Page 109 of Born into Blood

“Will you marry me, Lara? Will you be my wife and start a family with me? Will you let me take care of you and grow old with you?” He brings the ring to my finger, but doesn’t slide it on yet. Instead, he holds it there and meets my eyes. “I will love you and be faithful to you for the rest of my life, and when I leave this world, it’s only going to be so I can find you in the next one. We’re connected, kisa. You’re a part of me, I feel like you always have been, and I will always find you. Whatever life awaits us after this one, we’re spending it together. I don’t just want one life with you, baby, because one could never be enough. I want forever with you. I want an eternity.”

I’m crying so hard it’s clouding my vision, and when I take a shaky breath, he asks, “Will you give me your eternity, Lara? Because I can’t settle for anything less when it comes to you.”

“Yes,” I whisper, knowing he’s right. One lifetime with him could never be enough. I want his forever too. I don’t ever want to be separated from him.

Luka’s smile grows at my answer, and I have to force my eyes away from his beautiful face so that I can watch as he slides the ring onto my finger. It’s a gorgeous, round cut diamond with smaller diamonds circling around it, extending to the delicate platinum band. It fits my finger perfectly, and I don’t stop staring at it until he laughs and hooks a finger under my chin, tilting my face to his so he can kiss me.

As soon as our lips touch, everything else fades away. That’s how it always is when he’s touching me. Luka just promised to take care of me for the rest of eternity, but the truth is he’s been taking care of me since the first second he saw me. My life has become infinitely better since he walked into it, and I never want to go back to how it was before. Just the thought of what life used to be like for me—the constant worry, the depressing, foiled windows, the never-ending dread of watching my mom slip further and further into her confused mind, and the complete lack of hope that anything was ever going to get better—has me clutching Luka tighter.

I squirm around, refusing to break our kiss as I wiggle into a straddling position. He smiles against my lips and cups my ass, groaning when I give his tongue a suck and grind against his growing erection.

“I’m really glad you said yes.” He murmurs the words through our kiss while kneading my ass in his strong hands so I’m grinding against him even harder.

“Oh yeah?” I tease, giving his lip a soft bite.

“Yeah.” He gives a soft laugh and says, “It would’ve made this incredibly awkward.”

I sit back, not understanding what he’s saying. He reaches down to lift his shirt up, and my jaw drops when I see the new tattoo on his chest.

“Luka,” I whisper, reaching out to hover my fingers over the name that now covers his left pec.

My name.

He tattooed my name onto his skin, and he didn’t go small when he did it. The pretty script is large and unmistakable, and he must’ve just come back from the tattoo shop because it still has a clear wrap over it. I can see it perfectly, though, and it’s gorgeous.

“You’re mine, and I’m yours,” he says, watching me as I keep staring at his beautiful chest. Any woman who sees him without a shirt on is going to see Lara written over his heart, and when Luka sees my big smile, he lets out a relieved laugh.

“I’m glad you like it because it’s kind of permanent.”

“I want one too,” I quickly say. Sveta’s finished with the designs for my arms, but I think she could figure out a way to weave Luka’s name in there.

“I’ll make you an appointment,” he says with a grin. “We need to be fast because I have a feeling this I’m not pregnant phase isn’t going to last long.”

“No, probably not,” I agree, bringing my mouth back to his.

I savor the time I have with Luka because I know it’s not always going to be like this. We’re not always going to have evenings on the rooftop and relaxing days that we get to spend together. Some days are going to be scary and stressful, and it will involve me worrying about where he is and what he’s doing, and I won’t be able to take a full breath of air until he walks through the door and I see that he’s alive with my own two eyes.

But he’s here now. Right here in this moment, he’s wrapped around me, kissing me like I’m his reason for breathing, and I savor every damn second of it, and I know I always will. He’s my love, my fiancé, the man who will be the father of my children, and my best friend. It’s a miracle that we found each other, and I’ll always be grateful for that.

The next few weeks pass by in a whirlwind of mind-blowing sex, visits to the tattoo artist that Luka and the rest of the Bratva use, wedding planning with my newfound family, and a few slightly awkward dinners with my mom. We adopted another cat for her, and she’s already fallen completely in love with the orange tabby. With her first therapy session already scheduled and her obvious willingness to try, I’m hopeful that we can get her to a better place, because I really want my mom to be a big part of our lives. I want us all to be a family, and I really want her to enjoy life. I’m not so sure she’s ever been able to do that.

A few days before the wedding, I wake up and immediately make a run for the toilet, barely getting the lid up before I lose every damn thing in my stomach. Luka races in behind me, calling my name and sounding scared to death as I retch violently, wishing like hell he wasn’t seeing me like this.

“Kisa, it’s okay, baby,” he murmurs while holding my hair and rubbing my back, waiting patiently until my body is completely empty before getting me a wet cloth and cleaning me up. I’m too exhausted and nauseated to insist on doing it myself.

I groan when he helps me stand, feeling like I’m going to be sick again, but when it passes, I grab my toothbrush and start scrubbing, wanting nothing more than to clean my mouth and get a drink of water. After I’m done, Luka lifts me up and sets my ass on the counter. He steps between my thighs and braces his hands on either side of me. The smile he gives me is way too big and radiant considering what he just saw me do.

“What?” I ask, still feeling groggy and disoriented. I like to wake up slowly, and doing a mad dash first thing after opening my eyes is fucking with my head. “Why do you look so happy?”

“Because the woman I love is pregnant with my baby.” He smiles even bigger. “I’m more than happy, kisa.” He cups my stunned face and kisses me while my foggy brain tries to catch up to the fact that we’ve made a baby.

“I might just have a virus,” I tell him, but he just smiles and shakes his head.

“I know you, baby.” He slides his hands under the old T-shirt of his that I like to sleep in so he can cup my breasts in his hands. He gives them a soft squeeze and I wince at how tender they are. He raises a brow in an I told you so way and gives a soft laugh. “Your tits have been sore, and they’ve grown a little bit. You’ve been more tired than usual, and your period is late.”

I cock my head, desperately trying to do some quick math. “How the hell do you know that?”

He winks and gives my nipples a soft squeeze. “I pay attention, sweetheart. Nothing is more important to me than you.”

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