Branded (Strand Brothers Series Book 1) (27 page)

Once inside, a dark haired gentleman met us. “Nik,” he greeted—with the same accent as Gina’s, but not as thick—while they shook hands.

“How’s everything, Franco?” Nik requested.

He replied, “As well as can be expected.” Then he looked at me and smiled, “Ah, this must be your splendida sposa.” He stepped in front of me.

Gina introduced, “Franco, this is Aimee. Aimee, my husband Franco.”

With that, Franco hugged me tight and kissed each of my cheeks. I did my best not to pull away from the affection, as I replied, “Pleased to make your acquaintance, Franco.”

He put his hand over his heart. “Nik, she’s as polite as she is beautiful.”

Gina playfully smacked her husband’s shoulder. “Don’t scare her off.”

He grinned when Nik took a possessive hold of my waist. Nik leaned in to me. “Don’t let him fool you, he adores Gina.”

“He better,” she replied, “If he knows what’s good for him.” Her eyes narrowed on her husband.

Franco grabbed his wife, dipped her over his arm and planted a sound kiss on her mouth. When she stood, she blushed—which was impressive, considering her olive complexion.

After a few minutes of small talk, Franco turned to Nik. “Shall we handle this so we may return to these belle signore?”

Nik kissed me softly and then said, “I’ll hurry.”

I smiled, “No worries. I’ll be fine,” I assured.

Gina stepped forward and clasped my hand. “She’s in good hands, Nikko.”

I shot her a surprised look, having never heard someone say his full name—well, with the exception of me, that is.

He bowed his head before leaving the room with Franco.

*****

Without preamble, I probed, “Why is it, that only you and I use Nik’s given name?”

Her brow arched. “If you’d prefer me not to, I will honor your wishes.”

I shook my head. “It’s not that. I was only curious.”

“Well, by all means, let’s have breakfast. You may ask all the questions you wish about Nikko.”

I grinned, “I would like that, a lot.”

While we sat at the table, in an extraordinary gourmet kitchen, Gina poured me a cup of coffee and queried, “So, what all would you like to know, Aimee?”

There was a warm sparkle in her eyes, which instantly made me feel like I belonged. It was comforting, especially considering I was unsure of my reception into Nik’s world. I mustered up some courage—time to get to the bottom of exactly
who
my husband was. “How ‘bout we start from where you all met.”

“Ah, those were trying times.” She sighed heavily. “Of course, Lorenzo brought Nikko into the fold.”

My eyes narrowed as my brow furrowed. “You have me at a loss. Who’s Lorenzo?”

“I see Nikko is as tightlipped as always.”

I shrugged one shoulder. “In his defense, it’s not like we’ve had a lot of time to get to know each other.”

She bobbed her head. “Yes. How are things with the senator?”

I blew out a breath. “Not sure. I mean, we haven’t seen or heard from him since the threat he made when he took me to the hotel.”

“Oh, dear. I had no idea he had made other threats.”

“Yeah, well, let’s just say the man is beyond unstable. He seems to think I’m impersonating someone.”

She gasped, “How horrible!”

“And then some,” I agreed.

She refilled my cup and then hers. “I suppose I should give you a little back story to Nikko and Lorenzo.”

I half-smiled at that. “Anything you feel comfortable sharing would be wonderful.”

She continued, “Lorenzo came to this country at the tender age of seventeen. Quickly, he connected with old families which had relocated here.” She paused and glanced out the window, then proceeded, “See, these families had left Italy for good reason. They were, how do you say, crooks. Therefore, they were run out of our town after someone of great esteem was murdered.”

My turn to gasp. “Wow. That must’ve been quite a scandal.”

“Oh, yes. Thus, when Lorenzo reacquainted himself with these men, his family disowned him.”

“How could they?! I mean, no parent wants their child to take the wrong path in life. But I would think
love
could overcome a bad decision.”

“I wholeheartedly agree with you on that point.” She sighed, “Unfortunately, not all see things
our
way.”

I shook my head in disgust. Admitting only to myself,
and this is the reason you have never told your family that you were a prostitute.
Yeah, well, there was that fact to contend with. Fear, shame, and guilt, kept my skeleton locked tight in the closet. In a way, it seemed fitting I carried those feelings with me—a self-imposed punishment, as it were. Not something I would ever recommend one do, albeit, I would make the same choice all over again to save my dad.

“What happened next?” I inquired, desperately tamping down my morose feelings.

She shrugged. “As you can imagine, Lorenzo did not work within the law. But soon he established his own customers, and quickly made
a lot
of money.” She smiled, “Wanting to begin anew, he also ran legal companies. He desired for all of his companies to eventually be above board.” She exhaled heavily. “Others did not agree, unfortunately.”

“Oh, no!” I exclaimed. “What happened?”

“While on business in California, he was set up. But it wasn’t all bad. That’s where he met Nikko.” Her words belied her expression of true despair.

I swallowed hard—truly unsure if I wanted to hear anymore—and queried, “How exactly did they meet?”

Her big brown eyes grew serious as she replied, “They were in the same prison at the same time.”

My mouth popped open on an O of shock. Yes, I knew Nik had done time—thanks to the Internet. Yet I didn’t know what for. The knowledge that I was about to learn this information tied my stomach up in knots.
Maybe, you should wait for Nik to tell you this part?
Instead of stopping her, I inclined my head for her to continue.
Stupid! Don’t say I didn’t try to warn you.
Gah, sometimes I really hated that voice in my head!

Gina went on, “Lorenzo saved Nikko’s life.”

Unable to stop the surprise, I gasped, “What the?!”

She nodded, “Prison is a dangerous place. Not where a mere child should be put. Especially…” She paused. “Well, that’s not really my story to tell. Anyhoo, for protection, Lorenzo did what he
had
to do.”

“Which was?” I bit my lip, hard.

Her eyes widened. “Why, to bring him into the gang, of course.”

Gang? WTF?!
My husband was in a gang. Holy crap!

She clasped my hands with hers. “You didn’t know.”

I fought the tears and whispered, “No. But I’d like to understand.”

“There’s not much to it. You need someone to have your back when you’re in the pen. Lorenzo genuinely liked Nikko, so it wasn’t a tough decision.” She chuckled, “Besides, it was how he groomed the perfect CEO.”

“Come again.”

She beamed, “He saw the potential in Nikko. Plus, he knew the distraction was needed. Hence, your husband got his degree, along with one-on-one tutelage from a very successful business man.”

“Oh, my! That’s incredible.” Seriously, I sat there in awe. To think he took a horrible situation and turned it around to something remarkable. Were there words for that?

“Needless to say, once they were released, Lorenzo brought Nikko home to meet those of us who were ready for a change.”

“Change? You’ve lost me again,” I affirmed.

“You see, Lorenzo wanted all of his companies legal. Traditionally Franco, being his nephew, should’ve been the one to take over when he stepped down. But my Franco is a wonderful assistant, not a leader. Therefore, Nikko took the reins. And as they say, ‘the rest is water under the bridge.’ ”

Incredulous, for a moment, I couldn’t speak. As I processed all I had just learned, I took a sip of my coffee.

Gina stood and stretched. “Would you like to see the rest of the house?”

“Yes, thank you. I’d love to.”

With that, we began our tour.

*****

Each room was lovely, old world money mixed with modern tradition, which made for a welcoming environment. I took mental notes, wondering if I would have a chance to decorate a home for Nik and myself. Were we staying in New York? Moving here? Guess it was time I inquired. As I took in everything, that same niggling sensation of familiarity filled me. What was it about
this
home? Why did I have the sense I’d been here before? We rounded the next corner, and I stopped short. I had long lost what Gina was saying as we entered the ballroom, which brought back memories of the masquerade like nothing else ever had. While I took it in from every angle, the night replayed through my head with crystal clear clarity. I could see the band, Michael Bublé center stage, the elegant ladies and debonair gentleman in their exquisite masks. The smells were even there in my recollection—all brought to the forefront as soon as I had walked into this ballroom.

Gina finally pulled me from my reverie. “Aimee, is everything all right?”

I shook my head and pivoted towards her. “Do you have many festivities here?” I inquired.

Her puzzlement was obvious as she answered, “A few. Why do you ask?”

I swallowed the huge lump in my throat before I replied, “You have an annual masquerade for charity.” Not a question. Somehow, I knew I was accurate.

She grinned, “Yes, we do. We’ve been hosting that event for abused women and children for ten years now.”

“Oh my God,” I gasped as my knees buckled.

Before I hit the floor, strong arms enclosed my waist. A deep, raspy voice spoke low in my ear. “Breathe, little one.”

With my head spinning, I barely whispered, “It was
you
.”

“Are you okay, Aimee?” Gina frantically questioned, “What can I do? Nikko, what’s wrong?”

Nik responded, “Could you give us a minute, please, Gina?”

“Yes. Of course I can.” Before leaving the ballroom, she said, “I’ll bring some water.”

“Thank you, Gina,” Nik answered.

*****

Once we were alone, Nik turned me towards him, and held my chin as he held my gaze. “What was me, Aimee?”

“Th-that…n-night,” I stammered, “Y-You were there.” I gasped, “You’re
him.
” Shock overwhelmed me as I covered my mouth with my hand to keep from screaming out.

“I’m who, exactly? What night are you speaking of?”

How could I have not known before now? We’d been intimate so many times, and, still, I hadn’t recognized him.
That’s not true. Your body has always known his.
I blinked back the tears and answered, “You were at the masquerade here five years ago.” He nodded, fighting a smile. I confirmed, “You’re Mr. Mystery.”

Now he laughed, “Mr. What?”

My eyes suddenly narrowed. “The name I gave you since I didn’t know your name at the time.”

“Clever.”

I stepped back aghast. “You’ve known? All along you knew who I was. And you didn’t say a thing!” I yelled.

He laid his hands on my shoulders to placate me.

To. Hell. With. That. I shrugged out of his grasp. “Did I not mean anything to you, is that it? That night was nothing more than a one-night stand!” I exclaimed as anger boiled through my veins.

“Aimee, let me explain.”

That did it. He had just confessed not only to knowing who I was, but how we had first met. I took a step forward and slapped his face with all I had. “Bastard!”

He rubbed the red mark I left on his cheek, then grabbed my hand and hauled me against him. “Let. Me. Explain.”

I shoved against him. “No!”

Wisely, he released me. I unfortunately had too much momentum and lost my balance. When I fell on my butt, he tried to catch me—which naturally pulled him on top of me. I grunted from the force. His huge body held me to the floor as I panted, “Get off me.”

He held my face between his hands. “No. Now, listen.” As he smoothed my hair away from my forehead, he looked into my eyes intently. “I only
just
figured it out myself.”

I huffed, “When was that?”

His mouth curved up on one side. “When I was here before our wedding.” He shrugged. “There really hasn’t been the right time to bring it up. Besides, I wanted you to put it all together without my assistance.”

I shoved him away, so I could breathe and get some space. “Any time would’ve worked,” I hissed.

He shook his head as he moved to stand, grabbing my hands to pull me with him. “You’re wrong.” Before I could interrupt, he placed his fingers over my mouth. “
That night
changed my life. I searched frantically for you, all to no avail. You had disappeared.”

The tears began to slide down my cheeks. “Jack and Ann got wind of an investigation into their business. So, for our protection, they sent us to D.C.”

He ran his hand through his hair. “That explains a lot.”

I glanced up at him, not fully understanding the emotions that played across his face. Anger. Frustration. Disbelief. Sadness. Oh, my poor, broken husband. I went to him and clutched him tightly to me. Then I stood on my tiptoes, cupped his handsome face and pulled him down to me. I kissed him with all I had, letting my mouth say what I couldn’t speak: I love you. I’ve loved you since the first moment you spoke to me.

At first, he returned the kiss tenderly. But somewhere, in all of the pent up emotion, a beast was released. All of sudden, I was against the wall. His mouth devoured mine, full possession, as he poured out all of his longing for me.

I moved my lips to his ear and whispered, “I
need
you, now.”

As I wrapped my legs around his waist, I reached down to free his engorged cock. His eyes rolled back while I stroked him. Then, he eased my skirt up a little higher and moved my panties to the side. When he entered me on one full thrust, we both groaned in pleasure. We knew we had to be quick, because Gina would return any minute. He drove into me, hard and fast, releasing on a grunt. I followed right behind him. At the same moment, we heard Gina, and quickly put ourselves to rights. She walked in as he turned towards the door.