Page 59 of Lost & Found

My thoughts turned to dancing again. Pasha made it easy to let go and surrender to the music. I stole a glance as he spoke with Sebastian about club business. Staring at him was becoming a habit. He had such an easy smile and warmth in his eyes. There was something about him that allowed me to let my guard down.

“Did you exfoliate last night?” Victoria asked.

“Huh?” I said, coming out of the stupor I’d put myself in.

I had been lost in a daydream. Me and Pasha on the dance floor at the wedding in the dress I didn’t own yet, but somehow we looked stunning. Not as impressive as Kinsley and him, but memorable.

“Oh God, tell me you didn’t forget?” Kinsley exclaimed, dropping her fork with a clank. Alek raised an eyebrow. “She’s having her first ever Brazilian wax,” she added, making me elbow her.

“Will you shut up?” I glared. “I didn’t forget,” I hissed, turning to Victoria.

Several chuckles echoed around the dining room table, but thankfully, the men remained quiet.

“Did you take an Ibuprofen?” Tori asked, not wanting to let the conversation go.

Why we couldn’t have this later when the men weren’t around, I had no idea.

Nik’s rich laughter rang out. “Ibuprofen? They should offer general anesthesia for that level of self-induced torture.”

“But you were so smooth right after, remember?” Kinsley sighed, her eyes glossing over. “You should do the whole package again.”

“Yeah, nothing says I’m right in the head like willingly having your most intimate area slathered with hot wax by a complete stranger who you aren’t even getting the benefits of…” I paused before continuing, “Ahem… relations with.” It was hard censoring yourself around small children when you wanted to scream it out. “And just when it cools off, they apparently yank all the hair God gave you. Ruthlessly, I might add. All at once.”

“Not all of it.” Nik grinned.

I gulped. “Excuse me?”

“Yeah, they can’t get all of it on one swipe. And with you being Italian and all, it may take some extra effort. Isn’t that right Bashy boy?” Nik added far too casually.

My head swiveled so fast a sharp pull ran down my neck. “You wax?” I asked, staring at my brother like he’d just admitted to knitting or crocheting in his spare time.

For the first time ever, Sebastian looked almost…cornered.

His jaw ticked. “Yes,” he grumbled.

Nik leaned back in his chair, clearly enjoying himself. That infamous dimple he had flashed. “Meticulous about it, too.”

Sebastian shot him a look that could have leveled a small village.

I leaned forward onto my forearms, narrowing my eyes as I studied him. “How bad is it? Level with me?”

“We are not having this conversation.” His voice dropped into that familiar, final register. “Call mum.”

“Mum waxes? How the hell do you know that?” I demanded.

“I don’t,” he snapped. “But statistically speaking, she is a woman, for fuck’s sake.”

“Language,” Victoria and Marcel said in unison as Declan giggled.

Kinsley shimmed her shoulders. “Better be careful, Torturer, you might be in for an over-the-knee consequence from the Reaper.”

Sebastian didn’t find that very amusing. There was the faintest smirk as he glanced at Alek across the table. “I’d like to see him try,” he said calmly, finishing his orange juice.

Nik barked a laugh. “That’s not a no.”

Sebastian set the glass down a little harder than necessary. “You ready?” he asked Pasha, dismissing the topic with the efficiency of a man who refused to be dissected at the breakfast table.

But I caught it. The composure. The control. Say what you would about my brother, but he loved being the center of attention. And if Nik was right, the fool actually enjoyed his torture sessions. I wasn’t sure what to do with that info.