Branded (Strand Brothers Series Book 1) Read Free Page B

the crowd. After his spiel, he got down on one knee. “Aimee, my dear, you are my light. I cannot imagine another day without you being my wife.” He held my hand a little too tightly as he popped the question: “Would you do me the honor of marrying me?”
    There were “ooohs” and “aaahs” throughout the room. For full effect, a single tear ran down Caleb’s cheek. Oh, please! I had to hand it to him, he was good. My bottom lip trembled out shear terror, albeit the effect was magnificent. Even Caleb thought it was from the proposal. I quietly answered, “Yes.” When he dipped me over his arm and kissed me, I was more than surprised. There was triumph in his eyes once he pulled away. This was definitely an oh, shit moment. How would I get out from under this train wreck? I felt like a wild animal that had just been trapped. As cold sweat trickled down my spine,I chanted to myself: I will not pass out. I will not pass out. Nothing helped. Once we were off stage, I politely excused myself. “I need to use the powder room. I’ll be back in a few minutes.”
    I turned to walk away when his firm hand landed on my shoulder. “No tricks, Aimee,” he warned. “I’ll be waiting for you.”
    As I tried my best to smile, I fought off a cringe. “Of course, darling,” I said in a saccharine tone. Meanwhile my brain screamed, “Run! Tell him to take a flying leap and run like hell.” If only, that was even a possibility.
    Once I rounded the corner, my pace quickened. I was nearly sprinting towards the ladies’ room when—bam—I ran into a wall of muscle. Crap! It’s probably one of his damn henchmen. I looked up and up and up through my eyelashes. Finally, I saw the face of the giant I’d bumped into. My goodness, he was freaking gorgeous! He was not only tall but big all over. I was thoroughly convinced that shoulders like his belonged on a football field, not in a hotel corridor. His massive hand came up to steady me so I wouldn’t fall on my butt. There was a rough, raspy sound. “Are you all right?”
    Oh my! The sound was his sexy as hell voice. I stammered, “Um…yes. Yes, I’m alright.”
    His lips curved up slightly on one side. “You seem to be in a hurry.”
    Wow. That hint of an accent of his was unbelievable. I smiled, “Just need to pee.” OMG. Did I just say that?! The odds of me saying anything intelligible around this man were slim to none. “I’m s-sorry. I can’t believe I just said that.”
    He chuckled low in his throat. I swear if he did that one more time, I would have an orgasm. “No need for apologies,” he countered. “When you have to go, you have to go.” He motioned with his hand towards the restrooms. “Please, don’t let me keep you.”
    “Right. Excuse me.”
    I darted into the ladies room and then leaned against the wall. I just met a god. And I needed to hurry, because I really wanted to talk to him some more. Fact was, I actually did need to pee. Ironic. Once I had myself put to rights, I walked back into the hallway where Thor was glaring at my intended. Oh, just shoot me now. They appeared to know one another, nonetheless their voices were terse, and the tension was thick between them. For whatever reason, I stepped in the middle. But I wasn’t there more than a moment. Caleb yanked me to his side with enough force to knock me off balance. And that was when the heel on my brand-new, lace-up Jimmy Choo’s snapped. I shoved him with both hands. “What the hell, Caleb?”
    He squeezed my upper arm so tight I knew I’d have a bruise. At that moment, I caught a movement out of my peripheral vision. A fist came back, and I knew what was about to happen. Or, so I thought. Before Thor could make contact, four huge secret service men were on him. Caleb shoved me into action, pushing me up the hallway while I struggled to help my rescuer. I filled my lungs with air to scream, but Caleb’s hand was quicker—clamping over my mouth so snug breathing became