And So I Ran - Complete

Chapter 16

Ana's face, when Taylor let us off on Broadway outside Strand Books, was nothing short of beautiful. Her cheeks flushed with excitement she literally threw herself at me, stunning Taylor as he noticed her freely touching me in my 'no go' areas. He raised his eyebrow questioningly, and I shrugged. I had no idea how Ana had achieved what numerous therapists and a string of submissives hadn't, but I wasn't about to question it. I was going to take my girl book shopping!

"There are four floors of books!" Ana was chirping happily as she pulled me into the busy bookshop. Sawyer was following us at a discreet distance as Taylor faced the unenviable task of finding a park for the SUV. Meanwhile, Ana's grin stretched from ear to ear as she literally spun around in glee.

"What section do you want to see first?" I asked indulgently. I could see it was going to be a long afternoon, and I couldn't be happier.

"I think I'll just wander," she replied her eyes feasting on the many rows of shelves.

I grabbed a couple of wheeled baskets, shoving one into Sawyer's hand.

"I think we're on basket duty," I told him, moving to follow Ana who had walked straight to one of the shelves.

"I don't know if you've seen it, yet, but I have a whole library at Escala I need to fill. If you see it and want it, I want to buy it for you," I said softly, walking up behind my girl.

Ana turned to me and grinned. "You're going to regret saying that, Mr. Grey," she teased. "I might be a cheap date... unless you take me to a bookshop!"

She actually made short work of the ground floor, explaining that it was largely new releases and things she could find elsewhere. It was the upper floors and basements that interested the literarily intrepid Miss Steele. She seemed to have a mental catalog of what she was after because soon the baskets held by Sawyer and myself were filling up. There appeared to be no rhyme nor reason to it; some were review copies from the basement, others dog-eared tomes from the upper floors. In fact, she seemed most excited by a paperback she located on an upper shelf, refusing even to hand it into a basket!

"I hope you two aren't too bored?" she asked as she was examining another long aisle of books.

"Not at all," I replied promptly. And I wasn't. I could spend all day watching Ana this happy. As for Sawyer, after his part in the fuck up that saw Ana drugged and attacked, I didn't give a shit how he felt about how we were spending the afternoon.

Finally declaring her first pass of the bookshop done, I was able to steer Ana to the place we'd so far assiduously avoided; the Rare Book Room. Dismissing Sawyer to the counter to start ringing up the first two baskets of books, Ana and I entered into the rarified interior which was the dwelling place of her linguistic Gods.

"This is where I bought your Tess of the d'Urbervilles" I confessed, pulling her into an embrace.

"You ordered them?"

I nodded. I'd tasked a Seattle rare and antique book buyer to find me the best first editions available. It had been luck Strand had had the three volumes in stock.

"I thought we'd see if they have anything else tempting," I said, taking Ana across to meet one of the attendants. According to his nametag, he was Tony – one of the Rare Book Managers. I introduced myself, then Ana, identifying her as the recipient of the Hardy novels recently purchased.

"If you like Hardy, I have something you need to see," he replied amiably, leading us across to a locked case. "This came in a few days ago."

It was a two-volume, 1874 edition of Hardy's Far From the Madding Crowd as published in The Cornhill Magazine. The first serialized version of the text