The Life of Anna, Part 5: Emerged (27 page)

Hugo came over on Thursday afternoon. They
moved the furniture to the side of the room and went through the
parts of his ballet that they could manage in the small space.

“Too bad we can’t go onto the terrace,” Anna
said, catching her breath. “There’s more room out there.” Tom had
put the same restrictions on her as before.

“We’ll just do what we can,” Hugo said,
taking a drink of water. He walked over to the stereo. “Ready to
try again?”

Anna nodded. She moved into position and they
began the dance again. She loved dancing with him. She loved also
that he asked for suggestions when something wasn’t working quite
right, and even used some of them. They worked together to make the
dance as beautiful as it could be.

“Do you think this pose?” Hugo asked, holding
her wrists as she extended them behind her back. “Or this?” He
turned her around and put his hands on her waist, holding her
close.

Anna’s heart pounded as she stared into his
kind eyes, rapidly darkening with passion. He brought his hand to
her cheek and leaned in his head towards her. “Hugo....” she
whispered, lifting her face to his. She shouldn’t kiss him. She
shouldn’t....

His lips brushed against hers for a moment
before he captured her lips with his own. Anna ran her hands up his
damp t-shirt and over his shoulders. His tongue probed her mouth
and she moaned softly. She was feeling lonely and his attention was
very welcome. She didn’t know if she could resist him tonight. She
didn’t know if she wanted to resist him tonight.

Aaron was looking forward to getting home and
calling Cameron. He never expected to be in a relationship with a
guy, but it had happened and he liked it. He liked Cameron. A lot.
Sometimes he missed the softness of a woman, but Cameron was so
loving and accepting...he really couldn’t complain.

He walked out into the lobby and stopped
short. “Wilhelm?” he exclaimed. “Kurt?”

The distinguished Germans turned and smiled
kindly at him. “Hello, Aaron,” Wilhelm said. “How are you
doing?”

“Good.” He went and shook hands in greetings
with both men. Why were they here? He thought they were supposed to
be in Philadelphia.

“We thought we would catch you after
rehearsal and walk over to your apartment with you. Anna....” He
sighed. “Anna is ignoring our calls again.”

Aaron pressed his lips together. He knew
exactly why she was doing that. Kurt was an ass and Wilhelm wasn’t
acting very sympathetic towards her. But, Aaron knew better than to
rebuke his Elder. “All right.” They walked outside and headed to
his apartment. “I thought you guys were going to Philly.”

“We do not have to be there until tomorrow
and thought we would stop by and visit,” Wilhelm said. “I have not
seen Anna since she got here.”

Aaron didn’t need to be reminded of that
fact, but grunted in reply.

“How is she doing?” Kurt asked.

“Okay. I think she gets lonely when she has
to stay in the apartment all day. But Hugo went over this
afternoon, so at least she has some company.”

“Hugo?” Kurt asked. “I thought they broke
up.”

Aaron frowned. He knew how hard that had been
on Anna. “Yeah, but they still dance together. Hugo’s having her
dance in his new ballet.”

“Oh.”

They arrived at the apartment a few minutes
later. Aaron unlocked the door and was surprised to not hear music
playing. He looked in the living room and didn’t see Anna. Where
was she?

Wilhelm and Kurt looked around the room.
“Where is she?” Wilhelm asked.

Aaron shrugged. “Probably in her room. Must
have finished early. I’ll go get her.” And warn her that they were
here. Aaron invited Wilhelm and Kurt to sit down and went to go get
Anna.

He lifted his hand to knock on her door and
heard something...unexpected. A moan. A moan from a man...and then
Anna moaned, too. Who was she with? And how did he keep the Germans
from finding out?

He winced as he knocked loudly. He hated
interrupting something like that, but he really didn’t have a
choice. Anna didn’t answer and he knocked again, cursing to
himself.

“What do you want?” Anna called, her voice
impatient and annoyed.

“Anna...I....” Aaron cursed again. “Can I
open the door?”

“No!” she yelled and then giggled.

Aaron took a deep breath and opened the door
and then gasped. Hugo was in bed with Anna, naked and on top of
her. Anna’s pale legs and arms wrapped around his dark body
tightly. He closed the door quickly and Anna looked over Hugo’s
shoulder at him.

“Aaron!” she shrieked.

Hugo jumped and reached for the blanket, but
not before Aaron found out that what they said about black men was
true. Wow. Suddenly he wished Hugo was gay.

“What the fuck are you doing, Aaron?” Hugo
exclaimed, covering both himself and Anna with the blanket.

“Wilhelm and Kurt are here,” Aaron said,
closing his eyes.

Anna gasped at Aaron’s words. She had
thoroughly been enjoying Hugo’s attentions when Aaron barged in.
She was furious, until Aaron told her that her father-in-law and
fiancé were here.

“Oh, no!” she exclaimed and looked at Hugo
with frightened eyes.

Hugo grimaced. “The Germans, right?”

Anna nodded and looked over at Aaron. “Why
are they here?”

“Because you’ve been ignoring their
calls.”

Anna rubbed her face. “Oh, this is not what I
need right now.” What would they say when they found out that she
had been in bed with Hugo? She was afraid and then her fear turned
into anger. They had no right to be upset. She was being discreet.
If they had a problem with her being with Hugo, then...well, that
was their problem. She looked at Aaron. “I’ll be out in a few
minutes.”

Aaron gave her a sad look and then nodded and
left.

She looked at Hugo. Ending up in bed with him
had not been planned. At all. But, oh, was he an amazing lover!

“You okay?” he asked, running his fingers
down her neck.

Anna grimaced. “Yeah. Irritated.”

Hugo leaned down and sucked on her neck. “We
can finish later.”

She slid her hand around the back of his
head. “I want to finish now.”

Hugo kissed down to her breast and licked her
nipple. “Mmm.” He sucked the taut peak, making Anna moan again. “Do
you think it wise to leave them waiting?” he murmured.

“I want you back inside me,” she whispered,
reaching down for his very impressive cock that was slick from
being inside her just moments ago. “I didn’t invite them over,” she
said, pulling him until he moved back over her. “They can
wait.”

Hugo grinned and kissed her as he pressed
himself back inside her. “God, I’ve wanted you for so long,
Kittycat,” he moaned.

Anna wrapped her arms around him, loving the
feel of him inside her. “Me too.”

Wilhelm sighed and looked out the window.
Would Anna avoid coming out here? He knew she was upset with him.
He hadn’t been as attentive as he should have been, but he had his
reasons.

“Hello, Wilhelm. Hello, Kurt.”

Wilhelm spun around to see his precious Anna
and was shocked to see her wearing a robe and a frown on her face.
What was more surprising was to see a man standing behind her with
his hand on her shoulder. He assumed this was Hugo.

Kurt stood, looking upset. Wilhelm stared in
disbelief. It was quite obvious what they had been doing. His jaw
clenched, and he took a deep breath to calm his anger. How could
she stand there so defiantly with Kurt in the same room? Had she
grown that cold? He knew Kurt had told her that they couldn’t be
together until they were married and that Kurt hadn’t exactly been
nice to her the last few times he’d seen her. But to continue
seeing her ex-boyfriend? That didn’t seem like her at all.

“Hello, Anna,” Wilhelm said in a strained
voice.

“I thought you were going to Philadelphia,”
she said softly.

“We do not have to be there until tomorrow
morning. You have been asking when I was going to come visit
you....” He shrugged. “This was a good opportunity.”

Anna grimaced and looked at Kurt. “I thought
you were going to call me when you were coming out.”

Her attitude worried Wilhelm. And irritated
him. He took another deep breath and walked over to where she was
standing. “Hello,” he said to the man. “I am Wilhelm Kunze Herzogin
von Hesse.”

The man smiled and extended his hand. “I’m
Hugo Sintzenich. It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir.”

Wilhelm thought he detected a hint of a
German accent. “You are German?” he asked.

Hugo nodded and glanced at Kurt. “Yes,” he
responded in German. “I grew up in Dusseldorf.”

Wilhelm chuckled. Anna certainly liked her
Germans.

Anna frowned as Wilhelm and Hugo spoke in
German above her. She hated not knowing what they were saying. She
was also irritated that Wilhelm was here. She huffed and turned to
leave the room. “Let me know when you want to talk to me,” she
snapped and began walking away.

“Anna.” Wilhelm’s voice was low and full of
warning.
Crap
. But she wouldn’t back down. She and Hugo
were finally together the way they wanted to be. She wasn’t going
to let anything change that. She turned back around and her eyes
widened slightly at the sternness in Wilhelm’s eyes.

“Would you mind excusing us, Hugo?” Wilhelm
said politely. “I need to speak with Anna for a bit.”

Hugo glanced at Anna and then back at
Wilhelm. “Of course.” He turned to Anna. “I will see you tomorrow
afternoon?” he said, affection in his eyes.

Anna smiled softly at him. Oh, how her heart
swelled at his affection. “I’ll walk you to the door.” She stopped
at the door, just out of view of Wilhelm and Kurt. She reached up
and caressed his cheek. “I really enjoyed this afternoon.”

He pulled her close. “I did too.” He bent
down and kissed her deeply. “Call me if you want me to come back
over tonight,” he said softly.

A thrill ran through her body at the idea of
him staying the night with her. Of being with him again. “I might
do that,” she said with a smile.

He grinned and kissed her again. “I will
await your call,” he murmured, and then left.

Anna returned to the living room and raised
her eyebrows at Wilhelm. “What did you want to talk about?”

Wilhelm frowned. “I thought you two broke
up.”

Anna shrugged. “We did.”

“And yet you are sleeping with him still?”
Kurt asked, his voice accusing.

She glanced at Kurt and rolled her eyes.
“Still? It was our first time together, Wilhelm.”

Wilhelm’s frown deepened, as if he didn’t
believe her. “So you admit to cheating on Kurt?”

Anna’s mouth dropped open in shock and then
her eyes narrowed. “Cheating? Really?” She glared at Kurt. “What
would you call fucking Jasmine?”

Wilhelm’s brow raised and he looked at Kurt.
“What is she talking about?”

Kurt’s eyes narrowed. “I have not been with
her since the first time I came out.”

“Yeah, you just did it the same night you
threw my engagement ring at me. Why the hell do you care what I do?
You told me if I was discreet, you didn’t care what I did.”

“So, you hook up with your ex?” Kurt snapped.
“How can I trust that it is not just physical?”

“Why does it matter what I feel about
him?”

Kurt sighed and got a pained look on his
face. “Look, Anna. I know I have not handled things well, but—”

“
Handled things well
? You flew all
the way here from Germany to yell at me!”

“I found you in another man’s bed!”

“You said I could do what I wanted to!”

“You were not being discreet!”

Anna growled. “I was this time. It’s not my
fault you came uninvited.”

“Enough!” Wilhelm's deep voice filled the
room as he stared, unbelieving, at Anna. “What has gotten into you,
Anna?”

“Me?” she exclaimed. “Kurt’s the one who’s
turned into an asshole.”

“I told y—” Kurt began.

“He is your fiancé, Anna,” Wilhelm said. “He
deserves your respect.”

“I didn’t ask for him to be my fiancé. In
fact....” She glared at Kurt. “...he didn’t even ask me. He just
told me and threw the ring at me.”

Wilhelm frowned at Kurt.

“I did not throw it,” he muttered.

“Regardless of how it happened, Anna, you are
still engaged to him and you need to act accordingly.”

“I don’t want to be engaged to him!” She
threw her hands up in disgust. “I was told that I was free! You
told me, and Tom told me, that I was free. Then Kurt shows up and
tells me I have to marry him? Not ask. Tell.”

“Anna, things have changed,” Wilhelm said
softly. “I need you to trust me.”

“Why?” she huffed. “So you can ignore me
again?”

“Anna, that is enough.” Wilhelm gave her a
warning look. “You have no idea what is going on, and I need you to
trust me.”

She crossed her arms over her chest and
glared at him. “No.”

Wilhelm’s jaw clenched and he took a very
deep breath. She knew she’d made him mad. Good. Then he’d know how
she felt.

She put every ounce of her anger and
frustration into the look she gave him, then turned on her heel and
stalked toward her bedroom.

“Anna, come back!” Wilhelm commanded in a
loud voice.

Anna froze. She had to obey. She didn’t want
to obey. She trembled as she fought within herself. “No!” she
yelled, and took another step away and then screeched and fell to
her knees as her head exploded in blinding pain.

Aaron ran out into the living room to see
Anna curled up in a ball, holding her head. He’d heard the shouting
and had been rather impressed at Anna holding her own, but the
scream had concerned him.