The Life of Anna, Part 3: Embraced (6 page)

She groaned in pain tried to pull away, but
he held her shoulders and pushed against her. She felt something
give way and her stomach cramped and she whimpered. “No,” she
groaned. “Please. It hurts.”

“That’s because I’ve entered your womb,
Daughter. It’s where I need to be.”

She tried to move away again, wiggling as
best she could, but he held her hands behind her back, holding her
in place. Her whimpers and groans grew louder as her stomach
continued to cramp and the pain increased.

“Just relax and it won’t hurt as much,” the
Immortal said in a mild voice. He moved gently, pressing his hips
against her. She felt the pressure against her clit and upper
channel and moaned. “That’s it. Feel the pleasure. Concentrate on
that.” He continued to move, but only slightly as if he didn’t want
to lose his position inside her.

Anna cried out as her pussy began to spasm
around him and then she stiffened suddenly. The orgasm had been
such a slow build, it didn’t register in her mind until she was in
the middle of it. It consumed her whole body and she arched her
back and screamed. He pumped his hips against hers and she felt him
throb inside her. He let out a roar and rammed himself into her
body, even deeper than he had been.

Her eyes closed and she felt like she was
floating into his body. She could feel his seed pouring into her
body. Her pussy convulsed around him, milking him until she had
received every drop from his body, then, exhausted, a deep
blackness consumed her.

*****

Devin watched eagerly as Kaveh examined Anna.
“Did it work? Is she pregnant?”

Kaveh gave him an exasperated look. “It
doesn’t happen immediately. It can take up to a day to conceive.
She’ll wake when it’s done.”

“But she will conceive?”

“There is a very good chance. Nothing is
guaranteed, but if you made the serum correctly, she should.”

“Of course I made it correctly,” Devin
scoffed. “I’m not an idiot.”

Kaveh glared at him. “I may allow you to
appear to control me in public, but you would do well to remember
that I could crush you in one of your measly little
heartbeats.”

Devin clenched his jaw, but kept silent. He
didn’t like being dependent on Kaveh, but he had no other choice.
He couldn’t do this without the Immortal’s help.

A knock sounded at the door and Ian entered.
He glanced at Kaveh then at Devin. “It’s your wife, Devin. She’s in
labor.”

Devin raised his brow. He’d had Sandy here
for the last week, waiting for her to go into labor and it had
finally happened. Now the real fun of fucking with her mind could
begin.

“I’ll go check on Sandy. Ian, come get me if
I’m not back before Anna wakes.”

Ian nodded and Devin left the room.

*****

Anna slowly opened her eyes. The room was
quiet, but it wasn’t her room. Where was she?

Devin’s room
. At the Manor. She sat
up and looked around. Ian sat in a nearby chair, snoring softly.
Memories of the previous evening came rushing back like a tidal
wave.
Ben!
Tears burned her eyes as pain filled her heart
again.

She looked around for her jeans and saw them
on the floor. She picked them up and sat back on the bed, pulling
the ring box out of the pocket. She didn’t open it, but held it
tightly in her hands and stared at it.

“I’m sorry, Anna. I really am.”

Anna looked up and saw Ian watching her.
“What do you care?” she asked coldly.

Ian grimaced. “I’ll let Devin know you’re
awake.” He stood and walked stiffly out of the room.

Anna continued to stare at the ring box, only
dimly aware when Devin walked back into the room with someone else
entering behind him.

“Anna, Baby. I’m glad you’re awake. I was
getting worried.” Devin walked to her and embraced her. She pulled
away and glowered at him. “All right. Kaveh wants to take a look at
you and then Ian will take you back to your car.”

“Please lie down, Daughter.”

Kaveh stood on the other side of the bed and
Anna did as he asked. He put his hand on her head and then stomach.
Anna vaguely remembered having sex with him the previous night, but
not much else.

Kaveh looked at Devin. “It is done.”

Devin smiled broadly. “Excellent.” He glanced
at Anna. “You can go now.”

Anna glared at Devin as she dressed. She was
curious as to what Kaveh said was “done,” but didn’t want to give
Devin the pleasure of knowing her curiosity. He watched her with an
amused expression on his face.

“I’m ready,” she said when she was done,
crossing her arms over her chest.

Devin stood. “Good. I’ll take you downstairs
to the car.”

She followed Devin through the Manor and out
the front door. “I’ll come see you this week since I can’t have you
on Fridays while you are performing.”

Anna didn’t reply. She just looked at him
with as much hatred as she could muster.

“Hatred isn’t very becoming, Anna. You won’t
catch another lover with that expression on your face.”

“I don’t want another lover, you asshole,”
she spat. “I want Ben.”

“Oh, sweetheart. Ben’s body has been dredged
from the Bay. I’m sure his family is on their way down here as we
speak.” He took a step closer and pulled her hair so that her face
tipped up to his. “You would do well to remember your place, Anna,”
he snarled. “I can make your life a living hell. Remember
that.”

“You already have.” She twisted out of his
grasp and got into the back of the car, refusing to look at him as
Ian drove away.

It was a silent drive back to the theater
garage. When they arrived, Anna didn’t wait for Ian to open the
door, but got out on her own without saying a word. She walked to
her car, got in and started it without looking back.

Where to go? She needed to tell Matt what
happened. She glanced at the clock as she drove out of the garage.
Almost three. She wished she had stayed asleep. Sleep was peaceful.
Sleep didn’t hurt.

She parked her car and then headed up to her
apartment. When she got off the elevator on her floor she
hesitated. Glancing down at Ben’s apartment door made the tears
start again. Anguish consumed her, making her heart burn, and her
legs buckled beneath her. She slid down the wall next to the
elevator, sobbing uncontrollably. She needed to get to her
apartment, but she couldn’t move. All she could do was sob.

She didn’t know how long she sat there, but
unexpectedly, she felt strong arms around her shoulders.

“
Kommen Sie, Liebling
.” Wilhelm
helped her to her feet and guided her down the hallway, but not to
her apartment. To Ben and Matt’s.

“No! No! I don’t want to go there,” she
wailed, digging her heels into the carpeted floor and struggling
against his grip, but he held her tight.

“Anna, Ben’s family is here. They want to see
you.” Wilhelm pushed the door open and gently pulled her into the
apartment.

“Anna!” Ben's family embraced her the moment
she walked into the living room.

Ben’s mom, Katherine, hugged her tightly. “We
were so worried about you. That you had been in the car with Ben.
But Wilhelm said you were okay. I don’t know how he knew, but I’m
so thankful he was right.”

Anna couldn’t look at anyone. It was her
fault that Ben was dead. She shouldn’t be here. She didn’t deserve
to be here.

“I…I can’t be here.” She turned and fled to
her apartment at the opposite end of the hallway. Once she was
inside, she closed the door behind her and fell to the ground,
sobbing again.

“Anna.”
Wilhelm
. Dear Wilhelm. He
knelt next to her. “
Liebling.
How did you know?”

“How did I know what?” she sniffed.

“How did you know he was dead?”

Anna looked up into Wilhelm’s face, shame
filling her. “It’s my fault,” she whispered. “He killed him because
of me. I was so selfish and he killed him.”

“Who killed who?” Wilhelm stared at her for a
moment. “Ben?”

Anna nodded. “Devin. He killed him. Right in
front of me.” She stared at the ground. “It’s my fault,” she said
in a broken voice, squeezing her eyes shut in despair. “It’s all my
fault.”

“Anna, it is not your fault. Devin is…does
bad things, but those things are not your fault.”

She shook her head. “If I hadn’t wanted to be
with Ben, Devin would have let him go. He asked me and I told him.
He called Ben a distraction. But I couldn’t lie. I told him the
truth. And he killed him.”

“Anna, the police found his body in his car
early this morning. In the Bay. Are you sure you didn’t just
imagine it?”

Anna shook her head absently. “He said he’d
put him off the Golden Gate Bridge. The same bridge my parents died
under.”

Wilhelm muttered something in German. “Oh,
Anna.” He pulled her into his arms and rocked her gently. “Shh, it
will be all right,
Liebling
. It is not your fault.”

“He was going to ask me to marry him,” she
whispered after she’d calmed down a bit. She pulled the ring box
out of her pocket.

Wilhelm took the box from her and opened it.
“Very pretty,” he said with a gentle smile, hugging her close.

“Where’d you get that?”

Both Wilhelm and Anna looked up to see Matt
standing in the doorway with an accusatory look on his face.

Anna stared at Matt. “He had it with him when
he died.”

Matt frowned. “I know. He showed it to me at
the theater. The question is, how did you get it?”

Anna’s mouth moved but there were no words.
She didn’t know how to respond to Matt’s accusation.

“Matt, it is not what you think,” Wilhelm
said. “And apparently what happened to Ben is not what we were told
either.”

“What are you talking about?”

Wilhelm stared at the young man for a long
considering moment. “Matt, if I tell you, you cannot tell anyone.
Especially not his family. They would be in danger.”

Matt walked in and closed the door. “Tell
me.”

Wilhelm gave him a brief history of Anna’s
relationship with Devin—reinforcing what Jenna had told him—and
then what Anna had told Wilhelm.

“Devin threw it on the ground next to him
after he was…,” Anna said softly. “He said it had been in Ben’s
pocket when they took him.”

“Oh, God,” Matt said, sitting hard on the
floor next to them. “We should call the police.”

Anna laughed bitterly. “Devin controls the
police. There’s nothing we can do.” She leaned against Wilhelm.
“Nothing.”

“Matt, would you please take Anna back to
your apartment. I need to make a phone call.”

“Wilhelm….” Anna clung to him.

“Anna, I need to call Alex and tell him what
happened.”

“Is he home?”

Wilhelm nodded. “He got home yesterday.”

A cold chill ran through Anna’s body, but she
nodded and allowed Matt to help her to her feet. If Alex really
cared,
he
would be here, not his father.

Anger at Alex mixed with her anger at Devin
and Ian and the world.

*****

Wilhelm watched as Matt helped Anna back to
his apartment and then phoned Alex.

“Vati?” came Alex’s groggy voice over the
line.

“Alex, wake up.” Wilhelm spoke in German. “I
need to speak with you.”

There was a pause. “What happened? Is Anna
okay?” His voice had cleared.

“Devin killed Anna’s boyfriend. Right in
front of her, as far as I can tell.”

“My God!”

Wilhelm repeated to Alex what Anna had told
him.

“That fucking bastard,” Alex growled when
Wilhelm had finished.

“My exact sentiments. How are the plans
progressing?”

“Slowly. I have to be careful if we’re going
to keep it a secret.”

“Will it be done by the time Anna gets
there?”

“It will. I will make sure of that.”

“Good. You might want to send Seth out to
help Greg get Anna to Frankfurt. She is extremely unwilling to
go.”

Alex chuckled. “Who knew she could be so
strong willed?”

Wilhelm chuckled as well. “It would be good
for her to learn some stubbornness. But Alex, I don’t know what
Ben’s death will do to her. She is extremely distressed and blaming
herself. She’s…different than she was. Devin has been ruthless with
her emotions. You’re going to have to be very, very careful with
her. You must have your temper under control at all times or you
will deeply wound her.”

Alex sighed. “I know, Vati
.
As soon
as she gets here, I will put out word that we are unavailable. I
don't want to do it beforehand or it might tip off Devin.”

“Do you think she might be more willing if
she flew commercial? It might be less threatening to her.”

“Maybe. But I hate the idea of her on a
commercial jet.”

“Alex, don’t be a snob. Lufthansa does an
excellent job in their first class.”

“I know, but…I don’t want her getting
hurt.”

“That’s why you’re sending bodyguards with
her. So she’s watched and kept safe. Greg would never allow
anything to happen to her.”

“Neither would any of my men. Seth,
especially.” Alex paused. “I think I will send him out. Just don't
tell Anna.”

“I won’t, believe me. Every time I have
mentioned it, she becomes hostile.”

Alex sighed. “Poor Anna.” He paused. “Vati, I
don’t like the idea of Anna living alone. Do you think you could
convince her to have Jenna move in with her?”

“I agree. I’ll speak to her about it.”

“Good. Keep my name out of it and it might go
better. I don’t want to command her and make her resent me anymore
than she already does.”

“I will. All right. I will let you get back
to sleep. I know you need it, but I thought you might want to
know.”

“Thank you for calling me, Vati. I always
want to know if something happens to her.”