The Life of Anna, Part 3: Embraced (4 page)

Anna smiled. “Thanks, Travis.”

She heard their cue and they moved into
position. When their music began, she stepped out on stage with
Travis behind her, and, like magic, the world fell away until only
the dance remained.

*****

After the show reality came crashing back,
and Anna rushed to her dressing room to get ready for the party.
She smiled as she got ready, knowing she would see Ben soon. She
had concluded that the only reason he would be coming tonight was
that he still wanted to be with her. Coming to a performance to
break things off just didn’t make any sense. Jenna and Travis both
agreed.

She listened for a knock at the door while
she dressed, hoping Ben would come to her backstage. When she was
ready, she decided to text him and let him know she would see him
at the party and headed over in her own car.

She didn’t see Ben when she arrived, but saw
Wilhelm and Kurt. She made her way over to say hello.

“You were
wunderbar, Liebling,
”
Wilhelm said, kissing her cheek.

“
Ja
, you were,” Kurt agreed.

“Thank you,” she said with a smile. She told
them about Ben’s message.

“Well, then, don’t just stand here. Go find
him.” Kurt said.

She turned to go and saw Devin standing
behind her. “Hello, Anna. Wonderful performance tonight.” He kissed
her cheek. “I’m glad I allowed you to continue dancing.”

Anna smiled nervously. “Thank you, Devin.”
She looked around as she spoke, but still no sign of Ben.

“Looking for someone?” Devin asked. If she
hadn’t been so preoccupied, the strange tone in his voice might
have given her pause.

Anna looked up at him, caught off guard by
his inquiry

“Anna, go find Jenna like you said you wanted
to,” Kurt said. “You can find me later.”

Anna smiled gratefully at him. “Yes, Kurt. If
you’ll excuse me,” she said to both Devin and Wilhelm.

Devin watched as Anna walked quickly away,
eyes scanning the room for her boyfriend. She didn’t know that he
wasn’t here; that he wasn’t coming. But Devin knew. He would take
care of her distraction once and for all by the end of the weekend.
He had warned her about her duties and she chose not to listen. She
would certainly listen more carefully after this weekend. Of that,
Devin was certain.

*****

“Jenna, Matt, have you seen Ben?” Anna asked
anxiously as she approached the couple.

They both shook their heads. “He said he was
coming,” Matt said. “We sat next to each other at the theater.”

Anna looked around, fear gripping her heart.
Had he changed his mind? She blinked away tears.

Jenna put her hand on her arm. “He’ll be
here, Anna. Don't worry. Maybe he had car trouble.”

Anna’s eyes didn’t stop moving the rest of
the night. She searched constantly for Ben, but he never came. When
people began leaving, hopelessness seized her heart.

Matt looked at her helplessly. “I don’t know
what happened. He was coming, I swear.”

She saw Wilhelm walking towards her and ran
to him. “He didn’t come,” she sobbed into his tuxedo jacket.
Wilhelm hugged her close.

“Who are you?” she heard Matt ask.

“I am Wilhelm Kunze Herzog von Hesse. I
am...ah, Anna’s guardian, you might say.”

“Guardian? Then why didn’t you protect—”

“Matt, please,” Jenna interrupted, and Anna
knew Jenna had told Matt about her life, too. “Wilhelm is a good
man. He does what he can for Anna.”

“
Danke
, Jenna. And you are?”

“Matt Bolling. I’m Ben’s roommate.”

“Ah. Yes. Do you know where Ben is? You can
see that Anna is quite upset.”

Matt shook his head. “No. It’s weird. He said
he’d be here. I can’t imagine what happened. I called him a couple
of times, but he didn’t answer.” He sighed. “Maybe he just needed
more time to himself.”

Wilhelm hugged Anna closer. “I am truly
sorry,
Liebling.
”

“I’m sure he’ll call you, Anna,” Matt said,
putting his hand on her arm. “When I see him. I’ll hit him for you,
okay?”

Anna gave a half-hearted laugh. “Okay.”

“
Kommen Sie
, Anna. Let us return to
the hotel.”

Anna waved to her friends and let Wilhelm
lead her out of the ballroom. “Where’s Kurt?”

“He…found a new friend,” Wilhelm answered,
shaking his head slightly.

Anna was glad for Kurt. She hated the idea of
him sleeping alone because of her.

Wilhelm took her back to the hotel, helped
her undress and tucked her into bed. Then he turned out the lights
and crawled in next to her, pulling her close.

“Wilhelm, do you want me to…?”

“
Nein
, Anna. You needn’t worry about
me. I am fine. It is you that I am worried about.” He kissed her
cheek. “I put your phone next to the bed. If he calls, you will
hear.”

“Thank you, Wilhelm,” she said softly.

*****

Wilhelm lay in the dark room, holding the
precious girl against him. He could feel desire stirring inside
him, but that was not what she needed right now. She needed a
friend and father, something Devin had denied her. Wilhelm was more
of a man than that. He would give Anna what she needed instead of
demanding what he wanted.

Devin had acted suspiciously at the party.
Wilhelm knew Devin to be hard-hearted, but the way he spoke to Anna
made Wilhelm suspect Devin knew more than he let on. Wilhelm
certainly would never underestimate Devin again. The Chairman would
surely do anything to get his way.

Poor Anna. She was just caught in the middle
of all this. It wasn’t right. She deserved some happiness.

But at the same time, the idea of Ben
breaking up with her was of some comfort to Wilhelm, even though it
broke his heart to see Anna suffering.

He was sure Ben loved her. Wilhelm had asked
around about the young lawyer while Anna was gone and had only
heard good things about him. But Ben could never give Anna
everything she needed. She needed protecting. She needed someone
who could face Devin and win.

Devin would eat Ben alive.

She needed Alex, but for some reason unknown
to himself, she was furious with him. He had asked her about coming
out for the New Year and had never seen such a look on her face as
when she said she didn’t want to go. He was a little hurt until he
realized that her anger was directed toward Alex and not
himself.

Alex hadn’t meant to hurt Anna, but it was a
good thing he’d left. Wilhelm was very proud of the effort Alex
exerted to learn the old ways. There was much more to learn to be
able to defeat Devin, but they had discovered a way for Alex to
protect Anna in the meantime. That would be taken care of when she
came to visit in a few weeks.

If Ben broke up with her, it would be for the
best. For all of them. If he didn’t…well, they’d have to deal with
it some other way. Perhaps Wilhelm could talk to him before he went
back to Germany. He could explain to Ben what had to happen. If he
truly loved her, he would want what was best for her. He just hoped
Anna would cooperate.

*****

Anna slept fitfully. She had nightmares about
Ben. That he wouldn’t speak to her. That they tried to be together
and they couldn’t. That he was dead. In the morning she apologized
to Wilhelm for tossing and turning all night, and he was very
understanding.

Anna headed to the theater after breakfast.
She sought out Jenna as soon as she put her bag in her dressing
room.

“Ben didn’t come home last night,” Jenna told
her as she paused mid-stretch at the barre. “Matt said he’s done
that before. When he’s upset about something, he’ll just go for a
drive and not tell anyone. Then he’ll come back and everything will
be fine.”

“Then why did he tell me he’d be at the
party? I don’t understand.”

“I don’t know, Anna. But I’m sure everything
will be okay.”

The day dragged on. There was no call from
Ben. No text. No nothing.

Anna found that dancing in the two
performances that day provided the only relief from the ache in her
heart; a few, precious minutes of distraction in an otherwise dark
day. Her heart twisted and her stomach churned the rest of the
time. She couldn’t have said whether she danced well or not, and
even her friend’s assurances did nothing to cheer her.

She felt terrible about being poor company
for Wilhelm, and apologized again and again. “I can go home if you
want, Wilhelm. You could find more…pleasant company…if I did.”

“Nonsense, Anna,” Wilhelm said in response,
squeezing her hand. “You are not going anywhere. I want to make
sure you are all right.”

Wilhelm once again held her all night as she
tossed and turned.

Sunday dawned and still Anna hadn’t heard
from Ben. She felt so hopeless she could hardly get out of bed.

“Anna, do not give up hope,” Wilhelm said.
“He will call.”

Anna drove to the theater and mechanically
went through the motions of warming up and getting ready.

She came alive when she danced, and only when
she danced. Aside from that, she stared at her phone while sitting
in her dressing room.

After the last curtain call of the evening,
Anna trudged back to her dressing room. She contemplated calling
Wilhelm to let him know she was going to go for a drive; she needed
some air.

“Hello, Anna.”

Anna jumped when she stepped into the room
and saw Ian sitting on her couch.

“Ian? What are you doing here?”

His eyes were hard. Had she done something
wrong?

“Devin wants to see you. Tonight.”

Anna took in a shaky breath. What had she
done to earn a punishment? “I need to tell Wilhelm—”

“It’s been taken care of.”

She studied Ian closely. He was acting
strange; cold and distant. “Ian, what’s wrong?”

“Please, Anna,” he pleaded softly, breaking
through the ice for just a split second. Then he was hard again.
“Get ready as quickly as you can.”

Anna moved quickly. She didn’t want to anger
Devin more if he truly was angry with her. As she dressed, she
wracked her brain, trying to figure out what she’d done. When she
was ready, Ian led her out the back of the theater to a waiting
Town Car. He opened the back door for her and then got in the
driver’s seat and drove away.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“The Manor.”

“Am I to be punished?”

Ian didn’t answer at first. “No,” he said
after a few moments of silence.

Something about his manner disturbed her.
“Ian. Please. Tell me what’s wrong.” She leaned forward and put her
hand on his shoulder.

“Anna, don’t. Just…please be quiet and we’ll
be there soon.”

That didn’t help any. Ian’s strange behavior
just made her more anxious.

She stared out the window and watched the
scenery fly past her. What had she done to anger Devin? Nothing
came to mind. He had left her alone for the most part the last
month or so. She usually knew what Devin was angry about, but this
time she honestly didn’t know.

After what seemed like forever, Ian pulled
into the drive to the Manor and a few minutes later, they stopped
in front of the huge building.

“Leave your bag,” Ian said stiffly as he
opened her door. “Someone will attend to it later.”

Anna followed him silently into the dimly lit
entryway. She removed her shoes and expected Ian to lead her up the
stairs to her room or Devin’s. Instead, he led her down a hallway
she’d never seen, through a paneled wooden door and into a room
that looked like a large living room. The red-carpeted floor was
springy and a lit fireplace graced the far wall. Computer monitors
lined one sidewall with a long desk below it. The room was shadowed
except in the center where Devin sat in a tall chair, his chin
resting on steepled fingers.

Anna looked up at Ian.

“Go greet him properly,” he whispered.

Anna felt odd as she walked towards Devin
wearing jeans and a sweater. She’d never gone anywhere in the Manor
wearing street clothes. She nervously stopped a few feet in front
of Devin, dropped to her knees and bowed before him.

“Good evening, Mistress,” Devin said in a
gentle tone. “You may sit up. I hope you don't mind my needing you
tonight.”

“Whatever would please you, Master,” she said
quietly, bringing herself to a sitting position.

“Come, Baby. Suck my cock and then we have
some things to discuss.”

Anna immediately moved toward Devin and
untied his black linen pants. She took his cock into her mouth and
began sucking and licking him as best as she could.

He laced his fingers through her hair. “Good
girl,” he murmured. “I love how you always suck my cock so well. So
enthusiastically.”

Anna closed her eyes to keep the tears from
falling. She wanted Ben so badly, she could almost feel him near
her. She missed him terribly. Where on earth could he be?

Devin came in her mouth with a low moan and
Anna licked him clean, then returned to her knees and awaited his
next instruction.

She stared at the floor between his feet as
she felt him staring at her. “You don’t seem happy, Baby. What’s
wrong?”

She swallowed. She didn’t want to tell him
what was wrong, but she had no choice. He had asked. “I
miss…someone.”

“Your boyfriend?”

“Yes.”

“Anna, you’ve been very distracted with him
lately. I don’t like it.” Devin said.

“I’ve tried to perform my duties as always,
Master.”

“You’re not as enthusiastic about pleasing
the men I bring to you. And you’re never home, so if someone wants
you, they can’t find you.”

“If they call I always meet them.”

“That’s not the point, Anna,” Devin snarled.
“The point is that pleasing me is to be your primary objective. Not
pleasing a boyfriend. And you spend so much time with him, I’m
beginning to feel as if you’d rather be with him than me.”