The Life of Anna, Part 1: Enslaved (15 page)

I shivered in anticipation.

“Have you had lunch, Anna?” Wilhelm asked and I nodded. “
Gut
. We will have dinner before we go to the Opera House.”

We drove into downtown towards a high
-end department store. “Ilsa said that this store has a nice selection of dresses that would be ready to wear tonight. She said she would call ahead and let them know we were coming.”

I nodded.
“Who is Ilsa?”

Wilhelm smiled.
“My lovely wife,” he said with sincerity and tender eyes. “She is an expert shopper. She travels here with me frequently but was unable to come this time.” He tilted his head. “You did not bring an overnight bag.”

My eyes widened and my cheeks burned with shame.
Again. I should have brought...something. I shook my head. “I don’t...really own...anything. I’m sorry.”
Will they take me back to the Manor?
Now that I was out, I had no desire to return to the Manor early. But Devin hadn’t said anything about an overnight bag. How was I supposed to have known?
I should have known...somehow.

Wilhelm tilted his head and gave me an affectionate look.
“Anna, it will be our pleasure to buy you anything you need.”

I stared at him for a moment, blinking back tears.
“Thank you, Wilhelm. You’re very kind.” I didn’t understand the kindness, but I was thankful for it.

The driver pulled up to a large square building and opened the door for us. Wilhelm helped me out and the three of us walked into the huge store. A woman stood just inside the door and approached us. She introduced herself as Karen.

“It is a pleasure to meet you, Karen,” Wilhelm said, shaking her hand. “This is Anna. She is coming to the ballet with us this evening and she needs a proper dress. And an outfit for tomorrow as well as any necessary accoutrements.”

“It will be my honor to help you, Duke von
Hesse,” Karen said with a friendly smile. “Come with me, please.” She led us up an escalator and to an area of the store full of beautiful formal dresses of all styles, colors and materials.

I spent the next hour and a half trying on dress after dress until Kurt and Wilhelm settled on a fitted emerald
-green strapless dress made out of silk taffeta. The back of the dress laced up like a corset. I grinned at myself in the mirror, feeling like a princess again.

As we left the store, Wilhelm paused, looking thoughtful.
“Kurt, I believe
Mutti
usually has her hair done before we go out while travelling, correct?”

Mutti
?
Vati
clearly meant Dad or Father, so did
Mutti
mean mother?

Kurt thought for a moment.
“
Ja,
I think she does. Or at least, she disappears for a few hours and comes back almost ready to go.” They laughed and I allowed myself a small smile. They both spoke of this woman with such respect and love it made my heart ache.

Kurt and Wilhelm made me feel comfortable around them. They were so kind and encouraging; they made me feel like a person instead of a sexual object.

Wilhelm narrowed his eyes in thought. “Let me call her.” He smiled at me. “I want you to have a good time and have everything you need for tonight. But I am not a woman and I do not know what all that entails. Excuse me a moment.” He walked a few steps away and made a phone call.

Kurt and I walked to the limo and he handed the driver my shopping bags. He leaned back against the car and pulled me against himself, kissing me and sliding his hands around my hips.
“Are you having a good time, Anna?”

I smiled at him.
“Yes, Kurt. I’ve never experienced anything like this.” I motioned to the store behind me. “It’s a bit overwhelming, but it was fun.” I gave him a shy smile.

“You’ve never gone shopping before?” He looked at me with disbelief. “I thought it was a rite of passage for womanhood.”

I shrugged. “Maybe. But my parents died when I was eleven and I lived with Jack. Taking me shopping was not high on his to-do list.”

“So what did you do when you went out with your friends? According to my sisters, getting dressed is half the event of the evening.”

I shook my head. “I never went out with friends. Jack would never have allowed me to do such things.” I paused. “Jack had friends over a lot, for parties and stuff, but they were his friends and they weren’t much fun.”

“Why did he keep you so isolated?”

“Jack thought I had more important things to do than waste time with friends. He had ‘lessons’ for me.”

“Lessons?”

“To learn how to please a man.”
Should I have said that? It’s not like they don’t know what I am.

Kurt muttered something in German.
“Anna, how old are you?”

“I just turned twenty on Monday.”

Kurt stared at me in disbelief and I bit my lip nervously. Did he think I was younger? Jack always said men like younger women and that twenty was the beginning of the end. “Did I do something to displease you, my lord?” I asked softly.

“
Nein
, Anna. What you said just...surprised me.” Kurt smiled at me. “We must celebrate your birthday tonight. Did Devin and Jack do something special for your birthday?”

I shook my head.
“No, but I didn’t mind. It was one of the best days I’d had in a very long time,” I added quickly. I didn’t want him to think poorly of Devin. “I had the whole afternoon and evening and night to myself, and I read an entire book without being interrupted. It was wonderful.”

Kurt looked sad.
“I am so sorry Anna. That is a horrible way to grow up. It is so...wrong. No one should be treated like that.”

“How else was I supposed to learn what I needed to learn? Jack said my purpose in life was to please men.” I gave him a tentative smile. “I think I do a pretty good job.”

“I would agree with that, Anna.” He gave me a lopsided grin. “But, you...you should not be...you are not a
Dirne
. You should not be locked up in a house waiting for men to come use you.”

“What’s a
Deernuh?”

Kurt smiled.
“A
Dirne
. A sex slave.”

“Oh.” I frowned at him. “Well, of course I am, Kurt. Why else would I be here with you? Why else would I be at the Manor?”

“I thought you were Devin’s mistress.”

I bit my lip. Maybe I shouldn
’t have said...
crap
. I said too much again. Devin said that in public I was to be known as his Mistress.

I took a step away from Kurt and twisted my fingers together.
“Of course I’m Devin’s mistress,” I said softly, staring at his chest.

“Anna....” Kurt reached out for me and pulled me back to him. “Anna, you are not a
Dirne
. You are not marked as a slave. I certainly do not think of you as a slave. I think your guardian is wrong.”

I looked up at him in confusion. Jack was never wrong.

“I think you are a very pretty young woman that I want to spend time with....” He kissed me gently, “...and get to know much better.” He gave me a tender look and kissed me again, this time nibbling on my lip.

“Kurt,” Wilhelm said in a low voice. “Please do not act that way on the street.”

Kurt winked at me and straightened. “I cannot help it,
Vati
.”

Wilhelm frowned at him then looked at me, smiling.
“Ilsa is arranging for someone to come to Alex’s house and help you get ready. They will arrive in an hour so we need to go.”

“Alex’s house?”
I asked as we got into the limo.

“We stay with Alex when
Mutti
doesn’t come,” Kurt said with a grin. “It is more fun than a hotel.”

The limo pulled away from the curb and headed north out of downtown. I sat next to Kurt and proceeded to forget about anything that wasn
’t him. He pressed his lips to mine and caressed my breasts. I slid my fingers into his hair and kissed him back eagerly.

I moaned as his fingers slid under my panties, gliding his hands over the swollen folds.

“You are all wet,” Kurt said nuzzling my neck with his lips. “I want to taste you.” He slid his fingers under my panties and into my pussy. I gasped and closed my eyes as he thrust them in and out slowly several times.

“Oh, Kurt,” I whispered, grasping his hair with my fingers.

He removed his fingers and brought them to his mouth, sucking on them as he watched me. I bit my lip and he smiled. “Delicious. I think I need another taste.” He looked up out the window and wrinkled his nose. “But later. We are here.”

I looked out the window as we pulled up to an elegant, three
-story white-brick house. I glanced back at Wilhelm as we exited, wondering what he’d thought of my make-out session with his son, and he gave me an amused smile.

The front door opened as we approached and an older woman wearing a black dress and white apron stood there with a smile on her face.

Wilhelm greeted her in German as we entered the house. He motioned to me. “Frau Gersten, this is Anna. She will be staying with Kurt tonight.”

Frau
Gersten gave me a polite smile and nodded in greeting. “
Guten Abend, Herr Kurt. Guten Abend, Fräulein.
”

We walked further into the house and my mouth gaped opened as I looked around. A huge wooden staircase dominated the large mahogany
-paneled foyer. Beyond the hall in one direction was a dining room paneled in dark wood with a glass-topped table. On the opposite side of the foyer was a large, brightly lit living room with three large windows facing the street.

The driver had brought up my shopping bags and given them to Frau
Gersten. Wilhelm instructed her to put them in Kurt’s room. Kurt grinned and squeezed my hand. “
Kommen Sie
, let me take you to my room.” He pulled my hand and started leading me up the stairs.

“Kurt, the
Kosmetikerin  will be here in a half hour. I would recommend staying out of be,” Wilhelm said, looking up at us with the same amused expression he gave me when we exited the limo. “If you see your brother, tell him I would like to speak with him.”

“
Ja
,
Vati
,” Kurt muttered as we walked up the maroon- and gold-carpeted stairs. “Alex is probably in the media room. We’ll find him and then....” He smiled at me with that mischievous look in his eyes.

The ceiling above the stairs
was painted like the sky and there was a huge stained glass picture window ahead of me. The walls looked like they were upholstered in…
is that white silk?
We walked up another curved staircase to the third floor and walked into a room from which emerged sounds of shouting and a crash. Three men were sitting around the large room watching something on an enormous flat panel TV. They were very large men: fit, muscular, and scary-looking.

The man sitting in the leather recliner closest to the door looked like Kurt, though more powerfully built.
Is this his brother?
I stared, unable to look away.

I guessed him to be in his late
-twenties. He wore dark blue jeans and his long legs were crossed at his ankles. His feet were bare and hung off the edge of the footrest. A white t-shirt stretched across muscular shoulders and chest while one arm rested behind his head, his flexed bicep distorting the fabric of the sleeve. His hair was thick and blond like Kurt’s, though it was shorter and looked a little unkempt, as if he ran his fingers through it frequently. He was clean-shaven, but I could see golden stubble under his high cheekbones and on his cleft chin. His skin was flawless save for a thin scar on the left side of his forehead near his hairline. Under thick brows, his deep-set eyes were hidden behind long blond lashes. I wondered what color they were.

He is the handsomest man I
’ve ever seen.

The thought drew ice around my heart. I
’d had that thought before: my Dream Man.
Is he
...?
No, it’s not possible.
Dream Man wasn’t a real person. He was just something my mind made up for some semblance of comfort. I tore my eyes away from him and shook my head to clear it.

“See what you missed out on by staying home last night?” Kurt said in a loud voice, putting his arm around my waist.

I heard a sharp intake of breath from the big blond man and looked back at him. Cobalt-blue eyes met mine and my breath caught in my throat.
Those eyes.
I coughed and backed away into Kurt.
It is him! The man from my dreams.
His eyes widened and his sculpted lips parted slightly, revealing even, white teeth.

“Do not let my big brother scare you.” Kurt chuckled, putting his hands on my upper arms and kissing my cheek. “He will not hurt you.” He wrapped his arm around my waist and pulled me against him, my back to his front. “Alex, this is Anna. Anna, this is my big brother Alex.”