Page 99 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 1

Kirsty gave Anna a sideways glance and smirked. Heat rose in Anna’s chest and she had an unexplainable urge to walk over and slap her.

“Anna!” Seth jumped up from the couch and hurried over to her, wrapping his arms around her waist. “Damn, you look good this morning.” He leaned down and nuzzled her neck. “When’re you gonna spend the night with me?” His low voice rumbled in his chest and he slid his hand down her rear, giving it a squeeze through the shirt.

She wrapped her arms around his neck automatically, her training kicking back in, and smiled seductively up at him. It wasn’t hard to do. She liked Seth. “Do you know where my new apartment is?” she asked in a low voice. Anna didn’t want to spend any more time at Alex’s house than she had to.

Seth flashed a sexy half-smile. “I do.” He leaned down and kissed her. “I’ll have to visit very soon.” His hand slipped under the shirt and caressed her bare ass.

Alex snapped something in German. Seth chuckled and responded in German, looking amused. But he loosened his hold on her and walked away after winking at Anna.

Anna clasped her hands in front of her. “Alex, I was wondering if you knew where my clothes were.”

Kirsty’s eyes widened.

Alex’s brow wrinkled. “Frau Gersten should have cleaned them and put them back in your room.”

“Her room?” Kirsty snapped her gaze back to Alex. “She has a room here?”

“Yes.”

“I looked, but I didn’t see them.” Anna hated to contradict Alex, but she was at a loss. She only had a few items of clothing and didn’t think it was appropriate to wander around in Alex’s t-shirt in public. “I’m sorry, I’ll go look again.”

Alex pursed his lips. “I can’t imagine her...” He tilted his head. “Unless she put them in the room Kurt had been staying in. I don’t remember if I told her which room you were in. I put your dress in there myself.”

Kirsty’s face turned pink and she clenched her jaw.

“I’ll go look. I’m sorry to bother you.”

Seth popped up and hurried to Anna’s side. “I’ll help her look.”

Alex gave Seth a look Anna couldn’t decipher.

“Anna, have you seen my father this morning?” Alex asked as Anna turned away.

She turned back around and glanced at Kirsty. “He was getting dressed when I came down.” That urge to slap her was still there. Where are these rebellious thoughts coming from? She smirked at Kirsty before she realized what she’d done, then slapped her hands over her mouth and ran out of the room. Footsteps followed and a moment later. Seth had caught up to her and followed her up the stairs.

“Are you okay?”

Anna’s knees grew weak halfway up the main staircase and she grasped the railing to keep from falling. “Oh, God, I can’t believe I just did that. Alex is going to be so angry with me.” Her stomach churned as she imagined the rage on Alex’s face as he raised a hand to hit her.

“What are you talking about?” Seth grabbed her elbow as she tripped on a step.

“I smirked at Kirsty.” She looked up at him, eyes wet with tears. Her jaw trembled. “Alex will punish me, won’t he? I was disrespectful to his girlfriend.” She hung her head, swallowing back vomit. Alex was so much stronger than Devin or Jack.

Chapter 41

Alex sat at his kitchen table and shoved a bite of eggs into his mouth, but they tasted sour. What could he do about Kirsty hating Anna so much? She acted so spitefully toward Anna it made it difficult to find the energy to be affectionate toward her. Anna wasn’t going anywhere and he needed to figure out a way to either keep them apart or tell Kirsty the truth.

“Alex.”

Seth stood in the doorway, his eyes wide, eyebrows raised, shifting on his feet. Not a good sign.

What had happened to Anna? Seth rarely showed anxiety, and he cared a lot for Anna. More than Alex’s jealous heart liked.

He jumped to his feet, pushing the heavy chair back so hard it almost toppled over, and hurried over to Seth, who motioned toward the staircase.

“What’s wrong?” Alex asked quietly in German as they approached the stairs.

Seth shook his head. “Honestly, I don’t know. She got upset as she climbed the stairs and when we got 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 but...” Seth looked at Alex, his eyes full of concern. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know what else to do.”

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