50 shades of gray

Chapter 24- Trapped

And then I really gasp.

Kate is standing in the doorway, her eyes wide. She's turning quickly to stop... Oh crap! I forgot that Elliot's here!

"Christian," I hiss, pulling the straps of my dress up and tapping him on the shoulders. "Christian!"

Oh shit, he looks pissed. "What did you call me," he snarls back. His hand reaches around me to pinch my ass harder than I've ever been pinched before. I try my best (and fail) to control my yelp of pain.

"Your brother's here," I whisper harshly.

I just manage to catch the look of surprise on his face before he reverts to his usual placid expression. He removes his hand from my ass, takes a deep breath, looks up at the ceiling, then turns to face Kate just as Elliot saunters into view.

"Hey bro," he says lazily, smiling.

Then, like a little shit, he poses against the doorway. It's the pose he caught me in earlier: a hand high on one side of the doorframe, a hip cocked seductively against the other. Oh, I could kill him! And I barely know him. I've never been prone to violence, but this man might just drive me to it.

"I thought I heard the sultry sounds of... well," he trails off suggestively, wiggling his eyebrows.

"What are you doing here, Elliot?" Christian asks.

"Kate said we were having dinner," Elliot replies. The look on Kate's face is one of utter misery. "I heard there'd be dancing. Nice. Girls need dance partners, bro."

"I see," is all Christian says in response.

Yep, he's definitely pissed.

A tense moment passes and Kate mouths a big "SORRY!" in our direction.

"Well, I made plans for three, but they can be changed," Christian says, pulling out his phone and walking briskly from the room.

"Way to make a guy feel welcome," Elliot says, rolling his eyes.

"I should have let you guys know I invited him, I'm really sorry if this screws things up," Kate apologizes again.

"It's okay, I'm sure. Christian just," I hesitate. "He just doesn't like surprises." I lower my voice. "I'm guessing he had something special planned."

She whispers back, her hand just touching my bare back, sending shivers along my spine. "Yeah, I gathered. I completely forgot I'd invited Elliot. I was thinking I was going to need a distraction from, well, you. But then, we were talking about maybe... tonight..." She looks totally abashed. "I forgot."

I feel another hand wrap around my shoulders and look up to see Elliot, one arm each on Kate's and my shoulders, looking... fucking hot. "Room in here for one more, ladies?" I feel a spike of wet heat in the pit of my stomach and shake my head to clear my thoughts. This is Elliot. I'm not attracted to him!

But then he laughs in this completely open and defenseless way I can't even imagine Christian doing. It's unnerving how much it reels me in. He composes himself and shoots each of us with a smarmy grin.

It's all a big joke to him. Thank goodness.

Kate unwraps his arm from her shoulders and turns just in time to see Christian steaming mad in the doorway.

"Elliot, if you do not remove your hand from Ana..."

"You'll what?"

"I will break the hand." I completely believe him.

Clearly Elliot does too. He throws both hands up in a sign of surrender. "Cool, man. Cool. Just trying to share the love." He leans back over to Kate and wraps a hand around her waist. "So, what's the plan?"

"We're going to have a celebratory dinner at The Mile-High Club. That's it."

Kate lets out a low whistle. "How'd you get us in there? I hear the waitlist for a reservation is like a month long."

Elliot laughs at her side. "Don't be too impressed. He owns the place."

I speak up, looking right at Christian. "That's pretty impressive if you ask me." I can feel a spark of electricity from Christian so sharp I nearly look away. Christian crosses back over to me and mimics Elliot by putting his hand around my waist. His thumb slowly circles my hip bone and I think I might just fall over.

"We should really get a move on, it's a pretty long drive. We can't take Tango Charlie with this many people." Then he leans down and kisses me just above my collarbone, squeezing my hip so I do let out a soft little moan this time.

Elliot laughs quietly. "I think it's going to be an interesting night."

Kate eyes me meaningfully. "That's one word for it," she mumbles.

Well, Elliot definitely knows there's something going on. The car ride to Seattle in the Suburban was as uneventful as one could hope for given the circumstances and we managed to start dinner in the VIP section of the club innocently enough, but after a couple glasses of celebratory champagne, everyone has gotten a little... forgetful of their surroundings I suppose.

We're sitting in a round booth, Christian and Elliot on the ends and Kate and me trapped in the middle. Christian has been running his hand up and down my right thigh for the last five minutes and Kate keeps touching me surreptitiously just like she did at lunch. Neither of them is looking at me so I don't even know if either knows of the other's hand touching me, but I think I might lose my mind.

"So what are you thinking of doing now that you've graduated, Ana?" Elliot asks. He has a devilish smile plastered across his smug face. I can't tell if it means he's picturing me in my underwear or because he's less oblivious to my predicament than he's letting on.

The idea of trying to form coherent sentences right now is really beyond me at the moment. I'm mostly focused on not writhing and moaning on the bench as Christian's hand pulls my skirt higher, exposing my panties. At least they have tablecloths in this place.

I open my mouth to attempt speech, but close my eyes for a moment and let my eyeballs roll back in my skull, working every muscle in my body to keep from bucking. Kate's hand has run lightly over my panties. Christian's is tugging at the skinny elastic band.

Thankfully, Christian answers for me. I open my eyes and watch him, gratitude written all over my face.

"I was trying to convince Anastasia to come work for me, but she's more interested in getting into publishing. He turns toward me slightly. He's sure to know what Kate's doing at this point. They seem to lock eyes for a moment but then his gaze rests on me again. "Unfortunately, I don't own any publishing firms." He smiles and snaps the elastic against my skin. "Yet."

Kate starts talking about her new job at The Seattle Times she'll be starting Monday, a story I've heard a hundred times now. It's a good thing too. Otherwise, I'd feel guilty for not following along. Christian and Kate's fingers are playing me like a piano, each taking turns to stroke my center over my panties.

Not for the first time tonight, I wish Elliot wasn't here. It's sure not to be the last either.