Obligation (Underground Kings #2)(64)

“Can I come in?” comes from the other side of the door, along with a quiet tap.

“I’m coming,” I say in a hoarse whisper. My throat feels like it’s on fire from crying, and the passageway feels too tight to even take a complete breath.

As soon as I open the door, I come face-to-face with Aye, who looks me over from head to toe before pulling me into an embrace.

“He’s a fighter,” he tells me.

I nod, because that’s true. I don’t know what happened on that boat, but if there was a way for Kai to get out alive, he would, even if that meant swimming to shore.

Aye leads me back out to the living room and places me in a chair. He leaves and then comes back a few minutes later with a cup of tea and some saltine crackers before walking off to stand with Pika. I look at my two guys and close my eyes when I see not only them looking at me with concern, but also the pain I feel reflected in their eyes at the thought that they have lost their friend.

We all sit around the living room until the coastguard calls to say that they are calling off the search for the night due to a storm that was slowly making its way ashore. I lose it again. The idea of my beautiful husband in the middle of the ocean, with the only help available to him unable to reach him, causes me to lose the small thread of hope I was holding on to.

“Honey, why don’t you go and try to get some sleep?”

I look from the ocean to Kai’s mom and shake my head.

“You need to rest,” she says gently as her eyes glance to my belly.

“Okay, but come get me if you hear anything please,” I tell her.

She nods, murmuring that she promises.

As soon as I get to our room and open the door, I’m bombarded by his smell, and it takes everything in me not to turn around and run. I close the door behind me then go to the dresser and pull out one of his shirts, holding it to my nose and noticing that, even though his scent is lingering in the material, it doesn’t smell completely like him.

I drop the shirt to the floor, walk over to his closet, and find his shirt from yesterday, one he put aside to have dry-cleaned. I put it to my nose and inhale a lungful of his scent, holding my breath until I feel lightheaded. I only let it out when I have my clothes off and I’m slipping his shirt on. I walk over to our bed, pull back the covers, pull the phone off the nightstand, and then climb into bed, bringing the covers up and over my head as I dial his phone number. His name is the only thing he says, but the sound of his voice, repeating it over and over, eventually lulls me to sleep.

“Makamae,” I hear whispered as I feel a finger run down my cheek.

I cuddle closer to the scent and warmth, not wanting to wake up if this is a dream.

“Wake up.” This time, the voice is close to my ear, which causes goose bumps to break out along my skin.

“Kai?” I whisper, not wanting to open my eyes.

“Myla.”

I feel fingers run up my thigh and a large hand curve around my ass. My eyes fly open, and a hand covers my mouth as I start to scream.

“Shh. It’s okay. I’m here, but I need you to be quiet.”

I nod, and he moves his hand away from my mouth. I look at him with just the help of the moonlight.

“Am I dreaming?” I whisper.

He shakes his head, and then I see that he has a few scratches on his face.

“Oh my God, you’re hurt.” I go to sit up and turn on the light, but he pins me to the bed.

“I’m fine. Just a few scratches.”

“What’s going on?” I ask him when I notice that he’s acting strange.

“No one can know I’m alive, Myla. Not yet,” he whispers, and I feel pain slice through my chest.

“What? Why?”

“I have the perfect opportunity to make a move. Everyone who was involved in what happened yesterday believes I’m dead. They won’t be expecting me.”

“Your mom and family?” I whisper as tears begin to fill my eyes again.

“I know this is going to be difficult for you to do, but I need your help,” he says softly.

I know he wouldn’t ask me to do this if he didn’t have to, but that doesn’t mean that it’s going to be easy to lie to people who I know are completely heartbroken over the fact that they think their son, brother, and friend is dead.

“I had to see you before I left, but you can’t tell anyone, makamae. Not yet,” he whispers.

I know that this is him talking to me. This is him being honest. This is the thing I have needed from him all along, so now, I have to prove I can handle it.

“I won’t tell anyone.” I press a kiss to his chest, and the warm feel of his skin against my lips causes a sensation I thought I would never feel again.

His hand travels down over the curve of my ass, and he pulls me closer to him, so close that I can feel his erection against my belly.

“Kai,” I hiss.

He rolls me onto my back. His hips settle between my thighs, and his arms go onto the bed on either side of me, making sure to keep his weight off my belly.

“I love you,” he whispers fiercely, right before his mouth crashes down on mine and his taste explodes on my tongue.

I lift my hands and run my fingers through his hair as I kiss him back with everything I have, so grateful that I’m able to have this with him, that he’s here with me now. He pulls his mouth from mine and kisses down my jaw and neck before pulling back enough to get the buttons of his shirt undone.