The Life of Anna, Part 2: Entwined (12 page)

Something must have happened to Anna
.

He stood quickly, pushing the chair back so hard it almost toppled over, and followed Seth out of the room, leaving Kirsty at the table alone without a word.

“What's wrong?” Alex asked quietly as they approached the stairs.

Seth shook his head. “Honestly, I don't know. We got upstairs to her room and she just kinda collapsed onto her knees. She was mumbling something about being disobedient and needing to be punished. I tried to talk to her about it, but....” Seth looked at Alex with a concerned look in his eyes. “I'm sorry, Alex.”

Alex ran up the stairs three at a time, followed closely by Seth.

Anna was so concerned about being obedient, and it worried him to no end.

Damn fucking Devin!

Every time he thought about the man, he wanted to grab his rifle from downstairs and take it up to the roof and—

Alex shook his head. No, killing an Elder without permission was a death sentence. He needed to do the one thing he could do, reassure Anna that she was cared for.

Alex sighed. He was doing a terrible job at that, too.

Okay, concentrate on the task at hand.
Anna was distressed and he needed to help her.

“Thanks, Seth,” he murmured and walked into Anna's room.

Anna sat on her knees, hunched over and staring at the floor with wet, frightened eyes. Alex's heart broke as he walked over to her.

She bowed before him. “I'm sorry, Master,” she whispered. “I wasn't thinking.”

“Anna....” Alex knelt in front of her and pulled her up into a sitting position. “Anna, look at me.” He looked into her beautiful green eyes. “What did you do that you feel deserves punishment?”

“I smirked at Kirsty. I was disrespectful.” She looked at the floor again.

Alex wanted to laugh, but held it in check. “Anna, Schatzi, it's all right. It's not a big deal.” He cupped her chin to bring her face up to his again. “Really, Anna.”

She looked into his eyes with such distress his thought of laughter disappeared. “I'm sorry, Master,” she whispered again. “I'm ready to receive my punishment.” She winced, bracing herself for a blow he had no intention of delivering.

Alex frowned. “Anna, I'm not going to—”

“Alex, you need to discipline her.” Vati spoke softly in German from the doorway, a pained expression on his face.

“You can't be serious, Vati. She didn't do anything wrong.” Alex responded in German.

“If she smirked at Kirsty, she was disrespectful. It doesn't matter if you don't think it was a big deal. It certainly would have been to Devin if she acted that way to his wife.”

Alex glared at his father. For the first time in a very long time, he resented his father's presence in his life and in his home. “Vati
,
” he growled. “I will not let her think of me as she does Devin and that horrible guardian of hers. I won't—”

“Alex, I highly doubt she will.” Vati continued speaking gently. He wasn't angry; Alex was. “If you don't discipline her, you will confuse her and she won't know what to expect from you.”

“Yes
,
but how does beating her make her feel better?”

“I didn't say beat her. I disciplined you as a child, but I certainly didn't beat you.” Vati sighed. “You must think of her as a child. Children feel secure when their parents set boundaries and enforce them. Have you sat down and told her what you expect from her?”

Alex frowned. “No. I didn't think about it.” It hadn’t even crossed his mind. Vati had a valid point. Anna was very childlike and she did need to know what he expected of her. She knew exactly what Devin expected. Alex just wanted her to be free. Perhaps that would be enough. He sighed. “How do I discipline her?”

Vati's eyes twinkled. “Perhaps a spanking. Then you should make love to her.”

Alex frowned again. “Vati
,
Kirsty is downstairs.”

Vati's eyes turned from mischievous to angry in a flash. “That is not my problem, nor is it Anna's. You should have made love to her already. It will bond her to you.”

Alex closed his eyes. He couldn't. Not while he was with Kirsty. Not for Kirsty's consideration, though. He didn't want Anna to think he was fucking her then leaving her to make love to Kirsty. When he made love to Anna, he wanted it to be the beginning of his commitment and love for her.

“Vati
,
I can't. I can't hit her. She'll never forgive me.” He looked at his father and shook his head.

Vati gritted his teeth. “Sometimes we have to do what we don't want to do,” he snapped. “Both as Elders and as parents.” He looked pointedly at Anna then at Alex. “If you don't discipline her, things will be much more difficult for you and her.” He turned and walked out of the room.

Alex ran his hand through his hair. As often as he got frustrated and repeated this motion, he wondered how he still had a thick head of hair.

He looked back at Anna, who was cowering in front of him. His father was right; she was like a child. He hadn't given her any boundaries and she had been disrespectful. If he didn't discipline her, she wouldn't respect him, and she needed to respect him.

Alex sighed and picked her up off the floor before sitting down on the bed. The undisturbed comforter reminded him of the fact that she’d been with Vati last night and not him. He pushed aside the remorse and lay Anna across his lap.

He lifted up her shirt and rested his hand on her smooth, bare ass. She jumped slightly. Any other time he would have enjoyed her in this position, sexy ass up in the air. He imagined all the things he could do to her, making her feel incredible pleasure.

But now was not the time to be thinking about that. He needed to correct her behavior and this was the gentlest way he could. He'd never considered spankings in the same category as hitting other places on the body. He hoped she felt the same way. He took a deep breath and smacked her bare ass. The sound of his hand hitting her flesh made him wince.

She cried out in surprise. Perhaps this wasn't as bad as she'd expected?

“Count, Anna,” he instructed softly.

“One, Master.”

He smacked her again.

“Two, Master.”

Again.

“Three, Master.” Her ass was turning a bright pink. He wanted to delve his fingers into her pussy to ease the pain, but this wasn't for pleasure. This was real discipline, not playtime.

He continued spanking her until she reached twelve. Aside from her counts, she made no noise past the first cry. Her voice began cracking at four and by the end he could tell she was crying.

As soon as he made the last stroke and she announced the count, he pulled her up to cradle her in his arms. She sat stiffly in his embrace, making him wonder if anyone had ever held her after a discipline session before. Perhaps he was showing himself different. He rocked her and spoke words of encouragement, telling her how brave and strong she was. After a few minutes she was completely relaxed in his arms and had stopped crying.

Alex kissed the top of her head, amazed. His father had been right. She had completely relaxed into his embrace.

Vati walked in a few minutes later with a small bottle of oil. Alex nodded to his father and gave him a grateful smile. Vati nodded back with a small smile and left them alone.

He laid her gently on her stomach, pushing the shirt back up to expose her now very red ass and debated the appropriateness of kissing the inflamed skin. He leaned forward and kissed her gently on each side and she gasped softly.

Alex couldn't understand the depth of his feelings for her at this moment. He wanted nothing more than to turn her over and make love to her. But he'd promised himself....

He uncapped the bottle and began to apply the oil gently. It was sheer torture, running his hands over her silky skin and listening to her soft sighs as his hands moved. His cock throbbed against his jeans. He wanted her so badly it hurt.

He promised himself he'd allow the luxury of jerking off to thoughts of her as soon as he made sure she was okay.

Alex picked her back up when he had finished and cradled her in his arms again. It would be impossible for her not to feel his erection pressing into her hip and the fact that she didn’t say anything about it humbled him. Perhaps his father was right. By rejecting her advances, she felt rejected personally.

He shook his head again. He'd think about that later. Right now Anna trembled in his arms and he didn't understand why.

“Does it feel better?” Alex asked softly as he rocked her.

“Y-yes, Master,” she answered warily.

“Are you cold?”

“No, Master.”

“Then why are you shaking? The discipline is over.”

She was quiet for a moment. “I don't understand why you're being nice to me now.”

He stopped rocking her and tipped up her chin to look at her face. “Why wouldn't I be nice to you?”

Her eyes filled with tears again. “Because you had to punish me.”

Alex felt the sadness in her words and cupped her cheek. “Anna, just because I had to discipline you doesn't mean I dislike you.” His eyes filled with emotion. “Quite the contrary...,” he whispered. He loved her. But he couldn’t tell her that now. It wasn't the time. He stroked her cheek and looked at her intently, hoping she could see how much he cared about her.

Gazing into her eyes made him lose himself. He found himself moving his head closer to hers, then stopped. He blinked several times and pulled away slowly, lowering his hand at the same time.

He sat her up and pressed her head against his shoulder. He should give her his expectations so they didn’t have to go through this again. “Anna, from now on, I don't want you to worry about what I think of your behavior, except when we're at the Manor. If you want to smirk at...someone, then smirk.” Kirsty deserved to be smirked at. “I prefer you to be kind and polite to people, but I want you to be free in your emotions.” He sighed. “I want you to learn to be your own person and not worry about what other people think.”

“But I want to please you, Master,” she protested softly. “That is my duty.”

He sighed. How could he get through to her? “Then please me by learning to enjoy yourself and have fun,” he suggested gently. “You should come to Aaron’s party tonight.”

“I called Aaron yesterday and let him know I would be there.”

Alex blinked. “You did?” This jealousy thing was becoming quite annoying; one of the most miserable feelings he’d ever experienced.

Fear filled her eyes. “Should I not have?” She gasped. “Oh, Master. I’m sorry. Devin said I could go, but I didn’t ask you.” Tears filled her eyes. “I’m sorry.” She winced.

Devin had said she could go? “Anna, it’s fine. Devin and I both agree that you need to have some freedom. You don’t need to ask permission to do anything, as long as you don’t have previous obligations.” He smiled. “I’m pleased to see you took the initiative.”

Suddenly the text from Aaron last night made sense. He’d just gotten a “She’s coming to the party!” and nothing else. He hadn’t had a chance to text him back because Kirsty had been with him.

She smiled back timidly. “I had called Jenna and she said that I should call him myself.”

“I believe he’s glad you’re coming.”

“Are you going?”

Alex nodded. “So, when you’re there, remember that you don't have to do anything you don't want to do. Don't think of yourself as a slave. Think of yourself as a beautiful young woman that is going to be the most popular girl there.”

She frowned. “I don't know if I know how to be my own person, Master. I've never done so.”

“You were doing a wonderful job when you were with my brother.” He didn't want her thinking about Kurt, but it made the point.

“But I was told to do that.”

“You don't like my brother?” He frowned and looked down at her. Was she that good of an actress? Was she totally incapable of emotion? Had they broken her that much?

Her eyes widened. “No, Master, I do.”

Alex sighed internally.

“I am very fond of him. But that came after I was told to...treat him well.”

Alex thought about that for a moment, then smiled. “Then consider this my...instructions for you. Enjoy yourself unless told otherwise. That way you know that by enjoying yourself, you are pleasing me.” He winked at her.

She giggled and he grinned. He'd made her understand at last! This might actually work.

“I like hearing you giggle,” he said softly, and he meant it. Her giggles were like music to the ear. Like her smiles were beauty to the eyes. “I like seeing you enjoy yourself. Can you do that for me?”

She looked up at him with bright eyes and nodded. “Yes, Master.”

He raised his eyebrows in mock rebuke. “No more 'Master' unless we're at the Manor, remember?”

“I'm sorry,” she said quickly.

He smiled reassuringly at her. “In this case, it was appropriate, Anna. I suppose if I have to discipline you, you should call me Master. But we're done with that. Now you will call me Alex.”