Obligation (Underground Kings 2)

“Of course it is. I don’t understand kids these days, all of you in such a hurry to get things done that you forget you need to remember the little moments. Don’t get me wrong. I’m happy you have fallen in love with my son, but as a friend of your mother’s, I know she would have wanted a big wedding, with you in a dress. I want to make that happen for her.”

I nod because I can’t say anything.

“We should find your sister. I know she will be excited to meet Myla,” Kai’s mom mutters, looking around.

“She met her earlier,” Kai states, wrapping an arm around my shoulders.

Her eyes come back to us and go soft when she sees Kai press a kiss to the side of my head, which I stupidly feel all the way down to my toes.

“We’re both glad you’re here, Myla,” Bane says, looking between Kai and me. “I’m sure we will be seeing a lot of each other.”

“We will,” I agree, and he puts his arm around his wife.

“I’m glad you’re here, Myla. I will come over soon and visit with you,” Leia promises.

“I would enjoy that very much,” I tell her, feeling my face brighten.

Without thinking, I take a step towards her and give her a hug. When her arms close around me, I feel like she is somehow a link to my parents, and I will be able to find out whatever it is I need to know. That feeling alone is worth whatever messed-up crap is going to happen.

“Do you have any photos of my mom?” I quietly ask her when I pull away.

Her face goes soft again, and she gently slides her finger across my forehead, moving a piece of my hair. “I do. I’ll bring them when I come visit you.” She smiles slightly then looks at Kai. “Take care of her.”

“You know I will,” he tells her, and I can hear the sincerity in his tone. “Are you guys going to stick around for a while?”

“Yes. Your uncle Frank is here,” his mom says.

Kai mutters, “great,” under his breath.

“I heard that,” she scolds then looks at me. “You’ll like Frank.” She smiles. “Your mom loved him. He’s funny.”

“No one thinks Frank is as funny as Frank thinks he is,” Kai’s dad says, shaking his head.

“He’s funny,” his mom tells me with a wink. “We will see you guys before we head home.”

“Sure,” I concur, watching them walk away. Once they are out of earshot, I turn in Kai’s arms, get up on my tiptoes, and pull his head down so I can whisper in his ear, “You have a lot of explaining to do.”

He leans his head back and looks down at me. His arms wrap around my waist, and he hauls me flush against him, making me inhale sharply at the feeling he ignites between my legs.

“You told me you would trust me.”

“You keep making that task very difficult,” I tell him honestly.

“Sometimes, the things that seem the most difficult end up being the most extraordinary,” he tells me quietly, dipping his face and running his nose across mine.

My breath pauses as his lips barely skim mine. “Please stop,” I murmur, dropping my forehead to his chest.

He is making it so difficult to separate real from fake, and I cannot let myself be pulled down any further than I already have been. Regardless of how much I want to get lost in this thing with him, I know I can’t.

“Myla?”

“No, Kai, please. This is already hard enough.”

“All right, makamae,” he says gently, letting me go, but not before I can feel his arousal against my belly, which makes my stomach dip.

“What does makamae mean?” I question as he takes my hand again, making a t

ingling sensation shoot up my arm.

“One day, I’ll tell you,” he says, leading me through the sand back towards the fire pit.

“Why not now?”

“Now, you need to eat,” he says, giving my hand a tug when my feet stop moving, because in front of me, on a table, is a pig that looks like it has been cooked whole. The outside is golden and glossy, and in its mouth is a bright-red apple.

“I’m not hungry,” I tell him immediately.

I love meat; hell, I love bacon as much as the next person. But seeing a pig whole like the one sitting in front of me makes my stomach turn over.

“You need to try it.”

“I can’t,” I whimper.

“I know you eat meat. I’ve seen you eat meat, including bacon.”

“I know,” I swallow as saliva fills my mouth.

“I’m going to make a plate for myself and one for you without the kalua, and if you feel like it, you can have some of mine,” he tells me, which makes my body relax. I don’t want anyone to think I’m being disrespectful of their culture, but I cannot imagine myself eating that.

After making our plates, he leads me a little ways down the beach, away from most of the crowd. He takes a seat in the sand, and I follow his lead, slipping my sandals off before sitting down next to him. Once I’m situated, he hands me my plate and I begin to eat, enjoying everything he chose for me.

“It’s really beautiful,” I say, looking out at the ocean.

“It is,” he agrees.

I turn my head and see that he’s not looking at the water, but at me, and there is a dark look in his eyes that makes my pulse speed up.

“Would you try something with me?”

“Like what?” I ask, turning slightly towards him.

“I want you to close your eyes and I’m going to feed you.”

“Kai.” I shake my head but then realize this might be the perfect opportunity for me to get some answers. “If I do this, then you have to do something for me,” I tell him.