“You can feel him?” he asks, and I can actually feel him getting closer to me, his energy wrapping around me.
I don’t want to answer him, but I can’t help it. “I can feel him,” I tell him, not opening my eyes.
The bed dips, and his hand slides under my palm to settle on my stomach. I place my hand at my side and silently lie there, listening to him breathe. I don’t like feeling uncomfortable around him, but right now, I don’t even want him to touch me.
“Do not ever threaten to leave me again.”
My chest compresses, and I inhale through my nose at his words.
“I shouldn’t have spoken to you the way I did.”
Got that right, jerk, I think.
“Look at me, Myla.”
I squeeze my eyes tighter in refusal, and his free hand comes up to hold my jaw.
“He told me he was in love with you,” he snarls, and my eyes fly open. “Do you know how it feels to know that another man is in love with your wife?” His fingers at my jaw move so his thumb can run over my bottom lip. “Knowing that, when you were not around, she accepted comfort from him?”
“I nev—”
He cuts me off, pressing his thumb over my lips as his face dips closer to mine. “It doesn’t matter. I’ve tried to tell myself that it didn’t mean anything, that you didn’t feel the same.”
“Pika is a friend, the same as Aye,” I whisper.
“I know this, Myla,” he growls.
I scoot away from him leaning against the headboard.
“My world is consumed by you and thoughts of you. The idea of someone interested in you makes me fucking homicidal. Knowing that he’s someone I consider a friend, someone I entrust with your well-being, does not make me feel better. Then seeing you happy to see him, watching your face light up when you realized he was back—it was like a fucking knife to my gut.” He moves closer to me, and his body turns so that one hand goes on either side on my hips. “I reacted poorly, makamae,” he says gently, and my heart hurts from the vulnerability I see in his eyes. I hate this.
“I don’t even know what to say right now. You really scared me.” I close my eyes then feel his arms wrap around my waist and his head lie gently on my stomach. We are going to have to find a way to work this out or it will be something that drives both him and me insane. “I love you and only you,” I tell him, lifting my hands to run through his hair. “You said that I consume you. Well, you have consumed me too, from the moment I wake in the morning until I go to bed at night.”
I take a breath and tug on his hair until his eyes come to me. “I love you, Kai. When you make me mad enough that I swear I could spit fire or happy enough that I feel like I’m walking on air, I’m always yours and no one else’s.” I whisper the last part.
His eyes search my face for a moment before he ducks his head, kisses my stomach, and then lifts up, taking my mouth in a kiss I feel throughout my body, one that causes the warmth to seep back in.
“I don’t know how I will be able to handle your friendship with Pika, but for you, I’ll try,” he tells me, pushing my hair away from my face.
“If you would have explained to me what was going on without freaking out, I would have respected your feelings,” I assure him, lifting my hands up to run along the underside of his jaw. “You have to learn to talk to me without talking at me.”
“I’m working on it,” he says, leaning down and pressing another kiss to my lips before rolling to his side and placing his hand on my belly. Then he looks up at me. “Did you really feel him move?” he questions as a look of fascination fills his eyes.
“I did. It was more of a flutter than anything, but I felt it.”
“I missed it,” he says, and I can see the disappointment in his eyes.
I shake my head. “No, you didn’t. I don’t think anyone can feel him moving yet but me,” I tell him, running my hand over his hair.
“Next time, tell me when it happens so I can try,” he says before he kisses my stomach again.
Then he rolls to his back and pulls me to lie at his side, being careful of my belly as he adjusts me until my body is draped over his. His hand runs lazily over my back, and before I know it, I fall asleep only to wake hours later to an empty bed.
I get up, find a shirt and a pair of sweats, and then make my way out of the bedroom. I pad across the house to Kai’s office. His door is slightly ajar, so I walk in, finding him sitting at his desk, looking at the phone.
“What’s wrong?” I ask him.
His head lifts and his eyes sweep over me before he takes my hand and gently pulls me into his lap.
“Kai,” I whisper as his face goes into my neck and he inhales. “Talk to me.”
“I need to make a phone call.”
“Okay,” I say, confused.
“A man I know told me a woman was hurt last night and she’s in bad shape,” he says quietly.
“What happened?” I ask, wrapping my arms around him.
He’s quiet for a long time, and I think he’s not going to talk to me. “She was shot at close range,” he says.
Every muscle in my body goes tight. That is not what I thought he was going to say.
“Thankfully, she was right outside of the hospital when it happened, and they were able to get to her fast enough. She almost died.” He whispers the last part as his arms go tighter around me. “This wasn’t supposed to happen. The men involved agreed that she was off-limits.”
“I’m so sorry.”
“This is why I will fucking work myself to death until we don’t have to worry about this kind of shit. She was innocent, just in the wrong place at the wrong time.”
I can tell he’s having a hard time keeping it together, so I get as close to him as I can. “What are you going to do?” I ask him softly while watching every emotion cross his face.
“When Kenton called a while back, he asked if I’d be willing to put in a call for him. I did, and it was agreed upon at that time that she would be off-limits. I set that meeting up.”
I nod and hold his cheek.
“My guess is he wants to set up another meeting so that he can figure out what happened and why the order to leave her alone was ignored.”
“Do you know why?” I ask.
“She witnessed a hit. She was the only living witness. The man who went after her is known for not always doing what he’s told and going his own way. This time wasn’t any different.”