Obligation
The Underground Kings Series
Kai
Aurora Rose Reynolds
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
Dedication
First moments
Prologue
Chapter 1 My Husband
Chapter 2 I Know You
Chapter 3 Looking in a Mirror
Chapter 4 Popcorn
Chapter 5 Swimming with the Sharks
Chapter 6 Tethered to Him
Chapter 7 Limbo
Chapter 8 Honey I’m Home
Chapter 9 One Day at a Time
Chapter 10 Consummation
Chapter 11 New Dreams
Chapter 12 A Bullet and a Band-Aid
Chapter 13 Oh Baby
Chapter 14 Explosion
Chapter 15 Demon slayer
Chapter 16 Redemption
Chapter 17 Sniper
Epilogue
Distraction Sneak Peek
Acknowledgment
Other books by this Author
Copyright © 2015 Crystal Aurora Rose Reynolds
Kobo Edition
Formatted by BB eBooks
Cover and design by Sara Eirew
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used factiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons or living or dead, events or locals are entirely coincidental
The author acknowledges the trademark status and trademark owners of various products referenced in this work of fiction, which have been used without permission. The publication/ Use of these trademarks is not authorized, associated with, or sponsored by the trademark owner.
All rights reserved.
Dedication
To every single woman who has the courage to fight her demons. Your strength is astounding even when you fight in silence.
First moments
“Everyone is looking for you.”
I turn my head, pulling my hair out of my face as I watch a boy I’ve never seen before climb up the stairs and into my tree house.
“Who are you?” I ask him as he sits across from me.
“Kai,” he smiles, looking around. He looks a lot different than the other kids I know. His hair is long, and his skin is a lot darker than mine. “Why are you hiding?”
I shrug and look away from him. Daddy was yelling earlier; he was so mad that he was turning red. Then Mommy started crying, and Daddy started yelling louder. I heard Mommy telling Daddy that he had to send me away. I don’t want to go away. I try to be good, but sometimes, I forget to listen.
“Why are you crying?”
I look up at him and wipe my face. “I’m scared,” I whisper, wiping my nose.
“Come on. I’ll protect you,” he says, holding his hand out to me.
Then my mommy calls my name again. I look at his hand, move Mr. Bear under my arm, and put my hand in his.
“Myla!” Mommy yells, running towards me.
I can tell she has been crying again.
“Where did you go?” Her hands grab my shoulders and she shakes me hard.
“It’s my fault. I asked her to show me the tree house,” Kai tells her.
She stops shaking me then looks at him. “You shouldn’t have done that. You knew we were looking for her,” she says angrily her head.
“I’m sorry. I wasn’t thinking,” Kai says softly, putting his hands in his pockets and looking at the ground.
I look back at Mommy, and she shakes her head before grabbing my hand and pulling me with her. When I look over my shoulder at Kai, he smiles, making me smile back.
Prologue
“Time for bed, zvyozdochka,” Papa says as he walks into my room.
I run to my bed and jump in, making all of my stuffed animals fly out of the bed before standing up, jumping once, and falling to my back, which makes him laugh.
“Your mama has told you about jumping on the bed, Svezda.”
I know that Mama doesn’t like it when I jump on the bed, but it always makes Papa laugh.
“Will you sing me my song?” I ask him as he move towards the bed.
“Have you brushed your teeth?”
“Da,” I answer affirmatively in Russian, making him smile.
“Did you wash your face?”
“Da,” I repeat, giggling.
“Did you wash your smelly feet?” he asks while bringing my feet towards his face.
“Nyet.” I giggle harder, wiggling my toes.
“Ah, zvyozdochka, what should I do with you?” he asks, calling me his “little star” while tickling me.
I roll around on the bed, trying to get away from him as I cry out in laughter. When he stops tickling me and I stop laughing, he picks me up and pulls my covers back before laying me back down.
“Now will you sing me my song?” I ask him again, tucking Mr. Bear under my chin, feeling my eyes start to close.
“Da.” He kisses my forehead before sitting down on the side of the bed. His fingers run over my eyelids, causing them to close completely before he starts to sing quietly. “Zvyozdochka, zvyozdochka, you outshine the sun. Zvyozdochka, zvyozdochka, nothing compares to you. Zvyozdochka, zvyozdochka, the holder of my treasure. Zvyozdochka, zvyozdochka, I will always love you dearly, for you are my star who guides me from far and will always lead me home.,”
Then I fall asleep.
“You know where to take her,” Papa tells Philip as he carries me outside.
I cling tighter to Papa. Mama ran out of Papa’s office soon after she woke me up, telling me to get dressed, and then took me to him.
“I don’t want to go!” I cry, kicking my legs and wrapping my arms tighter around Papa’s neck as he tries to hand me to Philip. I don’t want to go away. I want to stay with him and Mama.
“Zvyozdochka, you must be a big girl and go with Philip.”
“I won’t be bad anymore!” I sob, screaming out as he pulls my hands from around his neck.
Philip’s hands wrap around my waist, pulling me from my papa.
“You’re our greatest treasure, Svezda. We love you,” my papa says as he opens the door for Philip, who sits down in the back of the limo, holding me in his lap.
“I love you, Papa!” I cry and see that my Papa is crying too before he turns his back on me.
“Pah idiom!” Philip says, and the limo begins to move.
I turn in Philip’s arms and look out the back window, watching as Papa pushes the front door of the house open. Then I see Mama on the floor. Papa picks her up, and I hear her scream my name as the door closes.
Chapter 1
My Husband
I feel the sun on my closed eyelids and something sharp poking me in the face. Moving my hand, trying to get away from the pain, and whimper when it scrapes against my cheek. I lift my head and run my fingers along the side of my face, feeling wetness. Opening my eyes to see a light smear of blood on my fingers. I flip my hand over, and then I see the gaudy ring that is now taking up residence on my ring finger.
“Great,” I whisper, closing my eyes and laying my head down again.
I prayed earlier, before I went to sleep, that when I woke up, the ring I’m wearing now and the man who put it there would be nothing but a bad dream. No such luck. I roll over and take a shaky breath, wanting to close my eyes for a few more seconds, wishing I could just sleep until everything was back to normal.
“Time to get up.”
I turn my
head and meet my new husband’s eyes as he looks at me through the open bedroom doorway. He looks like an ancient Hawaiian warrior. His long, wavy hair is tied into a ponytail at the back of his neck with a piece of leather cord. His wide nose and square jaw make his full lips and long eyelashes somehow appear masculine. At five eight, I have never felt short, but next to him, I feel minuscule. He must be at least six seven. His shoulders are so broad that I wouldn’t be surprised if he had to turn slightly to fit through most doorways.
“If we didn’t have to meet with my lawyer, I would let you sleep,” he says, bringing me out of my perusal.
One thing I have to be grateful for is that, ever since the moment he saved me, he has been kind and surprisingly soft with me.
“I’m getting up,” I tell him quietly and start to sit up, but pain slices through my side, causing me to inhale sharply.
“I thought you said you weren’t hurt?” he growls.
I’m gently lifted to a sitting position on the side of the bed. I’m so focused on trying to breathe that I don’t even notice his proximity until I feel his hand on the bare skin of my shoulder.
“I’m fine,” I mumble, trying to breathe through the pain and the feelings that are swimming around in my stomach.
“You’re going to the doctor.”
“I’m not,” I say, lifting my head and meeting his eyes.
“Myla.” His eyes go soft as my name leaves his mouth, and his hand comes up, causing me to flinch and his jaw to go hard.
“Sorry,” I whisper while standing.
“We need to talk about what happened,” he commands as his hand drops to his lap.
“How long do I have to get ready?” I ask, walking towards the bathroom.
“Thirty minutes,” he replies as I turn to face him.
When our eyes connect again, his flash with annoyance as he stands.
“We will talk,” he declares, walking out of the room, shutting the door behind him without saying another word.
I stare at the door for a moment before turning around and walking into the bathroom, where I turn the faucet on, place my hands on the counter, and look at myself in the mirror, watching as tears begin to fill my eyes.
“You’re strong, Myla. You can do this,” I whisper to myself, taking a deep, shaky breath and then letting it out as I splash cold water on my face.
When I look at myself again, the tears have been washed away with the water, no trace left behind. I grab a towel out of a built-in shelf and bury my face in it, muffling the sound of the sob that climbs up my throat.
My soul feels like it has been blackened by not only what I witnessed, but what I did. I have no idea how I’m supposed to get over seeing people die right in front of me or knowing I’m the reason they are dead.
I wipe my face on the towel and go to the glass shower door, sliding it open before turning the water on. Once I feel that the water is warm enough, I carefully remove my clothes and step into the shower, letting the water from the showerhead pour over me. I really want to sit on the shower floor and cry, but right now, that is not an option.
I wet my hair then look around the shower stall, finding a shelf full of bottles of different body washes. I quickly sort through them, find one for women, and then pour a big glob onto my hand and lather up. I don’t know for sure if this is Kai’s bathroom, but if by chance it is, I don’t want to use something of his and smell like him for the rest of the day. As it is, it’s difficult to be around him.
I rinse off and get out of the shower before drying off and picking my clothes up off the floor. When I step back into the room, I take it in for the first time since arriving here last night. The room is huge, with large, glass doors that look out over the ocean. I walk toward the doors and look out at the water.
In Seattle, I live in a beautiful two-bedroom condo. I chose my condo because of the ocean view I have, but the view I have back home is nothing like this. Other bodies of land block my view, and the water is so dark that it’s almost black. Here, the water is a blue I have never seen before. So blue that it almost looks like the sky on a crystal clear day.
My eyes travel from the view outside to the giant bed that is covered with a set of pure-white sheets. It’s even bigger than the California king a friend of mine has, and it would be a perfect fit for a man Kai’s size. On each side of the bed, there’s a table with a lamp that looks like a piece of driftwood on it. The lamps match the dresser in the room, which is long with a few odds and ends on it. There’s another tall one, but it’s completely clean.
The room has no paintings or anything else to give it life or say whose room it is. I shake my head at my own thought and look at the clothes I had on earlier, scrunching up my nose. Even though I was exhausted enough to fall asleep in them last night, I do not feel like having them on again today. I walk to the long dresser, pull the top drawer open, and find men’s boxers. I pull a pair out and slip them on under my towel. When I open the next drawer, I find socks and slip them on as well before searching through the rest of the dresser and finally finding a shirt, being careful of the bruises on my side.
Once I’m dressed, I take towel into the bathroom and hang them up. I find some toothpaste and use my finger to brush my teeth before taking a breath, preparing myself to face Kai and his lawyer. Yesterday, when we got married, I didn’t sign a prenup even though the men with Kai had insisted. I really didn’t understand why they were so adamant until after we were married and at the airport.
I’d expected us to just get on a flight. I was shocked when we were escorted to a private plane. I was more surprised when the name on the plane happened to be my new husband’s. I had somewhat gotten myself under control by the time we arrived in Hawaii, but I was shocked again when a Bentley picked us up at the airport and took us to a mansion. I have been around people who have money, but I have never been around anyone with the kind of money Kai obviously has.
I go to the door and run my fingers through my wet hair before turning the knob and opening it an inch to peek out. It takes a second for my eyes to adjust to the darkness of the hall, but when they do, they connect with a set of hazel eyes surrounded by dark lashes.
“Myla,” the man says.
I double-blink and take in his features. His hair is dark brown, his nose is wide, and his skin color is similar to Kai’s. My eyes drop to his mouth, and he smiles, making my eyes narrow before they lift to meet his again.
“Who are you?” I ask, opening the door the rest of the way and crossing my arms over my chest.
His eyes move to my arms and then back up, and his smile gets wider. “Aye.”
“What?” I frown when he chuckles.
“Name’s Aye.”
“Like when a pirate says yes?” I inquire. Then I growl, “What’s so funny?” when he bends over, holding his stomach and laughing.
It takes a moment, but eventually, he pulls himself together and stands back up to his full height.
“My name’s Aye, but my friends call me Daddy. How about you just stick with that?” he asks, sticking out his hand.
“I’m not calling you Daddy,” I frown, watching his lips twitch.
“You don’t have to call me Daddy.” He smiles, reminding me of a little boy. “You can call me Aye.”
My frown grows deeper. “Do people really call you Daddy?” I narrow my eyes, daring him to lie.
“Sure do,” he smirks, wrapping the hand he had out for me to shake around my upper arm. Then he moves me from the door and closes it before putting his arm around my shoulders and leading me down the hall.
“What are you doing?” I step out of his hold.
His eyebrows pull together and he looks down the hall to where we are heading. “Kai didn’t tell you I’ll be your security?” he questions, and I shake my head. “Well, me and Pika will be, but he is not here right now, so it’s just me until he gets back.”
“I thought I was safe now?” I murmur, wrapping my arms around myself.
“You are safe,” he says, concerned, looking me over. “No one will get to you.”
“Can you just take me to Kai?” I ask softly, feeling anxious. Even though I don’t really know Kai, he is the one person I trust right now.
“Of course,” he says quietly, taking my hand and leading me down the hall.
When the hall opens up, we are on the third floor. A glass banister that gives a clear view of a large, wooden staircase is in front of us. The stairs lead down to a level with wooden floors. Then another set leads to the beach below. I have never seen something so amazing. The ocean is just yards away, but the beach is literally inside.
“It must be expensive to keep this place clean,” I mutter to myself, looking out at the ocean and the sand that is spread across the bottom level of the house.
I hear Aye chuckle again before he tugs on my hand and begins leading me over a bridge, down another hall, and into a large dining room, where Kai and another man are sitting with papers spread out in front of them. As soon as we enter the room, both of their heads turn towards us. Kai’s eyes travel from my still-wet hair to my sock-covered feet before he holds a hand out in my direction, nodding his chin ever so slightly. I don’t want to go to him, but something in the look he’s giving me tells me to do it. I walk to him and take his hand, not even flinching when he pulls me down onto his lap.
“Makamae,” he whispers against the shell of my ear, placing a kiss there.
My stomach knots and I dig my nails into the palm of my hand as I turn my head to look at him. When our eyes connect, I try to silently understand what he’s doing.
“You found some clothes,” he says quietly as his fingers play along the edge of my shorts.
“I hope you don’t mind,” I murmur, grabbing his hand and stilling his movements.
“I would never deny my wife,” he mutters, holding my eyes.
I fight to not look away, to not cower.
The moment I met him, I knew he was not someone I would ever want to cross, but he was my savior. Even knowing he promised not to hurt me, I still feel the urge to pull away from him and the energy that is wrapping around me.
Obligation Page 1
