Page 72 of Reckless Harmony

“Mom!”

She laughed. “You’re not the only one who can be blunt in this family, sweetheart. Now, I have to run. I’m off to the Marigold for a poker tournament this weekend.”

“Have fun. Don’t lose all of your money.”

She gave him an affronted look. “Need I remind you that I have won seven of the last ten tournaments I participated in?”

“No, you do not,” he grinned.

“Good. I love you, my boy.”

“I love you too.”

He ended the call and smiled at Molly, who had wandered into the kitchen. She chirped at him, rubbing up against his leg, and he gave her a few pets before standing. “I just need to take out the garbage, and then I’ll feed you. Go back to your babies, sweetie.”

He gave her a gentle nudge in the direction of the bedroom, satisfied when she headed down the hallway toward his room. He grabbed the garbage bag and carried it outside to the bin. Snow was falling steadily, and he glanced at Rayna’s house before tossing the bag in the bin.

He turned to go back into the house but froze when he heard the shriek from Rayna’s house.

“What the hell?” He paused on the step, listening intently, and when, a few minutes later, he heard another scream, he jogged across his yard toward Rayna’s place.

CHAPTER 25

“Oh, this is bad. This is really, really bad.” Rayna stared at her pale face in the bathroom mirror.

Don’t panic. This is not the time to panic.

“Are you kidding? This is the perfect time to panic!” she said to her reflection.

Cold air blew against her bare legs, but she didn’t close the window behind her. She’d started off trying to wax in the upstairs bathroom, but it was too hot and steamy from her shower, and she didn’t want to be a sweaty mess by the time she was finished. So, she grabbed the waxing supplies and went to the downstairs half bath, opening the window to keep herself cool. Of course, she was starting to think she should have waxed before she showered, but it was too late now.

She sucked in a deep breath and stared at the wax strip in the sink. Hair and a surprising amount of blood covered it.

“That’s just way more blood than I’m comfortable with,” she told her reflection.

She reached between her legs, skirting past the fabric strip to touch the bare spot she’d just waxed. The tips of her fingers came away dotted with blood, and her labia burned like fire.

“C’mon, you can do this,” she said fiercely. “It’s just one strip. You have to rip it off.”

She gripped the strip of fabric. Gritting her teeth, she yanked at the strip and screamed again when fresh fire erupted against her labia.

Panting, her eyes watering and her labia begging for mercy, she let go of the strip. It was only halfway off, and she pressed her fist against her mouth to muffle her moans of pain.

Holy fuck. She’d expected it to hurt when she waxed her crotch, but she hadn’t expected… this. It felt like she was ripping off a layer of skin.

“Fuck,” she muttered before glancing at her phone. Why hadn’t she listened to Arianna and not waited until an hour before her date to wax? At this rate, she’d be sitting at the restaurant with a fabric strip of wax clinging to her labia.

She touched the dangling strip of fabric, willing herself to rip off the rest. Her fingers shook, and she gripped the edge of the sink. “Shit. I can’t. I can’t do it.”

“Can’t do what?”

She shrieked and whipped toward the open window, grabbing the hairdryer from the counter and raising it over her head like a weapon.

Isaac Stark stared at her through the open window, snowflakes clinging to his dark hair and one thick eyebrow raised. “If you’re going to bash my head in with the hairdryer, turn it the other way. It’s much more effective.”

“What the fuck?” she gasped, her heart knocking against her ribs. “Why are you spying on me?”

“I could hear your screams from my house,” he said. “I came over to see if you were being murdered.”

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