that you can trust me" He says.

He stops playing and takes my hand in his while his other hand slowly strokes my cheek, I smile at him and he lowers his lips to mine so we share a brief kiss. He pulls away before it gets to passionate so I don't feel rushed, we spend the rest of the evening talking and laying down together which feels nice and safe. I don't know if this is going to work or if I'll be able to open myself up to trust him but I'm willing to try because I feel a lot for him.