The Life of Anna, Part 1: Enslaved (16 page)

Alex and I hadn’t broken eye contact since he’d looked up. I hadn’t even blinked. He stared at me for a moment more, then blinked and looked away.

He stood up. He was a giant of a man, just like in my dreams. He looked exactly as he had in my dream from the other night. I looked up at him as he turned to me and gave me a warm smile.
“Hello, Anna. It’s wonderful to meet you.” His voice was low like his father’s, but his accent was much less pronounced. It washed over me like honey.

I blinked and moved my mouth, but no sound came out. I gave him a timid smile.

Alex glanced at his brother. “Where did you two meet?”

“At the
Schloss
. Devin introduced us.”

Alex
’s eyes widened. “The Manor? She was at the Manor?”

“
Ja
, Alex. Of course. Why? Do you know her?”

Alex looked back at me, his eyes inscrutable. He frowned.
“
Nein
.” The way he said it was dismissive and he turned away.

Pain stabbed my heart.
Anna, they were dreams. Of course he doesn’t know you.
I dreamed of real people occasionally, but that didn’t mean that they knew me. I stared at the ground and rubbed my hands together. The nerves were tingling terribly.

“She is coming with us tonight,” Kurt said, leaning down and kissing my cheek.

Alex wheeled around and said something in German. Kurt answered in kind and they continued talking in German.

“Hello, Anna. I’m Seth.” The other two men walked over to where I stood, watching Kurt and Alex talk. Alex looked upset. Seth took my hand to pull me away from Kurt and Alex. I looked back at the brothers. “Don’t worry about them. They’ll be a while.”

Seth, who sounded surprisingly American, smiled at me when I looked back at him. His chocolate-brown puppy-dog eyes and boyish aura, especially his smile, made him look kind, despite being as tall as Kurt. His medium brown hair was cut very short.

I smiled timidly
“Hello, Seth,” I said in a soft voice.

“And this is Tony.” Tony was not as tall as the other two, but much broader. His closely-shaved black hair and dark eyes made him look Italian. The mischievous glint in his eyes reminded me of Kurt.

“Hi, Tony,” I said, nodding in greeting.

Tony sat on the edge of the couch and gave me a seductive smile. “I didn’t think Devin let his girls out of the Manor. Has he changed his policies? It’d make it a helluva lot easier on us if he did,” he added with a laugh. He sounded American like Seth. “Wouldn’t have to face the bastard every time we wanted some company.”

I looked at the two men and took in a shuddering breath. I was in a houseful of men with sexual appetites. Very large sexual appetites, if I read them correctly. I trembled under their gaze.

“She’s not a
Dirne
.”

I spun around to see Alex frowning at me. He stood with his arms across his broad chest, his chin held high and his eyes cool. He and his father were very similar; his mere presence demanded respect.

“You should go get ready for tonight,” he said in a sharp voice and I swallowed back unwanted tears. He gave a look to the men standing behind me as I quickly exited the room with Kurt.

*****

I followed Kurt down the hall to a bedroom. A king-sized bed with a navy blue duvet dominated the room. Tall windows allowed in the golden light from the setting sun. A dark wooden wardrobe stood partially open next to the fireplace where I could see Frau Gersten had hung my clothes.

Kurt kissed the back of my neck as he closed the bedroom door behind him with his foot.
“I am going to make love to you in that bed tonight.” He brought his hands around to my stomach and up to cup my breasts and caress them. “It was a very big, empty bed last night. I am glad it will not be so tonight.”

I leaned my head back on his shoulder and sighed as he played with my breasts, pushing out any distressing thoughts of his brother. He nipped the side of my neck and I inhaled sharply. I pressed my hips back against his and could feel his erection against my ass. I turned and kissed him, sliding my hands down his chest to his cock. I stroked him over his shorts and he groaned
something in German.

“May I please you, my lord?” I whispered, pressing my hand hard against him.

“
Mein Gott
, Anna. You are a very tempting woman.” He kissed me and pushed me backwards, edging me towards the bed. The backs of my knees hit the mattress and I fell backwards with Kurt on top of me.

I smiled and kissed his neck, running my hands through his hair. I sucked on his collarbone and stroked his cock again.
“I want to taste you, Kurt.”

He groaned against my neck.
“I wish we had time,
Engel
, but the woman to help you get ready will be here in a little bit.” He nuzzled my neck. “And I need to take a shower.” He lifted himself off me and sat up, grinning at me. “I am so glad you are here with me, Anna. I have had a very good time with you today.” He stroked my cheek and looked at me tenderly. “I wish....” He shook his head. “I am going to go shower. The remote is on the nightstand if you want to watch something.” He kissed me again and went through a door in the corner of the room, which I could see led to a bathroom.

I stood and walked over to the window. The buildings of downtown San Francisco were not that far away.
What a beautiful view
. Jack lived only a few miles away. Although I knew this view well, it seemed different today. Not so...out of reach. After all, I was going downtown tonight to see a ballet performance! I clapped my hands with glee.

Not only had Jack forbidden me from performing after my parents died, I couldn
’t attend any performances either. I heard about them from my childhood best friend, Jenna, when we were able to have hushed conversations in the bathroom at the studio, but that was as close as I got. She was in the corps of the San Francisco Ballet Company. Maybe I’d see her dance tonight.
Oh, wouldn’t it be wonderful to see her dance!

Jenna Tompkins had been my best friend for as long as I could remember. My mother had gone to school with her dad, Luke, and Jack. We took the same dance classes and went to school together. My parents would drop me off at her house on school mornings and her parents would take us to school and to the dance studio after.

My parents had been principals with the San Francisco Ballet Company before they died. When they had performances, Jack and Luke would take Jenna and I to the opera house to watch. Jenna and I would sneak backstage sometimes before the performances to see the “big dancers.” Normally students weren’t allowed back there, but we could get away with it because of my parents.

After my parent
s died, Jack wouldn’t let me see Jenna, or any of my friends anymore, so Jenna and I had to sneak conversations in the studio bathroom when I was there. Not seeing her made my parents’ death even harder on me; I lost them both from that car accident. I saw Luke on a regular basis, though, when he came to Jack’s house during my training. I hope Luke never told Jenna what I did.

Maybe if I
’m allowed to go out, and take more classes, maybe Jenna and I can be real friends again.
Maybe she could help me learn to be a normal person again. I could ask Devin if she could help me with “social refinement.” She always knew how to behave in social situations.

A knock on the door interrupted my thoughts. The water was still running in the bathroom so I answered the door. Wilhelm smiled at me and introduced me to a short, thin woman with fashionably styled red hair.

“Anna, this is Tiffany McCombs,” Wilhelm said. “Ilsa spoke to her and made all the arrangements.” He turned to Tiffany. “Will this room suffice? There are other rooms in the house that are available.”

Tiffany looked around and smiled cheerfully.
“This will be wonderful, Duke von Hesse. There is good light in here. That’s what I need to work well.” She gave him a megawatt smile then looked at me. “It looks like I have a good canvas to work with, too. That’s half the battle.” She stepped into the room. “I will return her to you looking like a princess.”

He looked at me, warmth in his eyes.
“She already does.” He nodded and left.

“I’ll let Kurt know you’re here,” I said as Tiffany walked into the room. I walked into the bathroom where Kurt was turning the water off. The shower door was clear glass and I could see him in all his masculine glory.
Oh, my
....

He grinned as I stared at him.
“I would ask you to join me....”

I smiled.
“I wanted to let you know that the lady who’s helping me get ready, Tiffany, she’s here.”

He nodded.
“
Danke
. I will make sure I am covered before I go out there.”

I looked at him one last time then walked back into the bedroom.

“Boyfriend?” Tiffany asked as she was pulling things out of her bag.

“Huh? Oh...um...something
like that,” I mumbled.

She looked at me with an amused expression.
“Well, now. Let me take a look at you.” She had me turn around several times and I showed her my dress. “Oh, what a wonderful color for you. You have excellent taste.”

“Oh, I didn’t r
eally pick it out…. Wilhelm and Kurt know more about this sort of thing than I do.”

Kurt walked out of the bathroom at that moment with a navy blue towel wrapped low around his hips.
“
Guten Abend
…Tiffany, correct?” Kurt said with a smile.

Tiffany nodded, wide eyed, and then shook her head as if clearing it.
“Tiffany McCombs.” She regained her professional demeanor and extended her hand. “You must be Kurt?”

He nodded and shook her hand.
“Ja.
I will get my clothes and dress downstairs to give you ladies space.”

Tiffany and I both watched as he walked over to the wardrobe, removed a dark suit, and left the room. Our eyes met as she turned around and we both giggled.

“Damn! You’re a lucky girl,” she said with a grin. “You two will make quite the couple tonight.”

“He’s very handsome,” I agreed.

*****

I glanced at myself in the mirror one last time before heading downstairs to find Kurt. Tiffany had made me look like a grown
-up princess and I felt like one too.

I made my way downstairs and saw Kurt and Wilhelm sitting by the fireplace in the foyer. They stood when they saw me coming down the last few steps.

Both men looked extremely handsome in their tuxedos. Kurt murmured something German to Wilhelm. I think it was a good thing, because they both smiled at me. I smiled back shyly.

Kurt hurried over to me and put his hands on my upper arms.
“You look absolutely beautiful, Anna.” He kissed me gently on the lips. “You may distract me from watching the performance.”

“Thank you, Kurt,” I said softly.

Wilhelm kissed me on the cheek. “You really do look beautiful, Anna.”

“I have something for you.” Kurt held out a velvet box containing a diamond and emerald
necklace with matching earrings.

“Oh, Kurt,” I exclaimed. “They’re beautiful!”

He gave me a seductive smile and I tried not to melt. He nodded towards my neck. “Can you take that one off?”

I reached up to feel the necklace around my neck. I
’d forgotten about it. My mark. “I was told I wasn’t allowed to.” I looked at the necklace he held wistfully. “I’m sorry, Kurt.”

Kurt walked around behind me and examined the clasp of the necklace.
“
Vati?
Can you remove it?”

I felt Wilhelm play with the clasp for a moment.
“Devin gave this to you, correct?”

“Yes.”

Wilhelm disappeared and returned a few minutes later with a pair of wire cutters. “This will break the clasp, but I will tell Devin I did it. You should be able to remove your necklace, Anna. You should be able to wear other ones when the time is appropriate.”

I heard a click and the necklace came loose. I caught it and Wilhelm took it from me.
“I will speak to Devin about it tomorrow.”

I smiled weakly and nodded. Would Devin be angry with me for letting Wilhelm remove it?

Kurt fastened diamond necklace around my neck and then handed me the earrings, one at a time. “
Wunderschön,
”
he said when I finished.

“Shall we?” Wilhelm asked. “Alex will meet us at the restaurant.”

Kurt muttered something in German, but offered me his arm and we walked together out the door and into the limo. I sat next to Kurt, as I had earlier, and watched the buildings pass by. He put his arm around me and stroked the skin on my neck as I leaned my head against his shoulder.

“Anna’s twentieth birthday was Monday,
Vati
,” Kurt said as we drove through the city.