Page 86 of Born into Darkness

Max grins. “Agree to disagree on that one, but you have my word. I’ll take the other pills if I need them.”

Despite my embarrassment, I look at the doctor and add, “And I give you my word that I’ll make sure he does.”

The doctor laughs while doing the last adjustment on Max’s splint. When he’s done, he pushes his stool back and says, “I can see that you’re in good hands and that I won’t need to worry about you after you leave this office. I’ll write you a prescription for something more mild, and I want you doing those finger exercises every day, four times a day as long as the pain isn’t severe. Keep the sling on while you sleep. Other than that, I’ll see you in a couple of days.”

“Sounds good,” Max says, stepping from the exam table to come and stand beside me. Danil thanks the doctor and when we hit the waiting room, my bodyguard joins us as the SUV pulls around to the entrance.

On the drive back, Max’s dad looks back and says, “Looks like you both have the appointments under control, so I’ll leave you to them from now on.” He grins and adds, “Niki regularly hacks in to read the doctor’s notes, so he keeps me up to date anyway.”

“Of course he does,” Max says with a soft laugh.

We make a quick stop at the pharmacy to pick up his new pain medicine, and then head back to the penthouse. As soon as we get there, we fill everyone in on how it went while we eat lunch. I’ve already planned out a schedule for his hand exercises and set reminders on my phone.

When the alarm goes off, I look over at Max and ask, “Where do you want to do this?”

He grins and says, “I can think of a variety of places.”

I laugh before I can stop it and then grab his good hand, pulling him to standing so I can lead him to the bedroom.

“Good choice, baby,” he says, eyeing the bed when we walk in.

“This isn’t playtime,” I tell him. “We need to squeeze in another session before bed, and then tomorrow, we’ll do the full four.”

When I see the very amused look on his face, I point a finger at him. “Don’t say it.”

“Don’t say what?”

“I know what you’re thinking,” I tell him. “I’m not being domineering. I’m being helpful. There’s a difference.”

“Of course there is,” he says in a way that makes it clear he thinks I’m most definitely showing my domineering side, and then adds, “And because you’re being sohelpful, I think it’s worth mentioning that I think it would really help the healing process if we do these exercises while you’re topless.”

“You think so, huh?”

“I do, yes.” He steps closer and slides his hand up my shirt so he can cup my breast.

I try not to let it distract me and instead raise a brow and say, “Let me guess. For science, right?”

He grins and tweaks my nipple. “Exactly.”

I can tell he’s all set to conduct the first experiment, but before he can lift my shirt and relieve me of my bra, his brother knocks on the door and yells, “Nat just went into labor! We’re going to meet them at the hospital when you’re done, okay?”

Max grins at the news and then scowls when I yell, “You can come in if you want, Niki.”

Leaning close, he whispers, “That was cruel, sweetheart. I’ll have to think of an appropriate punishment for later.”

Before I can come up with a smartass comeback, his brother opens the door and walks in with my two brothers right behind him.

“How’s Nat doing?” Max asks his brother.

“She’s doing great. It’s Dominic you need to worry about,” he says with a grin. “He’s freaking out and worried. Uncle Lev and Aunt Jolene are with Isabella at the hospital. The last message said everyone else was on the way and that Nat is handling it all like a pro.”

“That doesn’t surprise me at all,” Max says. “She did great when she had Isabella too. It’s always the men who lose it.” He gives me a quick wink and says just loud enough for me to hear, “I wonder how I’ll handle things when the time comes.”

I have no doubt he’ll be amazing, and when he sees my grin, he returns it and gives me another wink.

We want to watch, Bran signs.How are you able to do this, Tally? You’re usually pretty squeamish.

The memory of how it had felt jamming that knife into Miguel’s throat comes back with a vengeance. I swallow back the bile that threatens to rise and shrug my shoulders as I sign,Guess I got used to it.

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