Page 105 of Born into Darkness

“Don’t worry, little brother,” I tell him while I ruffle his hair, “wherever Talia and I end up, I’ll make sure there’s a guest room just for you.”

“You better,” he says pulling away and fixing his hair with a laugh.

I say my goodbyes to everyone else and then pull Talia in close while we stand in the driveway and watch them all leave.

She tilts her head up at me. “Are we staying here again tonight?”

“Is that okay?” I ask. “I’ll make sure you see your family again before they leave.”

“Sure. I love your house.”

I lean down and give her a kiss. “Ourhouse.”

She grins and then grabs her phone from her back pocket when an alarm goes off. “Time to do your hand again.”

I laugh and let her lead me into the house, already planning how I’m going to propose to her.

Chapter19

Talia

Max lets me lead him inside and over to the couch, but when I prop his arm up and start to take the splint off, he just cocks an eyebrow at me, giving me an expectant smile.

“You can’t be serious,” I tell him.

“Oh, I’m being very serious,” he says.

I look around at the living room that’s filled with large windows. “What if someone sees, or what if my family forgot something and they come back to get it and I’m sitting here topless?”

He holds up his phone. “Impossible. I get security alerts anytime anything triggers one of the cameras or if someone pulls up to the gate. No one’s sneaking up on us, sweetheart.”

His gorgeous face stays locked on mine, a sexy smirk playing at his lips, and he looks like he’s seconds away from hauling me back to bed so he can have his way with me again. As much as I like that idea, I can’t let him distract me from taking care of his hand, so I let out an exaggerated sigh that has his smile growing as I pull my shirt off and toss it aside. When I leave my bra on, he makes a soft noise of disapproval and runs his finger along the lace that covers my breast. I ignore how good it feels.

“This feels like cheating,” he murmurs.

“Does it?” I start working on his hand splint again, ignoring the stare I know he’s giving me.

Undeterred, he hooks a finger under the strap at my shoulder and starts to slowly tug it down. As it slips lower, he says, “I can feel the pain disappearing already. See what a good nurse you are?”

I try not to smile at his words. Instead, I put all my focus on unwrapping the tape from his fingers, but when he slips a finger into my bra and runs it over my nipple, making it instantly harden, I can’t resist meeting his eyes. The hunger in them has my hands stilling, my job momentarily forgotten.

“You always make everything better,” he murmurs, teasing me with his finger.

“Don’t tease me too much, Max,” I warn him. “I need to be able to concentrate.”

He gives an easy laugh, but I’m being serious. “Laugh it up,” I tell him, “but if you have a crooked finger for the rest of your life because I’m too preoccupied by your nipple tweaking, I’ll never forgive myself.”

“I would forgive you,” he tells me, “and every time I saw that crooked finger, I’d remember how I got it and smile.”

“It might affect your ability to play the piano.”

He shrugs. “I’d have to figure out a way to make it work. It’d still be worth it.”

To prove his point, he tugs my bra down so the lace bunches below my breast. With one side fully exposed, he lets out a sigh as I put my focus back on his fingers. He’s quiet while I go through the exercises, one finger at a time, and when I chance a quick look up at him, the intense look he’s giving me has me dropping my eyes back to his hand. If I don’t look away, then I’ll never be able to. Max doesn’t just lookatme—he looksintome. It’s the kind of look that’s so easy to get lost in, the kind I never want to turn away from, but his hand has to come first, at least for now.

When I’m all done and the splint is back on his hand, he scoots me into his lap so I’m straddling him. Leaning closer, he wraps his mouth around my exposed breast and gives me a hard suck that has me arching back with a gasp as my fingers thread into his thick hair and I hold him tightly against me. His tongue is relentless, little flicks and swirls that leave me breathless and aching for more.

I’m surprised when he pulls back and rests his forehead against my chest, breathing deeply as he gets himself under control.

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