The Life of Anna, Part 5: Emerged (36 page)

“Why did she leave you?”

“
Nein
, it is I who left her.” He
blinked several times. “I...made a mistake in leaving. I should not
have left and have regretted it every day since.”

Anna stared at him, heart aching. He thought
he made a mistake in leaving?

“She doesn’t want you back? Is she
crazy?”

He looked at his ring. “She’s been through a
lot and is a different person than she was when we were together.”
He paused. “She may have decided she’s better off without me.” The
pain in his eyes stabbed directly into Anna’s heart.

“Do you still love her?” Stef asked.

Anna elbowed her in ribs.

“
Ja
, I do,” he said, voice cracking.
“More than anything in the world.”

The table grew quiet. Anna stared at her
hands as she twisted them in her lap. If Aaron or even Stef had
brought the original subject up, she would have thought it planned.
But Jasmine wouldn’t do something like that. She was probably just
wanting to know how available he was.

Anna closed her eyes and concentrated. It had
been a very long time since she’d read a man. She hadn’t needed to
when she was under Devin’s control and before that, she’d lost her
ability when he’d drained her every night. But her long separation
from Devin had allowed her powers to return to almost normal levels
again, and it didn’t take but a few seconds before she could feel
Alex.

The force of emotion that erupted into her
heart and mind from Alex shook her to the core. She exhaled
sharply, feeling as if her heart would explode. How could he
possibly still feel like that about her, after all these years? She
felt his fierce determination to avenge her; he was taking out
Devin’s supporters, not only to hurt Devin, but to take revenge on
what they had done to her. His remorse about having to leave in a
few weeks was keen, but knowing he was doing it for her made him
determined to do it.

She stopped reading him and looked up to see
him watching her. Did he know what she had just done? Her eyes were
wide as she tried to understand what she was feeling about him. She
was scared, but knew how he truly felt about her. It overwhelmed
her. How could he still love her like that?

She shook her head, not able to look away
from him. She wanted to run: run away and run into his arms at the
same time. She twisted her fingers together, not knowing what to
do. If he came to her, she didn’t think she would resist....

Alex watched the conflicting emotions flit
across Anna’s face. He saw her reading him and felt overjoyed that
she was opening herself up to him. Now she would know his feelings,
that his desires were for her, and her only. He wanted to run over,
pull her into his arms and kiss her senseless, but held himself
back.

He’d been very careful how he interacted with
her throughout the dinner. The last thing she needed was him trying
to force himself on her like he had that afternoon. No, he would
continue to give her space.

The waiter approached, asking if anyone
wanted dessert and the tension around the table was somewhat
broken.

“If you want some company while you’re
waiting for your wife to come around...,” Jasmine said in a quiet
voice that no one but him could hear.

Alex looked at her, not quite sure he’d heard
her correctly. She gave him a seductive smile and he bit back a
retort. She slid her hand onto his thigh under the table and he
frowned and removed her hand. The touch of a woman was something
he’d severely missed the last few years, but he had no intention of
jeopardizing his relationship with Anna for a fling. Especially
with one of her fellow dancers.

Jasmine was a pretty woman, with smooth olive
skin and long dark hair. Her dark eyes would be more alluring if
they didn’t hold a hint of desperate seduction. They were in sharp
contrast to Anna’s warm, sincerely bright eyes.

“Thank you, Jasmine, but I am content to
wait.”

She tilted her head and looked at him
closely. “Do you know Katrina’s fiancé, Kurt?”

Alex cocked his brow. Did she? And if she
did, Kurt had a lot of explaining to do. “Why do you ask?”

She smiled. “You kinda look like him.”

“Is that a good thing?” He wasn’t sure if it
was wise to admit Kurt was his brother.

“It’s certainly not a bad thing.”

“Do you know him?”

Jasmine glanced towards where Anna was
sitting talking to Stefanie and nodded. “Katrina doesn’t treat him
very well, so he visits me when he comes out.”

Alex clenched his jaw and took a breath to
control his temper. Oh, he and Kurt would have words tomorrow.

“Why do you say she doesn’t treat him
well?”

Jasmine rolled her eyes. “She’s not even
wearing her engagement ring today. Maybe she thinks you’re better
than Kurt. You might want to be careful around her. She, like,
lures men in and then ignores them. Kurt doesn’t even bother to
come visit her anymore.”

Kurt didn’t visit her because every time he
did, she ended up getting hurt and Alex had told him to stop. Alex
thought it was better if she thought he was ignoring her than being
mean.

“She’s cheating on him, too,” Jasmine said in
a conspiratorial whisper. “I’ve heard her talking about Kurt
setting up elaborate evenings out, but when I called Kurt, he said
he didn’t know anything about them. I don’t know who’s doing it,
but it’s not Kurt.”

“How do you know it’s not Kurt who’s treating
Katrina poorly?”

Jasmine huffed. “I know Kurt loves her, but
she’s hurt him really bad.”

Alex’s eyes narrowed. “And you open your bed
for him, when he’s in love with a fellow dancer? Don’t you think it
would maybe be nicer to him if you encouraged him to work on the
relationship, rather than cheating?”

“He said he has to marry her. He
has
to. I just...comfort him.”

“So if you’re interested in Kurt, then why
are you coming on to me?”

She smiled and shrugged. “He’s not here very
often.”

Alex was disgusted, but was determined to
remain polite. He had a feeling that Jasmine wasn’t a friend of
Anna’s, but they still danced together. “Thank you for your offer,
Jasmine, but I’m content to wait and work things out with my
wife.”

Jasmine put her hand on his again. “Well, if
you change your mind....” She gave him a flirtatious smile. “Let me
know.”

Alex heard a whimper and then a crash and
turned to see Anna walking away from the table.

“Fuck!” Alex muttered, pushing his chair back
and going after her.

Aaron had watched the interaction between
Alex and Jasmine with narrowed eyes. Did Alex know what Kurt had
done with that woman? Anna wasn’t paying any attention and didn’t
see Jasmine’s arm move in such a way that Aaron was pretty sure she
was stroking Alex’s leg. Alex removed it quickly and shook his head
and Aaron was glad, otherwise he would have gone over and punched
Alex in the face.

But when he kept talking to her, it began to
bug him. Alex was a smart guy, but Jasmine was manipulative, and
he’d been out of the game for a long time. Anna noticed them
talking after a while and when Jasmine grabbed Alex’s hand, she
gave a soft, strangled cry and pushed away from the table so hard
her chair fell backwards.

Aaron had watched the whole interaction, and
Alex had not flirted, but Anna didn’t know that. All she saw was
Jasmine touching him. Jasmine was a sore spot in her new life, and
seeing her touch Alex was not a good thing.

Alex cursed and went after her, leaving a
bewildered Jasmine staring after him.

She caught Aaron’s eye and raised her brows.
“She’s manipulated him already?”

“You’re such a fucking bitch, Jasmine,” he
growled, and turned to see Alex catching up with Anna halfway to
the front door and grabbing her around the waist from behind. He
pulled her hard against him and spoke into her ear.

Anna shook her head and Aaron could see tears
streaming down her face. She struggled to get away, though, Aaron
was pleased to see, not as hard as she could.

“I thought he was going to give her space,”
Cameron said, watching the couple.

“He won’t let her go, thinking that he’s
interested in Jasmine. She doesn’t need to be worrying about
that.”

The incident had gained the attention of the
others at the table. Those that knew their relationship had slight
smiles on their faces. Those that didn’t were as bewildered as
Jasmine.

“Anna, what I said at the table is true. I
love you. More than anything else in the world. I have no desire
for anyone except you.”

Alex’s hot breath tickled Anna’s ear as she
tried half-heartedly to get away from him. Being held against him
felt good...so good...and so right.

“You were holding her hand,” she
whimpered.

“She was trying to convince me to sleep with
her. I said no, several times.” He loosened his grip slightly and
he turned her around to face him. “Kurt hurt you with her, didn’t
he?”

Anna gazed up into his concerned eyes and
nodded slowly.

Alex frowned. “I didn’t know until she
started talking, otherwise I would have avoided her. And I will be
having words with my brother about it tomorrow.”

“Kurt’s coming tomorrow?” she asked between
sniffs.

He nodded. “And Vati. They’re traveling back
from Chicago.”

“Oh.” She stared at Alex’s broad chest
beneath his blue dress shirt. It was a similar blue to the one he
wore the night after the bonding ceremony. The one that made his
eyes almost glow.

“Anna,
Schatzi
,” he said quietly,
cupping her chin and lifting her face to his. “I will back off if
you want me to, but....” He smiled softly. “I don’t think you want
me to.”

She blinked away the tears, his face coming
into focus, and gazed into the eyes of her husband. Her husband
whom she thought was long dead. Who was alive. And just as kind and
wonderful as he’d been when she’d known him before. “I don’t know
you anymore,” she whispered.

“I’m not saying I’m going to take you home
and force our relationship to work. Just...give me a chance. Spend
time with me. Let me share what happened and you tell me about what
you’ve been doing. I know you are a different girl than the one I
married, Anna. I’m very proud of the woman you’ve become.” He gave
her a heart-melting smile. “I saw you say no to men at the bar.
Several times. You’ve become the strong woman I always knew you
were, and am proud to know you are my wife. But we can take things
as slowly as you need to.”

He cradled her face and wiped away her tears
with his thumbs. “I love you, Anna. With everything that I am, I
love you. I will make sure Devin pays for everything he did to you.
And it will happen very soon.”

She knew he was being truthful, but part of
her was still frightened.

“I know you’re scared,
Schatzi
. I
promised myself I would give you space, not pressure you, not....”
He ran his thumb over her lower lip. “...not kiss you.” His voice
was hoarse. “Tell me not to, and I will stop.” She searched his
eyes as he began to lower his face to hers. “Tell me to stop,
Anna,” he whispered when their lips were a scant centimeter
apart.

She leaned forward and pressed her lips to
his. She didn’t want him to stop.

Aaron grinned as several dancers gasped when
Anna and Alex began kissing. He glanced at Jasmine, who would have
been shooting daggers at Anna if looks could kill.

“That fucking liar,” Jasmine snarled.

“Who?” Aaron asked, amused at her anger.

“Alex. He said he was going to wait for his
wife, and then he goes running after that cunt?”

“I would watch what you call Katrina,
Jasmine,” Hugo said in a dry voice. “
She
is Alex’s
wife.”

Jasmine’s eyes widened as she stared at Hugo.
“You knew? You were dating another man’s wife?”

“I didn’t know until this morning that he was
still alive. She didn’t know until Saturday.”

“And, yes, Jasmine,” Aaron said. “That is
Kurt’s older brother. If you know what’s good for you, you will
stay away from Kurt. You don’t want Alex angry at you. Trust
me.”

Jasmine’s eyes narrowed. “Maybe I should just
call Devin,” she said with a wicked grin.

Immediately, Seth, Tony and Greg stood and
all walked over to her, menacing looks on their faces.

Seth very casually lowered himself until he
was inches from her face. “I’m not one to hurt women, but if you
even so much as look up Devin’s number, I will slit your
throat.”

Aaron had never seen those three men so
aggressive. Seth, a normally very easygoing guy, was truly
terrifying, and his voice held no hint of bluff.

Jasmine frowned. “What the hell is so special
about her?”

Alex returned at that moment, arm around
Anna’s shoulders, and gave his men questioning looks. “What’s going
on?”

Alex was concerned about the threatening
looks on his men’s faces as they stood around Jasmine.

“She threatened to contact Devin,” Greg
answered in German.

Alex took a deep breath, knowing he needed to
keep in control of his emotions.

“Seth told her he’d slit her throat,” Tony
said with a grin.

Alex smiled at Seth, appreciating his
protectiveness. He turned his gaze to Jasmine and she shrank under
his glare.
Good
. “I don’t take threats against my wife
lightly,” he said to her in a low voice, pulling Anna closer to
him. He hated catty women. It was sad, really. Jasmine was a very
talented dancer and a pretty woman. What on earth was his brother
thinking?

He kissed Anna’s head. “Anna, stay here with
Aaron for me, all right? I’ll see you in the morning.”

She looked up at him. “Where are you
going?”