Page 54 of Born into Blood

“And you’ll get it, sweet girl, but not in a parking garage while a pissed-off toddler screams about his nap time.”

“Oh my god,” Lara laughs. “Worst first time ever.”

I smile even bigger. “Agreed. I think we can do better than that.”

“We can.” She gives me one more kiss before slowly stepping back. “Let me know if you find anything.”

“I will,” I promise her. I watch her until she disappears into the elevator, blowing me a kiss right before the doors shut. All I want to do is run up the stairs so I can grab her and bring her back to my bed, right where she belongs.

Jesus, I’ve got it bad.

With the toddler still screaming his head off, I grab my phone and send a quick text to Val.

Can you meet me at Max’s?

Sure.

I smile at how easygoing my cousin is and put my helmet back on. We all live close together, but Lara’s apartment is on the other side of the city, so by the time I get to my Uncle Danil’s penthouse, Val’s Jaguar is already parked in the underground garage. I squeeze my bike in next to his car and make my way to the private elevator. My family is big on security, so when I use the keycard that all our family members have and the doors open, I step in and smile at the hidden security camera in the corner.

By the time I’m at their door, my Aunt Simona is already opening it with a smile and pulling me in for a hug.

“Good to see you, honey. Max and Val are upstairs.” I follow her into their large kitchen, and my stomach growls as soon as I see the large tray of food she’s preparing, reminding me that I haven’t eaten yet today.

“Hey, Luka.” I look over and see my Uncle Danil. He walks into the kitchen, and as soon as his eyes land on his wife, he smiles and pulls her in for a hug, whispering something in her ear that makes her laugh and blush.

Apparently, all the men in my family are the same, and I never stood a fucking chance. We all turn to mush when we see the women we love.

The thought comes to me effortlessly, and as insane as it is, I know it’s true. I love Lara, and I’m not going to pretend otherwise. She’s gotten under my skin, affected me like no one else ever has, and I refuse to question it or turn my back on it just because it didn’t take me a year to figure it out. Sometimes you just know.

“This looks delicious, sladkaya.” My uncle keeps one arm around my aunt and reaches with the other to grab one of the sandwiches she’s made. He’s not wrong. It does look and smell amazing. The tray is filled with croissant sandwiches stuffed with chicken salad, a large bowl of chips, and fruit salad in another.

“It does, Aunt Simona. Thank you.”

She reaches up and gives my cheek a soft pat. “Save some for your brother. Niki said he was coming over in a bit.”

I smile down at her. “I will.” My four aunts are like second mothers to me. When we were younger, my cousins and I were constantly house hopping, so it felt like I was at their apartments just as much as I was at mine. Before she lets me go, she pats my cheek again and says, “We want to meet your girl.”

I look at my uncle, who just laughs and holds up a hand. “Don’t look at me. I think we all know who the gossip queen is in our family. Vitaly texted us about her days ago.”

“Jesus,” I groan.

My aunt leans against him and laughs. “We promise to be nice.”

My uncle wraps an arm around her upper chest and pulls her tighter against him. “Of course we will. We won’t even bring out baby photos.”

“Oh, but he was such a cute baby,” my Aunt Simona says, giving me the sweet smile all the women in my family get when thinking about a baby. Well, everyone except my cousin Mia. I think if you handed her a baby, she’d run away screaming. She loves her niece, but I think that’s only because she can give her back at the end of the day.

“Thank you for the food,” I tell them, grabbing the tray and turning my back on their laughter. I really hope Lara doesn’t scare easily, because my family is going to lay it on thick.

I walk through the large living room and head up the stairs, walking past the home gym and the room that holds Max’s most prized possession—the piano his mom surprised him with when he was thirteen and it was obvious he had a gift that couldn’t be ignored. My Aunt Simona is a gifted pianist, but she never once forced it on Max. He would beg her for lessons, obsessed with getting the fingerings down, hitting every note perfectly, and as talented as she is, her son quickly surpassed her. He’s as skilled with a piano as Niki is with a computer, and it’s his younger brother’s wildly brilliant mind that I’ve come here for.

Stepping into the large room at the end of the hall, I see Max and Val on the couch, and I’m not at all surprised to see Yelena sitting next to Val with a controller in her hand. She’s currently kicking their asses in a racing game with a smile playing at her lips. Niki’s in the chair next to them, laptop opened and fingers flying across the keyboard.

I set the tray down on the coffee table right as Yelena’s red race car crosses the finish line followed closely by Val’s orange car.

“I almost got you that time,” he tells her, a huge grin on his face.

She pats his leg and gives him a sure you did smile that makes him laugh. I sit on the other side of Max and start filling a plate while the others do the same. When I’m working on my second sandwich, Val finishes off his third and looks over at me.

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