Grey Clouds On The Horizon

Breaking Bread

Ana's POV

I was comforted by Christian's loving grip on my hand, but still perplexed by the exchanges I had witnessed. The familiarity of the staff and Em had both taken me by surprise and robbed me of my confidence. Gail, Taylor and Sawyer had become like family to me and to think that they felt that way about Christian's past love, perhaps all his submissives, left me feeling as if I was standing on shaky ground.

At the table I sat to my husband's right, as I always did, and Emmy took the place he directed her to across from me. The girls scarred face wore a weary mask and her chest rose and fell at a rate of an anxious bird's wings. If I could have reached out to her then I knew I wouldn't have been able to help myself from pulling her into an embrace like a mother holds her child. The fear in her movements, like the timed pacing of her sips of water and bites of our meal, were an unfortunate reminder of who she was afraid of. It wasn't me nor was it the security monitoring us over the cameras from a room down the hall. The source of Em's hesitance was the man at the head of our table to held both of our hearts on long leather leashes.

Stop it, Ana! My subconscious snapped, critical as ever. You're starting to believe exactly what you've fought to convince Christian isn't true.

And I was right. My worried mind framed my husband as a monster that corrupted an innocent child but I knew that was a dangerous thought. Inside of it I would have to face questions and make choices that were far beyond my capabilities. So I tried to take solace in the fact that the four of us were eating together as a family like never before. There was a chance that the past wrong doings could be forgiven over a meal and getting to know one another all over again and for the first time.

I set down mg soup spoon and cringed as it clattered on my dish. "So Em, I heard that you sent us to Dallas for that film convention and I wanted to thank you. It was very generous."

The slight girl, eyes the level of my collar bone in her chair, stared at the table in front of me. "It was my pleasure, Mrs Grey."

"Please call me Ana." I reminded, familiar with this part of the conversation. "I'm embarrassed to say I don't know too much about you."

Emmy smiled slightly and shook her head. "And I think I probably know everything available about you. From Elliot, I mean."

I smiled at her remark but felt unnerved at another connection she had that I'd otherwise been unaware of. "Well, tell me about your family then. It seems like an easy place to start. What are your parents like?"

Christian held my hand in his and spoke in a low tone. "Emilia's parents actually have both passed away."

Apology flooded my cheeks and I turned to the girl who was mid bite without a care. She chewed and swallowed, unshaken by my question. "Remember, sir, I have a brother."

My husband's warning eyes then moved to Emilia and I wondered if he'd feel the need to referee all of our conversations. "Must we talk about him?"

Em shrugged. "I suppose not, Sir."

Somewhere inside me echoed the sound of a piano wire pulled a bit too tight. The past I wasn't a part of I would come to cope with my deliberately hiding things for me was a line I was not willing to cross. My eyes locked with Christian's and I set my jaw. "Just tell me about her brother, Christian. I'm sick of not knowing what you're talking about."

"Fine." He rolled his eyes and set down his sandwich. "Byron is over a decade older than Em. He was an emotionally disturbed young boy that turned into a misguided adult. When Byron heard about a child molester that was teaching in a public school he spent about a week tracking the man's movements and ran him over with an old truck in a neighborhood known for its hit and runs. Now he's on his sixth year of a fifteen year sentence for a premeditated murder that was negotiated down to voluntary manslaughter. With any luck he'll get out next summer on parole for good behavior. Now can we please stop talking about this?"

Taken aback, I looked to Em who was clearly unfazed while she fed Delilah cut up grapes and pieces of chicken from her salad.

"Okay then." I shook off the conflicting images of a troubled teen and a vigilante with Em's dark blue eyes. "I'm sorry I asked."

Christian sighed and took an angry bite. I wondered if every meal would be a war like the one I'd just had to fight. Getting to know Emilia with Christian at the table was next to impossible. I had no way of knowing which topics were off limits. I took a large bite and wished the meal was over.

"I love Mr Greys grand piano in the front room. He makes such wonderful music." Em mused between bites. "Do you play any instruments, Ana?"

"Nope." I shook my head and wondered why I'd never licked something up. Until, of course, I remembered. "I spent too much time with a book on my hands. What about you? Do you play?"

"A little." Em flashed me a smile that sent a wave of heat up one side of my face and chills through the other.

What the hell is wrong with me?

Christian slapped his hand down on the back of hers like a ruler on a row of knuckles. "Don't be modest. You're an except harpist and I recall you knowing your way around Elliot's old drum set."

Emilia nodded for a second. "Well, I had to learn if I wanted the racket to stop. Someone had to teach your brother. Elliot wouldn't know rhythm if it sat next to him on a fifteen hour bus ride."

I smirked and watched Christian do the same, his face glowing with pride like he was eating lunch with two of his children instead of just one. The love he had for Em soothed me for the reasons that it should have shook me but also managed to accomplish the opposite as well.

A yawn forced my jaw open and my lids grew heavy. Every bite I took was laborious. Being in my third trimester was exhausting the little energy stores I had left and I looked to Christian with apology. "I think I need to lay down for a little while. Are you going to be alright without me for a few hours?"

He nodded, concern evident in his movements. "Of course, Anastasia. Go get your rest. Em and I certainly have some catching up to do." Christian pulled me towards him as I stood, giving me a kiss and whispering sweetnesses into my ear.

I nearly had forgotten the way his words should have wounded me as I walked back to our bedroom. Exhaustion crept over me as I stripped down into my underwear and shrugged on Christian's work out clothes. As I drifted off to sleep, I heard the breaking of glass from far off in the distance and I wondered if it was real or the start of a dream.

A/N hope you enjoyed this chapter! My surprise is that I am starting a blog about my kinky life (written and vlog form) and going to be selling the sex toys that my Dom and I make! Floggers, mallets, ticklers, massagers, collars, cuffs, gags... oh my! So stay tuned for the launch.