“It’s okay, Anna,” Greg said softly. “It’s part of the reason I’m here. I’ll keep him away from you.”
Jack looked up and grinned wickedly at Anna as he walked towards her. Greg grabbed her hand and pulled her behind him.
“Who are you?” Jack asked in a cold voice.
“I am here to keep Anna safe.”
“You think I would hurt her?” Jack asked innocently.
“Yes, I do. I have no reason to think otherwise.”
There was a pause. “Ah, you must be one of Alex’s dogs.”
“Better Alex’s dog than Devin’s prince.”
“Why you fucking son-of-a-bitch….” Jack growled.
“You needn’t involve my mother. She’s actually quite a nice woman.”
Anna peeked around Greg to see Jack’s face darken with anger as he glared at Greg.
“You can’t deny me my right to see Anna.”
“I can do whatever the hell I want to. I’m here on Alex’s behalf. You’re here on your own. At least I assume so.”
“Anna!” a voice called across the room. Katherine walked towards her with her arms open.
She smiled timidly at the woman she had grown very fond of since they’d met. Anna went to Katherine and hugged her.
“Oh, honey. You’re all wet. You poor thing.” Katherine looked behind Anna. “Hello, Jack. I’m so glad you were able to come.”
“Hello, Katherine. I’m so sorry for your loss.” Jack spoke to her with a timbre of respect she’d never heard from him.
“Thank you, Jack. Have you met Ben’s fiancé, Anna?”
Anna turned to face her guardian.
“Anna, this is Ben’s direct boss, Jack Koslov. Ben worked under him since he graduated college.” Katherine smiled warmly at Jack. “Didn’t he intern under you as well?”
Jack smiled. “Yes, he did.” He glanced at Anna. “Fiancé?” he raised his eyebrow in subtle mockery.
Anna looked down at the ground. How could Jack deceive so many people? Obviously, Ben hadn’t told his mother everything. She glanced at Greg who was watching Jack like a hawk.
“Greg, I’m so glad you could come as well. Thank you for bringing Anna and Matt.”
“My pleasure, Katherine,” Greg said with a gracious smile.
Katherine took Anna’s hand and led her around the building, introducing her as Ben’s fiancé. Every time she said that, Anna wanted to cry. She saw Aaron and Travis in the crowd and introduced Katherine to them. By the time she sat next to Katherine and Dave in the front row of the church, the tears were spilling over onto her cheeks. She stared at the picture of Ben displayed at the front of the room. His handsome smile and bright eyes made her heart ache so unbearably.
Oh, it was so much easier to be angry. Sadness felt so out of control. Anger seemed easier. But it was harder to maintain. Her tears always came anyways.
Many people went to the front to talk about Ben. Several aunts and uncles spoke of his childhood. His colleagues spoke highly of him. His dad broke down and couldn’t finish. It was heart wrenching to watch.
The whole time they were speaking, the voice in Anna’s head kept up the mantra: It’s all my fault. It’s all my fault. All these people are miserable because of me. It’s all my fault.
The only time she didn’t have tears rolling down her cheeks was when Jack got up to speak. She stared at him with all the hatred she could muster. Surely he had something to do with Ben’s death.
When it was over, she walked with the family out to the foyer.
“Anna,” Katherine said in a quiet voice. “Do you know Jack? You looked like you were going to be sick while he was talking.”
Anna looked at Katherine, debating whether she should tell her the truth. Slowly she nodded. “He’s my guardian.”
Katherine looked at her for a long moment. “Why didn’t you say anything?”
Anna looked away. “We don’t…get along very well.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.” She looked sympathetic. “Ben always spoke highly of him. Did he know?”
Anna shook her head. “Not until…the night we fought. I didn’t know they knew each other.”
Katherine looked thoughtful. “Didn’t you say he raised you after your parents died?”
“Yes.”
Katherine looked across the room at Jack, standing amongst a group of men. She narrowed her eyes. “He abused you, didn’t he?”
“How…?”
“Ben said you’d been abused as a child. It could only be him.”
Anna took both of Katherine’s hands. “Katherine, please. Don’t let him know you know.”
“Why? A child abuser should go to jail.”
“He won’t. Trust me. Don’t confront him. Just…let it go. Otherwise.…” Anna swallowed. “I don’t want anything to happen to you.” She stared intently into Katherine’s eyes, willing her to understand.
Slowly, Katherine nodded. “All right, Anna.”
Anna sighed in relief.
Chapter Twenty-One
Anna went directly into her dressing room when she got to the theater later that day. She lay down on the couch in the dark and cried. She couldn’t stop.
There was a knock on the door and it opened when she didn’t respond. Anna squinted as the light from the hallway spilled in and she saw Aaron standing in the doorway. When he saw her, he went to her quickly and hugged her.
“Why are you crying?” he asked quietly.
She shrugged.
“I guess that was a stupid question, huh? I’m sorry, Anna.” He closed the door and turned on the light, then went back to the couch and pulled her into his lap. He rocked her as she cried.
Another knock a bit later turned out to be Travis. “Hey, Anna,” he said, sitting down on the couch next to them. He squeezed her hand while she cried.
“Are you okay?” Travis asked when her tears had subsided a while later.
She nodded. She felt better after her cry.
“You’ve been through a lot, Anna. It’s okay to be upset.” Travis squeezed her hand. “If I’m making it hard to manage your emotions, tell me. We don’t have to keep…uh,” he glanced at Aaron.
“Keep what?” Aaron asked with a raised brow.
Anna sat up and looked at Aaron. “He helps me feel better.”
“How?”
“Sex,” she answered simply and then winced, waiting for his reaction.
Anna saw a myriad of emotions in Aaron’s eyes. “Are you guys dating?” he asked softly.
Anna’s eyes widened. “What?” She shook her head adamantly. “No. No, I can’t…I won’t date anyone…ever again.” She twisted the ring on her finger. Never again.
Both guys looked at her strangely. “That’s kinda extreme, don’t ya think?” Travis asked.
Anna shook her head slowly. “I can’t get too attached to anyone. Or Devin will….” She trailed off. “I have to focus on what Devin wants, not what I want. Otherwise, people get hurt.”
Silence filled the room. Anna knew Aaron still loved her. She loved him, too. But she could never date him again, or Devin would kill him, too.
Her eyes filled with tears. “Can you guys leave? I need some time to myself.” She stood up and stared at the ground, twisting her fingers around each other.
They both nodded and stood.
“Anna, if you need anything…,” Aaron said, putting his hands on her shoulders. “You know I still…care about you, right?”
Anna nodded and gave him a sad smile. “I know.”
Travis kissed her on the cheek and then they both left.
Anna lay back down on the couch and cried. When would the pain go away? She didn’t remember the pain from her parents’ death. Anytime she got sad, Jack or Devin distracted her. Maybe if she kept distracting herself, this pain would go away, too.
She stood a few minutes later and went across the hall to see if Travis was there. He opened the door and looked at her with a concerned expression.
“Distract me?” she asked in a soft voice, blinking away tears.
Travis peeked his head out, looked around the empty hallway, then pulled her inside.
*****
Later, Anna warmed up and tried to psych herself up for the afternoon show. She met Travis backstage during intermission and they went through a few steps together. When he ran his finger across her belly along the front edge of her pants, she shivered and felt heat shoot through her veins.
“There’s the expression I was looking for,” he whispered. “I was afraid you wouldn’t seduce me this afternoon.”
She gave him a small smile. Numbness gave way to desire. Desire felt better than anything. Desire took the pain away. This she had been taught by both Devin and Jack.
After their dance, Travis pushed Anna up against the cool brick wall in his dressing room and buried his cock deep inside her. One calf rested on his shoulder while the toes of the other foot barely touched the floor, and she clung to his damp shoulders as they moved together.
“Harder, Travis,” she moaned. “Harder.”
He rammed himself against her, capturing her mouth with his to muffle their moans and cries.
She gave a muffled screech against his mouth as she came and she felt his cock throb inside her. He groaned against her cries, and then rested his head against the cool wall behind her.
“Are we going to do this every time?” she asked, gasping for breath.
Travis chuckled. “I’m game if you are.”
Anna smiled. “I can actually say this is a new experience for me. That doesn’t happen very often.”
“Happy to oblige.” He shivered as he pulled out and brought her leg down to the ground. “We’ll be having a lot of sex if we do it every time.”
Anna bit his nipple. “Is that a bad thing?”
He groaned. “Not at all.” He lifted her chin with his finger. “Although I do have this fantasy about getting you in my shower and taking you from behind.”
“Sounds fun.”
A glint appeared in his eye and he turned her around so that her body was pressed against the cool bricks. He held her hands above her head and slid his other hand down her back and to the cleft of her ass. He went lower and caressed the tight ring of muscle. “I want to take you here,” he murmured against her shoulder.
Anna moaned and nodded. “Yes, please.”
He dipped his finger into her pussy and then pressed against her ass. “You want it?” he whispered.
Anna nodded. “Yes,” she moaned. She sighed as his finger breached the entrance. “Oh, Travis….”
“Come home with me tonight,” he whispered urgently, releasing her hands and reaching forward to caress her breast and finger fuck her ass.
She moaned and nodded.
“Good.” He removed his finger and stepped away. “We need to wash up and get dressed.”
As they were getting dressed, an alarming thought came to mind. “Travis, will you get into trouble for sleeping with me?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, because I’m an Elder-Mistress…Devin said only certain men were allowed to touch me.”
He shrugged. “My dad said it’s fine. I asked. I’m kinda part slave and part normal person.”
“I don’t want you to get hurt.”
“Don’t worry about me. I’ll be fine.” He looked her up and down. “Ready?”
She glanced in the mirror and adjusted her hair, then nodded.
They made their way backstage and waited for their cue for the finale.
*****
Anna took a nap between performances on the couch in her dressing room. She woke up feeling much more refreshed than she had this morning. She washed her face and went out to get some dinner, then returned and got ready for the evening performance.
When they finished their dance, Anna expected Travis to drag her back to his dressing room as usual, but he smiled at her and took her to the green room and sat down.
She sat down next to him. “Why aren’t we going to your dressing room?”
He grinned. “Because I want to save it for when we get to my house.”
Anna groaned. Her pussy was throbbing. “You’re mean,” she pouted.
Travis laughed. “Hardly. I told you it was hard dancing with a hard-on. I have to do it again in a little while.”
She gave him a seductive smile. “Then why don't you let me take care of it for you?”
“Tempting. But I don’t want to have to get dressed afterwards.” He leaned in towards her ear. “I plan on fucking you until we both fall asleep tonight. I want to keep my brothers awake with your screaming.”
*****
An eternity later, Travis pulled into the driveway of a cute little three-story house in Haight Ashbury.
“It’s cute,” Anna said. Travis grimaced.
“My dad got a good deal on it,” he explained.
His brothers, Cody and Lane, were watching TV when they walked in. They grinned as Travis brought her inside.
“Lane, Cody, this is Anna. Anna, my brothers, Lane and Cody.”
Though she could tell they were brothers, their coloring was very different. Lane had red hair and freckles and was shorter than Travis’ six foot one frame. Cody looked as if he spent a healthy amount of time outside, with blond hair and brown eyes.
Without any further ado, Travis took Anna directly into the bathroom and turned the water on in the shower. As it was warming up, he pulled her close and kissed her, pulling her shirt off as he did so. They undressed each other and then got into the shower.
Anna saw a bottle of body wash and poured some onto a washcloth. She then rubbed the cloth all over Travis, making him groan as her hands explored his body. When she was done, he did the same to her, rubbing her all over. She was panting by the time he was done. They rinsed off under the running water and then Travis gently pushed her against the wall with her front pressed against the warm tiles.
He kissed her neck and ran his hands over her breasts and belly, then dipped his finger into her throbbing pussy several times before moving back to her ass.
She moaned as he moved his finger in and out of her ass, stretching and caressing the muscle until she relaxed. When she was ready, he held her arms over her head with one hand and pushed his cock against her ass as he held her hip.
She winced as he pressed forward, expecting it to hurt, but as he moved in, she sighed. It didn’t hurt at all. His chest pressed against her back as he filled her to the hilt.
“Travis…,” she moaned.
He held her firmly as he began moving in and out. His finger found her clit and he began rubbing the erect nub.
She moaned again as she felt herself on the brink.
“You feel so incredible, Anna,” he whispered in a hoarse voice. “I could do this with you all night.”
“Mmm,” Anna moaned. “Oh, God. I’m going to come!” she exclaimed.
“Come for me, sweetheart. Come hard for me.”
Heat exploded from his caresses and she rose up on her toes as she cried out loudly, bucking her hips against him. She heard him curse and he pressed in deeper as he came as well.
He leaned against her for a moment, then he pulled out of her and they enjoyed more cleansing, relaxing, and caresses before he turned off the water. They dried off and fell onto his bed, which was little more than a mattress on the floor, covered in wrinkled blankets. But the mattress was very comfortable and she snuggled close to him.
“Mmm, I like this better than the dressing room,” Travis said as he pulled Anna against him.
She smiled. “I like not having to rush out to dance right away.”
“I agree.” He turned her over onto her side and pressed his front to her back. He nipped at her neck. “Too bad we can’t play hooky tomorrow.”
“I think people might notice if we’re not there.”
“Yeah. And that photographer’s supposed to be there tomorrow too.”
Anna turned back to
him. “Photographer?”
Travis chuckled. “Weren’t you paying attention when Isaak talked to us tonight?”
She shook her head.
“Dance Magazine. They’re coming to photograph the matinee tomorrow.”
“Really?”
“You really are out of it when you’re not dancing, aren’t you?”
Anna sighed. “I’m sorry. I just…it’s easier to stay numb.”
Travis pulled her close. “I know. I had a hard time when my mom died. It’s much more pleasant to have sex than feel the hurt. I get it. Probably more than anyone else around here.”
“Your mom died?”
Travis grimaced. “Well, she was eliminated when I was sixteen. I just say ‘died’ because I can’t explain what elimination means to outsiders.”
Anna heart ached for Travis’ pain. She cradled his cheek. “I’m so sorry, Travis.”
He shrugged. “It was a long time ago. I knew it would happen and my dad gave me a chance to say goodbye.”
Anna bit her lip. “How does elimination happen?”
Travis gave her a wry smile. “He just gives them a shot. Lethal injection, I guess. And she died peacefully. Dad let me be there because I asked. We held her hand and she smiled at me as she died.” He grimaced again. “I was her only son. She was in her late thirties. They normally don’t last that long, but she kept having healthy babies. And my dad cared about her.”
He was quiet for a few minutes. “Her last pregnancy was really tough and she almost died giving birth. Dad said that they talked about it and came to the decision together.” He glanced at Anna. “She’d given him seventeen healthy girls. And me.” He smiled.
“Were they all his daughters?”
Travis shook his head. “Nah. He rarely parented any of the babies. He would choose different brothers to mate with her. Same as all the breeders. The Elders are very good at getting what they want out of the girls born in the Manor.”
“So how did you end up being a dancer?” Anna asked, changing the subject. She didn’t want to think about parents right now.
“Dad has the girls all learn some sort of dance. So they’re more graceful and stuff. I think it also helps them feel better about themselves. I snuck into the ballet classes when I was younger because my mom liked to go to them, except when she was at the end of a pregnancy. When Dad saw I had talent, he had me start taking lessons outside the Manor and eventually I ended up here.”
The Life of Anna, Part 3: Embraced Page 10
