Branded (Strand Brothers Series Book 1) (30 page)

With mock innocence she responded, “Time for what, exactly, Nikko?”

Done! I held her gaze with predator intensity and growled, “Playing coy doesn’t suit you, lille.” I grabbed her by the arm and tugged her out of the chair, which effectively brought her magnificent body against mine. I moaned, “Come. Now.”

She grinned devilishly. “No, surely you didn’t,” she said in mocked horror.

What?! Ah, I got it. “Saucy, bitch,” I teased before I laid claim to her mouth with mine. “You’re so fuckin’ sweet.”

She mewled, “Hmm. You’re not half bad yourself.”

While I lifted her gorgeous ass into my hands, I rubbed my erection along the seam of her slacks. I fought hard not to explode, barely. I tried my damnedest to focus on anything that would give me some form of control; consequently, I began mentally working financial stats. Once I knew I wouldn’t lose it, I drew her up the stairs to our bedroom. The one room I had purposely not shown her on our earlier tour.

As we entered the room, she gasped. I couldn’t help but feel a little smug. The one thing I’d taken great precision in doing was to learn the fine characteristics of my wife. Her tastes. Her likes. Her dislikes. Her favorite things. All of which, made her who she was—
my
Aimee Grace. I leaned down to speak directly in her ear and whispered, “You like it?”

She bit her lip as she nodded. Then she walked over to the oversized, mahogany four-poster bed and ran her a hand over the thick plum duvet. “It’s so luxurious.” She began to finger the intricate detail of the bedframe. “Where did you find this marvelous antique?”

Pleased she recognized quality, I apprised, “This belonged to my parents, a wedding gift from my grandparents.”

Her eyes widened. “You mean this came from Norway?”

I approached her with the stealth of a panther and snaked my arms around her middle from behind. Then I nuzzled into her golden hair—it always smelled of oranges with a hint of cinnamon. “Yes, it was custom made,” I confirmed as I caressed her hairline with the tip of my nose.

She leaned back and tilted her head, which gave me full access to her neck. I licked, suckled, and grazed with my teeth until she cried out, “More, please.”

I pushed her forward onto the bed and followed. Then I inched my hands under her hips to undo the clasp, and slid down the zipper on her linen slacks. She assisted by rising up, effectively bringing the curve of her bottom into my groin. I groaned. As I glided her pants down her lovely legs, I used my feet to finish removing them. Grateful, that neither Aimee nor I wore shoes when we were inside our home for any length of time. I did the same with her silky panties. Next, I removed my trousers and boxer briefs. I placed my hand between her thighs to check and see if she was ready for me. She turned her head towards me and asked, “Is there any lube in the nightstand?”

Fuck! My mouth now dry, I swallowed before I spoke, “Let me check.”

After I found what she had requested, I needed no further instructions. I rubbed a generous amount along the crack of her ass, working forward. Next, I moved my fingers along her folds, and concentrated my efforts on her most sensitive spot at the apex. Once I felt her orgasm begin to ripple, I eased my dick into the rosebud of her ass. She screamed, “Yes. Oh, just like that.”

I continued my ministrations and eased two fingers into her core. I could feel my own fingers working her g-spot against my cock. Unable to hold back another second, I came on a roar. While our breathing settled back to normalcy, I made love to her mouth with mine. Our tongues tangled, just as our bodies had. With no desire to break our connection, I stayed buried inside her body. Eventually I eased out of her, rolled over onto my back and pulled her on top of my chest. We, then, continued to mate with our mouths.

*****

We must’ve fallen asleep. I awoke to her warm tongue on my balls.
Ah, what a way to be greeted
. Her warm, wet tongue traced the underside of my cock before her mouth captured the head. She licked along the crown, causing me to fist her hair and arch my back. “Hmm,” she hummed, bringing forth a burst of moisture. After that she went to work, and took me all the way to the back of her throat. She used one hand to fist my shaft while she followed her mouth. With her other hand, she stroked my sac. I had no desire to come—
just yet—
so I gently pulled her off.

She licked her lips as she tilted her head to the side. “Something wrong?” she asked seductively.

“God, no,” I declared, “It’s just that I want you to climax with me.”

She grinned before turning her body around and straddling my chest. “Much better,” I praised and then ran my tongue along her feminine folds.

She groaned in response. Against her core I spoke, “So fucking beautiful,” before I licked her perineum. A tremor traveled along her body.

Next thing I knew, she imitated me along the same muscle on my body. Her one hand went back to work, stroking my rod from root to tip. There was suddenly something very wet applied to my asshole.
Oh, shit. She doesn’t plan to…
Her tongue was assisting with the lube along my sensitive seam. I wasn’t sure about this. Never had I let
anyone
touch me there. Not since that horrible almost rape at the God forsaken prison, in which, the only other person with that knowledge was now gone. Matter of fact, I was generally pretty damn squeamish when it came to anal play on me. Yet, there was something so erotic about what she was doing. And I would be a liar, if I said it didn’t feel unbelievable. Her hot, little mouth began to softly suckle my balls, once again, joining her hand that was busy stroking me off. There was no way I could hold back the orgasm. I dove with my tongue as far into her core as possible, and, with my fingers, gently plucked her clit. No way was I coming without her. I felt my lower spine tighten as the pressure ramped up in my gonads. When she slid her forefinger into my rosebud—far enough to caress my prostate—I erupted fiercely, taking her right along with me.

I held on to her bucking hips with all I had as we fell to our sides. And that was when I lost control of my emotions. There was no containing the sob that broke. Aimee suddenly climbed my body and held me tightly against her breasts. They were wet and sticky from me, yet I didn’t care. I let out all the fear, anger, and frustration of the incident all those years ago. It was just one of the many nightmares I wished I didn’t have.

She softly crooned, “It’s okay. I’ve got you.”

As I blinked back the tears, I looked up at her. “You’ve no idea what that means to me.”

She caressed my hair and coaxed, “Why don’t you tell me what this is all about.”

I straightened up, placing some pillows behind my neck and shoulders for support. Then I eased her onto my lap, facing away from me. Next, I pulled the covers over us and bared my soul. “I was almost gang raped while in prison.”

“Oh my God,” she gasped, “I didn’t know.” She tried to turn around, but I held her firmly to me.

“I know that,” I answered self-deprecatingly. “No one does. Well, except Lorenzo. And he’s not telling anyone from six feet under.”

She composed herself and inquired, “Is that how he saved your life?”

I shrugged. “Yeah, I suppose it is. That damn gang was going to make sure they abused me every which way before they finally offed me.”

She swallowed hard. “Did they…
touch
you?”

I shook my head emphatically. “Not there. They’d just beaten the crap out of me, and managed to get my pants to my ankles when Lorenzo and his gang arrived on the scene.”

“I’m so sorry, Nikko. If I had known…”

“Shh, lille,” I reassured. “It was a long time ago. Like I said, nothing else happened.” I scoffed, “Well, not of that particular variety. That was the night I was brought into the fold and branded.”

She exclaimed, “What?!” Then she turned herself around so she was facing me. With her knees on either side of my hips, she held my face in both hands. “You said ‘branded.’ What do you mean by that?”

I ran my fingers along hers as I eased my hair back on my right side to expose the LD brand that was there. Tears slid down her cheeks when the fingers of her left hand traced the mark. “How come I never noticed this before?”

I was fairly sure she asked herself this question. But I went ahead and answered, “It’s not very obvious. Plus, I make sure it stays hidden.”

She leaned forward and kissed the puckered skin. “I thought it was a scar. I never once thought to investigate it further.”

“Nothing you could’ve done differently—it is what it is.”

She began to trace the initials with the tip of her tongue. Then her right hand slipped between our bodies as she positioned the head of my cock inside her. Easing down, she rode me softly and tenderly. It was exactly what I needed—sexual healing. I captured her mouth with mine, kissing her, with all the reverence I had for her. This climax was slow and easy. And the sleep that followed was peaceful and nightmare free. Aimee was the balm to my wounded soul. And
she
owned me—like no one ever had or ever would. Forever.

*****

The next morning I was edgy with anticipation. Not wanting to blow my surprise for her had made me slightly punchy. Poor thing couldn’t move fast enough for me. Once we were in the car, she read me the riot act. “Knock it off, Nik! I have no idea what has gotten into you, but you have to stop acting like this. Enough, already.”

I grabbed her hand and brought it to my lips. “I’m sorry, lille. I’m a bit excited, is all.”

Her brow arched. “And why is that?”

I smiled, “You’ll see in due time.”

She gave me a petulant
huff,
but didn’t say anything more. Good. I wasn’t completely sure I could keep a lid on it for much longer.

We arrived downtown, and I parked the Aston Martin AM 310 Vanquish. On our ride up the elevator, she queried, “Is this where your offices are located?”

I half-smiled. “This is my building. So, yes, my main cooperate office for the West Coast division is here.”

“Oh.” She shot me a wary glance, but didn’t say anything else.

I leaned down and kissed the tip of her nose. “’S no big deal, Aimee. Relax. You’ll be fine.”

She shook her head and said, “So
you
say.”

I chuckled as the doors opened. As I placed my hand at the small of her back, I escorted her to my assistant. “Hello, Emil. Could you please make sure my nine o’clock is comfortable? I’ll just be a few minutes.”

“Yes, sir,” he replied.

Before I forgot, I introduced Aimee and Emil. Then we made our way to the back corner of the floor. When I opened the door wide, I motioned her to precede me. She entered the elaborate office, turned and inquired, “Is this yours?”

I ran my hand through my hair and closed the door behind me. “No.”

She walked over to the feminine black desk and looked out of the floor to ceiling windows. “If it’s not yours, Nik, then whose is it?”

I walked up behind her and coiled my arms around her waist. “Yours,” I whispered in her ear.

She spun in my arms, clutched my shoulders and sputtered, “What…did you just say?”

I cupped her face in my hands and stated, “You heard me.”

She held my gaze with intensity as moisture glistened behind her lashes, but didn’t fall. “I don’t understand.”

I brushed my lips against hers gently and expounded, “My gift to you.”

“What exactly are you giving me, Nikko?”

“Your own division,” I apprised confidently.

“Of
your
company?” she inquired cautiously.

I pressed my forehead against hers and explained, “You’re in charge of
our
hotels.”

“Our h-hotels?” she gasped, “W-What do you mean, ‘in charge’?”

“Congratulations, Mrs. Strand. You are the new head executive of our remarkable hotel division. Last count, we owned about twenty-five world-wide.”

“Is this some kind of joke?” She had an incredulous look in her eyes.

Man, I loved that she had never once anticipated this. “No, lille. It’s all very real—and yours.”

She blinked several times, hard. Then, I watched as the gears clicked into place. “I’m in charge. I’m the boss. You’ve just given me what I would’ve had to work a good ten years for.”

I kissed her again. “Yes. That about sums it up.”

She squealed with joy. The next thing I knew, she was in my arms and her lips were locking with mine. After a few moments, she murmured, “Thank you,” over and over again against my mouth.

Now that went better than I had planned. I returned her impassioned kiss before the intercom buzzed in. “Mr. Strand, your nine o’clock is enjoying coffee in your office as we speak.”

“Thank you, Emil. I’ll be right there.”

I held Aimee’s hand. “I need to go. Have a look around. Your PA will be in shortly.”

She stood on tip-toes and pecked me chastely on the cheek. “I love you, Nikko Mathias Strand.”

I beamed as I strode to the door, opening it wide. Over my shoulder I called, “That’s a mighty good thing.” I winked before closing the door behind me.

All the way to my office there was a spring in my step, and I didn’t give a damn who noticed. I was a man
madly
in love with his wife. Together, we would make one hell of a team—at home and in the cooperate world. Happy didn’t even begin to cover how I felt at that moment. I knew full well that my commitments, along with my work, kept me away from home. This was the perfect solution. Bonus was, Aimee had the education to pull this off without a hitch, and I would have her close by. Win-win, if you asked me. She would hopefully see it that way, too, because the thought of being away from her for twelve-plus hours a day would not work for me. Ever.

Chapter Thirty-Five

Aimee

While I stood by the elegant desk, I took in my spacious office. It was decorated in a feminine, yet classic way—with shades of violet accented with grays, brushed silver, and black. Honestly, I couldn’t have chosen better if I had done it all myself. The man knew me too well. I smiled as I gazed out at the incredible view of downtown San Francisco—incredulous that my husband would think to give me something so extraordinary. The mansion was magnificent, yet it had been his all along. He could’ve bought me my favorite car, but I really didn’t care what I drove as long as it was safe. No, he knew the one thing I’d always dreamed of was my own company, and/or running my own hotels. Unbelievable. After such a short time, he understood me better than most.