The Life of Anna, Part 2: Entwined (6 page)

Fucking Germans
.

Alex's interference had even denied Devin the pleasure of fucking Anna after the ritual. He had been looking forward to having Anna in his bed, playing with her and testing her obedience and lost self-will. She'd been coming around nicely, learning that her pain gave him pleasure and getting off on it. Had he lost everything he’d been working for these last few weeks? He didn’t know because Fucking Alex had stolen her away after they'd argued.

The rest of the Gathering had been one of the most difficult Devin had ever attended. He’d had to play nice and pretend everything was fine. Making a scene would have just exacerbated the situation. Devin knew he could still fix it, to an extent. He just had to figure out how. There had to be a way. There
had
to be.

Since he couldn’t be with Anna last night, he'd gone into the Red Room and worked over one of his girls so badly, he was fairly certain he'd killed her. He'd taken two more to bed with him and roughed them up pretty good as well. At least one of them was still alive this morning because he'd fucked her hard and made her scream. The maids were going to have their work cut out for them, cleaning up his room.

He slammed his fist on the desk, causing Ian, who was sitting on the couch across the room, to jump.
Fuck! Fuck! Fuck!
Years of planning and now this! He'd have to somehow share Anna now.
Fuck.

How could he manipulate the situation to gain the advantage for himself?

The bottom line was that he had to get rid of Alex somehow. Devin understood that he couldn't kill him, but maybe he could just make him disappear until after Anna’s twenty-sixth birthday, when the final bonding was to be performed. Then he could re-perform the ritual, as prescribed in the tome, without Alex’s interference and she would be his forever. But how could he make an Elder-Son disappear for six years?

This required some serious thought. And research. He had to be careful. Alex and his family were well-liked and Devin couldn't risk anyone finding out that he'd had something to do with the disappearance.

These thoughts calmed him. Having direction allowed his rage to settle into a dull simmer. Yes, he could do this. His plans hadn’t failed, they’d just taken an unexpected turn. He would step back and regroup. It would all work out. It had to.

His thoughts turned to his sweet little Anna. She was the key to making his plans work. But first, he needed to find out how much control over her he still had.

How would this double bonding affect her? She was supposed to have been turned into his mindless slave, happy to do whatever he told her to. Would that still be the case? How independent would she remain? She had to obey him...right?

Devin did not like being unsure. He would have to find out. Quickly. He had a banquet to take her to on Wednesday and he’d been expecting to take his sweet little puppet.

Someone knocked on the door and Ian stood to answer it. Devin had been expecting Anna by herself. What he got was Alex, followed by Anna.
Fuck.

One look at Alex's face and Devin knew that Alex had been keeping Anna at a distance this week on purpose. Fortunately, looks couldn't kill. But Alex himself was unquestionably capable of killing; that Devin had learned last night when he saw the unmistakable ring on Alex’s pinky. For the first time since the ritual, Devin was thankful for Alex's obvious concern for Anna. Otherwise, Devin wouldn't have woken up this morning.

Devin stood and walked around to the front of the desk as they entered the room. Anna stood with her mouth gaping, looking around like a child in a candy store. Her fondness for reading would make the fifteen-foot-high wall of books in front of her look like heaven.

Devin cleared his throat and Anna looked at him with a shy smile. He frowned and pointed to the floor. Her eyes widened and she rushed over and dropped to her knees in the proper bow before him. She was trembling, and her fear pleased him. He was half-tempted to kick her in the ribs, but didn't think that would be a smart thing to do in front of Alex. The man might not be able to kill him, but Devin was fairly certain Alex could do some serious damage without breaking a sweat.

Devin stepped over Anna and walked to the seating area near the window. He motioned to Alex. “Please, Alex. Sit.” He said it as pleasantly as he could through clenched teeth.

Alex walked over, face now impassive, and sat on the couch. Devin motioned to Ian as he sat and Ian left the room.

“Anna,” Devin snapped. “Come.”

Anna hastened to her feet, nearly tripping over her dress and hurried across the room to sit at Devin's feet. Devin smiled as he saw her still trembling.

Devin stroked her hair as if to comfort her. “You didn’t brush your hair, Anna,” he said in a low voice, combing his fingers through her hair until he found a tangle.

Her hair was unkempt, but it was still silky from the night before and a tangle was difficult to locate. He yanked his fingers through it and she gasped in pain. He grabbed a fistful of hair and yanked, pulling her head back until she was looking at him upside down. She struggled for air and looked at him with frightened eyes.

“Never come to me with unbrushed hair again. Do you understand?”

She moved her mouth, trying to find enough air to form words. “Yes, Master,” she answered in a hoarse whisper.

He released her hair and her head snapped forward. She coughed and Devin would have sworn he heard Alex growl.

“Is that really necessary?” Alex asked in an icy voice.

Devin hesitated. Not knowing how the interrupted ritual had affected Anna, being a cruel master to her might backfire, especially with Alex around. She clearly wasn’t mindless this morning and she looked at him in absolute terror. If he wanted her to be the effective tool he needed, she needed to trust and love him. Otherwise, she'd be acting out of fear and wouldn't be as persuasive. She needed to believe in him.

Fuck, this was exactly why he had performed the ritual in the first place. So he didn’t have to worry about all that shit.

He took a deep breath to calm himself. “No. I suppose not. I didn't sleep well last night.” He petted Anna's hair again, gently this time, and he felt her begin to relax.

“That can happen when events progress in unexpected ways,” Alex commented, raising his brows, his eyes glinting with amusement.

“Yes. My evening certainly didn't go the way I expected it to.”
Fucking arrogant bastard
. “I suppose we need to discuss our
unexpected
situation, then. Don’t we?”

“I agree,” Alex said. “I want her to live outside the Manor. In an apartment downtown. I will gladly pay her living expenses.”

Straight to the point. Devin could respect that. The sooner they were done with negotiations, the sooner he could fuck Anna and see how she would react to him.

He considered Alex’s request. Anna living downtown had its appeal. Yes, there was a risk in her living alone, but the GPS tracker in her necklace would ensure he knew where she was at all times. She wasn’t stupid enough to go out without it again, not after her afternoon with the Russians. She certainly learned the consequences of going out without her necklace.

But did Devin want Alex paying for everything? The idea made him uneasy.

“Do you have a place in mind?” Devin asked, curious.

“I do. There’s a two-bedroom apartment in the Sapphire that is being held for her.”

Anna looked up, subtly. Apparently, she hadn’t been informed of this.

Devin narrowed his eyes. How was it possible that he had an apartment for Anna already? Unless.... “You knew something was going to happen last night?”

Alex nodded and Devin’s jaw clenched. How had he known? Who could have told him? He glared at Alex. “How?”

Alex only arched an eyebrow and looked amused.

Fucking bastard!

He knew the building that Alex was talking about. It had a good reputation and the location couldn’t be better; only a few blocks from his office. It would be more convenient for him to visit Anna there rather than driving all the way out to the Manor. He could send men over to fuck her, or do whatever to her.
Yes, this is good...even if it comes from
him.

His cock twitched at the thought of being with Anna on a regular basis. Maybe he would have her come over to his house occasionally, too. That would drive Sandy crazy, seeing him with a beautiful twenty-year-old. He smiled at the vision of his wife's hurt face as he fondled Anna in front of her. It would serve her right for getting knocked up by her lover. Maybe he'd even make Sandy watch as he fucked Anna hard in their own home. That thought cheered him and he decided he would act upon it on Wednesday after the banquet.

“Agreed. But I want to pay half of her expenses. After all, I’m her Master too.”

A hint of a smile appeared on Alex’s face. “I can afford it far better than you can.”

“You mean your family can.”

Alex shrugged. “There are benefits to belonging to one of the wealthiest families in the world.”

Devin’s eyes narrowed. Was that a slam on his own personal finances? “I can afford my share.” He could. Easily.

“All right,” Alex said after a pause. “I want her to have her own car and credit cards.”

“Fine. I will notify the bank on Monday.”

“I have her car for her already.”

“Really? What kind of car do you think she should have?” Alex really had been prepared for all of this. Devin didn’t like that idea one bit.

“A Mercedes, of course.”

Of course he would pick a German car. “Fine.” It didn’t matter. Devin paused. “I have certain plans that I've made for her. Social engagements that I need her for.”

“Fine. As long as you treat her as a person and not as a slave.”

“I wouldn't do that in public, Alex,” Devin chided. “That would be counterproductive.”

Alex's jaw muscles clenched, but that was his only reaction. He was silent for a moment, then smiled with a glint in his eyes. “I want her to have a chance to dance again. Full time. I’m certain that she's too talented for you to have kept her away from that.”

Devin didn't answer right away.
Fuck.
It's not that he didn't want Anna dancing. He didn't care what the hell she did when he didn't need her. And it did keep her body beautiful and her mind sane. “Agreed. I want her every Friday for the Gatherings.”

Alex’s jaw clenched. “What if she has performances?”

“She hasn’t even begun dancing again, Alex. Let’s take things one step at a time.”

Alex was quiet for a moment and then lifted his chin. “Agreed. I want the option to take her to social events as well. And travel.”

“Then we should probably set up some sort of calendar so we know when she's available,” Devin said sarcastically.

“That's probably a good idea. Then we know exactly what's going on and our interactions will be kept at a minimum.”

Devin chuckled. Alex made a good point. “Agreed.” Now for the
coup de grace
. He leaned forward. “I want to be able to send men to her apartment for her to have sex with. That's part of why I agreed to her own apartment in the first place.” Devin's hand still rested on Anna's head and he felt her flinch.

“They might hurt her,” Alex said with a frown.

“She's tough. That’s why we trained her as we did.” Devin enjoyed Alex's discomfort.

Alex growled. “Yes, I heard about your training methods. You're barbaric.”

Devin's eyes flashed with anger and he yanked Anna's hair back so she was looking at him upside down again. He glared at her. “You shared your training experiences with him?”

“Let her go,” Alex demanded. “I ordered her to tell me about them. She didn't volunteer them.”

Devin released her hair and she coughed softly.

Alex gave him a deadly look. “I knew there was a reason I didn't like you.”

“Oh, believe me. The feeling is mutual.” Devin smirked. “My training methods have served this Manor well for many years. Didn't you enjoy her training this morning?”

Alex didn't answer.

Devin laughed. “You didn't fuck her? Why the hell not?”

“Last night was difficult for her. I'm not that selfish.”

Devin rolled his eyes. Alex and his goodness. “It has nothing to do with being selfish, Alex. Men have needs. She is very, very good at meeting those needs.” He stroked her cheek from behind. “You really should sample your slave.”

Alex huffed. “Can we please get back to the subject? I have things to do today.”

“What else do you want?” Devin snapped. What else was there to discuss?

“When she's not needed by either of us, I want her to be free to do as she pleases, as long as it is not dangerous and is of a respectable nature. I want her to have a social life. She's been isolated for far too long.”

Devin studied Alex for a moment, wondering about his motivations.

“Anna, look at me.” Devin said.

She obeyed instantly, turning around on her knees. He studied her for a long moment.