Page 294 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 1

“That was a stupid question. I’m sorry.” He stood to close the door and turn on the light, then sat down on the couch and pulled her into his lap. He rocked her as she cried.

Another knock a bit later turned out to be Travis. “Hey.” He sat on the couch next to them. He squeezed her hand while she cried.

“Is there anything we can do?” Travis asked when her tears had subsided a while later.

She shrugged. She felt a little better after her cry, but she wasn’t numb again yet.

“You’ve been through a lot. It’s natural to be upset.” Travis squeezed her hand. “If I’m making it hard to manage your emotions, tell me. We don’t have to keep—Uh.” He glanced at Aaron.

“Keep what?” Aaron raised his brows.

Anna sat up and looked at Aaron. “He helps me feel better.”

“How?”

“Sex.”

A myriad of emotions flashed in Aaron’s eyes. “Are you guys... dating?”

“What?” She shook her head adamantly. “No. No, I can’t—I won’t—date anyone ever again.” She twisted the ring on her finger. Never again.

Both guys looked at her strangely. Travis furrowed his brows. “That’s kinda extreme, don’t ya think?”

“I can’t get attached to anyone. Or Devin will...” She shook her head and looked at her hands. “I have to focus on what Devin wants, not what I want. Otherwise, people get hurt.”

Silence hung heavily in the room. Anna knew Aaron still loved her. She still loved him. But she could never date him again or Devin would kill him, too. Her eyes filled with tears again. “Can you guys leave? I need some time to myself.” She stood and stared at the floor, twisting her fingers around each other.

They both stood.

“Anna, if you need anything...” Aaron hugged her. “You know I still care about you, right?”

Anna nodded and gave him a sad smile. “I know.”

Travis kissed her on the cheek and then they both left.

Anna lay back down on the couch and cried. When would the pain go away? She didn’t remember the pain from her parents’ death. Anytime she got sad, Jack or Devin distracted her. Maybe if she kept distracting herself this time, the pain would go away, too.

She stood a few minutes later and went across the hall to find Travis. He opened the door and looked at her with a concerned expression.

“Distract me?” She winced as her voice cracked.

Travis peeked his head out, looked around the empty hallway, then pulled her inside.

After Anna mindlessly went through her warm-ups, she met Travis backstage during intermission and they went through a few steps together. As the Spanish dancers took their bows, he ran his finger across her belly and she shivered as her body came alive.

“There’s the expression I was looking for,” he whispered. “I was afraid you wouldn’t seduce me this afternoon.”

She gave him a small smile. Numbness gave way to desire. Desire was a drug that took the pain away.

After their dance, Travis pushed Anna up against the cool brick wall in his dressing room and buried his cock deep inside her. One of Anna’s calves rested on his shoulder while the toes of the other foot barely touched the floor, and she clung to his damp shoulders as they moved together. “Harder, Travis,” she moaned. “Harder.”

He rammed himself into her, capturing her mouth with his to muffle their moans and cries.

She gave a muffled screech against his mouth as she came and his cock throbbed inside her. He groaned against her cries and then rested his head against the cool wall behind her.

“Are we going to do this every time?” she asked, gasping for breath.

Travis chuckled. “I’m game if you are.” He shivered as he pulled out and brought her leg down to the floor. “We’ll be having a lot of sex if we do it every time.”

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