The Life of Anna, Part 4: Ensnared (20 page)

“What are you talking about?” Aaron asked
suspiciously.

Anna’s eyes widened and she clapped her hand
over her mouth. “Nothing.”

Aaron frowned. “Who is she?” He closed the
door and crossed his arms over his chest. “Tell me.”

Anna told him the whole story with Peter
getting married when he went to St. Petersburg, and Dariya showing
up that afternoon at the apartment.

Aaron got angrier as she spoke. “That fucking
bastard.”

“Aaron, you know our whole ‘relationship’ is
fake. So we’re having a fake fight. He’s not going to tell anyone
they’re married.”

“I thought he loved you.”

Anna sighed. “He does. But...c’mon. You know
Devin will never let me leave. He has to get married.”

Aaron sighed and reluctantly conceded the
point.

“I left of my own free will. He didn’t kick
me out.” He looked at her doubtfully. “I did. Please don’t be angry
at him. He did what he needed to do.”

Aaron sighed. “All right. For you,” he added,
giving her a stern look. “I’ll back him up.” He glanced at his
watch. “I gotta go get ready. I’ll see ya later. Come get me if you
want to talk.” He kissed her on the forehead and left.

Peter knocked on the door a while later.
“Hey, you okay?” he asked, closing the door behind him.

Anna nodded. “I miss you.”

He sighed. “I miss you too. She’s...gone to
the lobby. Man, did I get some looks when I came in.”

“Why did you bring her?”

“She wanted to see. I told her that she
couldn’t let anyone know we were married or I’d ship her back to
Russia and not visit her.”

Anna smiled shyly. “That might be nice.”

Peter rolled his eyes. “Yes, but I do have to
live with her the rest of my life.” He walked to Anna and put his
arms around her waist. “And when I move back to Russia, I will come
here and visit you,” he said softly and kissed her, and what
started out as a playful tease quickly progressed to a kiss filled
with hunger.

He walked her backwards to the couch, laid
her down and settled on top of her. He pressed his hip against her
thigh. She reached down into his sweatpants and stroked his hard
cock.

“Do we have time?” she asked.

Peter sat up and pulled at Anna’s sweats.
“Always.”

When her pants were on the floor, Anna took
his cock in her hands and guided him into her body, sighing as he
entered her.

“I love being with you, Anna,” he murmured
against her neck as he began moving in and out of her.

They made love quickly and quietly. He
crushed his lips against hers as she began to cry out her climax,
keeping her quiet. A moment later he groaned and stiffened as he
came.

“I love you,” he whispered, and kissed her
again.

“I’ll tell Devin about Dariya,” Peter said as
they made their way out to the lobby for the after-party hand in
hand. “Dariya said she was planning on staying the week. I told her
I would be busy most of the time, but she said she still wanted to
stay. I also told her she can’t come to the theater to hang out
during the day, but she still insisted on staying in town.” He
kissed Anna’s head. “So, we’ll have time together here.”

Anna nodded. “I’m glad.”

The other dancers had accepted their word
that Dariya was just a friend, and that she and Peter had a fight
about her but were getting over it. So Peter could be affectionate,
but it explained why Anna wasn’t at their apartment.

When they got to the lobby, Peter spotted
Devin and went to talk to him. Anna went to get something to
drink.

“Anna,” a familiar female voice said from
behind.

Anna turned to see Peter’s parents behind
her. She nearly spit out her drink, but recovered before it left
her mouth. “Jackie! Mikhail! W-what are you doing here?”

Mikhail smiled. “We came to surprise the both
of you,” he said with his deep, booming voice. “We don't get to see
Peter dance as much as we’d like and wanted to take advantage of
his being close.”

They both hugged her warmly. Mikhail had
warmed to her the last time they’d been in town and was quite
affectionate with her now.

“Where is Peter?” he asked.

Anna looked around nervously. “He...had to
speak to someone.” Oh, what would they do when they found out
Dariya was here?

She spotted the tall blonde across the room.
Dariya saw her at the same time and narrowed her eyes at Anna. Her
blue eyes widened when she saw Peter’s parents and a malicious grin
spread across her face as she made her way over to them.

Anna looked around and saw that Peter was
still talking with Devin, who didn’t look happy.

“You danced beautifully, Anna,” Jackie said
with a warm smile. “I can’t wait to see you and Peter dance
together.”

“Thank you, Jackie,” Anna said sincerely.
“Isaak hasn’t promoted me yet, though....” She drifted off as
Dariya approached.

Dariya spoke in Russian and a surprised
Jackie and Mikhail turned to see her. Their expressions were one of
complete shock. Mikhail spoke in Russian to her and didn’t seem
very happy.

Jackie looked back at Anna. “Anna...do you
know Dariya?” she asked a bit warily.

Anna smiled nervously and nodded. “We met
this afternoon.”

Jackie looked back and forth between Anna and
Dariya, clearly confused.

Anna saw Peter approaching with an
inscrutable expression on his face.

“Mama, Papa,” he said, greeting them with
kisses on the cheek. “I didn’t know you would be here,” he
said.

Mikhail frowned at Peter and spoke in
Russian.

Peter nodded and put up his hand, then looked
at Anna apologetically. “Devin would like to speak to you.”

Anna nodded and hurried away, glad to be away
from the family tension. As she approached Devin, though, her
apprehension rose. His face was impassive as he looked at her. That
didn’t usually bode well.

“Why didn’t you call me when you left Peter?”
Devin asked with a frown.

“I’m sorry, Devin,” she whispered, terrified
at what he would do to her for upsetting him. “I was...settling
in.”

Devin looked at her for a long time without
speaking. “He’s been married for a while now. How are you doing
with that?”

Anna knew he wasn’t asking to be nice. He was
asking to make sure she wouldn’t lose it and go crazy again. “I—I’m
okay.” She smiled sadly. “We went into it knowing it was just for
appearances. I can’t begrudge him wanting a real relationship.
Especially with someone that looks like her.”

Devin didn’t respond and Anna stayed
silent.

“He assured me she would be gone by the end
of the week. I want you back in the apartment the day she leaves.
Do you understand?”

“Yes, Devin.”

“You’ve matured, Anna. You’re much more
stable than you used to be. I’m pleased to see it.”

“Thank you, Devin.” She paused. “Do...do you
know what happened to my wedding rings? And Alex’s band?”

Devin studied her with narrowed eyes.
“Why?”

“I’d like to know where they are, if they can
be found. Not to wear, but....” She sighed. “I know I belong to you
and I’ll never have any sort of real relationship. I just...would
like to have them. For the memories.”

“You are getting quite a collection of
diamonds from men.”

Anna blushed in shame. “I know,” she
whispered.

He sighed. “I know where they are. I’ll get
them for you next time I’m at the Manor.”

“Oh, thank you, Devin.” Anna smiled
brightly.

Devin looked amused. “Maybe I’ll have you
come stay with me this week since Peter is busy. It’s a shame to
let your pussy go unused.”

“If you’d like, Devin,” she responded. It
frightened her a bit to think about being with him every night. But
he was her Master.

“I understand you have access to a car?”

She nodded. “Alex’s.”

“Good. Yes, get what you need for the week
and plan on staying with me this week.”

“Yes, Devin.”

Devin was a cruel lover. He didn’t use the
spikes on her, but he always made sure he hurt her in some way. And
for some reason, Anna enjoyed it, at least at the time. She came so
hard when he hurt her. She was always sore the next day and was
reluctant to let Peter touch her. The pain compounded, and by the
time the next weekend came around and Anna was back at the
apartment, she didn’t want to have sex with Peter because she was
hurting so badly.

Spring arrived and Anna started to get antsy.
She knew another Gathering was coming and she knew what would
happen. She had become attached to the baby, even though she had
tried not to because of its fate. She became quiet and depressed
and Peter worried about her. She didn’t tell him what happened at
the Gatherings because Devin had told her not to. Peter said he
didn’t intend to go, because it wasn’t his place to be, but Anna
overheard Aaron encouraging him to attend.

Anna arranged to have the week surrounding
the Gathering off from dancing. Isaak worried about her, but she
assured him she would be back. Devin would make sure of that.

Thursday before the Gathering, Anna went to
the hotel with Devin and Tyler. Anna watched Tyler carefully and
hoped desperately that Devin wouldn’t let him take her to his
room.

“Dad, can I have Anna for a bit?” Tyler asked
as they took the elevator up to the floor where their suites
were.

“No. She needs to be in one piece for me.”
Devin put his arm around Anna and rubbed her belly. She hated when
he did that but didn’t dare change her facial expression. “You can
hunt for her tomorrow night like all the other men.”

“I’m not ‘all the other men.’ I’m your son.”
Tyler pouted.

“Tyler, you’re almost twenty-four years old
and going to be married in a few months. Stop pouting.”

Tyler huffed. “I hate the ‘no sex ’til you’re
married’ shit.”

“Only with April. If you need a fuck, go to
the Manor.”

“It’s a pain in the ass to do that.”

“If you don’t stop complaining, I’ll give you
a pain in the ass.”

Tyler crossed his arms and frowned, but
stopped complaining.

Devin sighed. “You can have her on Sunday
before you fly back to school. How does that sound?”

Tyler grinned. “Cool.”

Anna swallowed and stared at the ground. She
hated these weekends. It was times like these she especially missed
Alex. He would make sure she wasn’t hurt. He wouldn’t allow....

But he wasn’t here to save her anymore.

There was no one to stop Devin from using her
as he pleased, both her body and her powers of persuasion. She had
to work harder to be persuasive for him; it didn’t come as easily
as it used to, which upset Devin. He’d punished her several times
since she’d sobered up for not being able to convince a man to do
something. Now he rarely bothered to use her in that capacity. He
said he could do it fine on his own. But he liked to remind her
that he only kept her around because despite her uselessness, she
was still a pretty face, and having her with him made him look
good.

Devin opened the door to their suite and he
and Anna walked inside. Tyler had gone to his own room.

“Thank you for not letting Tyler take me,”
Anna said softly.

Devin frowned at her. “You don’t like my
son?” he asked with a raised brow.

Anna blinked. “He hurts me.”

“So do I.”

“You’re my Master. And you don’t always hurt
me.” Anna looked up at him, hopeful that she hadn’t upset him.

Devin’s frown deepened. “When I am no longer
Elder, Tyler will become your Master.”

Anna’s mouth opened in surprise.

He laughed. “Didn’t think about that, did
you?”

Anna shook her head, feeling defeated. She
didn’t know what she had expected after Devin died, but she hadn’t
considered the possibility that Tyler would become her Master.

“I think if you fear Tyler more than you fear
me, I’m doing something wrong.” Devin took a step towards her, his
face inscrutable, but his voice was low. “Remove your
clothing.”

Anna hastily took off her dress and
undergarments.

He slapped her hard and she grabbed her
stinging cheek, tears in her eyes. “You used to fear me, Anna.” He
sighed. “Unfortunately, I can’t fully remind you why you should
fear me until after tomorrow night. I need that baby healthy and
alert.” He grabbed her chin and held it firm. “But after this
weekend, I think we’ll take a trip out to the Manor and remind you
just how much you should fear me.”

“No,” Anna pleaded in a shaking voice.
“Please, Devin. Don’t. I do fear you.”

Devin smiled wickedly. “You do now, but I
think I need to reinforce it a bit.” He stepped back and slapped
her again. “That’s for calling me by my name.” He backhanded her
and she fell to the floor. “That’s for insulting my son.”

He pulled her up by her hair, dragged her
into the bedroom, and threw her on the bed. “I can’t do everything
I’d like to, but I can do some things.” He rummaged around in his
bag until he produced a syringe.

Anna’s eyes widened and she backed up on the
bed. “Please...no...,” she whispered imploringly, staring at the
needle.

“Oh, Anna,” he said in a soft voice. “I’m
just going to make love to you.” He grabbed her hair and pushed the
needle into her neck, pressing the stopper to empty the liquid into
her veins. He put the syringe down on the table and undressed,
giving the liquid a chance to disperse in her body.

She began shaking a moment later and he lay
down next to her and made love to her in the slowest possible
manner he could. By the time he was finished, she was hoarse from
screaming in pain. He sent her into the shower and turned on the
water, which felt like needles hitting her skin.

“Stay in here until it doesn’t hurt
anymore.”