Chapter 21

Anna walked into the corps dressing room and warmed up in an empty corner, her thoughts full of Aaron. Being with him again had been incredible. She wished... oh, how she wished things were different. But they weren’t. And she was stuck with Peter. And Devin. But would Peter keep his word and not tell Devin? He’d told Devin that she’d angered him yesterday. Why was this different? She’d never forgive herself if something happened to Aaron.

When she was sufficiently warmed up, she sat down at a mirror near the back of the room to do her makeup. Thankfully, the other dancers ignored her for the most part, though she heard them whispering and saw them look at her every once in a while. She lifted her chin and ignored them, determined not to care.

After she was done with her makeup, she went to get her costume for the first act. Brooke walked up on the other side and looked at her over the top of the rack. “Does Peter know you’re a slut?”

Anna pulled her costume off its hangar, not looking at her. “What are you talking about?”

“I saw you opening night. Going off with all those men. You get off on fucking married men in public?”

Anna’s jaw trembled and she clenched it to keep it from being seen. She looked down, trying to hide her tears. Stop it, Anna . She was tired of being a doormat. At least she could stand up to the dancers without getting in trouble with Devin.

She pushed away the shame and lifted her chin, giving the other dancer a cold look. “Do you want me to share them with you?” She laughed and walked around the rack to look her up and down. “Though you’re probably too skinny to hold their interest.”

“I didn’t know fat girls were the rage these days.”

Anna gave her a wicked smile. “Your dad seemed to enjoy my fat body. Though his cock was so tiny I could hardly feel him.”

Brooke’s eyes widened and she took a swing at Anna, who ducked easily out of the way. “Don’t you dare talk about my dad that way!”

Anna laughed again. “Has he started comparing your pathetic little body to mine? Jealous that he wants me instead of you?”

“Why, you little bitch!” Brooke lunged at her, pushing Anna to the floor. “My dad would never do that to me.”

“Because you’re not worth it,” Anna snarled, holding her hands up in front of her face to block the other girl’s blows. She caught hold of one of Brooke’s wrists and twisted it like Devin had so often done to her. Brooke fell to her knees, and now that they were on the same level, Anna studied her face. “Is your dad’s name Mel?”

“How did you?—?”

Anna grinned menacingly and crawled to her knees in front of the other girl without letting go of her wrist. “I know your dad. I’ve watched him lust after me and lick his lips as he stared at me.” Anna’s voice filled with spite as she lowered her voice even more. “He’s not good enough for me to bother with, though. I only fuck important men.” She gave Brooke’s wrist one last twist and then stood, pushing her way through the crowd that had gathered.

“Anna!”

She froze at the anger in Isaak’s voice. Isaak stormed over to her, a deep frown on his face. “What the hell is wrong with you? You don’t start fights.”

Anna was about to give a smart remark when she looked beyond Isaak. Peter stood in the doorway, frowning at her. Her anger vaporized, replaced with fear. She squeaked out a loud, “I’m sorry!” and sprinted out of the room, pushing past Peter and running outside. She stopped a few feet beyond the door and stared out at the brick wall across the alley, wrapping her arms around herself and gasping for breath.

She could feel Peter’s anger radiating out of his body as he walked up behind her. “I said I wouldn’t tell Devin about Aaron because you seemed like a lost little girl, but you’re really nothing but a bitch, aren’t you?” He turned her around to face him. “I don’t know what to think of you, Anna. I really don’t. Devin said you might need discipline, and I was beginning to disbelieve him. Did you have Aaron lie for you?”

“Lie?”

“All that stuff about Wilhelm and him having permission to be with you? Is he some past lover that you don’t want to get rid of? Or are you just defiant and like being punished?”

Anna blinked, not knowing what to say. His dark eyes were full of angry confusion. “I would never ask Aaron to lie for me. I know Alex told him he could... comfort me before he left. I don’t know what Wilhelm told him. I didn’t even know Aaron was a Brother until recently.” Her words spilled out of her mouth as her fear of him and Devin overtook her anger. “I haven’t slept with Aaron since we broke up shortly after I turned twenty. We were dating and then Isaak made us break up because I was a student and he was in the company.” She looked up at Peter. “I promise I will stay away from him to keep him safe. He was my best friend. And Alex’s too. I would do anything to keep him from getting hurt.”

Peter studied her as she spoke. “Why were you fighting with that girl... Brooke?”

Anna sighed and told him what happened. He watched her carefully as she told her story and by the end, tears were streaming down her face and she felt like she was going crazy. “I’m tired of crying at everything. I can’t stand up to anyone without fear of being punished. But I thought I could with her. Though her father is a Brother and I’ll probably be punished anyway.” She sat down hard on the curb behind her and buried her face in her hands.

Peter shifted behind her. “I went and filled out the application for the apartment this afternoon. I’ll be moving in this week. I want you to move in with me when I do.”

She looked up at him. “Why so quickly? I thought you didn’t like me.”

Peter shrugged. “The sooner you’re staying with me, the sooner I can keep an eye on you.”

While she was at the theater the rest of the week, Anna stayed away from everyone, especially Aaron. And Aaron stayed away from her. Travis and Jenna avoided her, too. She suspected Aaron had warned them to do so. Although lonely, sitting alone in the back of the dressing room was the safest thing for her to do when she wasn’t needed on stage. Peter took her to his hotel room a few nights to use her, and though he wasn’t cruel by any stretch of the imagination, he wasn’t exactly kind either. There was a cold, transactional quality to sex with him, as if she were a piece of furniture that gave him physical pleasure. She danced her best during classes and performances and hoped Devin and Peter would be pleased.

Friday afternoon, Anna packed a small bag with her belongings in it and Peter took her to his new place. It was a very nice apartment, four times the size of her old one, with floor-to-ceiling windows at the end of each room. A large kitchen with a breakfast bar, dining area, and casual living area took up half the apartment. The other half consisted of the bathroom, two huge closets and a bedroom that easily fit a king-sized bed, along with a small desk.

For the first few nights, Peter let her sleep with the TV on, but then said he couldn’t deal with the noise anymore and made her turn it off. She was so afraid of her dreams that she kept herself from sleeping too heavily and managed to avoid them. When she began to see the room, she’d wake herself before it fully materialized. She didn’t want to see Alex.

Peter put up pictures of his family and of the St. Petersburg countryside. Every day, Anna had to look at the picture of the man who had taken Alex away from her. Even worse, Peter had Vitaly’s eyes, so every time she looked at him, she saw Vitaly. She enjoyed looking at the nature pictures, though. St. Petersburg was very pretty, whether covered in snow or not. Anna was fascinated with the pictures and found herself staring at them at odd times.

Peter kept sex very impersonal. He always approached her from behind and only used her ass. He said he would not use her pussy again until she knew with her whole body that he was in control of her, with deference to Devin. They had sex every night and every morning. He used lube, which Anna was thankful for, and did thank him many times. This seemed to please Peter. At night, he would caress her clit in that special way he had that wouldn’t bring release. When she had screamed and begged and pleaded for a sufficient amount of time, he would put her on all fours and suck on her clit until she came with an orgasm that shook her entire body. Then he would fuck her ass and go to sleep.

After the performances for Petrushka concluded, they had a few weeks off before Nutcracker rehearsals began. Anna stayed at the apartment while Peter went out with the dancers nearly every night. He didn’t invite Anna, and she was content to stay home alone, for the most part. She often lay on the couch in the living room, staring up at the pictures of Peter’s family, wondering what kind of people they were, wondering what sort of men Vitaly and Vlad were. They liked and respected Devin, so they couldn’t be good men. But were they as evil as Devin?

Isaak called her one day to tell her she’d been promoted to soloist, and that she would be one of the ribbon dancers in the second act of The Nutcracker . “Don’t make me regret this decision, Anna,” he said before ending the call. Anna didn’t think much of the promotion, but vowed to do her best.

When Devin wanted her on Friday nights, she would sit at his feet and do exactly what he asked of her. Peter would pick her up the next afternoon and take her home.

When classes and rehearsals began again, Anna was thankful to be around people, even if they ignored her. She joined Peter and the other principals and soloists during morning classes. The first morning, she’d gone to stand in the corner, until Peter took her hand and had her stand near him, smiling lovingly at her and gently chiding her shyness. He was kind and affectionate toward her at the studio, but once they were home, he ignored her until it was time for sex. The schizophrenic relationship took its toll on her emotions and she reverted inward, afraid to speak to anyone for fear of upsetting Peter, and ultimately Devin. She put all her energy into dancing, hoping both Peter and Devin would see how hard she was trying.

The first Saturday after rehearsals began again, Peter picked her up from the Manor and Devin walked out with her to speak to him.

After brief words of greeting, Devin got to the point. “There are men who would like to spend time with Anna. If it’s all right with you, I’ll send them over to your apartment.” The words were respectful and courteous, but Anna wondered what would happen if Peter said no.

She knew she wasn’t going to find out when Peter shrugged. “Sure.”