The Life of Anna, Part 2: Entwined (46 page)

They took the elevator down to the garage where he’d parked his car next to hers.

“What time will you finish tonight?” he asked as he pulled her close to kiss her goodbye.

“About five,” she said, looking up at him with a smile.

“If I pick you up at six-thirty, will that give you enough time to get ready?”

She nodded. “I think so.”

He leaned down and kissed her. “The hours will drag by until I have you in my arms again.”

Her face glowed as she gazed up at him. “I can’t wait,” she said with bright eyes.

He opened her car door for her and she tossed in her bag before getting into the tiny white car. Well, tiny for him. He preferred the meatier SLS that he drove. But this suited her. He closed her door and she opened the window.

He kissed her through the opened window. “I will see you tonight.”

She grinned, then turned the ignition.

He watched as she drove away, then got into his car and put the convertible top down. He turned the radio on a little louder than normal and sang all the way home.

There were several cars parked outside Alex’s house when he pulled up. He walked into the house and was greeted by a variety of amused expressions and vulgar comments from his hand-picked special ops team.

“Where have you been all night, my cousin?” came the bold question from a man that looked remarkably like Alex himself.

Alex stood in the doorway and grinned stupidly at his cousin, Erich. Erich and the other men in the room burst into laughter.

“You finally let yourself have her?” Seth asked from the couch. “I don’t know how you held out so long, man.”

Alex frowned at his friend. “It’s not like that, and you know it.”

It irked him a little that Seth had been with Anna several times before he did. But the cold reality was that a lot of men had been with her before he had. He hoped, somehow, there wouldn’t be too many after him.

Seth laughed. “I know. But I still admire your willpower. What changed?”

Alex dropped his large body on the couch, which creaked in protest. “She did. She wanted me.”

“I didn’t realize women wanting you had become a problem,” Jason, one of his weapons guys, commented. “Is this a recent development? Because if you’re having problems, there’s no hope for the rest of us.” He laughed.

Alex growled, but wasn’t especially upset. “No. She’s...special.” Only Sebastian knew everything about Anna. Seth and Tony knew a lot of it. Speaking of.... “Where’s Sebastian?”

Erich shrugged. “I talked to him yesterday before I left. He said he’d be here, but had something to do first.”

“Let me go shower and then we can get started.” Alex stood.

“We already did,” Erich laughed. “We’ll fill you in when you get back.”

Alex rolled his eyes and left the room. He trusted his men implicitly and knew they were capable of starting without him. But he felt like he had been irresponsible by staying out all night. But only to them. Had he left Anna, it would have been equally irresponsible, and more difficult to make right.

No, he did the right thing. For once.

*****

Anna arrived at the studio practically floating. She almost didn’t notice Jenna standing near the door talking to some girls she didn’t know.

“Jenna,” Anna said, walking up to her with a nervous smile.

Jenna frowned and turned her back on Anna.

Tears stung Anna’s eyes as she slowly walked away. Not that she could blame Jenna for being angry. But it still hurt. Her one friend who had been loyal to her all these years, and Anna had betrayed her. She felt like a horrible person. Anna walked up the stairs more sober than she’d entered the studio, though thoughts of Alex inevitably returned and cheered her.

The day went surprisingly quickly, and before she knew it, she was driving home to get ready for her dinner with Alex. Once again, she was plagued by the question of whether it was a date, but at least this time she knew how Alex felt about her.

For tonight she chose a strapless lavender chiffon dress that fell to her knees, with a dark purple ribbon around her waist.

At six-thirty there was a knock on the door and she hurried to answer it. Alex stood in the doorway holding a single pink rose. He wore a blue-gray suit and black shirt, but no tie. He looked very fashionable.

She beamed when she saw him.

“Hello, Anna,” he said, stepping into the apartment and leaning down to kiss her.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back. She was so happy to see him.

He cupped her cheek and looked at her tenderly. He looked like he wanted to say something, but didn’t speak. He handed her the rose and she smelled it.

“It’s beautiful,” she whispered.

“I’m going to wait right here,” Alex said. “Following you into the kitchen last night is what got us in trouble.”

Anna giggled and put the rose in the vase with the others. Her whole dining area smelled like a rose garden.

Alex held out his hand and they made their way down to the garage hand in hand.

*****

Alex had not gotten everything done that he needed to today. And by going out, he was dragging Seth and Tony away from planning as well. But keeping his word to Anna was important. The others seemed to understand. Especially since Sebastian had backed him. They respected Sebastian’s word as much as they respected Alex’s, though Sebastian never usurped his authority. Alex appreciated that about his friend.

Even though he knew he was doing the right thing, and he enjoyed every second of his time with Anna, he felt ill at ease. He didn’t like feeling unprepared this late in the planning stage. But he trusted his men, and he was determined to enjoy his time with Anna. Especially since if he wasn’t fully engaged with her, she would know and be hurt. So he pushed the thoughts aside as he drove through the streets of San Francisco to the restaurant.

“So, how are the intensives going?” he asked after they were seated a short time later.

Anna’s face glowed with happiness. “Wonderful. Isaak is putting me in the advanced classes starting on Wednesday.”

“That’s wonderful, Anna. I’m so proud of you.”

She beamed at his words. It was refreshing to be with a woman that could be made so happy by something as simple as a compliment.

Anna chatted happily about the previous week’s dance classes while they waited for their first course of the tasting menu offered by the French restaurant. He gazed into her sparkling eyes and found himself falling even harder for her than he already had. He made a mental note to put the school’s performance on his calendar. He wouldn’t miss it for the world.

He told her about growing up in Germany as a duke’s son. She asked intelligent questions and seemed very interested in his story. He asked her about her parents and she told him about growing up as the daughter of famous dancers.

It amazed him that, after all she’d gone through, she could still be so sweet and almost innocent. The only explanation for that would be the Immortal part of her. As happy as the Dirne were in his father’s Schloss, they did not have innocence or naiveté like Anna did.

Dinner went far too quickly and too soon he was paying the bill and driving her back to her apartment. He was torn as to whether or not he should stay the night with her. Oh, how he wanted to make love to her, but he had to leave very early in the morning and had things he really needed to do before he left.

They walked back to her apartment and went inside. She looked at him expectantly. He sighed and took her hand, leading her to the couch. He kissed her and held her close.

“
Schatzi, I can’t stay tonight.”

She searched his eyes for an explanation. “Why? You want to.”

He smiled and smoothed her hair back from her face. “More than anything. But, I must leave very early in the morning and I have things to finish before I leave.”

*****

Anna searched Alex’s eyes once more. He was sincere and not just blowing her off.

She nodded. “I understand.” She cupped his cheek. “I wish you didn’t have to go.” Being with him, talking with him tonight had been wonderful. She wished the evening didn’t have to end so quickly.

He took her hand in his and kissed her palm. “I wish I didn’t have to go either,” he said softly. “Thank you for understanding.”

She wished he wasn’t so reluctant to tell him what he was doing. Maybe it was so boring he would think her uninterested. She had learned that he had studied politics, business and international studies at the university. She didn’t know what someone would do with such learning, but maybe it wasn’t very interesting.

“What are you thinking about?” he asked.

She giggled. “I was wondering if what you were going out of town to do was so boring that you thought I wouldn’t be interested.”

Alex burst out into laughter. “Oh,
Schatzi
, if that were it, I would tell you. But, I simply can’t tell you right now. But someday.”

She curled up next to him and lay her head on his chest and they sat together in a comfortable silence for a long time. Every once in a while he would stroke her arm or kiss the top of her head. She was drifting off to sleep when he stirred.

“I have been putting off the inevitable, but I really must be going,
Schatzi
.” He sat for a moment more, then stood and helped her to her feet.

Anna walked him to the door and gazed up into his tender eyes. She didn’t want to speak for fear of losing control and crying.

“I will come see you as soon as I can when I get home,” he said with a trembling voice. “I hate to leave you, Anna.”

“I hate for you to leave,” she whispered.

He drew her tightly to his chest and pressed his lips to hers in a desperate kiss. By the time he pulled away her lips were swollen and bruised, but she didn’t care. He caressed her cheek with his hand and stared into her eyes, reluctant to leave.

Finally, he sighed. “I must leave, or I won’t.”

She nodded and smiled bravely at him. He kissed her once more, then turned and left, closing the door behind him. She stared at the closed door for a long moment and allowed the tears to fall down her cheeks. But she knew he’d be back.

She wasn’t afraid of him anymore. She felt quite certain that she loved him.

Tuesday passed in a blur. On Wednesday, she walked into the advanced class for the first time. It was nerve wracking, walking towards the large studio.

These were students closer to her own age. The first class of the day had both guys and girls in it and she hesitated in the doorway, unsure what to do. A few of the male students smiled at her and she smiled shyly back. Her heart was with Alex, though, and she hoped they would leave her alone.

A few minutes later one of the advanced instructors, Delia, walked in and spoke to her.

“Isaak told me you’d be joining us today. I’m so happy to have you in my class,” she said with a pleasant smile.

Anna smiled nervously back at her. “Hi,” she said softly.

“Where would you be comfortable standing?”

“In the back corner?” she asked, half joking.

Delia laughed. “If you’d like.”

Before class started, Delia introduced her to the rest of the students. She received some curious looks, but most were friendly. Delia put Anna on the side wall between two girls named Madison and Olivia. They were friendly and Anna liked standing near them.

The entire class was conducted
en pointe
, though Delia told her she could switch to slippers if she needed to.

As expected, this class was much harder, but Anna loved the challenge. The exhaustion she felt at the end of the class was exhilarating.

*****

The rest of the week was uneventful, save her nightly visitors that Devin sent over. She spent Friday night at the Manor, and Devin told her he was very pleased with the attention she gave to his friends.

The advanced classes were intense, but wonderful. She was quickly regaining her strength, just like Travis had said she would.

*****

Anna drove to the studio the following Tuesday morning excited for the day. It would be her first
pas de deux
class after lunch. There had been one on the previous Thursday, but she had just watched. Delia wanted her to have more of the advanced classes before she started with a partner. She’d enjoyed watching the couples dance. The girls were elegant, the guys were strong. She couldn’t wait for her turn.

The morning dragged, though she continued to enjoy the challenge of the harder classes. After lunch, and after a pointe class, she finally walked into the class she’d been anticipating since last week.

Delia matched her with a dancer named Nate, which surprised Anna. He was considered one of the best students in the school.