“Myla, if you can hear me, I really need you to come out here,” Meka yells, and I begin to laugh against Kai’s mouth.

“I’ll see you later,” I tell him.

His hand gives my ass a squeeze as his hips lift. I feel the hard length of him against my belly before I’m rolled again and he’s over me, his hair like a curtain, making the moment seem even more intimate. His face lowers and he takes my mouth in a deep kiss then quickly pulls away. Then he hops off the bed. His eyes look me over before he walks over to the dresser, grabs a pair of sweats, pulls them on, and then opens the door to the bedroom, where Meka comes flying in.

“Oh, thank God. I thought I was interrupting,” she says, and I bite the inside of my cheek, because she is obviously oblivious.

“You did interrupt us,” Kai growls then looks at me on the bed again, and I can see the silent promise in his eyes.

“Are you leaving?” she questions, ignoring his last comment, coming to the bed, and flopping down next to me.

Kai grunts at her then looks at me, and his eyes change, appearing softer. “I’ll see you at the party.”

“See you at the party,” I reply softly.

His eyes stay locked on mine for a moment then travel to his sister. “Take care of my wife.”

“Will do,” she tells him on a whisper.

I watch him leave and don’t pull my eyes from the door until Meka pats my leg.

“It’s going to take some time to get used to him being in love,” she says.

My gaze goes to her. “Pardon?”

“I have never seen him look at anyone the way he looks at you.”

I stare at her, unsure of what to say and not wanting to get my hopes up. But the feeling I have had in my gut since the moment I met Kai is causing a warm feeling to spread throughout my body.

“Anyways, you already know he’s in love with you.” She smiles then jumps off the bed. “Okay, go shower, We have a lot to do.”

I get off the bed, stumble to the bathroom, and shower quickly. When I come out, the room has not only Meka waiting, but also my mom, Kai’s mother, and a large woman wearing a very bright floral dress that accentuates her dark skin and fuller figure.

“You’re here! Let’s get started.”

I begin to take a step back from the woman when she starts towards me holding a bag in her hands.

“Come on, child. We don’t have all day.” She rolls her eyes.

I look at Kai’s mom, but she just smiles.

“Marcy is going to get you dressed and make sure your dress fits you. She can size it while we go out and get your hair and makeup done.”

“Um…I thought we were just doing a small get-together.”

“We are, but there will be a photographer and I would like to have some pictures of you and Kai,” my mom says, making me feel guilty.

I swallow down my own personal feelings and walk towards the woman. “Where would you like me?”

“Here is just fine.” She stops in front of me, sizes me up, and then opens the garment bag, pulling out a white dress. “You’re much smaller than he normally likes,” she mutters to herself.

I shake off the feeling I get from her words and look at my mom.

“You’re going to look beautiful.” My mom smiles then begins talking to Kai’s mom and sister.

Even though I’m in a room full of people, I feel alone. I close my eyes and wish that I were back in bed with Kai again.

*

“Makamae.”

I lift my head and my eyes crash with Kai’s. His eyes run over my hair and body then land on my feet before meeting my gaze again. When I looked in the mirror after his sister and Marcy finished with me, I was shocked. I looked like a model—nothing like myself at all.

My long, blond hair had been highlighted, with caramel lowlights added in too, and blown out completely straight so that it hangs down to the middle of my back. My skin, which has gotten darker from the Hawaiian sun, now glows from the lotion they used.

The dress I have on shows off my figure and does this crazy lift to my breasts that makes them look like they are fake, and the heels I have on make my legs look a mile long. His eyes look me over again, and when they meet mine again, I can feel the heat in his eyes.

I inhale a deep breath and take him in for the first time. His hair is back and his jaw is shadowed, making him look even more warrior-like than he normally does. His hands flex at his sides, and I notice he’s not wearing his typical suit, but a pair of light dress pants and a white button-down shirt with the top two buttons undone. His eyebrows pull together, and he walks towards me when he realizes I’m not coming to him.

“What’s wrong?” he asks, stepping up to me.

“I… Well…” I pause and look behind him at the closed door. When I decided to do this earlier, it seemed like an okay idea, but now that I’m in the moment, I’m not so sure.

“If you don’t want to go, we can get undressed, put in a movie, lock the door, and put Aye and Pika on guard,” he says, looking concerned.

I feel that feeling in my gut expanding further, making me warm all over. “You would do that, wouldn’t you?” I lean into him, place my hands on his chest, and look into his eyes.

“Of course.”

I swallow and let the feeling coursing through me settle in before I start to lean back.

“Where are you going?” he questions, snaking one arm around me while his other hand cups my cheek and his thumb runs over my bottom lip.