Page 180 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 1

Anna clung to Alex’s formidable upper arms as he pressed his mouth against hers. He captured her lower lip between his own, causing a soft moan to escape her throat. His tongue slipped between her parted lips and gently invaded her mouth, dancing and swirling. One hand held the back of her head and the other wrapped around her waist, pulling her close.

Her mind spun at his kiss. It was a welcome invasion into every part of her. As his lips caressed hers, she felt herself melting into him, as if they were becoming one person. He groaned as he thrust his tongue against hers and she imagined other parts of his body thrusting against her.

Closing the distance between them, their bodies made contact, and she could feel the unmistakable bulge pressing against her belly. Would he finally have sex with her? She wanted to connect with him on so many levels and she wasn’t thinking about him as her Master, but as a lover.

When he pulled away moments later, panting and staring at her, she looked up into his eyes, begging him wordlessly to take her to bed. He shook his head, wide-eyed, still gasping for breath. “Anna, I can’t...” He shook his head. “I don’t want to begin things in lust.”

Her heart dropped into her stomach and she turned away, but he pulled her back around and pressed her head against his chest. “Do you hear it?” he asked in a hoarse whisper. “Do you hear my heart pounding for you?”

She could feel and hear his heart pounding fast and hard in his chest. She sucked in a ragged breath as she realized his desire for her and looked up at him. “Why?”

He kneeled in front of her and held her hands in his. “I’ve never felt for any woman what I feel for you, Schatzi. You are my treasure. I want you to know that before... before I make love to you.”

Tears filled her eyes. “Why does it matter?”

“Precisely because you asked that question, mein Schatz. Because I want you to know the difference between lovemaking and fucking.”

Aaron had made love to her. She frowned. “I know the difference.”

“Do you?” he asked, firmly but gently. “Do you know that my desire for you is more than physical? I want you. All of you. Body, soul, and mind. I won’t accept any less.”

Aaron had said similar things to her, but this was different. Aaron could never have her fully. As much as she loved him, there was a very large barrier between them, named Devin. But Alex? Could he truly take her? All of her? The thought both thrilled and terrified her.

She stared into his passion-filled eyes. The intensity overwhelmed her. She wanted to say yes: that she wanted him to take all of her, but something stopped her from saying the words. Her lower lip trembled. “I’m afraid,” she whispered finally.

“I am too, Schatzi.”

His confession stunned her. Alex afraid? How was that possible? He was too formidable, too strong to succumb to fear. Yet, the trepidation she saw in his eyes revealed the truth of his words.

Alex studied Anna for a long minute. He wanted her; wanted to possess her as he had the right to, but he didn’t want to force her or scare her. It didn’t seem so much that she was afraid of him anymore, only of being taken so completely. But he was afraid too, and he saw she understood. Perhaps the time had come.

Her eyes widened as he took her hand and pulled her close again. She gazed down at him on his knee and hesitantly touched his cheek. He closed his eyes as her fingers trailed across his freshly shaven cheekbone and lips. She giggled as he nipped at her fingers.

He opened his eyes at her laugh and his heart soared at the sparkle in her eyes. She ran her fingers along his opposite cheekbone, then circled around the upper edge of his ear, trailing along the outer contour until she reached the lobe. He trembled like a teenage boy under her hand. His already hard cock throbbed painfully at her gentle touch. He ached for her, both with his heart and his body. But he would not force her to do anything she didn’t truly want to do.

That was the heart of the trouble: she had been taught that she had an obligation to have sex with any man who wanted her. He didn’t want her obligation; he wanted her desire, and he saw it in her eyes as she trailed her fingers down the pulsing vein in his neck.

She gave him the sweetest smile he’d ever seen and cupped his cheek before leaning down and kissing him gently on his lips. If he were a lesser man, he would have thrown her down on the floor and fucked her right there. But no, she deserved better than that. He wanted to give her more than that.

He searched her eyes and saw nothing but passion and desire, and his resolve melted. It was time. He stood, sweeping her up in his arms, and carried her into her bedroom.

Chapter 79

Anna looked up at Alex, wide-eyed, as he lay her on her bed. Was he finally going to be with her? Why was her heart pounding so hard?

He sat next to her and took her hand in his, gazing into her eyes with such tenderness it took her breath away. He lifted her palm to his mouth, kissing it gently, his lips caressing the sensitive skin. She sucked in a deep breath as he nibbled his way slowly down each finger. Her whole body trembled when he stopped at her fingertips to dart his tongue against the very center of the pads of her fingers.

He trailed kisses back down her palm and to her inner wrist, where his tongue stroked at the pulse point for a long moment. She sighed, trembling at the surprisingly intimate touch. Goosebumps popped up on her arm, and she shivered as he began kissing up toward her shoulder. He moved with deliberate slowness, displaying no sense of urgency, pausing to give attention to the places where she sighed at his touch.

When his lips finally met her shoulder, she gave a great shudder. How could such simple touches set her nerves ablaze, as if they were caught in an uncontainable electrical storm?

Moving closer, one hand rested on her hip as he oh-so-slowly kissed his way across her collarbone. He gently brushed her hair aside and planted butterfly kisses up her neck, each one a tantalizing jolt of sensuality shooting through her body, all the way to her toes. He stopped just below her ear and pulled away, but not before she inhaled the faint scent of cedar and lavender and some other seductive scent that she couldn’t quite pinpoint... maybe it was just Alex.

He repeated the nibbles and kisses on her other palm and fingers. A soft moan escaped from her throat and he looked up into her widened eyes, smiling. A smile somehow both sensual and tender. He resumed his journey up her arm unhurriedly, goosebumps even more pronounced this time. “Alex...” He’d barely touched her, and she was trembling by the time he reached her neck.

“Are you alright, Schatzi?” His tone was so soft, so sensual, it surrounded her like a warm mist.

“Uh...” She couldn’t put two thoughts together to answer him.

---