Page 30 of The Life of Anna-Tenth Anniversary Edition: Act 2

Anna winced and nodded, rubbing her arm when he released it.

Peter smiled and held out his hand. She stared at it, briefly wondering if it would be worth another punishment session to avoid spending time with him. If she ran away, yes, there would be another very, very painful session with his nerve juice, and she would still end up with Peter, because that’s what Devin wanted. She sighed and took Peter’s hand.

He led her to a bench near the wall and they sat and talked. Well, he talked. She listened and nodded politely, giving appropriate smiles when needed. She guessed him to be about twenty-five. His thick dark-brown hair hung over his forehead and he had beautiful dark-brown eyes. He was tall, well-built, and wore his tailored suit very well. She was as respectful as she could manage, finding that silence and smiles went a long way with him. He explained how he had arrived yesterday from St. Petersburg after receiving a call Monday morning from Devin.

“You left the Mariinsky just because Devin asked you to?” He hadn’t come to San Francisco to dance. He’d come to help Devin with her.

“I did. My grandfather respects Devin immensely, and your ballet company is very good. Plus, an opportunity to date the famous Mistress Anna...” He wagged his eyebrows and grinned. “I couldn’t resist.” He took her hand and kissed the back of it.

A chill ran through her body. She despised his grandfather even more now that she knew he respected Devin.

“You can join me when I look for an apartment if you’d like, since you’ll be living there soon.”

“Don’t you want to really date someone? I mean, don’t you need to get married soon?”

“Ah, I don’t need to get married until my uncle becomes Starshiy.”

“Your uncle?”

“Da, Vlad is my dyadya. My uncle. He had five daughters. My father is next oldest and I am his oldest son. Therefore, I am next in line for leadership after Uncle Vlad.”

“Oh.”

“Besides, I have a girlfriend at home. When it is time, I will marry her.”

“She doesn’t mind you coming over here and... doing what Devin asked you to do?”

He shrugged. “She doesn’t really have a choice. She will make a good wife. We’ve been friends since childhood. She knows there are things I must do for The Brotherhood. This is certainly one of the more pleasant ones, I must say.” He gave her that megawatt smile again.

Anna looked away. “Well, I guess that it’s good that neither of us are looking to have a real relationship.”

As the party was winding down, Peter offered to take her home.

“You have a car, but not an apartment yet?”

“It’s a rental. I’ll get my own soon.”

Anna nodded, resolving herself to the inevitable. “I suppose I should let you take me home?”

Peter smiled. “I would like to, if that is alright with you.”

She shrugged. “Okay.”

They went through the backstage so she could get her things and then to the garage to his car.

“A Mustang?”

“I’ve always wanted one and I couldn’t resist. They’re so... American. Though I don’t know if I would buy one. I think I like some other cars better.” He opened her door to let her in and then closed it before walking around to his side and settling into the driver’s seat.

Anna gave him her address and he typed it into his GPS system. “You live very close.”

Anna nodded. “Devin didn’t want to pay for a car for me.”

“Ah.”

He made his way out of the parking garage. “So, what do you do for fun around here?”

Anna sighed. “Devin told you I was doped up for two years, didn’t he?”

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