Page 110 of Born into Blood

I smile up at the man I’m head-over-heels in love with. Even after living together for two months, I still feel like I need to occasionally pinch myself. Although, the constant weight of my engagement ring is a nice reminder that this isn’t a dream.

I rest my palm against his cheek, my large diamond looking stunning against his chiseled jawline. “Are you really happy?” I ask him, studying his green eyes to make sure I don’t see any doubts in them. He turned twenty a couple of weeks ago, and even though a pregnant fiancée is a lot of twenty-year-olds’ worst fears, Luka doesn’t ever seem to feel that way. He looks thrilled, ecstatic even, but I still feel the need to check in sometimes, just to be sure. Old insecurities die hard, but he’s slowly killing them one by one.

He kisses the tip of my nose and smiles even bigger. “I’m happier than I’ve ever been. We’re getting married in a couple of days, and we’re going to have a baby.” He brings his hand down to rest on my stomach. “I love you so much, and I can’t imagine my life without you,” kneeling between my legs, he lifts my shirt and kisses my stomach, “without either of you.”

I smile down at him and run my hand through his dark hair. Turning his head, he kisses my inner wrist, pressing his lips to one of the many flowers that now decorate my skin. Sveta helped me transform my scarred arms into beautiful works of art that make me want to show them off instead of hide them away. As much as I love the flowers and delicate vines with the occasional butterfly caught in flight, my favorite tattoo is the one that runs down my inner left forearm. Luka’s name is written in a feminine script, and every time I see it I smile. It’s a reminder of so many things. It means that I’m his and that I’m loved by him. Being Luka’s is my favorite thing, and now we’re about to add another member to our family, and I’m so happy I feel like I can barely contain it.

His green eyes meet mine as he gives me another huge smile. Kissing my stomach again, he slowly stands and then opens the drawer next to us, pulling out a pregnancy test that he must’ve bought and snuck in there at some point.

“I know you’re pregnant, but I want to see the test. I want every part of this experience, and I’ll feel cheated if I don’t get to see those two pink lines.”

I laugh and grab the box. He kisses me and then pats my ass, leaving so I can have some privacy.

When he’s gone, I rest a hand on my stomach and take a shaky breath. We’re going to have a baby. I can still barely believe it as I rip the box open and get to work. As soon as I’m done, I set it on the counter and holler for Luka, who immediately comes walking in, phone already in hand with the timer ready to go.

He wraps his arms around me from behind as we both watch the stick while the seconds tick by on his phone’s screen. His cheek presses to mine as one arm crosses over my chest and his other presses against my lower stomach. For one horrible moment, I worry that maybe this is just some weird virus that’s showing no other symptoms, but then two pink lines appear and I let out a laugh while Luka smiles and turns me around so he can pick me up for a hug.

“I love you so much,” he whispers against my lips before kissing me. “We’re going to be parents, kisa.”

He laughs while I smile and kiss him again. He’s going to be an amazing dad, the kind I would’ve loved to have had.

“Our baby is so lucky to have you for a dad,” I tell him.

He gives me one of his sweet smiles, the kind that make my heart give an extra jump in between beats, and says, “Not as lucky as they are to have you as their mom.”

Before I can get all weepy about how damn perfect he is, he hands me the stick with the positive result and grabs his phone, lifting it up so he can take a photo of us.

“We’re sending this to everyone,” he tells me right before we both smile at the camera with the stick held up for all to see.

Chapter 18

Luka

“You ready for tomorrow?”

I look over at my dad, taking the glass of vodka he offers and giving a soft laugh. He knows I’m more than ready to marry Lara, and when he sees the look on my face, he raises his own glass and says, “Yeah, that’s what I thought. I felt the same way right before I married your mom.” He laughs and leans against the deck railing. “I’d just asked her to marry me the night before.” He gives another laugh and shrugs his shoulders. “When you know you know.”

“Like father, like son, I guess,” I tell him.

“Maybe Damien will show more restraint.” My dad looks over to where my younger brother is speeding out of the woods on a dirt bike, followed closely by Evgeny, and we both laugh and shake our heads.

“Not a chance in hell,” I say. “He’s doomed to share the Melnikov fate of falling hard and fast.”

“True enough,” my dad says, watching his youngest son race back into the woods after doing a quick turn that would’ve landed most guys on their ass. Damien took quickly to riding dirt bikes, and anytime we’re at the farmhouse, his ass is on the bike.

“Uh-oh,” my dad says, “prepare yourself.”

I look up and see my four uncles headed over, each with a drink in hand. My Uncle Lev is holding an extra bottle in case we need refills. They sit in the deck chairs while I drop into the lounge chair closest to me and my dad takes the other. My Uncle Vitaly sighs and points his glass at me.

“Now would be the time where I give you the impressive and informative speech on how to please a woman,” he says while I groan and take a long drink, “but,” he adds, shaking his head at me in mock disappointment, “it’s obvious you’ve been an absolute heathen and have already gotten your fiancée pregnant. I’m going to assume you know what you’re doing and that you’re not shaming our family name with lackluster thrusting and poor stamina.”

“Jesus,” I groan and let out a whistle that gets Max’s attention. He pokes his head out the French doors, and when he sees me wave him over, he laughs and nods his head, letting me know he’ll be right out. A couple minutes later, he and Val come out with trays of food and more bottles of vodka.

“What is my dad doing now?” Val asks, taking the seat next to me and reaching for one of the loaded sub sandwiches that my Aunt Simona left for us. We had steak earlier, but that doesn’t stop everyone from reaching for more food.

“He’s giving me a sex talk,” I say, making Val and Max laugh.

“Little late for that,” Max says.

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