Page 115 of Born into Blood

Soon everyone else starts to join in. Dominic quickly takes Max’s place, reclaiming his wife, while Sasha and Damien both end their dances to go and talk with a group of men by the corner of the tent. I notice that Val and Yelena keep dancing, and even though they’re keeping a respectable distance between their bodies, there’s no hiding the quick, heated looks they’re giving one another. Luka explained their relationship to me, and I quickly told him I’d be right by his side whenever they decide to announce their relationship, doing everything I can to help. Val’s my cousin, and I’m more than happy to have his back.

Luka’s lips graze my ear, pulling all my attention back to him. “How about you hurry up and throw your bouquet and then we can sneak out of here?”

“You want to escape our own wedding?”

The heat of his breath tickles my ear as he grazes his nose along my skin. “I want to fuck my wife.”

The deep tone of his voice mixed with the obvious desire has a need growing inside me, and when I quickly nod my head in agreement, he gives a soft laugh and pats my ass. “Good girl. Now go get your bouquet.”

He doesn’t have to ask me twice. I weave my way through the dancing bodies in my bare feet and quickly grab the bouquet of red and white roses that’s sitting next to the seven tier cake that’s had a good dent put in it. There are a lot of Bratva members here that I don’t recognize, but they all smile and raise their glasses in a toast as I pass by. I spot Arkady standing off to the side, one of the few men here without a drink in hand, and when I walk over to him, he immediately straightens up. All I know about the man is that he’s thirty-two and evidently married to the job.

“Please tell me you’re not working tonight,” I say as soon as I’m close enough.

“Not exactly,” he says in his thick accent. “We have the place surrounded with men, but you can never be too safe.” He gives a shrug like it’s no big deal. “I’ll have a drink when Luka takes you in for the night.”

I laugh and hold up my bouquet. “You won’t have long to wait.”

He smiles and nods to where Luka is standing with his dad and Lev. He laughs at something his uncle says, but his eyes never leave mine. He looks hungry, damn hungry, and it gets my ass moving. I say a quick bye to Arkady and make my way over to my Aunt Katya. I’m still not used to calling her that, but it doesn’t mean I don’t love saying it.

“I think I’m going to throw my bouquet,” I tell her.

She laughs and looks over at Luka. “I take it someone has waited long enough.”

I laugh but neither confirm nor deny. She takes pity on me and says, “I’ll distract my husband after you throw it,” right before she gives an impressive whistle that gets everyone’s attention. When all eyes are on her, she smiles and yells, “All the single ladies get your butts on the dance floor!”

Some of the Bratva guys brought dates, so it’s more than just Sveta, Yelena, and Mia out there. It’s still a small group, but at least I’m throwing it to more than three people. Before I turn around to toss it, I see Mia scoot her ass off to the side, having no desire at all to catch what I’m about to throw.

“Good thinking, Mia,” Lev calls out to her while Vitaly yells, “Don’t even think about it, Sveta!”

I laugh and toss back the bouquet, hearing the clicking of heels on the dance floor and then a soft grunt before I turn around and see Sveta proudly holding the flowers in the air.

“Jesus Christ,” Vitaly hollers. “Are you just collecting them now to give me a heart attack?”

She laughs and waves the bouquet at him before giving the roses a good sniff while Vitya watches on with an unreadable look on his face.

“Nicely done,” Luka says, walking over to me. “She caught Natalya’s bouquet, too.”

“Guess she’ll be the next to get married.”

“Maybe.” He laughs and looks over at his cousins. “It’s sure as hell not going to be Mia.”

“It might be Yelena,” I say.

He looks back at me and smiles. “One day it will be.”

Stepping closer, he pulls me against him and ducks his head so he can kiss me. His lips linger on mine, sending warmth to every part of my body.

“I’ve waited long enough,” he says, and that’s the only warning I get. The next thing I know his arm is around my waist and he’s guiding me across the lawn at a pace that I never would’ve been able to match if I were still wearing my heels.

Before we get too far away, I hear my Aunt Katya yell, “Vitaly, get your sexy ass on the dance floor!”

I laugh, knowing she’s distracting him so we can make our getaway into the house. We didn’t want to fly out on the night of our wedding, so we decided to stay at the farmhouse and head to the airport in the morning. Luka surprised me with a trip to Spain. I’d mentioned that I once saw a picture of the beaches there and thought it looked gorgeous, so he rented us a private cottage on the coast, and after that we’re going to Italy because Dominic insisted we spend some time at his family home. There’s a guest house that we can use as long as we want with access to a private beach. I’ve never been out of the state, let alone the country, and I’m beyond excited to see a bit of the world, and Sveta was more than happy to volunteer to cat sit.

When we slip into the house through a side door, Luka scoops me up, carrying me over the threshold and then keeping me in his arms as he takes the stairs up to the third floor. This level is ours for the night, and when he steps into the large bedroom, I whisper a quick, “Wow,” when I see all the flowers that have been set out for us. Roses fill several vases throughout the room, and the bed is covered in them. The sweet scent fills the air, and when Luka sets me on the bed, I run my hands over the loose, velvety petals.

Before I can say anything about how gorgeous everything is or how happy I am to be married to him, his mouth is on mine, stealing my breath with his hungry lips and chasing every other thought out of my head except for the one that’s screaming at me to get him naked and inside me.

He’d ditched his tux jacket a few hours ago, and when he hovers his body over mine, I start working on the buttons of his white dress shirt while he cups the back of my head, teasing me with his tongue. The kiss is aggressive and hungry, and it leaves me fucking breathless. My fingers stumble over his buttons in my eagerness to get him naked as he smiles against my lips and gives me a soft nip.

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