Branded (Strand Brothers Series Book 1) (18 page)

“I see. Are you referring to the no sex agreement?”

I petulantly replied, “I don’t recall being in favor of that.”

His brow arched. “What exactly would you suggest?”

As I bit my lip in consternation—
in for the penny, in for the pound
—I persisted, “I’m not asking you to fall in love with me, Nik.” When he tried to speak, I placed my fingers over his mouth. “I think we could be great friends. We already have a level of respect for one another. Thus, adding sex to the equation shouldn’t be a big deal.”

He actually chuckled. “Honey, having sex with
you
will most definitely be a big deal.”

I blushed, which made no sense whatsoever. “So what are we waiting for?” To make my point perfectly clear, I wriggled on his lap. The greeting I received against my bottom was all the invitation I needed. I turned into him and kissed the sinews of his shoulders, working my way across his clavicle. There was just
so much
of him. He was gloriously muscled. After a few moments, his hands fisted in my hair and pulled my mouth from his body, then, he descended. His lips unfortunately did not meet mine. Instead, he reciprocated my moves. He licked and nipped his way along my neck, then suckled the hollow spot beneath my throat. I mewled in response. The next move he made caught me completely by surprise. He stood with me in his arms, like I weighed nothing at all. Once he placed me on my feet, he slowly backed away from me.

“It’s late. You’ve had a long and trying day. Get some rest,” he commanded softly as he made his way to the door.

I shook my head in disbelief, but I’d be damned if he’d see my disappointment. I pivoted and walked away from him to put as much distance as the room would allow between us. While I stood in front of the window, over my shoulder I called, “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

Not waiting to see if he was gone, I dropped my towel and sighed. Would he ever touch me intimately again? Or were those last couple of times all I would ever get of him? I ran my hands through my hair out of pure frustration and tried to get lost in Snow Patrol’s “Just Say Yes” as I swayed to the music. I startled suddenly when I felt a presence behind me. I peeked through my hair, and there he was. Hunger blazed in his eyes. I could see his arousal pressed painfully against the seam of his jeans. With half hooded eyes, he closed the distance between us. As I began to turn fully towards him, he stayed me with his huge hands. “Don’t move,” he demanded.

No worries there, I was his.

There was no denying it.

Not now.

Not ever.

Chapter Twenty-one

Nik

When I stepped into Aimee’s room, I had every intention of conveying—lock, stock, and barrel—what I had just learned, as well as our suspicions where Reynolds was concerned. But all preconceived notions left my brain once I saw her there sobbing. My only concern at that moment was consoling her anyway possible. She was so caught up in misery. It broke my heart.
Wait! Heart? WTF is happening to me?
Yet nothing could have stopped me from enfolding her in my arms. Did I actually think her merely beautiful? She was beyond that, utterly and completely stunning. And, right then, so damned vulnerable. After she had poured her heart out, I knew I had to get away from her. For if I stayed one moment longer, I was going to make her mine. She was pissed; that was clear. But she didn’t want me to know it. Worse…I’d hurt her deeply.
Had she begun to care for me the way I do her?
No, surely not.

When I turned to close the door behind me, I could not believe my eyes. The towel fell with such ease, and I doubted she was aware I was watching. I strode up behind her with deliberate purpose—she was mine.

Mine to have.

Mine to take.

And, damn it all to hell, I was done holding back. The song that played on her iPod vaguely caught my attention. The irony not lost on me as I commanded her not to move. Question was, where did I start? My dick throbbed. There was nothing I wanted more than to push her onto her hands and knees. Then take her with the violence rising in me rapidly. With all of my self-control, I leashed the beast. Barely.

I placed my hands on her shoulders in an attempt to maintain some form of sanity. Thanks to the considerable height difference, I had full view of her luscious body. Ah, those incredible tits begged for my mouth. And the sexy as hell landing strip beckoned for pleasure. Holy shit! I was going to blow my load, right there, just from the peepshow.

Without any forethought, I began to rock my hips into her curvy ass to the beat of the music. She moaned as my hands ran down the sides of her body and rested on the flair of her hips. We began to dance, slow and rhythmic. A prelude to what was yet to come. I interlocked my fingers just above her pelvic bone and pulled her as close to my groin as possible with jeans on. In case there was ever a doubt to how much experience she had, she ground into me with precision and caused pre-ejaculate to wet my fly. Crap. Any minute I would fully come. Not going to happen. Yet.

I decided, then and there, that until she screamed my name in pleasure I wouldn’t take mine. Against her ear I directed, “Get on your hands and knees for me.”

She groaned, “Can I take your clothes off first?”

“No,” I growled.

I could smell the onslaught of her arousal as she said, “There’s something sinfully naughty about that.”

I chuckled, low and dark. “Baby, you have no clue as to how dirty I can be.”

“Oh,” she gasped while she obeyed.

The sight before my eyes was a wet dream come true. I fought the urge to yank down my zipper and pound into her dripping sex. I went to my knees and leaned over her perfect ass. Then I licked and nipped her nape, shoulders, and back as I worked lower. Before I ravished her rounded globes, I moved to her tiny feet and mapped my way up one, and then the other leg. I purposely avoided any of her hot spots and focused on the neglected erogenous zones. Behind the knees was one of my favorites.

While I was not a man that frequently dined on a woman, something about
her
made me want to overindulge. I kissed each cheek of her ass and suckled where they met the backs of her thighs, occasionally blowing along her seam. Awarded with her mewls of pleasure, along with the juices which slid along the inside of her upper legs. There was no more restraint left in me. I moved my head into position between those lovely thighs, and then, with a growl of possession, I pulled her slick pussy onto my face.

Ah, she was sweet. Like nothing I’d ever tasted before.

The little voice inside my head reminded me
that’s not true.
Hold on.
I took one long lick from her perineum to her clit. Sure enough, her flavor was an awful lot like…
No, it couldn’t be, could it?
Her thick honey was distinctly similar to the mystery woman from a few years ago. Was it possible for two women to taste the same? Wouldn’t seem feasible, yet there was no denying it. At that moment, I couldn’t have cared less. No way would I ever get enough of Aimee and her sweet, sweet nectar. I buried my tongue in as deep as possible, plunging in and out of her wet core. She didn’t let me down and rewarded me once again with her cream. When she began to writhe against my mouth, I lost it and ravished her with: nose, chin, lips, tongue, and teeth.

She released while she screamed my name, which did nothing more than ramp me up another notch. No, I wasn’t letting her go with only one orgasm. By time I finished, she would be well past spent. The desire to erase all men that’d been here before me was a force to be reckoned with. I intended to make damn sure no other man would ever bring her the pleasure I could. So I dove deep with two fingers, all the while I sucked her tight bundle of nerves at the top of her slit deep into my mouth. I had to hold her hips with my other arm—tight—to keep her from bucking away from the erotic torture. As I growled approval, she screamed again.

“That’s right, little one,” I encouraged. “Let me hear you. Tell me how good it feels.”

“Omigod, Nik. You feel amazing.” Her breath suddenly hitched with a ragged “Y-yes!” Then she squealed, “Just like…that,” while she squirmed to get more friction. Finally, her voice broke on a sob of ecstasy.

Party time.

The action, along with her response, had inflamed me to the point of no return. I was on edge, a hairsbreadth from losing all control. Something I hadn’t done since my first time. Annnnnd that thought began to sober me, bringing me back to the here and now. What was I doing?
Tongue fucking the sweetest pussy known to man, dipshit.
Yeah, there was that. Before I knew it, I was lost once again between Aimee’s feminine folds. As I devoured her, images of that night at the masquerade began to flash in my mind’s eye. Holy hell, Aimee even sounded the same. Talk about coincidence.

She pulled me from my musing when she pleaded, “Please. Nik, I need you inside me.”

I shook my head. “Uh-huh,” I purred, causing her to come yet again. Oh, hell yeah.

Without any forethought, I arched my hips and came on a guttural grunt. Where I should’ve felt embarrassed, all I could feel was the need to be inside her. The longing to feel her wet heat milk my still semi-erect cock was not something I could ignore any longer. I slid out from underneath her and then turned to caress and kiss her lovely ass, as I worked my way up. She collapsed onto the bed with a delicious whimper of a well pleasured woman.

Unable to fight my grin, I whispered, “I want to be inside you.”

“Mm,” she replied.

But before I could strip off my clothes and bury myself deeply, she was lightly snoring. Maybe I should’ve been pissed; instead, I curled up next to her while I pulled the blanket up to cover us. I lay on my side just watching her sleep, which brought an ache to my chest I couldn’t name. Although, try as I might, on a soul deep level I had recognized her from the get-go. Why was that? Could this be the woman from the masquerade I had searched high and low for? If so, how? As she nuzzled my chest, I encircled her. My final thought was,
I never, ever slept in the same bed with any woman I had gratified
. Not since Rachel. Yet for whatever reason, Aimee felt
right
. I tugged her in closer and inhaled deeply. Mine.

*****

The dream was as vivid as the actual event:

“Give me your hand, Niky.” Rachel beamed while she tugged my free arm over to the slight bump in her belly.

“Oh my God, is that her?” An awe I’d never known before swept through me as I felt my daughter move inside her mother’s womb.

“Uh-huh. Amazing, isn’t it?”

“You could say that again.”

She bit her lip. “Yes, simply amazing.”

I gave her a sidelong glance, not wanting to take my attention from the road for too long. The storm blew in with a fury unlike any I’d seen in the two years I’d lived in the Sierras. I looked back over and held my wife’s gaze as a tear trickled down my cheek. At the same time Celine Dion sang, “Because You Loved Me.” Rachel joined in with her angelic voice and held on to my hand while she serenaded me.

Unable to hide my joy or my love, I teased, “Bit sappy, don’t y’think?”

She wiped the moisture on her cheeks and confessed, “Not at all.” Then she continued to sing.

Grateful for Rachel and our baby girl on the way, I sang right along with her.

All of a sudden, there was a doe standing right there in the middle of the curve. Rachel screamed, “Watch out!”

I swerved and pumped my brakes, but they wouldn’t catch. I tried not to panic, as I continued to hold the slide of the truck. It was no use. Without my brakes, we had too much speed. When we hit a patch of black ice, I lost my hold. The truck pummeled until it hit the huge pine tree. I blinked several times and tried to clear my vision, realizing there was blood running down my face. I looked over to the passenger side and saw my broken wife fighting to breathe. I unbuckled my seatbelt and leaned over to her.

“It’ll be okay, Rach. Hang on.”

She gasped, “Hurts.”

“I know, baby. I know,” I cried out.

I grabbed my cell and placed the 911 call. After I disconnected the call, I vowed, “I love you so much, Rachel. Just a few more minutes and help will be here.”

She groped for her belly, and my hand went right there with hers. I could feel the baby kicking. Rachel’s gaze became glassy and unfocused as she squeezed my fingers. “I…l-love…y…”

She never did finish her declaration. Her breath shuddered and then
nothing
.

I howled, “NOOOOOOO!!!”

I shot straight up in bed, yelling at the top of my lungs. Aimee stared at me, not sure what to do or say. She jumped off the bed as fast as possible. And I left the room like a bat out of hell.

Shit!
How could I possibly think my life would go on normally? Happiness and falling in love were
not
options. Lest I forgot that, the night terrors would always remind me. As if Rachel was staking her claim from the hereafter. Though I knew that wasn’t fair to Rachel. She would never haunt me. No, this was all on me.

I was so full of darkness that light couldn’t reach me.

Now, Aimee just had a taste of it. She didn’t deserve to be saddled with a bastard like me. But God help me, I still wanted her with every ounce of my being. And didn’t that just make me the world’s biggest asshole. For I knew, sooner or later, I
would
have her: heart, mind, body and soul. Even though the fact remained I couldn’t give them back in return. But it would not stop me from taking.

What the fuck?!

I cranked the shower on as hot as I could stand it and stood under the spray to wash off the cold sweat left behind from the nightmare. I braced myself against the wall and willed myself not to cry. I would not give into tears, ever again. That’d been a lesson learned in the joint. I ran my hand over the brand that lay on the side of my neck just under my hair line. One of the many reasons I wore my hair long. Although there were no regrets for joining LD—hell, if I hadn’t I would be dead—because the affiliation helped me make my first million. Still, what got to me the most was how I had ever ended up in prison in the first place. Dear God, if there were a way to turn back time, I never would’ve driven up that mountain road during a snowstorm. But I was young and thought we were invincible. Never once, did I stop to think about the danger we were in that fateful night. I ran my hands through my wet hair and tugged it harshly, as I fought in vain to erase the worst night of my life.