Free The Life of Anna, Part 4: Ensnared by Marissa Honeycutt Page B

took
hold of her arm and pinched it. “You will treat him with respect,
Anna.”
    Anna winced and nodded quickly, rubbing her
arm when he released it.
    Peter smiled and reached for her hand. It
took every ounce of willpower to not run away, but this is what
Devin wanted. He would punish her if she didn’t do as he wanted her
to.
    Peter led her to a bench near the wall and
they sat and talked. If she didn’t despise him so much, she would
have admitted that he was very handsome. She guessed him to be
about twenty-five years old. His thick dark-brown hair hung over
his forehead and he had eyes the color of cognac. He was well built
and tall and looked incredibly sexy in his dark suit and tie...if
she would let herself admit it, which she wouldn’t. She listened
politely and was as respectful as she could manage. He explained
how he had arrived yesterday from St. Petersburg after receiving a
call Monday morning from Devin.
    “So, you left the Kirov because Devin asked
you to?” Anna asked, coming to fully understand why he was here.
There would be no other reason to leave such an amazing dance
company.
    “I did. My grandfather respects Devin
immensely and your ballet company is very good. Plus, an
opportunity to date the famous Mistress Anna.... Well, I couldn’t
resist.” He took her hand and kissed the back of it.
    A shiver ran through her body, and it wasn’t
a good one. She liked his grandfather even less 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
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...becoming my boyfriend?”
    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 that I must do in life. 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.”
    When 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 sighed, resolving herself to the
inevitable. “I suppose I should let you take me home?”
    Peter smiled. “I would like to, if that is
all right with you.”
    She shrugged. “All right.”
    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 plugged 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 and
headed towards Anna’s apartment.
    “So, what do you do for fun around here?”
    Anna sighed. “Devin told you I was doped up
for two years, didn’t he?”
    “Well, yes. So, what did you do before you
got ‘doped up’?”
    Anna clenched her fists. “I spent time with
my husband.”
    “Ah. Yes. Of course.” He glanced at her.
“What did you do with him?”
    “Nothing that I want to do with you,” she
snapped. Maybe being disciplined would be better than having to
spend time with him.
    Peter didn’t