Page 70 of Born into Blood

“I’m sorry,” I quickly say. “I can give you two weeks’ notice.”

“No, you cannot,” Luka says while Dominic laughs and shakes his head.

“It’s okay. I have until Friday to find someone.”

“Luka was just telling us that you’ll be coming over tomorrow,” Natalya says.

“Yeah, I guess I’ll be meeting you all at once.”

She hears how nervous I am and reaches out to squeeze my arm. Even with my long-sleeved shirt, I still tense a bit at the contact, and within seconds, Luka’s hand is at the nape of my neck, his thumb running soothing circles along my skin, comforting me and reminding me that he’s here for me. His actions aren’t anything that would draw attention. It’s just for me, a private comfort that means the absolute world to me.

“It’ll be fine,” Natalya says, completely oblivious to what’s going on between Luka and me. “They’re going to love you, and even though there’s a lot of us, it’s going to be super laid-back, so you don’t need to worry about anything.”

“Thanks,” I tell her. She gives me another big smile, and I quickly decide that I like her. She’s sweet and friendly, and she doesn’t seem like she’s faking it for the benefit of her husband and cousin. She just seems like a genuinely sweet person.

“I’m sorry we can’t stay and chat right now, but someone,” she says, nodding up at her husband, “promised me Italian food. My parents are watching our daughter tonight, so we need to take advantage of it.”

Dominic laughs and picks her up, making sure to keep his arm around the pink dress she’s wearing so she’s completely covered, and then kisses her before saying, “Don’t worry, principessa, you’ll get your Italian.” He whispers something in her ear that makes her laugh and turn her head away, trying to hide the blush that’s creeping up her cheeks.

Luka pulls me close and whispers, “This is how my entire family is, kisa. I told you we’re all faithful and completely whipped.”

I lean against him, relieved that I’m not going to be walking into a family of misogynistic assholes who treat their women like shit and have mistresses on the side. It’s a comfort to know that Luka wasn’t raised around men like that, and it makes me even more grateful for the kind of man he is because it could’ve so easily gone the other way.

“I’m taking her out to eat,” Dominic says, still smiling and looking not at all like my scary boss. “She gets cranky when she’s hungry.”

“I do not,” Natalya says, laughing and smacking her husband’s shoulder. When he carries her out of his office, she hollers back to us, “Bye! Nice to meet you, Lara! We’ll talk more tomorrow!”

“Bye!” I holler back, returning her wave. “She’s really nice,” I tell Luka once they’ve disappeared down the hall.

“Yeah, we all get along really well. I can’t wait for you to meet them all.”

I tilt my head back against his chest and look up at him. “Thanks for waiting around for me.”

He smiles down at me and kisses my forehead. “I wasn’t about to leave you here alone. I’m sorry it took so long. Mr. Dry Martini took forever to win.”

I pull back and laugh. “How do you know who won?”

He jerks his chin at the office. “I was watching the security cameras.” He pulls me closer and cups my ass. “You looked sexy as fuck serving drinks in your short little skirt. I wanted to kill all of those bastards just for looking at you.”

“They weren’t looking at me. Trust me, they’re all about the money and gambling. I don’t think they notice Gabby and me at all.”

“They were looking,” he insists, “especially that old fucker who kept drinking whiskey sours. I enjoyed watching him lose.”

“He’s old enough to be my grandpa,” I point out.

“That didn’t stop him from looking, and there was nothing grandfatherly about it. He wanted to fuck you, and I very much wanted to kill him for it.”

“Relax, killer,” I tease, resting my hand on his chest and then laughing at the raised brow he gives me. “He didn’t hit on me or touch me, and I doubt I’ll ever see him again since apparently I’ve just quit my job.”

“I would have killed him if he had,” he says and then gives me a wink. “And you did just quit your job, kisa.” His arms wrap around me, pulling me in against his firm body. “You’re all mine now, baby. Maybe we should just go and pack up your things so you can move in tonight.”

“That’s probably not the best way to break it to my mom.” Just thinking about the future conversation we’re going to be forced to have is enough to make me groan. “I’m going to have to ease her into this.”

“We’ll ease her into it,” he corrects. “You’re not alone in this, Lara. You have me now.”

I wrap my arms around his waist and rest my head on his chest, hugging him tightly as he kisses the top of my head. His strong arms surround me, and I know he’s right. I do have him now, and I won’t ever have to go through anything alone ever again. He’ll always be here for me, helping me and supporting me in all the ways that I need him to. It’s such a relief that I swear I can feel an actual weight leave my damn shoulders.

“Thank you, Luka,” I whisper against his chest, so goddamn grateful that we found each other.

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