Anna stared at the light peeking in around the curtains across the room. A chill of fear surged through her body.

Peter’s alarm sounded, and he released her for a moment to turn it off before scooting close again. “How are you feeling?”

“Okay. I’ll be fine in a few days. You can still... I mean—we can have sex this morning. You don’t have to worry about hurting me—if you were worried, which you don’t have to be...” The thought of him taking her in the ass made her want to cry, but she wouldn’t burden him with her pain. Zach liked to do cruel things to her ass. She rolled onto her stomach, as was their morning custom, and squeezed her eyes shut, bracing herself for the pain. If only she healed as quickly as she used to.

Peter gently turned her onto her back. He cradled her cheek and kissed her. Anna held her breath, not knowing what to do, not understanding what was going on. Why was he kissing her? Why was he being nice? Was it a trick?

He continued kissing her, his lips softly caressing hers until she got hold of her wits and kissed him back. Please him, you idiot! He stroked her cheek and neck and shoulders as he kissed her. He kissed his way down her neck and to her tender breasts. She braced herself for pain, but his kisses remained gentle. He ran his hands lightly over her arms and stomach and kissed her all over. He moved back to kiss her mouth. “Are you okay if we have sex?”

She nodded and tried to roll over again. He shook his head and kissed her neck, then pushed her thighs apart.

“What are you doing?”

He smiled gently at her. “Sex?”

“Like this?”

“Is that okay?”

Anna blinked. “Y-y-yes, if you want to.” Her ass had been the primary means of pleasing men for several weeks. Even at the Gatherings, Devin had them using her ass or mouth instead of her pussy.

Peter positioned himself at her entrance, and she gasped as he pressed forward. Tears sprang to her eyes and she bit her lip to keep from crying out. She was tight from disuse and it hurt. Though Zach had only had anal with her, he’d abused her pussy plenty, inside and out.

“Are you okay?”

She squeezed her eyes shut and nodded. It would be so much easier to answer that question if she were facing away from him, as she normally did. She didn’t like being face to face with him.

“Anna, look at me.”

She obediently opened her eyes and looked at him.

“Am I hurting you?”

Since when did he start caring if he hurt her? Well, no, that wasn’t fair. He never cared if she enjoyed herself, but he never seemed to want to hurt her. She forced a smile. “I’m fine.”

He leaned down to kiss her neck as he pressed forward again. Anna held her breath and clenched her jaw as he slowly entered her body. Her breath came in short gasps and she kept her eyes closed and hands by her side, clenching the sheets against the pain.

“God, you feel good...” He kissed her cheek and started moving slowly in and out.

She didn’t dare embrace him or do anything to make it personal for fear of upsetting him. He’d made it clear many times that sex was just a physical act and he reserved the emotions for his girlfriend back home.

She moved her hips as she could to make sure he enjoyed himself, uncertain whether he would want her to climax or not. She decided against it since he liked being in control of that, and concentrated her movements on what he seemed to like. His hips quickened and he moved so that it was difficult for her to not orgasm, but she kept her mind concentrated on his pleasure. He groaned something in Russian and stiffened as he came. She winced, but smoothed her face as he relaxed so he wouldn’t know she was hurting.

He nuzzled her neck for a moment before rolling to his side, bringing her with him. She lay stiffly by his side, not knowing what to do as he stroked her hair and kissed her head.

After a few minutes, he stretched and sat up. “We should get moving.”

Anna nodded and scrambled out of bed, glad to be away from his confusing touch. She dressed in long sleeves and pants to hide her bruises, thankful she wasn’t partnering yet. That would have been difficult with how she was feeling at the moment.

When they got to the studio, Aaron approached and handed her a large envelope. “Anna, this was sent to me for some reason.” He glanced at Peter, who was standing next to her.

She glanced at Peter before reaching out to take the envelope. He nodded and she took it. The return address was in Germany. “Do you know who it’s from?”

Aaron shrugged. “I can’t read German.”

“It looks like it’s from a lawyer of some sort,” Peter said.

“A lawyer?” Had Wilhelm finally come to his senses and decide to disown her? She pulled at the flap and found a letter and several smaller envelopes inside. The letter was addressed to Herzogin Anna. In English, it explained that there had been suspected fraud in the Kunzberg finances, and that all the family members were being issued new credit cards and online account information, including her online accounts. There were five envelopes with credit cards in them with her name on them. “I don’t think Devin will want me having these.”