I pushed myself up when they finally got my jeans off. “Something Bobbins said.”
“She is an elder,” one said.
Another chimed in, “It makes her a bit off in the head.”
Their chipperness made them seem off in the head. They were avoiding my question. Bobbins would answer me. She might beat around the bush, but at least she directed me around it so I could discover the truth.
“Up.” They grabbed my hands, and the other goblin pushed at my back. “Tub time.”
I stepped inside the bath and sat, bringing my knees to my chest. Water poured over my head and made me gasp. “A little warning,” I sputtered and wiped it out of my eyes.
They laughed and kept going, sudsing my hair and rinsing it clean. One goblin tried to wash my body, but I took the soap from their hand. “No. I will wash myself.”
I slid the soap down my arm and paused when I felt their eyes on me. I spun my finger in the air. “Turn around.”
Once their backs were to me, I continued quickly. “There’s no need to hide,” one said. “We bathed you for His Highness when you were ill.”
“That doesn’t make me feel any better,” I said, washing the soap off. “Hand me a towel.”
I dried my upper body and stepped out on a cloth they laid on the floor when there was a knock on the door. I scrambled to cover myself as another goblin entered carrying a dress draped across her arms.
“Just in time!”
“For what?” I asked.
“For dinner. It is a special night.”
Excited, wrinkled little faces stared at me. If they knew tonight was the night, did that mean everyone else did too? A cold sweat broke out on my body, and my stomach churned. I couldn’t stand the thought of being watched with expectant gazes through dinner, waiting for when Astaroth and I returned to this room.
I shrieked when, as a unit, they attacked me with creams and perfumes, covering my skin. One of the maids grabbed a thong off the bed and held it open for me to step in. I snatched them and turned them the right way before I quickly tugged them on and then covered my breasts as two others prepared the dress.
“I see why sire likes those so much.” She wagged her nonexistent brows. She reminded me of a turtle.
My face burned as they tossed it over my head and jumped off the bed, tugging it down. The tight garment felt like a straitjacket with my arms caught inside. I struggled to pull them free and into the straps.
This dress looked and felt like a night gown. My nipples were hard as a rock and very obvious through the fabric. He could sitdown there by himself. I was not wearing this to dinner. I didn’t even want to wear it for this “special night.”
After the maids coiled my hair atop my head, they took their leave. Being alone made it worse. My frayed nerves felt like I was poking them into an electrical outlet. To calm myself, I sat in my favorite chair and opened the music box to rid the annoying lyrics of “The Final Countdown” blaring in my head. That only made me think of our kiss by the tree. I lost myself in the memory and stared at the labyrinth tapestry. I could feel the pressure of his mouth as he consumed me. It was still imprinted on mine.
The door opened a short time later, and I tensed in the chair, giving the dress a once over. At some point, I had crossed my legs, and my thighs squeezed together so tight I could crush a melon. Melon made me think of a head, and the image of Astaroth’s between my thighs. I quickly uncrossed them and shifted in the chair.
Astaroth was dressed to impress with his fitted black pants tucked into knee-high, shiny black boots and a short black coat that buttoned up the side and across his chest, ending at the middle of his throat. I felt like I took a trip back in time, only I wasn’t dressed for it. I would stand out like a sore thumb.
He stopped in front of me. I could feel his gaze travel over me, resting on my mouth. “Are you ready for dinner?”
“I’m not leaving this room.”
Astaroth sat in the chair across from me. He was prepared for war by the expression on his face. “Why?”
“Everyone knows what will happen tonight. I don’t want to be paraded around in front of them like some prize you won.”
His lip twitched, and I wanted to eat my words. “Would you prefer they find out after?”
I huffed. “I’d prefer they didn’t find out at all.”
“It is no longer a secret why you are here, Calista.”
My face burned. “Regardless, I’m not going. Especially dressed in this.”
