Obligation

by Aurora Rose Reynolds

  “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.

  As soon as I’m exposed to him, his head drops down and his tongue licks my nipple before he pulls it into his mouth, sucking hard then doing the same to the other one. My body begins to wither under him as I fight hard not to scream out his name. He slowly licks down my body. Every inch of skin he touches feels like it’s directly linked to my core. When he licks across the top of my pubic bone, I bite my lip so hard that I taste blood in my mouth.

  “You smell so good, makamae. Sweet, like pineapple,” he groans. Then his fingers hold the lips of my pussy open and his tongue begins flicking and licking my clit before he pulls it between his lips.

  My hips begin to grind as I hiss out, “Please.”

  “Please what?” he asks. Then one finger slowly circles around my entrance while his tongue continues to torment me.

  “I need more,” I plead, looking down my body at him.

  His eyes meet mine, and he enters me with two fingers, only to pull them out seconds later.

  “Don’t stop!” I cry. I know I’m going to come the minute his fingers touch that place inside me he seems to be the master of finding.

  His mouth latches on to my clit, and his finger at my entrance dips in then out, the sensation causing a slow burn to begin.

  “So close,” he says.

  I nod. Or I think I nod; everything seems blurry. Then I explode as his teeth graze my clit and his fingers fill me, both of them working in sync to pull me over the edge, and at the last second, I cover my mouth with my hand, muffling the scream that rips from my chest.

  I feel lightheaded, and it takes a moment to come back to myself, but when I do, Kai is undressed and his hips are between mine. The moment our eyes lock, he presses inside me, filling me with one long stroke. My legs lift and wrap around his waist, and my hands travel up his back. I watch as his eyes get darker right before his head drops and he kisses me again, his tongue wrapping around mine as his hips rotate, the angle changing deep inside me on each stroke.

  I moan into his mouth and press the heels of my feet into his back, lifting my hips up to meet him on each thrust. His pace picks up, and his mouth leaves mine so that he can lick down my neck, and then he bends and pulls one nipple into his mouth, making me turn my head and bite into the pillow to avoid screaming. I dig my nails into his back and use my leverage to fuck him, taking him all the way to the hilt each time, every stroke hitting that spot deep inside me that causes me to see stars.

  “I’m going to come,” I gasp.

  “Let me feel it. Let me feel you milk me,” he groans, and I lift my head and bite into his shoulder as my orgasm erupts through me.

  I start to come back to myself when I feel his hips jerk and his face go into my neck, where he groans his release. I wrap myself tighter around him, and he shifts slightly to the side, pulling his weight off my belly. I lie there in awe, knowing that, earlier tonight, I thought I would never have this again.

  “How did you get off the boat?” I ask as my mind begins to clear.

  “Fucking Frank. I swear he doesn’t listen, but this time, I’m glad he ignored my order. He knew who I was meeting with and insisted he follow us in another boat. I told him, ‘Absolutely not,’ because I didn’t want the guys I was with to see him and get spooked, but lucky for me, he ignored me.” He pauses and runs a hand down my cheek. “When we got out into the open seas, the guys jumped ship, leaving me alone on the yacht. I called for Mayday but knew something was up, so I took off all my clothes and got into the water right before the boat exploded. A few minutes after that happened, Frank pulled up on a small boat, looking smug. I told him then that no one could know I’m alive. Their stupid plan to kill me, and Frank’s ignoring my order, gave me the perfect opportunity to finally clean up a situation that has been needing my attention for a while,” he says carefully.

  “You have to come back to me when this is over. I need you to be there when our little man is born so that you can give him his name,” I say as tears fill my eyes.

  “I’ll be here for that,” he promises, and his hips begin to rotate as he rocks in and out of me slowly.

  He drops his forehead to mine until we both come together, my orgasm hitting me slowly as the feeling spreads through my body, making my whole being feel heavy and causing my eyes to close right before I hear Kai whisper, “I love you.” I mumble the words back to him, and then I feel him button my shirt up and cover me up. I feel something slide onto my finger before I can no longer stay conscious.

  When I wake up in the morning, the night before comes back to me, and tears begin to fill my eyes when I don’t see Kai with me. But then I become aware of the wetness between my legs and I pull his shirt away from my chest, seeing that he left love bites around my nipples. I lie back down and pray that he comes back to me soon.

  I roll over and begin to tuck my hand under my cheek when I notice that the ring I have on now has a band that wasn’t there before tucked close to it. This one is the same gold as the original, but all around the band are round diamonds. I slip the ring off my finger and hold it up to look at it, but then an inscription on the inside catches my attention.

  M & K ~ This is our story.

  Tears fill my eyes as I slip the ring back in place. He is right. This is our story, and our story is just beginning.

  Chapter 17

  Sniper

  Kai

  I get off the flight and fight my way towards the exit. I haven’t flown commercial in years and had forgotten what a pain in the ass it is. I knew that, if I was going to get to Vegas unrecognized, I would need to make a few changes.

  The first change was shaving my hair completely off and trading my suits for jeans and tees so that I matched the appearance of my new ID. The second was flying like any other middle-class citizen.

  I had to make sure everyone I knew still believed that I’m dead. Growing up, I learned early on that, if an opportunity presented itself, you needed to take it immediately, so that’s exactly what I did yesterday.

  “So, how are we going in?” Frank asks, pu
lling a pair of dark shades over his eyes.

  I look at him and wonder once again how the fuck he convinced me to let him come. “I told you you’re staying at the hotel,” I mutter, walking outside into the hot Las Vegas sun.

  “I saved you yesterday,” he reminds me for the hundredth time, and I grind my teeth together in annoyance.

  He did save me. He also unknowingly helped me orchestrate the perfect plan, one that, until the ship I had been on blew up, making everyone believe I was dead, would never have been possible. Paulie Jr. had no idea that the idiots he’d sent to kill me were going to be the ones who helped me pull off his death.

  “You’re not coming,” I say as I look around for Sven.

  “You’re going to let some guy you don’t really know help you do this, but not the man who has been with you your whole life?” He shakes his head, muttering under his breath something about how my mom should have raised me better.

  I ignore him and keep walking. Then I spot Sven posted up next to a small sports car.

  “What’s up, man? How have you been?” Sven greets us as soon as we’re near.

  “Good. How are things?” I shake his hand and place my small bag in the back seat. Then I lean the seat forward so that Uncle Frank can get in.

  “You have got to be shitting me,” Uncle Frank complains, looking at the seat then back at me.

  “Sorry, man. My assistant is using my other car, so I had to bring this,” Sven apologizes as my uncle stuffs himself into the small back seat then gripes when I put the front seat back in position so I can get in.

  “Just ignore him,” I tell Sven once we’re all in the car.

  “We still have some time to kill, so I figured we could all go to my house and get the details worked out before doing what you came here for,” Sven says.

  I nod then ask him about his club, which is close to the area of downtown that Paulie Sr. has recently started running drugs out of.

  He tells me that the drugs have recently begun seeping into his club and a few women who have gone to the club have been roofied. When he went to the cops, he had a dead body and a note telling him to shut his mouth show up on his front step.

  When we pull up at his house, I’m slightly taken aback by the normalcy of the area and home. I know that Sven has money, and a lot of it, so the fact that he’s living in a neighborhood has me raising a brow.

  “I have a penthouse but have recently been staying here,” he mutters, shutting down the car.

  I get out as well then lean the seat forward so Frank can get out before grabbing my bag from the back seat and following Sven up the front steps and into the house.

  The house is large. The moment I enter, I walk into a large foyer that has a round staircase leading upstairs, and then there is a library off to one side and a living room on the other.

  “Let me see if Mag’s home,” Sven murmurs.

  We follow behind him through the living room and into a large, open kitchen that has a small dining room off to the side.

  “Oh good. You’re here. I got all the crap you asked for,” a woman’s voice says as we walk around the corner.

  I wonder who she is. Her hair is dark brown, and it hangs down the middle of her back. She’s slightly chubby, but she has curves in all the right places.

  “Meat is not crap, Mag,” Sven tells her, but I can see softness in his eyes as he looks at her.

  “Stop calling me Mag. It’s Maggie, for the millionth time, and meat is gross.” She shakes her head then swings around to look at Uncle Frank and me when she realizes we’re standing there. Her face is soft and round, but the color of her eyes is what makes her beautiful. They are so light that they look like honey. “You have zero manners.” She looks at Sven again as she scolds him then looks at us, and her face transforms and a smile lights up her face. “He’s rude. Sorry about that. I’m Maggie, this guy’s assistant. Nice to meet you guys.” She shakes my hand then takes Frank’s, who holds on to her and pulls her closer.

  “Nice to meet you, Maggie,” my uncle says, kissing her hand.

  “Aww, you’re so cute.” She pats his cheek then steps back and looks at Sven. “I’m going to head out. I have a date tonight.”

  I look at Sven, and his jaw begins to tick as he shakes his head.

  “You need to work tonight,” he tells her, but his jaw is so tight that I’m surprised the words even come out.

  “I don’t work nights.” She laughs. “Nice meeting you guys,” she says as she walks over to the counter, picking up her bag before walking out of the kitchen with Sven’s eyes glued to her ass.

  “I’ll be right back,” he growls then storms out of the kitchen after her. Then we hear the front door open and slam shut.

  “That was awkward,” Frank says, but I have a feeling I know what’s going on.

  Sven looks like the kind of guy who could walk into a room full of women and have his pick. Now, the woman he wants is not falling at his feet, so he has no idea what to do. It only takes a couple of minutes for the front door to open back up, and then the loud bang of it slamming echoes before we hear Sven storm into the kitchen.

  “She makes me fucking mental,” he growls, walking to the fridge and grabbing a beer. “I swear to fucking Christ I’m going to end up being put in a goddamn hospital because of her and the stress she causes me,” he says before tilting the beer back and taking a large pull.

  “You gonna be able to handle tonight?” I ask him after a moment.

  He looks at me, and a different look fills his eye. “Fuck yes,” he mutters, and I nod once. “Let me show you guys to your rooms.” He walks out of the kitchen then leads us upstairs. “You guys can stay in these two rooms. Mag’s room is down the hall next to mine,” he says.

  I start to laugh ‘cause he is setting himself up for fucking mental issues.

  “You don’t even have to say it. I already fucking know,” he grumbles then looks between Frank and me. “I’m gonna shower. We’ll meet downstairs in an hour to talk about what the plan for the night is,” he says, running a hand through his hair before walking off towards his room.

  “That kid has it bad,” Frank mumbles, shaking his head before walking into his room.

  I turn and walk into my room and close the door behind me. I want to call and check on Myla, but I can’t until this is done. I was going to leave her in the dark about what happened yesterday, but I knew, if I did that, she would be pissed, not only about what I was doing, but that she had been forced to believe I had died. I couldn’t imagine someone telling me that she was dead and living with that news for even ten minutes.

  I walk to the window and look out, and I see Maggie standing in the driveway and talking on the phone while looking at the house. My first instinct is that she somehow knows who I am, but then I see her wipe her cheeks and look up at the sky, saying something I can only make out as, “He’s a jerk,” before getting into her car, slamming the door, and backing out of the driveway.

  I leave the window and sit on the bed, looking down at my hands and twisting my wedding band around my finger. I slip the ring off my finger and place it in my pocket. In a few hours, when I put it back on my hand, our whole future will look different. It will just be us.

  I wait a few more minutes then go downstairs, where Sven and Uncle Frank are laughing in the living room when I walked in. Uncle Frank has that quality about him; he can always lighten up a situation. And as pissed off as he makes me sometimes, he is family, and he really did save my ass.

  “Ready?” I ask.

  Sven stands, and we walk into the dining room, where he has some papers spread out on the table.

  “Justin did some searching and found out that Paulie is always at Steam on Fridays. I guess he buys out the VIP section and shows off how much money he has. He’s always with these two guys.” He hands me a picture. “This guy is missing”—e points at Thad—“but this guy is still around.” He points at a man I have never seen before.

  “Did Justin
find any info on him?” I ask as I look at his picture.

  “Nope. I guess he showed up a couple of years ago, and he and Junior have been tight since then. His name’s Ivan.”

  “He’s undercover,” I mutter.

  “What?” He takes the pictures and holds it up, looking at it. “We need another plan, because I can guarantee you they will be at that club together, and if he’s undercover like you think he is, we can’t risk him seeing anything.”

  I know he’s right. I also know that the club would be the best location. Not only would his guard be down, but also, there would be so many people around that the risk of being seen would be minimal.

  “Plan still stands,” I tell him.

  I can see that he’s not convinced, but this is what I was raised to do. Long before I took over for my father, I was his watcher, the eyes in the back of his head. I knew exactly what someone would do before they did it, and that kind of conditioning doesn’t go away.

  We talk for a few more minutes before I head back up to the room and change. I put on a white tank and a dress shirt over it, and I keep the jeans I was already wearing on. Once I’m changed, Sven meets me downstairs dressed similar to me.

  “Are you sure you don’t want me to come? I can wait in the car,” Uncle Frank mumbles, walking us to the door.

  “We’re not going to the grocery store,” Sven says.

  I shake my head.

  “What if you need backup?”

  “We won’t,” I assure him as we leave the house, shutting the door behind us and leaving my pouting uncle at home.

  We drive to the club and park down the street. It is after midnight, but the sidewalks are still packed with people.

  “Where’s your club?” I ask when I notice this block has clubs lining the street.

  “A block over. This area is new, but the nightlife here is one of the reasons people come to Vegas.”

  “This area is also connected to the mob,” I tell him, and his eyes come to me as he runs a hand through his hair. “This street used to have nothing but old warehouses on it. Back in the day, a bunch of men bought up these lots, knowing that Vegas was going to expand. I wouldn’t be surprised if Paulie actually owns the club we’re going to.”