The Life of Anna, Part 2: Entwined (65 page)

Anna collapsed to her knees and vomited. She was sobbing when strong arms wrapped around her. She jumped and looked up to see Ian behind her.

“Devin didn’t want you to see,” he said in a quiet voice. He handed her a towel to wipe her mouth.

“Why would he care if I saw or not?” she asked in a cracked voice. Devin didn’t make any sense to her sometimes.

“Because he was afraid you’d get sick...like you did.” He gave her a wry smile as he helped her to her feet. “C’mon. Let’s go back to the pavilion.” He scooped her up as if she weighed nothing and carried her back to the field.

He put her in bed, then went to find Maggie to bring her some food. He and Maggie returned a few minutes later. Anna was surprised she had any appetite, but she ate her breakfast quickly, trying not to think about the girls in the other field.

When she was done, Maggie took the tray away and Ian stayed with her, brushing her hair back from her face as she lay on the bed.

“Will you lie down with me?” she asked in a weak voice. She felt so lonely.

Ian slid under the covers behind her and held her close. His big body made her feel protected. It also made her think about Alex, which made her feel even lonelier. When Ian started kissing her neck it was a welcome distraction, and it helped to push her lonely thoughts aside.

*****

The day was once again spent in meetings, but there was no official Gathering that evening. In the late afternoon the Elders, Elder-Sons and Anna got back into their enormous limo and went back to the hotel. The Elders had a dinner meeting in Devin’s suite and Anna was told to spend the evening with the Elder-Sons.

She hadn’t spoken to Tommy since they’d had sex. She had put up her wall and been very formal with him, as she was with all the rest of the men. She could see the hurt in his eyes, but thought it best to keep herself distant.

Rylan, the oldest Elder-Son, had a large suite that the Sons had dinner in that night. Anna was used as they wished. They weren’t overly cruel, but weren’t nice either. Tommy sat on the couch and watched without participating.

The Sons drank a lot and when they either passed out or were mostly incoherent, Tommy took Anna to his hotel room.

Tommy filled the bathtub and got in, pulling Anna with him.

“Tommy, you don’t need to be nice,” she said as he held her hand to assist as she stepped into the tub. “I’ll do whatever you want.”

He chuckled. “Why wouldn’t I want to be nice?”

“Because....” Anna sighed. “It’s just not necessary. You are an Elder-Son. My job is to please you.”

“Anna,” he said softly, pulling her back against his chest. She allowed him to, but didn’t relax. “Why are you so stiff?”

Anna stared at her hands in the water. “I am here to please you, Tommy. That is my duty.”

“I brought you here so we could be together without the others.” He nuzzled her neck. “I didn’t bring you so you could perform your duty. I brought you here because I wanted you with me.”

“How would you like me to please you?”

Tommy sighed. “By relaxing and enjoying yourself. Yesterday when we were together was...hell, it was the best part of the weekend for me.”

Anna turned her head to look at him. “Why?”

“Because...God, Anna. Can’t you tell that I like you? Am I being too subtle?”

She shrugged her shoulders then sighed. She knew he liked her. “I’m afraid of getting hurt,” she whispered.

“I don’t want to hurt you, Anna. It’s the last thing in the world I want to do.”

Anna didn’t say anything.

“I woke up this morning with some girl and I wished it had been you. I looked for you when I got up, but couldn’t find you.”

“I went to clean up at the girl’s dorm and then I saw....” Anna closed her eyes and shuddered at the memory of the girls in the field.

“Saw what?”

She shook her head. She didn’t want to think about it.

“You saw the girls?”

Anna nodded. “You knew about them?”

“Dad told me about the fight. They had to be punished. Two of them belonged to us. We had to be involved.”

“Why did they have to be punished?”

“Because they attacked you, Anna. You’re the Elder-Mistress. They can’t get away with something like that.”

“You saw them?”

“I had to help.”

Anna stared at him, mouth opened. She couldn’t imagine Tommy doing such a thing. “Why?” she whispered.

“Because I’m pierced, Anna. I have duties now, too. Dad said it was time I learned...about that sort of stuff.” He shuddered. “I hope I never have to do it again.”

“It was awful,” Anna whispered.

Tommy hugged her to him. “I know. But if they weren’t punished, your position wouldn’t be respected and you would be in danger. America’s never had an Elder-Mistress before. Precedents have to be set.”

Anna leaned her head back on his shoulder and sighed. Life was so complicated.

They were silent for a few minutes.

“I wish you didn’t live so far away from me,” he said softly, intertwining his fingers with hers in the soapy water.

Anna swallowed. “Me too,” she whispered

“Think Devin would let you move out east? Elder-Sons can...um, be with Mistresses, ya know.”

“Of course they can, Tommy. I can be with anyone who wears a diamond.”

“No, I mean...like...dating and stuff like that.”

“Devin would never let me move to New York. Believe me, I already asked.”

“You did?”

Anna realized how he might have taken her words. “Well, I mean, I was offered a position with the New York City Ballet Company and Devin said no.” She sighed. “So did Alex.”

“Who’s Alex?”

“My other Master.”

“You have two Masters?”

Anna nodded and told him a shortened version of how she ended up with two masters.

“I didn’t think that was possible.”

“I don't think Devin did either. But apparently it is. But Alex moved back to Germany a few months ago and I don’t think he wants anything to do with me anymore.”

“Why Germany?”

Anna shrugged. “He’s German. He’s an Elder-Son like you.”

“Oh.”

There was silence for a few more minutes. Tommy caressed her stomach, then moved his hands up to her breasts, caressing them gently. Anna moaned softly and turned her head to kiss his neck.

“Mmm, Anna,” he mumbled. “I think we should get out of the tub.”

They got out and dried each other off, then Tommy dragged her into the bedroom. He kissed her and they fell onto the bed. Anna giggled as Tommy kissed her neck and it tickled. He was a little scruffy from not shaving over the weekend.

Unexpectedly, there was a knock on the room door. Tommy gave Anna an apologetic look. “It’s probably Tyler.” He pushed off the bed and walked out of the room. He returned a few minutes later, scowling, with Devin behind him.

“Anna, I thought I told you to spend the evening with all the Sons, not just Tommy.”

“I did, Devin. We just got here—”

“Devin, the other guys were drunk or passed out so I brought her back here,” Tommy interrupted.

Devin turned to look at Tommy. “Well, then. Thank you for taking care of her, but she needs to come back to the hotel room with me now.”

Tommy started to protest, but Devin stopped him. “Tommy, I realize you like her, but she is my slave. Her duties are to me, not you, unless I tell her to.” He looked back at Anna. “Get dressed.”

Without looking at Tommy, Anna went quickly to the bathroom for her clothes and put them on as fast as she could. Tommy was glaring at Devin when she returned.

“Remember your place, Tommy,” Devin said, then put his arm on Anna’s back and led her out of the room.

They walked down the hallway to their hotel suite. Devin took her immediately to the bedroom and told her to undress. Anna tried not to think about Tommy, but to think about what Devin wanted. Anything to keep his anger at bay.

The next morning after breakfast, they headed to the train station and boarded a train for New York. The trip was three and a half hours long and Devin kept Anna by his side the entire trip. Tommy sat with Tyler in the seat across the aisle from them. She felt Tommy watching her, but she couldn’t bring herself to look at him. She had been so disappointed that she hadn’t been able to spend the night with him and had a feeling that if she looked at him, she would begin to cry.

They spent the day with Tom’s family and spent the night in their house. Ian and Maggie flew home that afternoon. Devin kept Anna with him and away from Tommy.

The next morning Anna, Devin, Tom, Tyler and Tommy drove up to Massachusetts to drop Tommy and Tyler off for their first year at Harvard.

Tom parked near what looked like a townhouse, but was actually Tommy and Tyler’s dorm. The door was open, with people going in and out of the building carrying boxes and bags and a host of other items.

Most of their things had already been shipped there, but there were several boxes and bags, and everyone helped carry their things inside. Both Tommy and Tyler had their own rooms in the same suite. This, Anna found out, was a rare luxury, and wondered if it was because they were Elder-Sons.

As Anna was carrying a box for Tommy up to his room, a man stopped Tom and Devin in the hallway. He appeared to be in charge of the dorm and knew both of them. Anna looked to Devin for permission to go on with Tommy, and Devin nodded.

“Where do you want this?” she asked Tommy as she walked into the small bedroom. There was a bed, desk, chest and chair.

“Anywhere is fine,” he said, dropping a heavy suitcase near the window with a dull thud. “Wow, look at this view.”

Anna walked over and put the box carefully down next to the suitcase, then looked out the window. It looked out on a beautiful green yard with trees and grass. The red brick buildings around the yard were old and full of character.

Tommy slipped his arms around Anna’s waist. “I thought I wouldn’t get a moment alone with you before you left,” he murmured against her neck.

Anna leaned her head to the side and Tommy kissed and nipped at the soft skin of her neck and upper shoulder. “Tommy...,” she sighed.

He turned her around to face him and pressed his lips against her, kissing her deeply. She hugged him around his neck and kissed him back.

A throat clearing from the doorway made them jump apart.

Tom stood there with the man from the hallway. Tom gave them both a disapproving look before introducing the man next to him. “Tommy, this is Jake Cloverfield, the House Master of your dorm.”

Tommy walked over to the man and shook his hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, sir. I’ve heard a lot about you.”

Jake laughed. “Don’t believe everything your dad says about me. I’m more fun than I used to be.”

“God, please make sure my son learns
something
this year,” Tom chuckled. “If you’re more fun than you used to be, then I’ll be paying a lot of money for Tommy to party.”

Tommy laughed along with the older men. Anna stood nervously near the window. She was glad Tom had found them together and not Devin.

Jake looked beyond Tommy at Anna. “And who’s this pretty little thing? High school sweetheart?”

Tommy looked back at Anna with an adoring look, and she felt herself blush. “I wish. No, this is Anna. She’s...um....” Tommy trailed off and looked at his dad.

“She belongs to me.” Devin appeared in the doorway behind Jake, who turned and gave him a strange look.

“I thought Tyler was your oldest, Dev,” Jake said.

“Tyler is my oldest. Anna is not my daughter.” Devin slipped through the door and motioned for Anna to come to him, which she did immediately. He caressed the back of her neck. “She’s my mistress.”

Jake looked at him wide-eyed. “Mistress? Damn. I’m in the wrong profession. Or the wrong city.” He gave Tommy a disapproving look. He had seen Tommy and Anna kissing. “Are you going to be in trouble, Tommy?”

“What? No, I...,” Tommy stammered.

“We walked in and saw Tommy and Anna kissing, Devin,” Tom explained.

Devin chuckled. “You can’t keep your hands off her, can you Tommy? It’s a good thing Harvard’s not in San Francisco.” Devin looked at Jake, who was giving Tommy a look. “I’m very generous with Anna, Jake. Tommy didn’t do anything wrong.” Devin petted Anna’s hair.

The men talked for a while and Anna stared at the floor, trying to contain her emotions. It had felt so good to kiss Tommy again. Something about him made her feel safe.

Unexpectedly, Anna felt something touch her hand and looked up to see Jake reaching for her. The door had been closed and Devin was looking at her expectantly.

Jake took her hand and pulled her towards him. He slid his hand around the back of her hip and walked her back against the wall behind her. He lifted her skirt up to her hips and slipped his hand into her panties.