Branded (Strand Brothers Series Book 1) (36 page)

For a moment, she studied me before she asked, “Why’s that?”

“You have a mild concussion,” I informed. “And in case you’ve forgotten, you were just in a major car accident.”

“Better safe than sorry?” she inquired.

“Precisely,” I confirmed as I leaned in to kiss her nose.

“Can you stay with me?”

“Is that what you want?”

Tears threatened to spill over as she replied, “More than anything.”

I maneuvered my overlarge body into the small bed with her, and then positioned her head so she lay across my wide chest. The nurse did not approve and stormed out of the room. But when she returned, there were no more complaints. I had to assume whoever was in charge set her straight on who was in the room. While I didn’t come back up to the area frequently, I did make generous contributions to this hospital. After all, it was where Rachel and I had been brought all those years ago. And though there had been no help for her—since she had died at the scene of the accident—they had helped me. Besides, there was a children’s wing named after my unborn daughter, Miley Faith. This was just one of the things Aimee needed to know. There would be
no more
secrets. Time to lay it on the line, all of it, and trust she still wanted me afterwards. Because if she didn’t, I doubted I would survive without her. I held her, as close as possible, with the knowledge it could be the last time she was ever in my arms.

*****

Once we arrived at E’s place, she had something to eat. Then I offered, “Would you like a bath?”

She smiled, “I’d love one.”

“Wait here while I go and draw it for you.”

She nodded as I left the room.

After I ensured the water was the right temperature and filled it with soothing oil, I set up some music, lit the candles, and made sure the bathroom had become a relaxing spa like environment. I wanted her comfortable. No more pain.

I assisted her with disrobing in the connecting bedroom, swept her into my arms and carried her into the bathroom. Although I was aroused, this wasn’t about sex. It was all about her comfort. I eased her into the bath and knelt beside the tub. She tugged my arm and queried, “Aren’t you joining me?”

I stroked her face tenderly as I explained, “Not this time. Let me take care of you.”

She leaned back and let me do just that. I began to wash her hair, careful not to get any shampoo on her stitches. The song I had wanted finally began to play. As if she understood the cue, she listened intently before she whispered, “Secrets.”

I agreed, “Yes, I like One Republic.” After I rinsed her hair, I soaped up the pouf and washed her sore body, as I confessed, “That’s not why I chose this song, though.”

“Mmm,” she hummed as she fully reclined, and let me pamper her. She surprised me when she inquired, “Then, why did you?”

“Seemed fitting in many ways,” I stated matter-of-factly.

That got her attention. She sat up too quickly, which caused water to lap over the edges, soaking my jeans. “Oh, no!” she exclaimed. “I’m so sorry.” She tried to reach over and assist me, so I stilled her hands.

“Hey, it’s just water,” I said as I grabbed a towel, proceeding to dry off myself and the floor. While I did that, I started, “We didn’t always live here in Lake Tahoe.” She sat there quietly and let me spill my guts. “We moved here the summer before my senior year of high school.” I clarified, “We were previously in San Diego. But after my dad was killed in an accident, we relocated here.”

She swallowed hard and then asked, “How did he die?” She added, “If it’s too hard to talk about, I understand.”

Always putting others first, I was in awe of her for so many reasons. Once I finished with the towel, I went back to washing her. “He was a zoologist. There was an incident with one of the elephants. When he entered the enclosure to check things out, the elephant panicked and trampled him. He died instantly.”

“How awful,” she gasped. “I’m so sorry.”

I shrugged. “It was a long time ago. My mother always loved this place, because it reminded her of Norway. So she packed us up and brought us here.”

She grasped my hand. I half-smiled as I continued, “My brothers and I decided to go mountain biking at one of the resorts once we had finished unloading the moving truck for Mom. That was when I first met Rachel.” I expounded, “Her parents owned the ski resort, and she had been working that day.” I ran my knuckles along her cheek. “I won’t tell you those details, Aimee. It wouldn’t be fair to
you,
or to her memory.”

She held my hand against her face and nodded.

I went on, “Needless to say, we hit it off instantly and dated our entire senior year. We were married right after graduation. And she got pregnant our first night together.”

Aimee titled her head and stated, “On your wedding night.”

I exhaled loudly before I replied, “Yeah. We played by the rules and waited until we were married. Little did we know how short our time together would be.”

There was no controlling the tears that slid down my face, but I persevered, “Rachel’s dad was really angry about our marriage; hence, she hadn’t seen her mother since graduation. You see, they were really close.” I suddenly noticed a strange look pass over Aimee’s face. It was gone before I could put a name to it.

I continued, “Anyhow, Rachel was thrilled when her parents invited us to dinner that night.” I barked out a humorless laugh. “She couldn’t wait to tell them about the baby. Although I had pulled a double shift that day, I just couldn’t tell her no.” I paused and took a deep cleansing breath. “Unfortunately, Rachel’s car was out of gas. She’d been so sick and hadn’t made it out that day. For that reason, I thought it best we stayed home. But she refused. So we took my work truck instead. We knew a storm was coming in, but, quite frankly, we weren’t concerned. Since Highway 89 was more convenient to her parents’ house, we took that route instead of Kingsbury Grade.” A sob broke, and I had to pause for a few minutes.

Aimee chimed in, “You don’t have to do this. I know what happened next.” She climbed out of the tub and onto my lap. I don’t know how long we sat there like that—her holding me while I broke down completely.

I eventually brought my emotions to heel, picked Aimee up as I stood, and carried her to the bed. Once there, I stripped out of my wet clothes and spooned up against her, careful of her injuries. I knew full well I had to confess the next part if we were ever going to move forward. I grasped her hip tightly and admitted, “The night you left I was saying goodbye to her.”

She peeked over her shoulder, her eyes narrowing as she listened. I continued, “In order to cope with my loss, I wrote a song. Music is therapy for me in many ways. I know you must’ve heard me playing.”

She inhaled sharply and then confessed, “That wasn’t the reason.”

“To let her go, I needed to also play
her
song.” I clarified, “Not the one I wrote. The one that was playing as she died in my arms.”

She choked out, “Please Remember Me.”

I snorted, “Yeah. That radio was busted all to hell. How it was able to play, I’ll never know. But it did, and that was the song.”

She turned towards me and held my face. “She was saying goodbye to you.”

I shrugged. “Possibly.”

She began to kiss the tears that were falling freely, but I couldn’t let her think I loved Rachel more. Therefore, I drew in a breath and conveyed, “Yes, I loved her very much.”

She tried to pull back, but I held on and clasped her face between my hands. “I love you
more
, lille.”

As she blinked back her own tears, she looked into my eyes quizzically. “What’d you say?”

I brushed my lips against hers and affirmed, “
You
mean more to me. I don’t know how to explain it. Everything with you is just… You are my light. My world. My all. I cannot be without you. I have never needed someone as much as I
need
you.” I brought her hand up to my heart and held it there. “This tattoo represents my past. I’m the dagger. The larger heart is Rachel’s. The smaller one is Miley’s.” She traced her finger over the tear shaped blood drops.” I expounded, “Their blood shed by me.”

“Nik,” she gasped. “That’s terrible, yet beyond beautiful at the same time.”

Apparently, I still wasn’t getting through to her. Thus, I brought her hand up to the brand against my hair line behind my ear. “The outside of my body may be forever marked by my past. But you…You, Aimee, have branded my heart. My soul. They are completely yours for as long as you want them.” A sob broke as I implored, “Please, don’t leave me again.”

She clasped my face in her hands and reverently kissed my cheek bones, jaw line, and then mouth. All the while she whispered, “I love you with all my heart. Never will I leave you. I promise.”

With that I deepened our kiss, mindful that I couldn’t make love to her at the moment, but needing the connection. So when she reached between our bodies and guided my cock to her core, I argued, “Lille, we can’t do this.”

She rubbed her wet folds along my painful erection and countered, “Yes, we can. Please, Nik. We need this.”

There was no more talking as I entered her as gently as possible, rocking slowly. Healing sex. Yet, it was so much more. The bond between us grew stronger with each stroke, and then we eased into completion together. I knew from that moment on, nothing would tear us apart again. We would weather whatever storms came our way. Together. Though I’m not a fool, there would be plenty of passion and, more than likely, some fighting. But in the end, we would be just fine.

Once, I had thought you had to be a lover
or
a fighter. Thanks to Aimee, I now realized how wrong I was. To be a
lover
you must also be a
fighter.
Because to truly love, you had to be willing to fight for it at all cost.

Nothing was more valuable.

More rare.

More precious.

And I would never again sit on the sidelines. No matter what, I would stay in the fight. Always.

Epilogue

Aimee

Two weeks later.

We were finally back in San Francisco. Lake Tahoe was spectacular, but the memories it carried for Nik would always be bittersweet. Before we had left the lake, he insisted we stop by the cemetery. Not wanting to be an intruder, I suggested I should stay in the car. He wouldn’t hear of it. Together, we made our way over to Rachel and Miley’s grave. There were many tears, as well as more things he chose to share with me. I no longer viewed Rachel as a ghost to compete with for Nik’s love. I knew now he loved us both, yet in different ways. And that was more than enough.

Our biggest shock came when Joanna showed up at the graveside. I was grateful they could finally make amends. It was what Nik had needed the most: forgiveness. Yes, he craved it from Rachel’s mother. But he needed to forgive himself even more. While the former was important to his emotional state, the latter was key to his freedom. And being a witness to those chains breaking was immeasurable.

I thought Nik would never agree to go to church with me; therefore, no one was more shocked than I when
he
suggested it. We went to the church he had attended with his mom and brothers all those years ago. When the same pastor remembered him, it was like a coming home. I still get teary every time I think about it. Beautiful. Healing. There was nothing I could’ve wanted more for him. Needless to say, we left the area different people than when we had arrived. Free. Forgiven. The world our oyster. And I, for one, couldn’t wait to start living instead of just existing.

*****

Since we weren’t together for Christmas, we planned a family dinner a few nights after New Year’s. I believe it was referred to as Twelfth Night. The “boys” were as funny as usual with their brotherly banter, and, this time, Nik had joined in. That was such a magnificent thing to witness. At first, I think Alex and Ev were a bit taken aback. Though it didn’t take them long to welcome the camaraderie. Even Ray had joined in from time to time. And I must confess, having Mary Alice there as a guest, not an employee, was wonderful. With all that testosterone, it was a pleasant treat to have some female companionship.

I couldn’t help but notice throughout the evening that E seemed a bit off. Unable to put my finger on what exactly it was. Yes, my brother-in-law was inappropriate on a good day and downright crass on the others. But I loved him all the same. So when he sat silently brooding while he stared out the window, I had to wonder if there was a woman involved. Not feeling it was my place to intervene—
for now
— I didn’t inquire, yet
.
I did vow to myself I would get to the bottom of things, one way or the other. Yep, I would definitely be keeping my eye on him.

Anticipation of our night together, once Alex and Even left, had me a bit distracted. Nik had been so careful, treating me like a delicate object since the accident. Now, I had the green light from the doctor. While I thoroughly enjoyed slowly making love to my husband, I was ready for a little
more.

*****

As everyone else said their goodbyes, I snuck away to put the final touches on my assault—I mean, outfit. I stripped out of my designer jersey dress and slipped on a naughty little ensemble. The red leather skirt was so short if I bent over, the whole world would see my lady parts. Albeit the blouse—if that’s what you wanted to call it— revealed just as much. It was black and sheer, making sure his eyes were drawn to the lacey bra underneath. The said bra had no support whatsoever, but it did push my boobs up in a tantalizing way. For a full view of my assets, I kept the blouse unbuttoned down to my navel. And speaking of ass, mine was clad in an almost nonexistent thong, which barely covered the entrance to my core. Adorned in fishnet stockings held on by a garter belt, I slipped on my five inch CFMPs. Hell yeah, I looked downright edible. Of course, that thought brought forth liquid heat between my thighs. The final touch was the music—Alicia Keys’ “Fallin’” was on a loop. That particular song made me want to bump and grind all over my husband.
Damn, I have it bad for the man.
The Cheshire cat grin spread across my face, because I knew it was reciprocated.