Chapter 118

Kurt stood near the door, talking with Aaron and a few other dancers. The girls flirted with him shamelessly and he didn’t discourage it, almost flirting back, but not quite.

Anna sighed. This is what it would be like, being married to an Elder-Son. They were free to do as they pleased while their wives stood by and made sure everything stayed perfect at home for them. Anna just happened to have other duties to perform besides the wifely ones.

Stef smiled sympathetically. “I’m sorry he’s being a jerk. Maybe you should make him jealous.” She grinned. “You look fantastic tonight. You could have any guy here.”

Anna knew that was true. Even if the man wasn’t interested at first, she could seduce him. But did she want to? Was she angry enough to play that game with Kurt? What would he do if he were jealous? She’d never seen him angry before. Had his temper grown to be like his father’s? Like Alex’s?

Kurt looked in her direction and she quickly turned away so he wouldn’t see her watching him. Over Stefanie’s shoulder, she saw Hugo dancing with a woman wearing a slim red dress and laughing with him. Her heart twisted in her chest and she turned further away.

“There you are, Katrina.” Tommy appeared in front of her. “Dance with me?”

She stared at him, his question not registering for a long minute, before nodding. Stefanie winked at her. If nothing else, it might make Kurt jealous. Petty, maybe, but she didn’t care.

“Where’s Kim?” Anna asked as Tommy held her close on the dance floor.

“With my mom, I think, getting some fresh air.”

“Oh.”

“Anna, I’m sorry for what I did to you a few weeks ago. I hated leaving you the way I did, but I couldn’t ignore the call.”

Anna shrugged. “I know. It’s just part of being a Mistress.” She glanced at Kurt across the room. “I guess I’ll understand that more, eventually.”

Tommy turned his head and followed her gaze. “I thought you liked him.”

Anna stared at the black buttons on Tommy’s tuxedo shirt. “I did. But he’s... different now.” She glanced up. “He’s being an ass.”

Tommy frowned. “I can’t imagine him being like that. He was captivated by your dancing.” He shrugged. “I guess we all were.”

She half-smiled at the compliment and then looked up at him. “If you want to stop by sometime again, you can.”

He arched his brow. “Are you sure?”

She shrugged her shoulders. “The freedom I thought I had isn’t real, so I might as well get used to having my duties again. At least I don’t have to worry about abusers coming to see me.”

Tommy gave her a sad look. “I’m sorry, Anna. I thought... I thought you were supposed to be free to do as you pleased, but Dad’s been talking with Wilhelm a lot lately. Something’s changed.”

“I wish I knew what it was. Then I might understand why things have changed.” She sighed. “I don’t like fighting with Kurt. I don’t like thinking of him as a jerk.” She watched Kurt as he laughed and joked around with the women around him and sighed. What had gotten into him? Or was he just acting like he normally did? Alex did say he was quite the flirt. And being unmarried now...

When the song was over, they saw Kim had returned to the table and Tommy went to be with her. Anna wandered around the edge of the room, wondering when she could go home. Being tied to Kurt made her feel lonely. Her new “free” life was over, and it was simply a waiting game until they would marry and she would move to Germany.

“Where have you been?” Kurt asked as she finally approached him a long while later. The circle widened for her, and he put his arm around her waist, taking possession of her again.

She shrugged. “Wandering.”

The conversations continued around her and she stared at a nearby table, wondering what kind of flowers they’d used in the centerpiece. She supposed there were worse things than being possessed by Kurt. Devin, for example. Kurt didn’t hurt her like Devin did. She should simply be grateful for that. But she wished she’d been told instead of being expected to know what was going on. She’d had a month to be herself and now it was over. She supposed she would just have to accept it and hope to figure out whatever was making Kurt act so odd.

When the party finally broke up, well after two in the morning, she went to the table to get her purse.

“Where is your apartment?” Kurt asked as he stood behind her, rubbing her upper arms affectionately.

“It’s just a couple of blocks away.” She turned. “Where are you staying?”

“The Plaza.”

“Oh.” Did he expect her to go with him?

“Do you need anything from backstage?”

Anna shook her head. She could get it tomorrow. She just wanted to go home and sleep.

Kurt took her hand and led her outside to where the limos and town cars were awaiting their passengers. “Do you want to have dinner tomorrow night?”

Anna frowned. “You’re asking me out?”

He shrugged. “I did not know if you had plans or not.” His expression made her suspect it didn’t matter if she had plans or not.

“Are you asking me out or telling me we’re going out?”

“Which would you prefer?”

“Does it matter?”

“I am trying to be nice.”

Anna huffed. “What time do you want me ready?”

“When are you done with rehearsals?”

“Six at the latest.”

“I’ll pick you up at seven-thirty.”

“Fine.”

A limousine pulled up and Kurt led her to it and they got in. “What is your address?”

“You’re not taking me back to your hotel?”

Kurt clenched his jaw. “Do you want to come?”

“No.”

He closed his eyes for a long moment. “Then what is your address?”

Anna told him and he repeated it to the driver.

A few minutes later, they pulled up to the front of her building. He walked her up to her apartment, but they didn’t speak until they were outside her door.

“Here.” He handed her a small black velvet-covered box. “So people know the status of our relationship.”

Inside was a beautiful diamond ring. Anna looked up at the strained look on Kurt’s face. “We’re engaged?”

Kurt nodded.

“When are we getting married?”

“You need to be freed from Devin before we can marry. It will be a long engagement.” He spoke in such a way that made it seem more like a business transaction than a romantic gesture. No, there was nothing romantic about this at all. They were engaged because he had decided it was so. Or was it Wilhelm who had decided?

“I will keep my private time private. No one will think me a playboy here.”

Anna gasped and tears sprang to her eyes. Her jaw trembled as she stared, bewildered, at Kurt. His jaw was clenched and his gray eyes were hard.

“I do not care what you do, just keep it private,” he added softly.

“Don’t you think people will think it strange if I don’t stay with you?”

“Do you want to come and watch?”

Anna’s mouth dropped open and she couldn’t tear her eyes away from his hardened face. She finally managed to look away and unlocked the apartment door. “I’ll be ready at seven-thirty.”

She slipped inside the dark apartment and leaned against the door. Her knees gave out and she slid down to the floor. The tears she’d been holding back all evening finally escaped and flowed down her cheeks and onto her chest. Her body shook with grief as great sobs wracked her body. Her marriage to Kurt would be a loveless marriage. There was no love or desire behind his decision to marry her; it was purely a sense of duty. This was not the Kurt she’d known before and fell in love with.

Maybe if she hadn’t been so cold to him, she’d be in his bed instead of alone in her apartment on a hard wooden floor. She curled onto her side and sobbed.