The Life of Anna, Part 3: Embraced (13 page)

The whole time they were speaking, the voice
in Anna’s head kept up the mantra:
It’s all my fault. It’s all
my fault. All these people are miserable because of me. It’s all my
fault.

The only time she didn’t have tears rolling
down her cheeks was when Jack got up to speak. She stared at him
with all the hatred she could muster. Surely he had something to do
with Ben’s death.

When it was over, she walked with the family
out to the foyer.

“Anna,” Katherine said in a quiet voice. “Do
you know Jack? You looked like you were going to be sick while he
was talking.”

Anna looked at Katherine, debating whether
she should tell her the truth. Slowly she nodded. “He’s my
guardian.”

Katherine looked at her for a long moment.
“Why didn’t you say anything?”

Anna looked away. “We don’t…get along very
well.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.” She looked
sympathetic. “Ben always spoke highly of him. Did he know?”

Anna shook her head. “Not until…the night we
fought. I didn’t know they knew each other.”

Katherine looked thoughtful. “Didn’t you say
he raised you after your parents died?”

“Yes.”

Katherine looked across the room at Jack,
standing amongst a group of men. She narrowed her eyes. “He abused
you, didn’t he?”

“How…?”

“Ben said you’d been abused as a child. It
could only be him.”

Anna took both of Katherine’s hands.
“Katherine, please. Don’t let him know you know.”

“Why? A child abuser should go to jail.”

“He won’t. Trust me. Don’t confront him.
Just…let it go. Otherwise.…” Anna swallowed. “I don’t want anything
to happen to you.” She stared intently into Katherine’s eyes,
willing her to understand.

Slowly, Katherine nodded. “All right,
Anna.”

Anna sighed in relief.

Anna went directly into her dressing room
when she got to the theater later that day. She lay down on the
couch in the dark and cried. She couldn’t stop.

There was a knock on the door and it opened
when she didn’t respond. Anna squinted as the light from the
hallway spilled in and she saw Aaron standing in the doorway. When
he saw her, he went to her quickly and hugged her.

“Why are you crying?” he asked quietly.

She shrugged.

“I guess that was a stupid question, huh? I’m
sorry, Anna.” He closed the door and turned on the light, then went
back to the couch and pulled her into his lap. He rocked her as she
cried.

Another knock a bit later turned out to be
Travis. “Hey, Anna,” he said, sitting down on the couch next to
them. He squeezed her hand while she cried.

“Are you okay?” Travis asked when her tears
had subsided a while later.

She nodded. She felt better after her
cry.

“You’ve been through a lot, Anna. It’s okay
to be upset.” Travis squeezed her hand. “If I’m making it hard to
manage your emotions, tell me. We don’t have to keep…uh,” he
glanced at Aaron.

“Keep what?” Aaron asked with a raised
brow.

Anna sat up and looked at Aaron. “He helps me
feel better.”

“How?”

“Sex,” she answered simply and then winced,
waiting for his reaction.

Anna saw a myriad of emotions in Aaron’s
eyes. “Are you guys dating?” he asked softly.

Anna’s eyes widened. “What?” She shook her
head adamantly. “No. No, I can’t…I won’t date anyone…ever again.”
She twisted the ring on her finger.
Never again
.

Both guys looked at her strangely. “That’s
kinda extreme, don’t ya think?” Travis asked.

Anna shook her head slowly. “I can’t get too
attached to anyone. Or Devin will….” She trailed off. “I have to
focus on what Devin wants, not what I want. Otherwise, people get
hurt.”

Silence filled the room. Anna knew Aaron
still loved her. She loved him, too. But she could never date him
again, or Devin would kill him, too.

Her eyes filled with tears. “Can you guys
leave? I need some time to myself.” She stood up and stared at the
ground, twisting her fingers around each other.

They both nodded and stood.

“Anna, if you need anything…,” Aaron said,
putting his hands on her shoulders. “You know I still…care about
you, right?”

Anna nodded and gave him a sad smile. “I
know.”

Travis kissed her on the cheek and then they
both left.

Anna lay back down on the couch and cried.
When would the pain go away? She didn’t remember the pain from her
parents’ death. Anytime she got sad, Jack or Devin distracted her.
Maybe if she kept distracting herself, this pain would go away,
too.

She stood a few minutes later and went across
the hall to see if Travis was there. He opened the door and looked
at her with a concerned expression.

“Distract me?” she asked in a soft voice,
blinking away tears.

Travis peeked his head out, looked around the
empty hallway, then pulled her inside.

*****

Later, Anna warmed up and tried to psych
herself up for the afternoon show. She met Travis backstage during
intermission and they went through a few steps together. When he
ran his finger across her belly along the front edge of her pants,
she shivered and felt heat shoot through her veins.

“There’s the expression I was looking for,”
he whispered. “I was afraid you wouldn’t seduce me this
afternoon.”

She gave him a small smile. Numbness gave way
to desire. Desire felt better than anything. Desire took the pain
away. This she had been taught by both Devin and Jack.

After their dance, Travis pushed Anna up
against the cool brick wall in his dressing room and buried his
cock deep inside her. One calf rested on his shoulder while the
toes of the other foot barely touched the floor, and she clung to
his damp shoulders as they moved together.

“Harder, Travis,” she moaned. “Harder.”

He rammed himself against her, capturing her
mouth with his to muffle their moans and cries.

She gave a muffled screech against his mouth
as she came and she felt his cock throb inside her. He groaned
against her cries, and then rested his head against the cool wall
behind her.

“Are we going to do this every time?” she
asked, gasping for breath.

Travis chuckled. “I’m game if you are.”

Anna smiled. “I can actually say this is a
new experience for me. That doesn’t happen very often.”

“Happy to oblige.” He shivered as he pulled
out and brought her leg down to the ground. “We’ll be having a lot
of sex if we do it every time.”

Anna bit his nipple. “Is that a bad
thing?”

He groaned. “Not at all.” He lifted her chin
with his finger. “Although I do have this fantasy about getting you
in my shower and taking you from behind.”

“Sounds fun.”

A glint appeared in his eye and he turned her
around so that her body was pressed against the cool bricks. He
held her hands above her head and slid his other hand down her back
and to the cleft of her ass. He went lower and caressed the tight
ring of muscle. “I want to take you here,” he murmured against her
shoulder.

Anna moaned and nodded. “Yes, please.”

He dipped his finger into her pussy and then
pressed against her ass. “You want it?” he whispered.

Anna nodded. “Yes,” she moaned. She sighed as
his finger breached the entrance. “Oh, Travis….”

“Come home with me tonight,” he whispered
urgently, releasing her hands and reaching forward to caress her
breast and finger fuck her ass.

She moaned and nodded.

“Good.” He removed his finger and stepped
away. “We need to wash up and get dressed.”

As they were getting dressed, an alarming
thought came to mind. “Travis, will you get into trouble for
sleeping with me?”

“What do you mean?”

“Well, because I’m an Elder-Mistress…Devin
said only certain men were allowed to touch me.”

He shrugged. “My dad said it’s fine. I asked.
I’m kinda part slave and part normal person.”

“I don’t want you to get hurt.”

“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” He
looked her up and down. “Ready?”

She glanced in the mirror and adjusted her
hair, then nodded.

They made their way backstage and waited for
their cue for the finale.

*****

Anna took a nap between performances on the
couch in her dressing room. She woke up feeling much more refreshed
than she had this morning. She washed her face and went out to get
some dinner, then returned and got ready for the evening
performance.

When they finished their dance, Anna expected
Travis to drag her back to his dressing room as usual, but he
smiled at her and took her to the green room and sat down.

She sat down next to him. “Why aren’t we
going to your dressing room?”

He grinned. “Because I want to save it for
when we get to my house.”

Anna groaned. Her pussy was throbbing.
“You’re mean,” she pouted.

Travis laughed. “Hardly. I told you it was
hard dancing with a hard-on. I have to do it again in a little
while.”

She gave him a seductive smile. “Then why
don't you let me take care of it for you?”

“Tempting. But I don’t want to have to get
dressed afterwards.” He leaned in towards her ear. “I plan on
fucking you until we both fall asleep tonight. I want to keep my
brothers awake with your screaming.”

*****

An eternity later, Travis pulled into the
driveway of a cute little three-story house in Haight Ashbury.

“It’s cute,” Anna said. Travis grimaced.

“My dad got a good deal on it,” he
explained.

His brothers, Cody and Lane, were watching TV
when they walked in. They grinned as Travis brought her inside.

“Lane, Cody, this is Anna. Anna, my brothers,
Lane and Cody.”

Though she could tell they were brothers,
their coloring was very different. Lane had red hair and freckles
and was shorter than Travis’ six foot one frame. Cody looked as if
he spent a healthy amount of time outside, with blond hair and
brown eyes.

Without any further ado, Travis took Anna
directly into the bathroom and turned the water on in the shower.
As it was warming up, he pulled her close and kissed her, pulling
her shirt off as he did so. They undressed each other and then got
into the shower.

Anna saw a bottle of body wash and poured
some onto a washcloth. She then rubbed the cloth all over Travis,
making him groan as her hands explored his body. When she was done,
he did the same to her, rubbing her all over. She was panting by
the time he was done. They rinsed off under the running water and
then Travis gently pushed her against the wall with her front
pressed against the warm tiles.

He kissed her neck and ran his hands over her
breasts and belly, then dipped his finger into her throbbing pussy
several times before moving back to her ass.

She moaned as he moved his finger in and out
of her ass, stretching and caressing the muscle until she relaxed.
When she was ready, he held her arms over her head with one hand
and pushed his cock against her ass as he held her hip.

She winced as he pressed forward, expecting
it to hurt, but as he moved in, she sighed. It didn’t hurt at all.
His chest pressed against her back as he filled her to the
hilt.

“Travis…,” she moaned.

He held her firmly as he began moving in and
out. His finger found her clit and he began rubbing the erect
nub.

She moaned again as she felt herself on the
brink.

“You feel so incredible, Anna,” he whispered
in a hoarse voice. “I could do this with you all night.”

“Mmm,” Anna moaned. “Oh, God. I’m going to
come!” she exclaimed.

“Come for me, sweetheart. Come hard for
me.”

Heat exploded from his caresses and she rose
up on her toes as she cried out loudly, bucking her hips against
him. She heard him curse and he pressed in deeper as he came as
well.

He leaned against her for a moment, then he
pulled out of her and they enjoyed more cleansing, relaxing, and
caresses before he turned off the water. They dried off and fell
onto his bed, which was little more than a mattress on the floor,
covered in wrinkled blankets. But the mattress was very comfortable
and she snuggled close to him.

“Mmm, I like this better than the dressing
room,” Travis said as he pulled Anna against him.

She smiled. “I like not having to rush out to
dance right away.”

“I agree.” He turned her over onto her side
and pressed his front to her back. He nipped at her neck. “Too bad
we can’t play hooky tomorrow.”

“I think people might notice if we’re not
there.”

“Yeah. And that photographer’s supposed to be
there tomorrow too.”

Anna turned back to him. “Photographer?”

Travis chuckled. “Weren’t you paying
attention when Isaak talked to us tonight?”

She shook her head.

“Dance Magazine. They’re coming to photograph
the matinee tomorrow.”

“Really?”

“You really are out of it when you’re not
dancing, aren’t you?”

Anna sighed. “I’m sorry. I just…it’s easier
to stay numb.”

Travis pulled her close. “I know. I had a
hard time when my mom died. It’s much more pleasant to have sex
than feel the hurt. I get it. Probably more than anyone else around
here.”

“Your mom died?”

Travis grimaced. “Well, she was eliminated
when I was sixteen. I just say ‘died’ because I can’t explain what
elimination means to outsiders.”

Anna heart ached for Travis’ pain. She
cradled his cheek. “I’m so sorry, Travis.”

He shrugged. “It was a long time ago. I knew
it would happen and my dad gave me a chance to say goodbye.”

Anna bit her lip. “How does elimination
happen?”

Travis gave her a wry smile. “He just gives
them a shot. Lethal injection, I guess. And she died peacefully.
Dad let me be there because I asked. We held her hand and she
smiled at me as she died.” He grimaced again. “I was her only son.
She was in her late thirties. They normally don’t last that long,
but she kept having healthy babies. And my dad cared about
her.”