Page 80 of Born into Darkness

Luka gives me a smile that’s as big as his son’s. “Damn, it’s good to have you back.”

“It’s good to be back.” I kiss my nephew’s head, and then give Lara a big hug. When I pull back, I say, “Lara, this is Talia.”

“Hi, nice to meet you,” Talia says, and then laughs when Lara pulls her in for a big hug.

“It’s so good to meet you. I spent time with your mom while we were waiting for them to get you. She told me so much about you that I kind of feel like I already know you,” she says with a big smile.

“Max told me stories about all of you while we were there, so I feel like I know you, too.” She looks up at me and gives a soft laugh. “We had a lot of time to kill.”

“We did. After my daily ass kicking, she’d nurse me back to health and we’d tell each other stories.”

Lara gets misty eyed and gives us both a pitying look. “God, that’s so sad. I’m so sorry you both had to go through that, but I’m glad you at least had each other.”

“Me too,” Talia says, wrapping her arm around my waist.

Lara brushes away a tear and then laughs. “Sorry. Pregnancy hormones.”

Luka wraps his arms around her and kisses her while Roma looks over at us and grins, showing off all his baby teeth.

Following them back into the main room, I’m about to find us an empty chair when my Uncle Matvey stops us. Without a word, he hands Talia a bottle of water and my prescription painkillers. “He needs to take one of these every four to six hours.”

“Uncle Matvey,” I start to say, but he ignores my protest and pulls me in for a hug.

“I was worried sick about you, Max. It’s good to have you back.” He lovingly pats my cheek and adds, “Looks like maybe it wasn’t all bad, though, right?”

I look down at Talia and nod in agreement. “No, definitely not all bad.”

“I’m not kidding about the pain meds. I know what it’s like to suffer, Max. Don’t put yourself through that if you don’t have to.”

I nod, knowing he’s right and swallow the pill Talia hands me.

Uncle Matvey nods his approval and says, “You’ve endured enough pain. Now it’s time to heal.”

“Yeah, it is,” my Uncle Vitaly says, catching the last bit of our conversation. “It doesn’t matter if it makes your dick stop working. You need to rest and recover anyway.” He leans in so he’s speaking directly to Talia. “Go easy on him, kiddo, and don’t judge him too harshly on how he performs over the next few weeks. Give him the benefit of the doubt. Those meds really fuck a guy up,” he adds with a loud enough laugh to draw everyone’s attention.

“Hell yeah they do,” I hear Vitya say. “Stay strong, Max. Don’t let it mess with your head. You’ll be back to full strength in no time.”

Talia’s face is an adorable shade of pink as she listens to my family joke about my worst nightmare come to life.

“I wish you’d led with that info, Uncle Matvey,” I tell him.

He just laughs and pats my shoulder. “You wouldn’t have taken it if I had.” Looking at Talia, he says, “I’m serious, though. He really needs to keep taking them. You two have the rest of your lives together, a couple of weeks isn’t going to dim the flame.”

“What are they talking about?” I hear her dad ask from across the room.

Valeri laughs and shakes his head at his older brother. “Nothing, Vasya, just talking about Max’s recovery plan.” He walks past us and looks down at his niece. “You owe me big time, Tally girl.”

Her cheeks heat up even more as she says, “Thanks, Uncle Valeri.”

Everyone gets a good laugh at our expense while Talia leads me to an open chair, forcing me to sit down and relax. I grab her waist with my good hand and pull her next to me.

“I’m ready for this damn hand to be healed,” I whisper, leaning my head back and closing my eyes. I wait for the medicine to start working as she leans her head against my shoulder.

“I’m really sorry about the soft penis thing,” she says, making my eyes pop open in horror.

“Please don’t ever saysoft penis thingto me again. This is temporary,svetik moy.” I grin and kiss the tip of her nose. “Wouldn’t it be funny if I edged you until I get off the painkillers? Think of all the fun we could have. That would be weeks of pleasurable torture.”

Her panicked look says it all. “You wouldn’t,” she starts to say, and then she thinks better of it and switches to, “Please don’t do that to me.”

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