The Life of Anna, Part 3: Embraced (30 page)

She glanced up and saw him watching her with
dark, hooded eyes. They gazed at each other as she moved her mouth
up and down on him and she could have sworn he grew even
larger.

Suddenly, he grabbed her under her arms and
pulled her to her feet and then up against the wall. He held her up
under her knees and pressed her back against the warm tile. His
eyes were dark with passion and he slanted his mouth against her,
bruising her lips. She wrapped her arms around his neck as he
thrust into her.

She cried out in pleasure as he slammed into
her over and over again. “Oh, Alex. Yes, please! Harder!”

He obliged, ramming into her so deeply she
half expected to feel him in her throat. He was so thick and hard
and long. “Yes!” she yelled.

Suddenly he stopped, his cock buried deep
inside her. She looked up into his face. His eyes were consumed
with passion and he gazed at her as if he wanted to eat her up. She
stared back at him with wide eyes.

“I love you, Anna,” he whispered hoarsely,
leaning his head against hers.

“I love you, Alex,” she whispered back.

He began moving again, slower this time, but
more intense. She closed her eyes as he pressed himself in so
deeply she could hardly stand it. It wasn’t painful, but so intense
that she felt her entire body respond and shiver.

He began murmuring in German and she felt
dizzy. She felt him inside every corner of her body, every part of
her soul. And she could feel every part of his body and soul at the
same time. If she could have opened her eyes, it wouldn’t have
surprised her to find herself inside his body. They were no longer
two separate people. They were one body and soul.

She had no idea how long they stayed like
that, but she would have been content to stay like that forever.
She felt a tingling then an intense orgasm roared through her body.
She leaned her head back and screamed out Alex’s name. She heard
Alex shout out and felt their bodies separate once more.

She breathed heavily and leaned her head on
his shoulder. His chest rose and fell with his breath. He gently
released her legs and she wrapped her arms around his waist,
unwilling to stop touching him.

He petted her hair and held her close. Their
bodies were slick from the water and steam. Alex leaned back and
pressed a button and the water stopped.

“Shall we go find some breakfast? Or lunch as
the case may be.”

Anna giggled. “I am a little hungry.”

He reached down and stroked her belly. “It
would not be good for the little one to miss meals.”

Warmth spread through her body as she
remembered that she was pregnant. She put her hand on his and
grinned up at him. His eyes brimmed with emotion as he leaned down
and kissed her.

“
Kommen Sie
, let’s get you some
food.”

They dried off and dressed then wandered
downstairs to the sitting room where his mother was sitting and
reading.

“
Guten Morgen
,” Ilsa said with a
warm smile.

Alex walked over to his mother and kissed her
cheek. “
Guten Morgen, Mutti
,” he said with a big grin. “Is
lunch almost ready?”

Ilsa nodded and looked at Anna. “How are you
feeling, Anna?”

Anna smiled shyly. “Good.” She gazed up at
Alex with adoration. “Very good.”

Alex pulled her close and she rested her head
on his chest. “I told her,
Mutti
,” he said quietly.

Ilsa beamed. “I thought so. She’s glowing
even more than she was yesterday.”

Anna buried her face in Alex’s soft black
sweater.

“You should go tell your father. He was
worried about you two last night.”

“
Ja
. We worked everything out.” He
glanced at Anna. “At least I think we did.”

Anna nodded. She’d forgotten about the
Gretchen issue, but right now she didn’t care about Gretchen. She
was head over heels in love with Alex and knew he felt the same
way. Gretchen was a non-issue.

“
Schatzi
, I need to tell Vati about
Gretchen. Do you want to be in there with me when I do or would you
rather stay out here?”

Anna looked up at her husband. “I don’t want
to leave you.”

Alex grinned. “I don’t want to leave you
either.”

He took her hand and led her away to the end
of the sitting area where a door stood partially open.

Alex’s stomach was a little nervous as he
walked to his father’s study. He wasn’t sure how Vati would react
to the news. The good thing about Anna’s presence is that Vati
would be less likely to yell. Not that he was afraid of his father.
He just wasn’t in the mood to fight this morning. The morning had
been incredible so far and he didn’t want to ruin it. But the
Gretchen situation needed to be dealt with. Especially her attitude
towards Anna.

He knocked on the door.

“Come in.”

He pushed open the door and allowed Anna in
first. She stopped mid-step and looked around at the oval-shaped
room, eyes wide. “I’ve been here before...,” she said softly. She
glanced back at Alex. “I saw you yelling at each other here.”

Alex arched his brow. “You did?”

Anna nodded. “You were very loud.”

Alex didn’t recall seeing Anna in his
father’s office at any time and wondered which fight she saw. There
had been many. Had there been other times she’d seen him and he
hadn’t known?

Wilhelm sat behind his large wooden desk,
typing something into his computer. He smiled when he saw them.
“Good Morning.”

“Good Morning, Vati.”

Wilhelm looked between the two of them.
“Everything okay with you two?” he asked in English.

Alex nodded and saw Anna blush. Vati looked
at Alex and smiled.

“Vati...there’s something I need to tell
you.”

Vati’s brow raised. “Oh?”

Alex motioned to the nearby sitting area and
sat down on the couch with Anna next to him. Vati sat in a leather
chair opposite them.

“What do you need to tell me?”

Alex recounted his conversation he’d had with
Gretchen in the hallway. Anna sat quietly and listened.

When he finished, Vati sat quietly with his
fingers tented in front of his mouth. Alex could tell he was
contemplating what he had told him.

“How do you feel about it, Alex? About
Otto?”

Alex sighed. “Honestly, I don’t know. I can’t
hold it against Otto, it’s not his fault. I’m furious at Gretchen,
for so many reasons.”

Vati nodded. “Her attitude needs to be dealt
with. Does Kurt know?”

“I don’t know. I don’t know if she told him
or not.”

Vati glanced at Anna. “How do you feel about
it, Anna?”

Anna’s eyes widened. Alex suspected she
didn’t think she would be part of the conversation. “I-I don’t know
either. I don’t understand why she doesn’t like me.”

“She’s jealous,
Liebling
. That’s
probably why she decided your wedding day was the appropriate day
to confess to Alex. I honestly don’t know what she thought she
would gain by doing that.” Vati sighed. “I don’t understand that
woman. But, she’s Kurt’s wife. He has to deal with her.” He turned
to Alex. “Alex, regardless of what you decide with Otto, he would
never be your legitimate heir. For one, I wouldn’t want to give
that to Gretchen. And you are married now and will have children of
your own.” He glanced at Anna and smiled when she blushed. “You
don’t have to acknowledge him, Alex. There is little chance that
anyone would suspect he isn’t Kurt’s son and socially, I don’t
believe it needs to be dealt with.”

Alex ran his fingers through his hair. It
wasn’t that he didn’t want to acknowledge Otto as his son, but it
would be easier on everyone if he didn’t. Otto would grow up
thinking Kurt was his father, and things would be much simpler on
the little boy. He had no doubt that, even if Kurt decided to
divorce Gretchen, Vati would make sure that all the children were
taken care of.

“I suppose the next thing to do would be—” A
knock on the door interrupted Vati’s words. “Come in,” he called in
German.

The door opened and Seth poked his head in.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but we got some new intel on the source of
the information leaked to Devin.”

Alex glanced at Anna and then his father. He
was reluctant to make Anna leave, but would the information
frighten her? She stared at Seth with wide eyes.

“Come in, Seth,” Vati said.

Seth walked in and closed the door behind
him. He glanced at Anna then Alex. “Your mom said you two were up.
We found out a little bit ago, but I didn’t want to bother you....”
He smiled sheepishly.

“It’s all right, Seth,” Alex said. “I
appreciate it. As long as the source doesn’t know you know.”

Seth shook his head. “I don't even think
she’s aware of what she did.”

“She?” Alex repeated. He couldn’t even begin
to guess who he was talking about.

Seth looked at Alex apologetically. “I’m
sorry, Alex. But all the intel points to Gretchen being the
informant.”

“What!” Alex and Vati both shouted at the
same time.

Alex counted to ten again to keep his temper
under control. The last thing Anna needed was for him and his
father to lose control. He could feel his pulse rising and
suppressed the urge to go find Gretchen and beat the shit out of
her. And he never hit women. But she had betrayed his family and
almost gotten Anna hurt. She had crossed the line.

He thought back to the previous day. He
thought he’d seen a look of surprise on Gretchen’s face when they
walked in yesterday afternoon, but didn’t think anything of it.
God, she really wanted to get rid of Anna that badly?

“What do you mean you don’t think she knew
what she was doing?” Vati asked. He took deliberate breaths and
clenched his jaw when he’d finished speaking. Alex would be
surprised if Gretchen was still here tonight.

Alex noticed Anna trembling and pulled her
close.

“We think she was approached by someone who
just asked to be kept informed of Anna’s actions. I don’t think she
was trying to be especially malicious.”

“No more than normal,” Alex grumbled.

Seth chuckled. “True.”

“Seth, would you please go get both Kurt and
Gretchen and bring them here?” Wilhelm asked in an even tone.

Seth nodded and left the room.

Vati stood and walked to the window behind
his desk.

Alex watched his father, amazed. He looked so
calm, but Alex was certain that his father was as angry as he was.
Vati loved Anna too.

*****

Wilhelm concentrated on his breathing,
clenching and unclenching his fists behind his back as he stared
out the window. It was snowing lightly and he watched the
snowflakes drift lazily in front of him.

Only for Anna’s sake was he able to calm his
heartbeat down to somewhat normal levels. He knew Gretchen; he knew
how she was, but this was going too far. He wasn’t totally
convinced she didn’t know what she was doing.

He counted fifty snowflakes and then walked
to the door and opened it. “Mausi?” he called to his wife. “Would
you please join us in here?”

Ilsa looked startled. He rarely asked her to
come to his study, though she was always welcome. He loved it when
she sat in the room with him, but he knew she loved the light of
the sitting room better.

“Wilhelm, what’s wrong?” she asked coming
near. Seth returned with Gretchen and Kurt and they all gathered in
his study.

Seth turned to leave. “Seth, please stay,”
Wilhelm said. If Gretchen tried to run, Seth would prevent it. He
also had the first hand information that might be useful.

Ilsa sat next to Alex and Anna on the couch.
Gretchen and Kurt sat in the chairs across from the couch. Wilhelm
sat in the chair at the end and looked at Gretchen over tented
fingers. She at least had the decency to look nervous.

“I understand there is some news you would
like to share, Gretchen?” Wilhelm said in a calm voice. He spoke in
English so that Anna wouldn’t feel left out. He had spent the last
thirty years taming his temper. The same temper Alex shared. For
the sake of their wives, he would keep it under control.

Gretchen paled and glanced at Alex, who
glared at her. She looked back at Wilhelm. “W-what do you
mean?”

Kurt frowned and looked at Wilhelm. “Vati,
what is going on?”

Wilhelm’s continued to look at Gretchen. “Ask
your wife.” He cocked his brow. “Something regarding Otto?”

Gretchen’s eyes narrowed and she turned to
Alex. “You told him?”

Wilhelm could see Alex’s jaw tighten and the
veins in his neck bulge as he struggled against his natural
inclinations. His eyes flashed and his hand clenched into a fist.
Wilhelm could empathize how difficult it was to keep calm in this
situation and was very proud of Alex.

“Yes. I told him.” Alex spoke between
clenched teeth. “You obviously weren’t trying to keep it a secret
anymore, since you hinted as much to my wife.”

“I did you a favor, Alex. You said she
couldn’t have kids. Now you have a son.”

Kurt sat up and stared at Gretchen. “What the
hell are you talking about, Gretchen?”

Gretchen looked at Kurt arrogantly. “Alex is
Otto’s father.”

Kurt’s face turned pale, then green.
“What?”

Wilhelm felt bad for Kurt. As poor a husband
as he was, he was a very good father and adored his children.
Gretchen...he sighed. He didn’t know what to do with her.

“You heard me,” Gretchen snapped.

Kurt and Gretchen launched into an argument
in German.

Poor Anna’s eyes were wide and frightened.
Ilsa stared in shock. Alex glared at Gretchen. Seth looked amused
and Wilhelm smiled. At least one person found the humor in the
situation.

“Enough!” Wilhelm shouted, his voice echoing
against the paneled walls. Both Kurt and Gretchen stopped mid-word.
“Gretchen, what made you think it was appropriate to share this
news with Alex on his wedding day?” He was careful to keep his
voice low.