Anna sat between Wilhelm and Alex in a booth near a floor-to-ceiling aquarium. Dinner and conversation flowed freely between the three of them. Wilhelm enjoyed Anna’s company tremendously. She asked intelligent questions and delighted in everything. Her smile lit up the entire room. Alex deliberately told silly jokes to make her giggle.
It pleased Wilhelm to see his son caring for her the way she needed and deserved to be cared for. Alex had truly matured into a good man.
Toward the end of the main course, Alex's phone buzzed. He frowned when he looked at it. He glanced up at Wilhelm. “My girlfriend,” he said in German.
Wilhelm frowned as Alex excused himself from the table to answer it.
Anna watched him as he walked outside, then glanced at Wilhelm. “Is he okay?”
Wilhelm frowned in the direction Alex walked. “Yes, Anna.” He turned and smiled at her. He didn’t know what to do for Anna, aside from assure her that she belonged to his family. He had come to care deeply for her.
He didn't feel any conflict between being in love with his wife and caring for Anna. Men in his position often took mistresses and although he'd never been tempted before now. Even knowing that Anna would be his daughter-in-law someday didn't bring any concern. His own father had been very fond of his wife, Ilsa, though Wilhelm was fairly certain they'd never been intimate. It wouldn't have surprised or bothered him if they had been. It was just the way things worked in his family's position.
In fact, Wilhelm couldn’t help but have a degree of desire for Anna. For one, because of who she was in the Brotherhood. But also because if something happened to Alex, she would become, in a manner of speaking, a second wife. Not in the legal sense, but he would become Anna's protector and provide her with a son if she and Alex didn't have one already.
The same thing had been true when his father was alive. Had something happened to Wilhelm, his father would have become Ilsa's protector. People outside of the old families of the Brotherhood didn't understand why they did things that way, especially in America. But that was the way it was done and had been done for generations.
The wives of the Elders were not stuck at home while their husbands did what their positions required of them. Many of them had lovers, Ilsa included. Wilhelm considered Ilsa’s lover, Maurice, a friend of his, and the two of them had shared Ilsa multiple times. As long as she didn't bear Maurice any children, there were no problems. Wilhelm and Ilsa were confident in their marriage and in their love for each other. Ilsa was not a jealous woman and he was not a jealous man.
“How was Devin this morning?” Wilhelm asked, dragging himself out of his thoughts.
Anna's face darkened and he regretted that he'd brought up a painful subject. “He was angry, but not overly so, I think. He said I could do what I wanted to as long as he didn't need me.” She glanced up at him with a sheepish smile. “He doesn't seem to like Alex very much.”
Wilhelm chuckled. That was to be expected. “That's good. Anna. I'm glad he's giving you some freedoms.” Wilhelm smiled as a thought occurred to him. “Perhaps you'll be able to visit me in Germany sometime.” He reached over and put his hand on hers.
“Could I do that?” she asked in wonder as her eyes sparkled.
He loved watching her face light up. “Of course, Anna.” He pointed to her bracelet. “You belong to Alex and myself as much as you belong to Devin. If I want you to come to Germany, there is little Devin could do to stop me.”
She looked perplexed. “I thought I belonged to Alex.”
“You do, but because Alex is not an Elder, you are mine as well. An Elder-Son cannot fully own a slave.”
“A what?”
“Elder-Son. The oldest son of an Elder. Alex will be Elder once I am gone.”
“Oh.” A strange look appeared on her face. She looked sad. Perhaps she was beginning to feel abandoned. He would have words with Alex before he left. Anna needed to feel secure and be able to trust him and his family.
He stroked the back of her hand with his and gave her a warm smile. “Anna, don't worry. Neither Alex nor I are going anywhere anytime soon. Except myself to Germany in the morning.” He squeezed her hand with a sad smile. “I wish I didn't have to go so soon.”
She smiled at him and squeezed his hand back. He leaned forward and stroked Anna's cheek. Thankfulness filled his chest as she leaned into his caress. It would have been a tragedy to lose such a beautiful creature to Devin's schemes.
A few minutes later Alex returned, looking unhappy.
“Is everything all right?” Wilhelm asked Alex in German.
Alex frowned, but didn't respond with anything other than a short nod.
Anna watched Alex for a minute as he played with the food on his plate. She opened her mouth as if she was going to say something, but then closed it and pressed her lips together. Alex looked up and saw her looking at him and she quickly looked back down at her plate.
The mood at the table had changed dramatically. Alex was upset about something and it was disturbing Anna, but Wilhelm knew better than to press his son. He assumed it had something to do with Kirsty, but he resigned himself to the fact that Alex needed to deal with that problem.
Wilhelm tried to make light conversation and eventually Alex's mood lightened a bit, but not totally. By the time they were finished eating, his son at least was smiling.
*****
On the way back to the house, Anna wondered what had transpired on the phone call to make Alex so upset. She’d been enjoying his company so much before that phone call. She smiled to herself, remembering the silly jokes he’d told her. His eyes had sparkled with life when he watched her and she’d felt her heart open up to him.
They pulled up in front of Alex's house. Alex stared at a small red sports car parked in front of his house and then growled and muttered something in German.
Frau Gersten opened the door as they approached the house and greeted them. Anna heard a series of quick, light footsteps and then a squeal.
Kirsty ran up and hugged Alex, who looked less than thrilled to see her.
Anna turned away as Kirsty kissed Alex, making a serious study of the fireplace. Anna had forgotten about Kirsty. Why had Alex acted as he had when he had Kirsty in his life? Then again, why wouldn’t he? Kurt was kind to her, even though he had a wife at home.
Anna reminded herself of her place around men. She was a sexual object to be used. Nothing more, nothing less.
“What the fuck is she doing here?” Kirsty asked, noticing Anna at last.
“Kirsty, what are you doing here?” Alex asked slowly. “I told you I would see you tomorrow.”
“And I told you I wanted to see you tonight,” Kirsty said, running her hand over his chest. She narrowed her eyes when she looked at Anna. “Is this why you didn't want me to come over? Because you were with her?”
Anna swallowed and rubbed the backs of her hands, desperately wanting to escape upstairs. She had been a fool to think Alex had feelings for her more than any other nice man did. Yes, she was thankful that he was nice. But that was it. And she needed to be content with that.
“Anna went out to dinner with Vati and myself because he's leaving tomorrow.”
Anna turned and gave Wilhelm a pleading look. Could she escape to her room?
Wilhelm gave her a sad smile and nodded his head slightly. She took that as permission and ran up the stairs to the third-floor room that Alex had given her for the night.
She glanced down the hallway to where Kurt had stayed and tears stung her eyes as she turned to her own room.
No wonder Alex had put her up here. He must have known Kirsty was coming over. She closed the door behind her and fell onto the bed, sobbing into her pillow.
*****
Wilhelm walked to his room a while later and paused with his hand on the doorknob. He heard a noise coming from Anna’s room and walked quietly across the hall. His chest ached when he realized she was crying.
“Oh, Anna,” he whispered to himself an
d knocked on the door.
The crying stopped. “Come in,” she said in a cracked voice.
He opened the door and saw Anna wiping furiously at her face, looking ashamed. She sat up and clasped her hands tightly on her lap.
“Oh, Liebling,” he said quietly, sitting down on the bed next to her. He wrapped his arms around her and pressed her head gently to his chest.
He didn’t know what to say to comfort her. He knew why Alex stayed with Kirsty, but Wilhelm didn’t want Anna getting hurt in the process. Then again, it wasn’t Alex’s fault that Kirsty showed up. She wasn’t supposed to be back in the country until next week.
“Anna, would you like to stay in my room with me tonight?” he asked softly.
She looked up, eyes wide with hurt. “Whatever you would like, Wilhelm.”
He realized suddenly what his question had sounded like. “Liebling, just to sleep. I will hold you. That is all.”
“We can have sex if you want, Wilhelm. I’m fine.”
Wilhelm shook his head. “Let me hold you as you sleep.” He helped her to her feet and guided her to his room.
CHAPTER TEN
Anna felt fingers stroking the skin on the back and side of her neck as she woke. She was curled against Wilhelm's warm body and she smiled, remembering his kindness from the previous night.
“Guten Morgen, Liebling,” he whispered.
She smiled at him. “Good morning, Wilhelm.” She ran her hand down his lean chest towards his cock but he stopped her hand.
She blinked back tears. Would he reject her like Alex had?
“Anna, I am fine. You do not need to.”
Anna had learned not to keep trying if they said no. “Yes, Wilhelm.” She stared at his T-shirt covered chest.
He kissed her cheek. “Shall we get some breakfast? Then, unfortunately, I need to get to the airport.”
She nodded and sat up. He didn’t want her either. “I’ll go get dressed,” she said softly.
She slipped out of bed to go to her bedroom. Wilhelm had offered her one of his T-shirts to sleep in and she had left her clothes on the dresser, but they were missing.
“Wilhelm?” She walked back into his bedroom and saw him standing there, looking quite handsome, with his shirt off.
“Ja, Liebling?”
“Do you know where my clothes might be? They’re not in my room.”
“Frau Gersten must have washed them. Check with Alex. He is probably downstairs having breakfast.”
She went down the stairs to the bottom floor, below the floor with the entryway. Seth and Tony were reclining on the couch watching the TV that hung on the far wall.
She'd taken a few steps into the room when she saw Kirsty and Alex sitting at the table together. Alex was kissing her neck and Kirsty was giggling. She looked kind of nice when she smiled.
Anna froze where she was. Alex saw her and his eyes widened. He pulled away from Kirsty, who looked at him strangely and then followed his gaze to Anna. Kirsty frowned and narrowed her eyes at her.
“Anna,” Alex exclaimed. “H-how did you sleep?” he asked politely. He put his arm back around Kirsty, but didn't look especially comfortable. Kirsty looked back at him and smiled, and the smile he gave her broke Anna’s heart.
Kirsty looked back at her, giving her the once over and smirked. Anna had an unexplainable urge to walk over and slap her.
“Anna!” Seth walked up to her and hugged her. “Damn, you look good this morning.” He leaned down and nuzzled her neck. “When're you gonna spend the night with me?” he whispered, sliding his hand down her rear, giving it a squeeze through the shirt.
She wrapped her arms around his neck automatically and then smiled. She liked Seth. “Do you know where my new apartment is?” she asked softly. She really didn’t want to spend more time in Alex’s house than she had to.
Seth grinned. “I do,” he said in a husky voice. “I’ll have to visit very, very soon.” His hand slipped under the shirt and caressed her bare ass.
Alex said something sharply in German. Seth grinned at her and responded in German, though he sounded amused. But he loosened his hold on her and walked away after winking at Anna.
“Alex, I was wondering if you knew where my clothes were,” Anna said softly and noticed Kirsty looked confused now. Confused and pissed. It wasn’t a pretty combination.
Alex’s brow wrinkled. “Frau Gersten should have cleaned them and put them back in your room.”
“Her room?” Kirsty asked with narrow eyes.
“Yes.” Alex didn’t elaborate.
“I looked but I didn’t see them.” Anna hated to contradict Alex, but she was at a loss. She only had a few items of clothing and didn’t think it was appropriate to wander around in Wilhelm’s T-shirt.
Alex looked confused. “I can’t imagine her....” He tilted his head. “Unless she put them in the room Kurt had been staying in. I don’t remember if I told her which room you were in. I put your dress in there myself.”
Kirsty’s face turned pink and her jaw clenched.
“I’ll check. I’m sorry to bother you.”
Seth popped up. “I’ll help her look.”
Alex frowned, but didn’t say anything. Anna wasn’t sure what that meant, and turned to leave.
“Anna, have you seen my father this morning?” Alex asked.
She turned back around and glanced at Kirsty. “I stayed with him last night. He was getting dressed.” That urge to slap her was still there. Where were these rebellious thoughts coming from? Anna smirked at Kirsty before she realized what she'd done.
Anna gasped and ran out of the room. She heard Seth running after her and he caught up a second later.
“Oh, God, I can't believe I just did that. Alex is going to be angry with me.” She felt sick as she climbed the stairs.
“What'd you do?” Seth asked.
“I smirked at Kirsty.” She looked up at him and shook her head. “Alex will punish me, won't he? I was disrespectful to his girlfriend.”
She grasped the railing and tried to imagine what his punishments would be like. He was much stronger than Devin or Jack.
*****
Alex sat at the table, eating next to Kirsty. It took more and more effort on his part to be affectionate towards her as time passed. She acted so spiteful towards Anna, it made it difficult to find the energy.
“Alex.”
Seth stood in the doorway, looking anxious. Not a good sign. Seth rarely showed anxiety and he cared a lot for Anna. More than Alex’s jealous heart liked.
Something must have happened to Anna.
He stood quickly, pushing the chair back so hard it almost toppled over, and followed Seth out of the room, leaving Kirsty at the table alone without a word.
“What's wrong?” Alex asked quietly as they approached the stairs.
Seth shook his head. “Honestly, I don't know. We got upstairs to her room and she just kinda collapsed onto her knees. She was mumbling something about being disobedient and needing to be punished. I tried to talk to her about it, but....” Seth looked at Alex with a concerned look in his eyes. “I'm sorry, Alex.”
Alex ran up the stairs three at a time, followed closely by Seth.
Anna was so concerned about being obedient, and it worried him to no end.
Damn fucking Devin!
Every time he thought about the man, he wanted to grab his rifle from downstairs and take it up to the roof and—
Alex shook his head. No, killing an Elder without permission was a death sentence. He needed to do the one thing he could do, reassure Anna that she was cared for.
Alex sighed. He was doing a terrible job at that, too.
Okay, concentrate on the task at hand. Anna was distressed and he needed to help her.
“Thanks, Seth,” he murmured and walked into Anna's room.
Anna sat on her knees, hunched over and staring at the floor with wet, frightened eyes. Alex's heart broke as he walked over to her.
She bow
ed before him. “I'm sorry, Master,” she whispered. “I wasn't thinking.”
“Anna....” Alex knelt in front of her and pulled her up into a sitting position. “Anna, look at me.” He looked into her beautiful green eyes. “What did you do that you feel deserves punishment?”
“I smirked at Kirsty. I was disrespectful.” She looked at the floor again.
Alex wanted to laugh, but held it in check. “Anna, Schatzi, it's all right. It's not a big deal.” He cupped her chin to bring her face up to his again. “Really, Anna.”
She looked into his eyes with such distress his thought of laughter disappeared. “I'm sorry, Master,” she whispered again. “I'm ready to receive my punishment.” She winced, bracing herself for a blow he had no intention of delivering.
Alex frowned. “Anna, I'm not going to—”
“Alex, you need to discipline her.” Vati spoke softly in German from the doorway, a pained expression on his face.
“You can't be serious, Vati. She didn't do anything wrong.” Alex responded in German.
“If she smirked at Kirsty, she was disrespectful. It doesn't matter if you don't think it was a big deal. It certainly would have been to Devin if she acted that way to his wife.”
Alex glared at his father. For the first time in a very long time, he resented his father's presence in his life and in his home. “Vati,” he growled. “I will not let her think of me as she does Devin and that horrible guardian of hers. I won't—”
“Alex, I highly doubt she will.” Vati continued speaking gently. He wasn't angry; Alex was. “If you don't discipline her, you will confuse her and she won't know what to expect from you.”
“Yes, but how does beating her make her feel better?”
“I didn't say beat her. I disciplined you as a child, but I certainly didn't beat you.” Vati sighed. “You must think of her as a child. Children feel secure when their parents set boundaries and enforce them. Have you sat down and told her what you expect from her?”
Alex frowned. “No. I didn't think about it.” It hadn’t even crossed his mind. Vati had a valid point. Anna was very childlike and she did need to know what he expected of her. She knew exactly what Devin expected. Alex just wanted her to be free. Perhaps that would be enough. He sighed. “How do I discipline her?”
The Life of Anna, Part 2: Entwined Page 8