“My nudity didn’t set you ablaze.”
I didn’t respond. I was too busy trying to think of anything but what his dick looked like, and my brain was too slow to keep up.
The water sloshed onto the floor when he submerged himself. In my peripheral, I could see him reach over the side and grab something. His hands went to work scrubbing his scalp. I wondered how dark his gray hair looked when wet.
“Are you mentally prepared for dinner?”
His question threw me off. My focus was below the waterline of the tub, not where it needed to be. I reined in my thoughts and pushed the unwarranted anger to the side.
“Yes.”
Astaroth dunked under the water. I used my hand as a shield to prevent my wandering eyes from looking at him. My imagination, however, was having a field day, running amok and hyper focusing on every bead of water rushing down his skin as he broke the surface.
“You seem distracted.”
“Wouldn’t you be if our roles were reversed?” I squeezed my eyes shut, cursing myself for even mentioning it.
The water stilled. I tensed, muscles aching, beneath the intensity of his stare. I could feel it penetrating every part of me at once. “Good to know.”
My head snapped in his direction. He smirked as I quickly covered the scowl on my face, but it was too late. Astaroth got what he wanted—an image of him nude in the tub to linger in my mind.
“What is?”
“I affect you,” he stated matter of fact.
“You do not!”
“I do. You’re blushing, Calista.”
I growled. The heat in my face nearly burned my hand. My body was betraying me.
His words purred in my ear as if he were whispering them next to me. “I like it.”
I gasped and dropped my hand. He hadn’t moved. He just reclined there like the cat who caught the canary. His hair was darker when wet. A dark charcoal gray. My legs crossed of their own accord, trying to keep his devilish expression from working its way past the knot in my stomach to a place it had no business affecting.
“Ciera brought your new gown up.” He rubbed the soap over his arms, the smell of it wafting and tickling my senses. It reminded me of lavender and sandalwood. He dipped his arms below the water and cupped it up to his shoulders to rinse off. Every graceful movement mesmerized me. “I anticipate seeing you in it.”
After seeing how well it hugged my curves and the amount of skin it revealed, it was definitely going to give the wrong impression, especially now that I had to share a room with him.
Instead of commenting on the dress, my brain took a left turn right off a cliff. “Was Ciera the one who offered to bathe you?”
Astaroth relaxed against the tub again and laughed. “That is why you’re so angry?”
My cheeks started to burn again. “No.”
His arms drifted out to the sides. A memory of him in the throne room before he returned my brother flashed in my mind. “You could offer.”
“Fat chance.”
“Suit yourself.” He pushed himself up, and I covered my eyes.
“A warning would be nice!”
“It’s obvious you want to look.”
Water cascaded to the floor, puddling around his narrow feet. His toned calves flexed, but my hand blocked everything else above the knee. Astaroth remained there, giving me the chance.I fought every instinct to peek at the one detail our bargain was hinged on.
Once he moved out of view, I sighed in relief. Movement drew my eye to the mirror next to the fireplace. Astaroth’s reflection appeared, allowing me to see him from the chest up. I couldn’t bring myself to look away. He was always covered from the neck down, including his hands. Although he was very human in appearance, the pallor of his skin set him apart. There was a side of me that needed to witness some normalcy in him, and our differences triggered my curiosities. The old saying “curiosity killed the cat”… yeah, I was pretty sure I was nearing the end of all my lives thanks to him.
Astaroth opened the wardrobe, withdrew a large cloth, and used it to dry himself off before getting dressed. His hand raised and twirled around in the air. My hands gripped the arm rests when the chair moved again. Dressed in his finest gear, he faced me and squeezed the water from his hair with the cloth.
“The bell will chime soon. You need to get ready. We have a long night ahead of us.”
Before I could say anything, he left the room, giving me privacy to prepare.
