Chapter 4
Chapter Four
Lu
Aloiki woke me at the ass-crack of dawn.
I was grumpy, and a bit of bitch, until I realized he did it so we could catch some early waves.
I could not deny that Aloiki was an asshole, but Akua, he was also the sweetest man.
To me, at least. And to be the center of his focus, to know that I was the only person he treated that way, it was heady, and overwhelming, and so incredibly wonderful.
The best moments are the ones he does subconsciously.
We laid my best friend, Nishi, to rest only three months ago in these very waters.
He knew how hard today would be for me without her at my side, and he brought me to the waves so I could spend some time with her on my wedding day, even if unconventionally.
It was painful and bittersweet, but also peaceful.
Holly, the other Ol’ Lady in our club, was my only bridesmaid, though she was acting the part of maid of honor. Nishi was still my maid of honor, as we’d promised each other over two decades ago in grade school.
After bringing me back to the mansion, Aloiki helped me shower and dress. He knew damn well that I didn’t need help in either department, but he liked to take every opportunity to touch me and handle my body—and who was I to deny him that? It was simply a bonus that I got to touch him back.
My only complaint about the morning was that he hadn’t touched me sexually, not even in the shower when we were fucking naked and he was hard as a rock!
Nothing. I couldn’t ever remember a time when Aloiki had not touched me.
Hell, there were times when he was too impatient to finish his Church meeting with his brothers and had fingered me while conducting club business. The man was insatiable.
But not today.
“Not until we’re married,” he murmured against my lips.
Really? Now he chose to show some restraint? I was horny, damn him! Clearly picking up on my sour mood, Aloiki just laughed and kissed me. The bastard.
Downstairs, a breakfast buffet waited for me. Aloiki ordered in because no one in the club could cook for shit. Holly and I were cooking lessons, but frankly, we both sucked. Aloiki filled my plate sky high with pan-fried spam, steamed white rice, and scrambled eggs seasoned in Maggi sauce.
I licked my lips in anticipation, but when I reached for my fork, he pushed my hand away. Not caring the slightest about our visitors from the Mainland or his brothers joining us for breakfast, he sat me down on his lap and fed me until I was beyond full before he fed himself.
Holly caught my eye from across the table, and my new friend gave me a knowing look. There was a lot about her past that I didn’t know, but the one thing we indisputably had in common was that we were loved unconditionally by our men.
I had a hard time connecting with Holly at first. As much as I liked her, despite some of the oddities she presented that clearly displayed a lack of social awareness, I couldn’t help but feel like she was replacing Nishi.
When Holly and I first met, we didn’t know Nishi’s fate.
All I knew was that my best friend had been abducted and likely sexually trafficked.
It felt disrespectful to like Holly as much as I did, to want to connect with her and get to know her, while my best friend’s fate was still unknown.
Even now, I could not call Holly anything more than a friend.
Nishi’s gruesome death was still too fresh. Maybe someday, but not now.
Holly was a little thing, only a couple of inches over five feet.
Her hair was cropped short, looking like it had once been sheared close to her head.
I got the feeling that she hadn’t had many girlfriends in her life, and I felt honored she was willing to let me in.
Following Nishi’s death when I was trying to come to terms with what had happened to her, Holly had confided in me that she was gang raped when she was only fifteen years old.
I was horrorstruck. I assumed she’d been assaulted, and by multiple men, but I certainly had never guessed it had happened when she was that young.
It immediately explained all her oddities I’d noticed about her, along with her clear distrust of men.
She referred to Bacon as “Master Mal”, even in public.
He was her Dom. As fascinated as I was by their dynamic, I hadn’t yet asked about it in detail.
Somehow that felt more private than the admission of her assault.
“Ready?”
I looked up at Aloiki, who now hovered over me after taking our dishes into the kitchen, and raised an eyebrow. The wedding wasn’t until early afternoon. I had plenty of time to get ready. “For what?”
“For your day of pampering and not lifting a goddamn finger.”
I blinked in confusion. He made it sound like I worked myself to the bone daily, when the truth was the exact opposite.
I hadn’t been back to work since the day after I discovered Nishi was missing.
That was over eight months ago. Aloiki didn’t like the idea of me going back to work, especially while pregnant.
I spent my days learning about birthing and baby things.
I traveled with him to his surf shop or to the brewery.
Then, after our home was destroyed, I was working on handling insurance and cleanup so Aloiki didn’t have to and he could put all his efforts into finding Nishi.
I certainly didn’t sit on my ass all day watching television, but I also could be busier if I pushed it.
Which I didn’t do. As much as it irked the feminist in me, the truth was that I loved being pampered.
My eyes trailed over his tanned skin. His disdain for wearing shirts was my favorite trait about him. It meant eye candy for me all day long. His honed muscles were perfection, and the fact that he was all mine? Heat rose inside me and I wiggled on my seat a little to try to relieve the pressure.
“Does ‘pampering’ mean ‘orgasms’?” I asked him saucily.
His eyes dilated at my words, blending in seamlessly to his dark irises that it made them appear as black as his hair.
“Not in this case.” Then he added with a wicked smile, “That’s tomorrow’s pampering.
Today’s is a fifty-minute prenatal massage followed by a facial, hair, nails, and whatever else women do at spas. ”
I was not expecting that answer. “Nadia and Kensi said they’d help me with my hair.”
“Tell them to cancel,” he ordered. “I’ve got it handled.”
My heart fluttered in my chest. Just when I thought I couldn’t love this man anymore, he went and did something like this. And damn him, a prenatal massage sounded positively heavenly right now!
I wrapped my hands around his neck and laced my fingers to secure him down to my level, though I was under no delusion that I could actually hold him there if he wanted to break free. “I love you.”
In true Aloiki fashion, he winked. “Fuck yeah, you do.”
When I could no longer ride on the back of Aloiki’s motorcycle, he surprised me by getting a car, or a “cage” as bikers call it.
In the decade I had known Aloiki, I had never seen him behind the wheel of a car.
If he couldn’t take his bike or his horse, Koa, he normally didn’t go.
But a car? I still had a hard time believing he bought it.
The sleek, silver Audi Q7 was sporty and a bit flashier than I would have expected Aloiki to choose for himself.
Yet I should have known better because he didn’t choose it for himself.
He chose it for me. Because of course he did.
According to Aloiki, the Audi received top pick in safety ratings and he would accept no less for the vehicle that would be driving me and our son around.
Bacon and Holly sat in the back seat. I was thrilled when Aloiki told me that his gift for my pampering spa day extended to Holly.
She wasn’t comfortable getting a massage or a facial, but she was going to have her hair and nails done with me.
Nadia and Kensi would also meet us for a late lunch at the restaurant hosting our reception.
Aloiki was leaving to handle everything with Kiana, our wedding planner.
I trusted him completely and never had a single hesitation about sending him off with a hot, not-pregnant woman for the afternoon.
Not only would he be surrounded by his club brothers who would immediately come to my defense, but infidelity was inconceivable.
Aloiki was mine. Some might question my sanity for that statement—after all, he was a porn star who had slept with countless women throughout his career.
To them, I would say “fuck you”, because they had no concept of what true love was if they thought either of those things affected our relationship.
Since the club brothers would be helping Aloiki and Kiana ensure that everything was set up and ready for the ceremony, he was leaving behind two Prospects, Beetle and Khal Drogo, or KD, to guard Holly and me, though they would be stationed in the front waiting room instead of back in the spa area with us.
I was pretty sure I died and went to Lani, or heaven, during my massage. I was in such a state of bliss that I didn’t want it to end. My masseuse applied just the right amount of pressure to turn me into a pile of goo. Even without the hot stones, I had no complaints.
Holly laughed when she saw me waddling my way out of the room. She was in the back waiting room, which had three other women inside. “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say you were drunk.”
I smiled at her and sipped my cucumber water. “I’m definitely flying high. Especially after last night, it was almost too much.”