Read Grey for Free Online Page A

hurry the fuck up.
    “Yes,” I hiss through my teeth and glance over at Ana, who quickly looks away.
    She’s watching me. Is she checking me out?
    A bubble of hope swells in my chest.
    “There you go.” The woman winks and places the drinks on my tray. “Pay at the register, honey, and you have a nice day, now.”
    I manage a cordial response. “Thank you.”
    At the table Anastasia is staring at her fingers, reflecting on heaven knows what.
    Me?
    “Penny for your thoughts?” I ask.
    She jumps and turns red as I set out her tea and my coffee. She sits mute and mortified. Why? Does she really not want to be here?
    “Your thoughts?” I ask again, and she fidgets with the teabag.
    “This is my favorite tea,” she says, and I revise my mental note that it’s Twinings English Breakfast tea she likes. I watch her dunk the teabag in the teapot. It’s an elaborate and messy spectacle. She fishes it out almost immediately and places the used teabag on her saucer. My mouth is twitching with my amusement. As she tells me she likes her tea weak and black, for a moment I think she’s describing what she likes in a man.
    Get a grip, Grey. She’s talking about tea.
    Enough of this preamble; it’s time for some due diligence in this deal. “Is he your boyfriend?”
    Her brows knit together, forming a small v above her nose.
    “Who?”
    This is a good response.
    “The photographer. José Rodriguez.”
    She laughs. At me.
    At me!
    And I don’t know if it’s from relief or if she thinks I’m funny. It’s annoying. I can’t get her measure. Does she like me or not? She tells me he’s just a friend.
    Oh, sweetheart, he wants to be more than a friend.
    “Why did you think he was my boyfriend?” she asks.
    “The way you smiled at him, and he at you.” You have no idea, do you? The boy is smitten.
    “He’s more like family,” she says.
    Okay, so the lust is one-sided, and for a moment I wonder if she realizes how lovely she is. She eyes the blueberry muffin as I peel back the paper, and for a moment I imagine her on her knees beside me as I feed her, a morsel at a time. The thought is diverting—and arousing. “Do you want some?” I ask.
    She shakes her head. “No thanks.” Her voice is hesitant andshe stares once more at her hands. Why is she so jittery? Maybe because of me?
    “And the boy I met yesterday, at the store. He’s not your boyfriend?”
    “No. Paul’s just a friend. I told you yesterday.” She frowns again as if she’s confused, and crosses her arms in defense. She doesn’t like being asked about these boys. I remember how uncomfortable she seemed when the kid at the store put his arm around her, staking his claim. “Why do you ask?” she adds.
    “You seem nervous around men.”
    Her eyes widen. They really are beautiful, the color of the ocean at Cabo, the bluest of blue seas. I should take her there.
    What? Where did that come from?
    “I find you intimidating,” she says, and looks down, fidgeting once more with her fingers. On the one hand she’s so submissive, but on the other she’s…challenging.
    “You should find me intimidating.”
    Yeah. She should. There aren’t many people brave enough to tell me that I intimidate them. She’s honest, and I tell her so—but when she averts her eyes, I don’t know what she’s thinking. It’s frustrating. Does she like me? Or is she tolerating this meeting to keep Kavanagh’s interview on track? Which is it?
    “You’re a mystery, Miss Steele.”
    “There’s nothing mysterious about me.”
    “I think you’re very self-contained.” Like any good submissive. “Except when you blush, of course, which is often. I just wish I knew what you were blushing about.” There. That will goad her into a response. Popping a small piece of the blueberry muffin into my mouth, I await her reply.
    “Do you always make such personal observations?”
    That’s not that personal, is it? “I hadn’t realized I was. Have I offended