She liked looking up at him. She liked being at his feet. He was kind and gentle and didn’t insist on getting his way. “Thank you, Master,” she whispered.
*****
Richard took her home. It was almost midnight and she was exhausted. The apartment was dark when she arrived, so she slipped into her room and fell into a dreamless sleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.
Chapter Fifty-Six
Maybe I should just encourage her to be with you.”
Chase paced in Richard’s office. He’d vented for the last thirty minutes about his tormented thoughts. Richard had called earlier that morning and asked him to come over. He was eager to hear if Sabrina was okay, but when Richard had asked how he was doing, he’d exploded with his frustrations.
The older man sat there silently, watching him pace and listening to him talk.
“Is that what you really want?” Richard finally asked.
“Of course not. I love her. She’s everything I thought she was. And more.” He leaned forward and rested his head on the wooden mantle of the fireplace, staring into the charred black ashes of a past fire. “But she’s right. How can I ask her to be a part of a world where I sleep with other women on a regular basis? After all she’s gone through . . .”
“She’s already part of our world, Chase. If nothing else, she needs to be under our protection to keep anyone else from getting hold of her.”
“Her views of marriage are conventional. Traditional.”
“Most women feel that way. But I think she’s beginning to understand our way of life.”
Chase straightened and turned. “Did you get through to her? Does she understand?”
“I heard her and Theo talking. I believe she is on her way.” Richard looked out the window and pressed his lips together. “I need to talk to you about what happened when I took her to the Manor. I showed her around, she met the slaves and seemed to be understanding that things weren’t quite what she thought they were. But when we got to the Gathering room . . .”
Richard hesitated, and Chase’s stomach clenched. He could see it in the older man’s face. Something had happened. “What happened? Is she okay?”
Richard nodded. “Yes. She’s . . .” He exhaled through pursed lips. “When I took her in there, she was attacked.”
“Attacked?!” Chase exclaimed. “Why didn’t you call me?”
“It wasn’t a physical attack. The Immortals . . . They sensed her and came for her. I didn’t know what to do. I’d never been in that situation before. Theo heard my call and came, and . . . I had to take her, Chase. I had to become her Master to protect her. Theo brought—”
“Wait. What?” Chase stared at Richard, not believing what he was hearing. He knew how Elders became Masters. “You fucked her?”
“I had to, Chase. She would have been taken if I hadn’t.”
Chase spun around and paced the room, anger boiling inside. “You took her? The woman I want to marry? Did you even ask her first?”
“There wasn’t time. I saw her fading. I performed the ritual to save her.”
Chase stopped at the window and stared out at the perfectly manicured lawn. The leaves on the myriad of trees lining the back of the property were a full spectrum of bright colors, reminding him of his and Sabrina’s walk along the river. “Then she’s gone. She’s yours now. I have nothing.” He pressed his lips together as his eyes burned with tears.
“It’s not a permanent bond. She is not an Elder-Mistress. She is simply under my and Tom’s protection.”
“Tom came?” Somehow knowing that another Elder was there helped soothe some of the pain in his chest. It wasn’t just Richard going behind his back and taking her. Maybe it really was as he said.
“Theo brought him.”
Chase nodded, still staring out the window. “Did you do more than what the ritual required?”
“Yes. She was rather demanding of our attention afterward.”
He closed his eyes, his mind filled with images of his precious Sabrina naked and writhing with pleasure as Tom and Richard attended to her.
“If it helps, when she woke up, she didn’t remember much of anything.”
“How is that possible?”
“I don’t know. But she was telling the truth. Perhaps her instincts took over and she did what she needed in order to protect herself.”
“By fucking you and Tom?”
“She’s a sexual creature, Chase. You were just telling me how you could see she was struggling because she hadn’t had sex in a while.”
“You want to be her go-to guy when she needs it?” he snapped, spinning around.
Richard growled and stood, pounding a clenched fist on his desk. “Would you have rather I let her be taken? Should I have stood by and let her go? Is that what you wanted me to do? I suppose she would have gone safely to the Immortal lands and we wouldn’t have to worry about her anymore.” He set his jaw as he looked evenly at Chase, though his voice softened. “As it is, she is still here. She is safe and is starting to accept us.”
Chase crossed his arms over his chest and glared. Of course, that wasn’t what he wanted to have happened. “Us as in you, or us as in me?”
“Us as in the Brotherhood. She felt the peace accepting her place would bring. I saw it in her mind. She’s understanding that we’re different. That needed to happen before we could move forward with whatever choice she makes.”
Chase looked up at the ceiling. He knew Richard was right. But he was jealous. He didn’t like the idea of Richard being with her before he was. Then again, it was bound to happen when she went to a Gathering, which needed to happen. His anger began to deflate and he was left with the depression that followed intense emotions.
“I understand,” he said in a quiet voice.
Richard sat back down. “She loves you, Chase. The memory of you carried her through her darkest days when she was with those horrible people.”
Chase looked up, confused.
“I can understand her better now,” Richard said with a small shrug. “It was fate that you two met when she was here the first time. If you hadn’t . . .” He shook his head. “She would have been lost. Her memories of you from that night on the yacht kept her grounded.”
“How?” Chase asked, his voice choked.
Richard smiled. “I don’t know. But I know that it’s true.”
Chase tapped his fist on his mouth, thinking about what Richard said.
“I will keep her safe, Chase, but I will not use her unless she decides to come to me. She is still her own person, free to make her own choices. She’s ashamed of who and what she is. Maybe you need to have a talk with her about the sexual nature of what goes on in our world. Tell her what you like and that you’d like to share them with her. I think that would help her accept herself.”
Chase groaned. “Tell her that I like watching women enjoy themselves? That I like being with men as much as women?”
Richard laughed. “Well, she enjoys sex, when she’s not feeling ashamed for liking it. And I’m sure you could find some men who wouldn’t mind you sharing her with them. Does she know about your past with Ethan and Jayson?”
Chase frowned. “No one does, except you.”
“The Brotherhood is a strange and kinky place,” Richard said, leaning back in his chair. “You two have to learn to trust each other with your secrets. That’s how a marriage grows and stays strong. Secrets will tear you apart.” Richard smiled. “You might find you have more in common than you think.”
Chapter Fifty-Seven
The next morning, Sabrina went through her warm-ups, feeling lighter than she had in a while. She still had the ache in her heart of missing Chase, but somehow, what had happened between her, Richard, and Tom had lightened her spirit. She felt more at peace than she ever had. She felt as if she had a place
in the world. She felt safe and protected.
Chase called at lunch and asked if he could pick her up from rehearsal. She agreed nervously, wondering if he knew what had happened. If so, was he angry about it?
But even her nervousness couldn’t dispel her peace with her new situation. Something inside said she shouldn’t be at peace, though. She shouldn’t like having Richard and Tom as her Masters. But she did.
She threw herself into the afternoon rehearsal, trying to keep her mind occupied so she didn’t dwell on her worries. When it was time to leave, she looked over and saw Ethan standing by the door. He smiled when they made eye contact.
She hurried over, stuffing her pointe shoes into her bag. “Is Chase here?”
“In the car. He didn’t want to disturb you.”
Her heart leapt in her chest at the thought of seeing him again. “Is he angry?” she asked as they started walking toward the exit.
“At what?”
“Me. For what happened.”
“I don’t think so. He was pretty miserable after he dropped you off. He just sat in front of the fireplace all night. Didn’t talk. Didn’t move.”
Ethan pushed open the studio door. She saw Chase’s dark Land Rover out front with him leaning against it. He looked so handsome in dress slacks and a long-sleeved light-blue polo shirt.
He stared at her for a long moment and she stopped mid-step. She couldn’t read his face and hesitated to read his emotions. When he gave her a crooked smile, she ran to him. He opened his arms and caught her as she threw herself at him.
As much peace as she had with Richard becoming her Master, this was where she wanted to be. She knew that without a doubt now.
“I’m sorry,” she said against his chest.
His face was buried in her hair and she heard him inhale deeply. “I missed you,” he murmured.
“I missed you, too.”
“Why are you sorry?” Neither one of them let go.
“For leaving you on Monday. For last night.”
“I’m just glad you’re safe. Richard and I talked about what happened.” He straightened and looked down at her with concern in his eyes. “He said you were almost taken.”
“I don’t remember much of what happened.”
He nodded. “I know.”
Chase tossed his keys to Ethan, then helped her into the dark interior of the car. Ethan hopped into the driver’s seat.
“You know about— I mean, you’re okay with . . . Richard and Tom?” Her stomach twisted around itself as she waited for his answer.
“I know he didn’t intend for it to happen, but he did what he did to protect you.”
“He was showing me around. I think he was trying to make me comfortable with the whole idea.”
“It’s a lot to take in, Sabrina.” Chase intertwined their fingers. “I can understand if it takes you a while to be comfortable with it. But I think we can make us work, if you’re willing.”
“I am,” she said quickly, then sighed. She leaned against him and inhaled his scent. “Theo said I was safer with the Brotherhood than without it.”
“He’s right.” Chase chuckled. “Of course, he’s always right.”
“I guess that’s part of being an Immortal?” she frowned. I wish I had the ability to always be right. “I want to be with you, though, Chase.” She looked up and smiled at him. “I know I need to go to a Gathering, and I’ll go, but I know I want to be with you.”
He caressed the side of her face, an affectionate smile on his. “Good. Otherwise, I’d have to marry Richard’s daughter and I really don’t want to do that.”
“Richard’s daughter?”
“His youngest. He tried to get me to date her years ago, but I don’t like her that way. She’s a nice girl, but not really my type.”
“What is your type?”
His smile broadened. “Mmm.” He leaned down and kissed her. “Gorgeous ballerinas with dark hair and green eyes,” he murmured against her lips. He slid his hand into her hair and deepened the kiss.
When he pulled away, she smiled up at him. “Can I give you your class ring back now?”
Chase frowned down at her. “Why?”
“Because I don’t need it anymore. I have you. In person.”
A grin spread across his face. “Then yes, you can.”
She wrapped her arms around his neck and lost herself in his presence. This is where I want to be.
*****
I’m coming for you, Sabrina . . .
The voice startled Sabrina out of her sleep and she sat up in bed, her body slick with the sweat of dread. Looking around, she saw her bedroom was empty. Even as her eyes told her she was safe, her heartbeat refused to slow down. A deep chill wracked her body.
Intuition told her the anguish of choosing between wife or goddess was child’s play compared to what was in store for her.
###
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About Marissa
“If Stephen King got together with Tom Clancy and wrote an erotica book...,”
...is how Marissa describes her books when asked. She doesn’t seek to write any particular genre, style, or length, only following her gut instincts and the lead of her characters. The Life of Anna crosses many genre lines including erotica, suspense, psychological thriller, horror, political conspiracy, paranormal, and romance. Marissa’s story of Anna began with a dream about being kidnapped with Adam Savage from Mythbusters (Yes, really). Over the next year and a half, it morphed into the story that is now known as “The Life of Anna.” She also published
Distorted Hope in 2015, which is based on her kidnapped dream. Abandoned Grace was published in 2016 as a side story to The Life of Anna. She is currently working on a new series, Finding Sabrina, which takes place ten years later after The Life of Anna.
Marissa stays busy running her household, fending off two adorable kittens, interacting with her readers on social media and studying Graphic Design. She is a self-proclaimed geek and very-amateur photographer. Marissa’s addictions include the Science and History Channels (sometimes she may even admit to watching the Hallmark Channels), anything chocolate mint, vintage books, cute kitty cats, and laughter.
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