The Life of Anna, Part 3: Embraced (29 page)

*****

Alex stared at his soup, his appetite gone.
Anna had withdrawn from him. Though she was sitting right next to
him, she was as far away as she had been while in San Francisco.
She wasn’t cold. That wasn’t in her nature. She was
just...submissive. She would be quiet and obedient to him, but
nothing more. The warmth and joy were gone.

But would it have been better had he told her
about Otto in the library? He supposed there was no good time to
tell his new bride that he’d fathered a son with his brother’s
wife.

Did Kurt know? Alex doubted it. Gretchen
wouldn’t have told Kurt until she knew how Alex took the news. Poor
Kurt. He really had loved her when they married. Now? Now Alex knew
more than he’d wanted to know about Gretchen.

What a mess.

Anna remained silent throughout the dinner,
unless spoken to, and then she kept her answers soft and short. She
kept her eyes downcast and ate all the food that was set before
her. He hoped she wouldn’t be sick from eating so much.

She trembled when Alex put his hand on hers
or put his arm around her shoulders. Why was she afraid of him?

Dinner was one of the longest he could
remember. He intentionally had not looked at Gretchen the entire
meal. He didn’t want her thinking that he approved of the news or
that he wanted anything to do with her.

When the meal finally ended, Alex and Anna
were given leave to go be alone and he eagerly led her out of the
room and up to the third floor where his chambers were.

As he walked across the sitting room towards
the double doors where his bedroom was, he began to doubt himself.
He had been looking forward to tonight. To carrying her into his
bedroom and slowly making love to her. Now, as she walked silently,
slightly behind him, he didn’t know what to do.

He walked up the few steps that led to the
doors and hesitated. He sighed and decided to do what he had
planned. He opened the door, turned, swept her off her feet, and
carried her inside.

Anna looked around at the massive,
rectangular room. The ceiling, twice as high as a normal room, was
paneled in dark wood. Three diamond paned windows alternated with
three square paned, each rising from about five feet above the
floor to just below the ceiling. The wooden floors were covered in
several places by red oriental rugs placed about the room. Along
the left wall, matching bookshelves flanked a dark wood writing
desk. Across the room, two wingback chairs sat on an oriental rug
in front of a massive marble fireplace.

At the far end of the room a huge,
intricately carved wooden canopy bed sat on a huge red oriental
rug, framed by deep red curtains with gold tassels. A coat of arms
carved into the headboard presented two crowned, double-tailed
lions holding a shield with a crown on it. The shield had another
crowned, double-tailed lion on it holding a sword. The whole thing
was surrounded by an open tasseled curtain with a crown on top of
that.

Anna had been here before, but in the dark.
The night she first saw Alex. And now she was here again. As his
wife. But it wasn’t the joyous moment she’d been expecting all day.
No, she felt nauseous and tired. She wanted to sleep and make
everything just go away.

But she was sure Alex had expectations.

She turned to him. “How may I please you, my
lord?” It came out her mouth without her thinking about it.

She saw his jaw clench and knew she’d upset
him.

“I-I’m sorry, Alex,” she said quickly. The
last thing she wanted to do was upset him. “I wasn’t thinking.”

*****

Alex looked down at his precious wife. He
hadn’t meant to get angry at her words. He was angry at himself for
making her feel the way she was feeling, not at her.

Alex took a deep breath and took her hand to
guide her to the bench at the foot of his bed. “
Schatzi,”
he said in a soft voice. “I kept what Gretchen told me from you so
that it wouldn’t ruin your day, but I can see that not telling you
has probably made things worse.” He took another deep breath.
“Anna, Gretchen told me that....” He hesitated. How best to tell
her? “Otto is my son and not Kurt’s.”

She looked up at him with her big green eyes.
“I know.”

“I.... You know? Did you hear us
talking?”

Anna shook her head. “Well, yes, I heard you,
but I didn’t understand you. But I know he’s your son.”

Alex didn’t know what to say and was quiet
for a long minute, trying to understand. “How did you know?” he
asked softly

“The way Gretchen acted at the table. She
told me with her actions.”

Alex carefully counted to ten to keep himself
from jumping up to find Gretchen and strangle her. How dare that
woman! He had half a mind to kick her out of the house right then
and there.

But she had his son.

Tears filled Anna’s eyes. “I’m happy for you,
Alex,” she said softly. “At least you’ll have a child, even if it
isn’t from me.”

“Anna...I knew when I asked you to marry me
that you were told you could never have children.” He carefully
constructed his thoughts before speaking, because when he married
her, he knew she could have children. He wanted to be truthful.
“Anna, Otto will never be my heir, despite what Gretchen thinks. He
is illegitimate and not eligible.”

She nodded absently and stared at the ground.
“Are you...happy about Otto? That you have a son?”

“Honestly, Anna. I don’t know how I feel
about it. I’m furious at Gretchen right now. If you’re sensing any
anger from me, Schatzi
,
please believe me, it has nothing
to do with you, except that I’m furious at her for upsetting
you.”

She didn’t say anything. He wondered if this
would be a good time to tell her she was going to have a baby.
Maybe it would lessen the sting of Gretchen’s actions.

He took her hand. “Anna....”

She looked up at him, worry in her eyes.
“Yes, Alex?”

He gave her a tender smile. “Schatzi, about
you not being able to have children...it’s not true. Under the
right circumstances, you can get pregnant.”

She looked at him doubtfully. “Are you just
trying to make me feel better?”

He shook his head emphatically. “No
,
Anna. I’m not. I know it’s not true.”

“How?” she whispered. She didn’t believe him,
he could tell.

He cradled her cheek. “Because I believe you
are pregnant right now.”

Her eyes grew big as she stared at him, then
filled with tears. “Why would you tease me about that, Alex?” She
stood to walk away, but he held her hand.

“I’m not teasing, Schatzi. My mother is
convinced that you are. You’ve been nauseous, tired....” He
grinned. “Your breasts are definitely fuller than they were the
last time I saw you.”

Anna blushed. “I can’t fit into my bras.” She
sat down and looked at him. “Are you sure?”

“My mother has known with each of Gretchen’s
pregnancies. And a couple of cousins as well. She has excellent
instincts.”

Her eyes sparkled for a minute and then grew
sad again. “But it’s obviously not yours.”

He stroked her cheek. “I don’t care, Anna. I
will raise it as my own...if you want me to.” He paused. “Do
you...well, I thought it might be Ben’s baby. What do you
think?”

Her face fell. “It could be any number of
men’s, Alex. It could be Devin’s for all I know.”

He shook his head. “Anna, for you to trigger
your body into conceiving there must be a deep emotional
connection. I would assume that would have only occurred with Ben,
am I right?”

*****

Anna nodded in answer to Alex’s question.
“Yes,” she whispered. “He’s the only one I’ve been emotionally
connected to for a long time. Until you.”

A tear rolled down her cheek and she put her
hand on her stomach. Was it really possible that she was carrying
Ben’s child? The thought overwhelmed her with joy and trepidation
at the same time. Would Alex really want to raise this baby as his
own?

“
Schatzi
, please don't doubt me. I
love you. I am thrilled that you are pregnant. It gives me hope
that we will have children together.”

She loved the idea of giving Alex children.
She looked up at him and smiled, even though tears ran down her
cheeks. “Ben’s mom would be thrilled.” Would he let her tell
Katherine?

He put his hand on hers. “I’m sure she would
be.” He pulled her close and kissed her head. “You don’t need to be
upset about Gretchen,
Schatzi
. We will have our own
children. Together.”

Joy suddenly overcame her and she flung her
arms around Alex’s neck. “I’m really going to have a baby?”

Alex laughed. “
Ja, mein Frau
. You
are going to have
ein Baby
.
Nein,
we are going to
have
ein Baby
.” He kissed her firmly on the mouth.
“Perhaps we should go practice making them so when it’s my turn we
are ready,” he murmured against her lips.

Anna couldn’t help but burst into laughter.
She felt so light. So good. She knew now why she’d been sick and
tired. She wasn’t getting fat. She was having a baby! And now she
wanted nothing more than for Alex to pick her up and take her to
bed with him.

“I agree.”

Alex laughed in delight and picked her up and
carried her to their bed.

Anna woke with a grin on her face and
snuggled closer to Alex. The room was cold, but he was very warm.
He had once again proven what an incredible lover he was. She
didn’t know how many orgasms she’d had, but they had each been
incredible. And Alex...! Oh, my, she couldn't believe that he fit
inside her, but he made her feel so good, once her body had
adjusted to his size. They’d made love at least four times last
night, each time better than the last.

He promised he’d go back to normal and Anna
was somewhat relieved. She didn’t want him to have to go so slow
every time they made love. She remembered how hard he had fucked
her that one night and wanted him hard like that again...once she
was satiated with the gentleness.

“What are you grinning at?” Alex asked in a
raspy morning voice.

“You.” She traced around his nipple and he
shivered. She leaned forward and bit it, making him groan. “Are you
feeling better?”

“Mmm,” he mumbled. “Mostly.” He rolled over
on top of her and nuzzled her neck. His cock pressed against her
inner thigh.

She rolled her hips forward and pressed up
against him. He moved forward, stopping at her entrance. She moaned
and wiggled beneath him.

“Please, Alex,” she moaned. “I need you
again.”

He chuckled and moved forward into her body,
making both of them sigh.

*****

Two hours later, Alex and Anna were in the
shower. He had washed her body all over and she was returning the
favor. She ran her hands over his hard buttocks and he moaned
softly. Kneeling next to him, she moved her hand down and reached
between his legs to caress his balls.

He hissed and leaned his hand against the
wall for support. She had such talented hands. He felt himself
growing hard again. God, they’d made love so many times since last
night, and he still could get hard? Even he was impressed with his
stamina. Maybe that’s what the teasing at the Schloss was really
for.

Her fingers explored backwards and brushed
against his asshole. It was tender from the previous night, but it
felt good at the same time. Aside from the Elders it had been a
while since he’d had sex with a guy.

Oh, he didn’t need to be thinking about that
while his sweet little wife caressed him. He loved her. He liked
women. A lot. If anything he was selectively bi. And by
selectively, he meant that there were only a handful of men he
would ever consider being with.

“I’m sorry, Alex. Did I hurt you?”

He opened his eyes and saw her looking up at
him. He glanced at his erect cock and smiled. “Not at all, Schatzi.
It...felt good.”

Her eyes widened. “It did?”

Had he frightened her? “Does that bother
you?”

She smiled up at him and brushed the ring of
muscle again. His eyes closed and he groaned as she caressed him
there. Most women were apprehensive about their own asses, let
alone a man’s. But what Anna was doing felt so incredible. And she
did it willingly. He was the luckiest man!

He inhaled sharply when she pressed a finger
against him.

“Oh, yes, Schatzi,” he breathed as she
pressed inside him.

He stepped his legs further apart and hung
his head as she finger fucked him and stroked his cock. He moaned
when she slipped another of her slender fingers inside. He didn’t
want to consider the possibility that she’d done this before, but
she probably had. There was probably very little she hadn’t been
forced to do. The thought saddened him and gripped his heart with
guilt. He always felt guilty when he thought about her abuse. If
only he hadn’t been so stupid, then maybe-

“Do you want me to stop?” she asked quietly,
her hands stilling.

His eyes flew open to see her uncertain eyes.
“
Nein, Schatzi.
Unless you want to.” He smiled at her. “It
feels very good.”

He saw a spark of curiosity in her eyes
before she looked away. He wondered what that was about, until she
started moving again and forgot everything except her touch.

*****

Anna wondered if Alex was one of the guys
Travis had hinted about that “swung both ways.” Most men didn’t
like their asses caressed unless they did. But he was so manly. She
couldn’t imagine him submitting himself to any man or going out and
flirting with men.

But he was clearly enjoying what she was
doing to him. Heck, she was enjoying what she was doing to him. She
liked hearing him moan under her touch. She moved in front of him
to take him into her mouth while she moved her fingers inside him.
He let out a low guttural moan when she took him down her throat
and mumbled something in German.