The Life of Anna, Part 3: Embraced (23 page)

“My mother used to do this to me when I was
ill. Breathe deeply,
Liebe.”

Brigitte returned a few minutes later with a
fizzy drink like Anna had on the plane. Anna drank it quickly and
her nausea disappeared a few minutes later.

“Thank you,” she said weakly. “I’m so sorry.
I don’t know what’s wrong with me lately.”

Ilsa gave her a warm smile. “It is quite all
right, Anna. Things happen.” She led Anna back out to the bedroom
and sat her on the chaise next to the fireplace. “I have something
for you.”

Ilsa handed her a necklace. “I wore this on
my wedding day. Alexander’s grandmother wore it on her wedding day.
It goes back many generations.” She smiled fondly. “Wilhelm and I
would be proud if you wore it on your wedding day.”

Tears fill Anna’s eyes as she looked at it.
The pendant was a cluster of diamonds in the shape of a flower with
a pearl hanging from it. “Thank you, Ilsa. It’s so beautiful. I
would be honored to wear it.”

Ilsa smiled and helped her put it on. She
gave her matching earrings and a bracelet as well.

Ilsa looked her up and down. “Beautiful. Are
you ready?”

Anna nodded nervously as she stepped into her
shoes. Brigitte handed her a white satin purse and then Anna
followed Ilsa out into the hallway.

*****

Alex paced in the large entry hall. He’d been
up for several hours and was dying to see Anna. His leather shoes
tapped out a steady rhythm as he walked the length of the room over
and over again. He straightened his tie for the hundredth time and
turned to stare at the staircase, willing Anna to appear.

Now that the hour was upon him, he also began
to worry that he had overlooked some important detail, and that
something would happen to prevent their marriage.

“Alex you’re going to wear out the marble,”
Kurt joked as he reclined on a bench in the hallway. Alex had asked
him to be his witness at the ceremony.

Seth, Tony, Greg and Sebastian stood nearby.
They would go in the vehicle with them. Michael, Jesse and Jason
were already in town, keeping an eye on the
Standesamt,
where he and Anna would be married.

Alex had pulled every string in the book to
get this wedding to take place so quickly after Anna arrived in the
country. There were benefits to being an Elder-Son. A few
requirements were bent, but for the most part everything had been
done in the proper fashion, just hurried. It had been tricky to get
Anna’s signatures on some documents without her knowing, but Isaak
had been helpful with that. He hoped Anna would forgive him for his
deceit, but if Devin had found out...Alex shuddered to think of
what might have happened.

Alex heard footsteps on the stairs and
wheeled around to see his sisters and Gretchen coming down.
Gretchen had Otto wrapped in so many blankets he looked like a blue
bear.

Alex sighed, disappointed, and walked over to
the table where a single, perfect pink rose lay that he would give
to Anna. Whenever she saw pink roses, he wanted her to think of
him.

“Don’t I feel like a valued sister,” Greta
teased, walking up to Alex and hugging him. She looked very pretty
in her blue silk dress and he told her so. She beamed at him.

“Vati, where is she?” he groaned. His
physical discomfort was escalating his impatience.

“I heard that she got sick,” Gretchen
smirked.

Alex’s concern rose and he looked at his
father.

“All right, Alex. I will go check on her. I’m
sure she’s fine.” Wilhelm patted his shoulder and made his way to
the stairs. He was just a few steps up when he smiled. “There they
are.”

Alex picked up the rose and made his way to
the staircase as Anna, holding the railing very tightly, came
around the curved section and into view. His heart pounded so hard,
it wouldn’t have surprised him if his entire family could hear
it.

He couldn’t have imagined a more beautiful
picture. Her hair softly curled around her face. Her cream lace
dress accented her figure perfectly. It was just low enough to show
a bit of cleavage, but not immodestly. Her legs were encased in
silk stockings and he could see the calf muscles flexing as she
stepped down the stairs. She had fantastic legs. Hell, she had
fantastic everything.

Her face, although pale, glowed with
happiness and her eyes sparkled as her eyes met his. It humbled him
to think that he was the cause of that sparkle and glow.

He must have been staring, because she
stopped and looked away, her cheeks turning pink.

“Schatzi...,” he breathed.

His precious treasure. Here. Before him.
Dressed for their wedding. He felt a little lightheaded and
realized he’d been holding his breath. He took two steps to stand
before her and swept her up in his arms. She weighed practically
nothing and he spun her around and kissed her cheek.

“Oh, Alex, don’t spin her around!” his mother
exclaimed. “She’ll get sick again.”

Alex cradled her cheek and gazed into her
bright green eyes. “Were you sick this morning again, Anna?”

She looked apologetic as she nodded. “I’m so
sorry, Alex. I don’t know what’s wrong.”

He studied her face. Why would she be getting
sick? Had he done something? He stepped back and looked her over.
His eyes caught at her breasts. Were they larger than they’d been
when he last saw her? Yes. They definitely were. She glowed. She
was sick. She had said she’d barely eaten though.

Oh, God! It couldn’t be, could
it?

Anna searched his eyes. “Did I displease you,
Alex?”

He saw her starting to pull away and cursed
himself.

“No, no
,
Anna. I’m just concerned
about you.” He gave her a gentle smile and kissed her gently on the
lips. “You are the most beautiful vision I’ve ever seen.” His voice
cracked slightly at his words.

She blushed again and looked away. He loved
how shy she was. A normal woman could have been cold and arrogant
because of her beauty. But not Anna. She was an angel. It made
sense that Kurt called her Angel. It fit her.

“Here,” he said softly, handing her the rose.
“This is for you.”

Her eyes lit up at the sight. She put it to
her nose and inhaled deeply, closing her eyes and smiling. “Thank
you, Alex. It’s beautiful.”

“It’s nothing compared to you.”

“Don't we get to say hello to the bride,
Alex?” Kurt asked, stepping next to him. “Hello, Engel
.
You look beautiful.” He kissed her cheek and hugged her.

Alex saw Anna nervously glance behind him to
where he knew Gretchen stood, but she smiled warmly at Kurt.

“Thank you, Kurt,” she said in a soft
voice.

Alex shook his head to himself. Gretchen was
already hostile to Anna; Kurt didn’t need to give Gretchen more
reasons. He heard Gretchen murmur something about one man being
enough and Liesl giggled. Alex bit his tongue. The rest of the
family greeted Anna warmly, except Gretchen.

Seth approached with a white fur coat that
Alex had bought for Anna.

“Anna, this is for you,” Alex said, holding
it open for her. “It should keep you warm.”

Once again her eyes lit up. “It looks so
soft,” she said, reaching out to touch it. She smiled when she did
and stepped closer and let him help her into it. “Ooh!” She
giggled. “Can I wear this all the time?”

Everyone laughed affectionately. He heard
Gretchen make another comment and he whipped around and glared at
her. She smirked back.

“Alex, let it go,” his father said softly in
German. “Don’t upset Anna.”

Alex looked back and saw the fright in Anna’s
eyes. Guilt filled his veins and he sighed. He took her hand and
kissed it. “I’m not angry at you, Schatzi.”

She gave him a timid smile.

He looked at his father who nodded, then
looked back at Anna. “Shall we go get married?” he asked.

Anna nodded, her eyes sparkling again.

He put on his wool coat and then took her
hand and led her out the front door. Tony and Greg got into an SUV
parked behind the limo that the family, Seth and Sebastian piled
into. A few minutes later, the car pulled away from the house and
they were on their way to Frankfurt to get married.

Anna watched the buildings pass by as they
drove through the city streets. She felt excited and scared all at
the same time. The idea of marrying Alex seemed like a dream. But a
very good dream. She held Alex’s hand tightly.

Something occurred to her. “Alex, don’t we
need wedding rings?” she asked quietly.

Alex grinned down at her. “In Germany, we
wear our wedding rings on the right hand.”

He reached into his pocket and pulled out two
gold rings with birds and leaves on the outside, as well as the
words
Myn Genyst
. He handed her the larger of the two
rings.

“These were my grandparent’s wedding rings.
Myn Genyst
means ‘my heart’. I thought we could use these
rings for the ceremony and wear them on our right hand and then go
pick out rings together for our left hands afterwards. How does
that sound?”

Anna stared at the ring. It was old fashioned
and beautiful. She felt honored that he wanted her to wear a family
ring. “That sounds wonderful Alex,” she said quietly. “But if you
don’t want to wear two wedding rings, we don't have to.”

Alex shook his head. “We live in America for
now. I don’t want anyone to doubt that we are married. In America,
if I didn’t have a ring on my left hand, I would feel like I was
being disrespectful. I want every woman who sees me to know that I
am very happily married.”

Anna giggled. She could see his point and was
grateful for it. “Thank you, Alex.”

He leaned over and whispered in her ear. “Of
course, that goes for you too. I don’t want men thinking that
you’re available either.”

Anna leaned against his shoulder and fiddled
with the ring he had handed her. It was so big! It went with the
rest of him, she supposed.

“What are you thinking about that turns your
cheeks so prettily pink?” he asked quietly.

She glanced up at him and gave him a shy
smile. “I was noticing how big your ring was and I....” she
whispered, then blushed “... extrapolated from there.”

Alex threw his head back and laughed. “Oh,
Anna. I love you!”

The thought of the size of his cock made her
nervous. When Sebastian had taken her back to her room after
finishing at the Manor, he had told her that he needed to make her
physically a virgin again.

She had begged him not to, but he said it had
to be done. That even though it was rare naturally these days, the
Son’s wife needed to be as a virgin. But Sebastian has assured her
that it wouldn’t be like the cream that Devin gave her. She would
stretch as she had the first time and she wouldn’t stay unnaturally
tight. That had relieved some of her fears, but not all. It had
hurt enough her first time with Devin. She couldn’t imagine being a
virgin with Alex.

*****

The car slowed down and stopped near what
looked like an enormous cobblestone courtyard. People milled around
a huge fountain in the center of the courtyard in light coats,
making Anna wonder how they weren’t freezing.

As she climbed out of the limo, Anna saw that
all of Alex’s men were nearby. The men followed the family as they
made their way to a line of tall buildings nearby. She squinted in
the bright sunlight and looked up at the tallest, steepled building
that they walked towards. It was so pretty and looked very “German”
to her.

Anna clung to Alex’s hand as they walked
through a set of glass doors set in a stone archway. Alex walked up
to a lady behind a reception desk and spoke to her briefly in
German. She looked at him and the rest of the family standing
behind and her eyes widened. She nodded enthusiastically, picked up
the phone and spoke urgently.

“Alex, is everything okay?” Anna
whispered.

Alex smiled. “
Ja, Schatzi.
We’re not
on the official schedule today. Everything has been done off the
record.” He gave her an almost embarrassed look. “My family tends
to be in the spotlight socially here. That no one knew I was
engaged is rather shocking. Of course,” he said, pulling her close
and kissing the back of her hand. “It only happened yesterday.” He
gazed into her eyes and stroked her cheek. “Soon you will be my
wife,” he said in a hushed tone.

The lady spoke to Alex again and motioned
towards a set of glass doors that led to the interior of the
building.

Alex grinned at Anna. “Let’s get married.” He
opened the door and she walked through.

They climbed up a long marble staircase,
brightly lit from the sunshine that streamed through the wall of
windows. Wilhelm walked next to Alex, speaking quietly in
German.

When they arrived at the top of the stairs, a
man in a dark suit and tie greeted them respectfully, first shaking
Wilhelm’s hand and then Alex’s.

“Soeren, this is
mein
Verlobten
, Anna,” Alex introduced. “Anna, this is Soeren
Stutterheim. He will be marrying us today.”

“Hello,” Anna said with a shaky voice. Nerves
flew through Anna’s body making her nauseous again. Her hand flew
to her mouth and she swallowed several times, trying to rid her
mouth of the increase of saliva that indicated she was going to
vomit again.

“Anna, are you okay?”

Anna’s eyes watered and she shook her
head.

Alex spoke quickly in German, then picked
Anna up and carried her to a door with a silhouette of a woman on
it. He opened the door slightly and called inside. No one
responded, and he carried her through the doorway and put her down
in the largest stall. She fell to her knees and emptied her stomach
into the toilet. Several times.

Alex held her hair out of her face and rubbed
her back until she was done.