Chapter One
KAIA
The Before…
As I heave, I swear I have never felt so sick.
I know the flight scared the absolute hell out of me. Let’s face it, flying and I never go well together, but this is some next-level reaction to aerophobia.
Hurricane, my husband, gently rubs my back as he kneels beside me on the hotel bathroom floor. His other hand is holding my hair back. “Not the best way to start our honeymoon, baby… what can I do?” he asks, but I hardly hear him over the disgusting noises my throat is making.
My stomach continues to roll, but for the moment, I think the heaving is slowing, and I slump back on my butt, finally managing to take a much-needed deep breath. I swipe my forearm across my mouth as I lean back into Hurricane’s front. He holds me tightly while we sit on the cold tiles of the Nalu Aloha Honeymoon Suite in the Keola Bay Resort and Spa.
This is meant to be the start of the Hawaiian honeymoon we’ve been meaning to take for three years, but unfortunately, life got in the way. NOLA Defiance had its own battles to deal with, and with Hurricane being the president, we needed to put everything we had into being present and focused to ensure the club came first.
We could wait.
We had to ensure NOLA Defiance was our priority.
And then we had Immy to think about, too, so our honeymoon just wasn’t in the cards.
My mind is wandering off when I should be here in the present. In this suite with my husband, who is stroking my dark, wavy hair, a gentle kiss presses to my cheek as he holds me tight. “I wonder if you caught a bug from Immy before we left?” he asks softly, talking about our nearly two-and-a-half-year-old daughter, who is constantly bringing home things from her day care.
Letting out a long exhale, I sink further into him. “I think I was just stressing too much. You know I hate flying, and the eleven-hour flight from New Orleans to Oahu messed with my emotions.”
He rests his chin on my shoulder. “Remember that flight after Cole’s fight, when we’d barely met, and somehow the universe sat us right next to each other?”
A bright smile lights my face, and I turn in his grip, looking into his ice-blue eyes. His shoulder-length, dusky blond hair is pulled back half up and half down, and his beard grows longer daily. But I love it. It looks good on him. “God, I hated you back then. Thought you were such an egotistical jerk.”
He chuckles, waggling his brows. “And now?”
Snorting out a laugh, I roll my eyes. “Well, you proved me right. Youarean egotistical jerk, but I love you anyway.”
He grins, leans in, and kisses my forehead tenderly. “You wouldn’t have married me and had my kid if you didn’t.”
“Some say you might have coerced me into that,” I tease.
“C’mon, I only kidnapped and held you hostage that one time…” He scowls. “One time,Kaia!” He chuckles, and I burst out laughing as he slides more of my hair behind my ear. “You feelin’ any better?”
Nodding, I go to stand, but am a little lightheaded, so I instantly sit back on the tiles.
Hurricane furrows his brows with concern before placing his hand on my forehead. “You don’t have a fever. I’m gonna get you some water.”
Nodding, I return to the bowl as my stomach lurches again from the dizzy spell.
“I’m gonna go get somethin’. I’ll be right back,” Hurricane calls out.
I barely hear him over the completely gross heaving. And if I could, I would yell at Hurricane for leaving me in the middle of falling apart like this.
The fucking asshole.
Right after we had a really nice moment.
I might just divorce his ass—if I can ever stop puking, that is.
I’m not sure how much time passes, my eyes wandering around the bathroom, taking in the opulence of this place, even down to the statues of the green sea turtles. They make me smile.
Eventually, my stomach settles, and I flush. I’m so spent that I lie on the cold bathroom tiles to ease my body from the chaos it’s been through.
