Fifty Shades Freed

inside me. As I surface from my orgasm and my body steadies and calms, I want to make some quip about being objectified and oppressed, but hold my tongue,

uncertain of his mood. I glance up from Christian’s chest to examine his face. His eyes are closed and his arms are wrapped around me, clinging tight. I kiss his

chest through the thin fabric of his linen shirt.

“Tell me, Christian, what’s wrong?” I ask softly and wait anxiously to see if even now, sated by sex, he’ll tell me. I feel his arms tighten around me further, but

it’s his only response. He’s not going to talk. Inspiration hits me.

“I give you my solemn vow to be your faithful partner in sickness and in health, to stand by your side in good times and in bad, to share your joy as well as your

sorrow,” I murmur.

He freezes. His only movement is to open wide his fathomless eyes and gaze at me as I continue my wedding vows.

“I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals and dreams, to honor and respect you, to laugh with you and cry with you, to share my

hopes and dreams with you, and bring you solace in times of need.” I pause, willing him to talk to me. He watches me, his lips parted, but says nothing.

“And to cherish you for as long as we both shall live.” I sigh.

“Oh, Ana,” he whispers and moves again, breaking our precious contact so that we’re lying side by side. He strokes my face with the back of his knuckles.

“I solemnly vow that I will safeguard and hold dear and deep in my heart our union and you,” he whispers, his voice hoarse. “I promise to love you faithfully,

forsaking all others, through the good times and the bad, in sickness or in health, regardless of where life takes us. I will protect you, trust you, and respect you. I

will share your joys and sorrows and comfort you in times of need. I promise to cherish you and uphold your hopes and dreams and keep you safe at my side. All

that is mine is now yours. I give you my hand, my heart, and my love from this moment on for as long as we both shall live.”

Tears spring to my eyes. His face softens as he gazes at me.

“Don’t cry,” he murmurs, his thumb catching and dispatching a stray tear.

“Why won’t you talk to me? Please, Christian.”

He closes his eyes as if in pain.

“I vowed I would bring you solace in times of need. Please don’t make me break my vows.”

He sighs and opens his eyes, his expression bleak. “It’s arson,” he says simply, and he looks suddenly so young and vulnerable.

Oh fuck.

“And my biggest worry is that they are after me. And if they are after me—” He stops, unable to continue.

“. . . They might get me,” I whisper. He blanches, and I know that I have finally uncovered the root of his anxiety. I caress his face.

“Thank you,” I murmur.

He frowns. “What for?”

“For telling me.”

He shakes his head and a ghost of a smile touches his lips. “You can be very persuasive, Mrs. Grey.”

“And you can brood and internalize all your feelings and worry yourself to death. You’ll probably die of a heart attack before you’re forty, and I want you

around far longer than that.”

“Mrs. Grey, you’ll be the death of me. The sight of you on the Jet Ski—I nearly had a coronary.” He flops back on the bed and puts his hand over his eyes, and I

“Mrs. Grey, you’ll be the death of me. The sight of you on the Jet Ski—I nearly had a coronary.” He flops back on the bed and puts his hand over his eyes, and I

feel him shudder.

“Christian, it’s a Jet Ski. Even kids ride Jet Skis. Can you imagine what you’ll be like when we visit your place in Aspen and I go skiing for the first time?”

He gasps and turns to face me, and I want to laugh at the horror on his face.

“Our place,” he says eventually.

I ignore him. “I’m a grown-up, Christian, and much tougher than I look. When are you going to learn this?”

He shrugs and his mouth thins. I decide to change the subject.

“So, the fire. Do the police know about the arson?”

“Yes.” His expression is serious.

“Good.”

“Security is going to get tighter,” he says matter-of-factly.

“I understand.” I glance down his body. He’s still wearing his shorts and his shirt, and I still have my T-shirt on. Jeez—talk about wham, bam, thank you ma’am.

The thought makes me giggle.

“What?” Christian asks, bemused.

“You.”

“Me?”

“Yes. You. Still dressed.”

“Oh.” He glances down at himself, then back at me, and his face erupts into an enormous smile.

“Well, you know how hard it is for me to keep my hands off you, Mrs. Grey—especially when you’re giggling like a schoolgirl.”

Oh yes—the tickling. Gah! The tickling. I move quickly so that I’m straddling him, but immediately understanding my evil intent, he grabs both of my wrists.

“No,” he says and he means it.

I pout at him but decide that he’s not ready for this.

“Please don’t,” he whispers. “I couldn’t bear it. I was never tickled as a child.” He pauses and I relax my hands so he doesn’t have to restrain me.

“I used to watch Carrick with Elliot and Mia, tickling them, and it looked like such fun, but I . . . I . . .”

I place my index finger on his lips.

“Hush, I know,” I murmur and plant a soft kiss on his lips where my finger has just been, then curl up on his chest. The familiar painful ache swells inside me,

and the profound sadness that I hold in my heart for Christian as a little boy seizes me once more. I know I would do anything for this man because I love him so.

He puts his arms around me and presses his nose into my hair, inhaling deeply as he gently strokes my back. I don’t know how long we lie there, but eventually I

break the comfortable silence between us.

“What is the longest you’ve gone without seeing Dr. Fly

“Two weeks. Why? Do you have an incorrigible urge to tickle me?”

“No.” I chuckle. “I think he helps you.”

Christian snorts. “He should; I pay him enough.” He pulls my hair gently, turning my face to look up at him. I lift my head and meet his gaze.

“Are you concerned for my well-being, Mrs. Grey?” he asks softly.

“Every good wife is concerned for her beloved husband’s well-being, Mr. Grey,” I admonish him teasingly.

“Beloved?” he whispers, and it’s a poignant question hanging between us.

“Very much beloved.” I scoot up to kiss him, and he smiles his shy smile.

“Do you want to go ashore to eat, Mrs. Grey?”

“I want to eat wherever you’re happiest.”

“Good.” He grins. “Aboard it is where I can keep you safe. Thank you for my present.” He reaches over and grabs the camera, and holding it at arm’s length, he

snaps the two of us in our post tickling, postcoital, post confessional embrace.

“The pleasure is all mine,” I smile and his eyes light up.

We wander through the opulent, gilt splendor of the eighteenth century Palace of Versailles. Once a humble hunting lodge, it was transformed by the Roi Soleil into

a magnificent, lavish seat of power, but even before the eighteenth century ended it saw the last of those absolute monarchs.

The most stu

and illuminating the gold leaf décor and the enormous crystal chandeliers. It’s breathtaking.

“Interesting to see what becomes of a despotic megalomaniac who isolates himself in such splendor,” I murmur to Christian as he stands at my side. He gazes

down and cocks his head to one side, regarding me with humor.

“Your point, Mrs. Grey?”