Page 111 of Born into Blood

My Uncle Vitaly looks at my cousins. “You remember this. The Melnikov men are blessed with potent dicks. Fucking use protection unless you really want to be a daddy.”

“Noted,” Max says before taking a big bite, no doubt hoping that a mouthful of food will dissuade my uncle from asking him questions. As close as my cousins and I are, we’ve always respected each other’s privacy as far as sex goes. Maybe it’s because from an early age we’ve been taught to put our focus on the Bratva and getting us prepared to one day run it, or maybe it’s because we saw what was developing between Val and Yelena but knew instinctively that we needed to keep our mouths shut about it. Either way, I don’t butt into their business, and they’ve never butted into mine. I’ve never seen Max show any interest in anyone, though. Even in high school, he ignored the girls just like I did. We both recognized that they were fickle and untrustworthy. Neither one of us ever let our guard down long enough to get to know anyone, and Val has always only had eyes for the forbidden cousin he’s not supposed to want. Lara changed everything for me, though, and I have no doubt someone will come along and do the same to Max.

“Here he is,” my Uncle Vitaly says, waving Dominic over when he walks outside to join us. “Is that a bottle of wine?”

“It is,” Dominic says, holding a bottle in one hand and a wine glass in the other.

My Uncle Vitaly laughs. “You are such a fancy pants.”

Completely unfazed by the shit that my family constantly gives him, he takes one of the empty seats and pours himself a glass. Reaching into his pocket, he brings out a slip of paper and hands it to my Uncle Lev, who opens it and gives a big smile.

“Well, that’s just fucking cute,” my Uncle Lev says, holding up the piece of paper with Isabella’s hand traced onto it. Natalya’s written I love my grandpa in Russian with pink crayon. “I can’t believe she’s almost one.”

“Tell me about it,” Dominic says, taking another drink. “About time for another.”

My Uncle Lev laughs and clinks his glass against Dominic’s. “Finally, something we can agree on.”

My Uncle Danil raises his glass. “To the next generation of Melnikovs,” he says with a big grin when Dominic raises his brow even as he raises his glass.

“I’m assuming this is a toast to Luka’s baby since my daughter is an Alessi,” he says.

My uncles just laugh as Lev mutters a “Whatever you say,” before tossing back his drink.

“You should really know better by now,” my Uncle Matvey tells Dominic.

“It’s kind of cute that he keeps trying to fight it,” my Uncle Vitaly says.

“Fuckers,” Dominic mutters before taking another drink, most likely to keep his hand busy so he doesn’t reach over and punch one of them.

Sasha comes walking over to grab a sub before crashing down on the closest lounger. He looks around and says, “Aren’t there supposed to be strippers at a bachelor party? Shouldn’t you all be at Pink?”

“Fuck that,” I say, not having the slightest desire to see any other woman naked. “If I wanted to spend the night before getting married surrounded by a bunch of other naked women, then I’m guessing maybe I shouldn’t be getting married.”

“You make a good point,” he says and then laughs. “I’m never getting married, so I won’t have to worry about it.”

His dad laughs. “Yeah, we all said that, too.”

“I don’t see the point,” Sasha says, shrugging his shoulders.

Lev looks at his son. “The point is you fall in love, and the idea of her not having your name and your ring on her finger isn’t even a fucking option.”

Sasha thinks for a second while he chews and then shakes his head and meets his dad’s stare. “I think we both know that’s not going to be an issue for me.”

Everyone is quiet for a second before my Uncle Vitaly says, “Yeah, well just try not to kill any of the girls who catch your eye.”

We all know Sasha doesn’t think like the rest of us do, so even though the joke is just Vitaly’s way of lightening the mood, there’s no denying it’s a legitimate concern.

“None of them catch my eye,” he says, and for just a second he drops his guard and I see the dead look in his eyes, the detached look he gets when he’s trying like hell to understand an emotion that he knows nothing about.

“Goddamn, kid,” Vitaly groans, “just don’t kill any of them.”

Sasha grins, mask slipping back into place as he takes another bite while his dad groans and takes a long drink.

“Well on that cheery note,” my Uncle Matvey says, filling his glass and then handing off the bottle of vodka so we can all do the same before raising them in a toast. “To Luka and Lara and the amazing fucking future you’re stepping into.”

“Yeah, to my niece and nephew,” my Uncle Vitaly adds with a laugh as we all drink to my future.

“We’re not cousins,” I remind him.

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