29. CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Calista
“ W hat is happening?” I asked when a league of goblins entered with a massive tub and buckets of steaming water. I turned sideways in the chair by the bookshelf where I sat and refused to speak to Astaroth after he brought me back here. My newest holding cell, only this one had an electric fence and a pissed off magical warden.
“I’m taking a bath,” he said as he slipped his feet from his boots and dropped them to floor next to the bed.
“Not with me in here.”
His dark gaze speared me from across the room. “We discussed this. You will be with me, Jessandra, or Mergle at all times. They are currently occupied with the lineup, as you called it.”
I made my way to the door determined not to watch a fae Magic Mike show. “I’ll go help with that.”
Astaroth blipped in front of me, and we nearly collided. He was in desperate need of a bath, but I wasn’t about to admit that. “You will only distract them. Sit.”
I returned to the chair, grabbed the sides, and jerked it around to face the wall when he began stripping. My hands flew up creating blinders as he shucked his breeches. “At least wait until I sit!”
“You act as if you’ve never seen a naked male.” A hint of jealousy laced his words.
Nick popped into my head and the amazing night we could’ve shared if Astaroth hadn’t threatened him. Instead, he’s out there living his best life thinking I’m some kind of incestuous heathen while I’m trapped in a labyrinth with the Goblin King who wants me to have his baby. The former was definitely more believable.
Bucket after bucket of water poured into the tub, accompanied by the strained sounds of the goblins lifting something bigger and heavier than they were. The gentle swoosh of Astaroth stepping in and settling in the water followed.
“Would you like us to bathe you and wash your hair, sire?” one of the female goblins cooed.
My mouth dropped open in disgust. Her words implied a happy ending of sorts. How dare they while I was in the room. Immediately, I recalled Bobbins telling me I wasn’t the first woman Astaroth had brought here to seduce. The chair arms dug into my palms as my fists threatened to crush them.
“I can manage.”
My grip relaxed a fraction, and I released the breath I held while I waited for his answer.
“You are dismissed.”
The servants filed out of the room under my watchful gaze. I wanted to know which of the little hussies had offered to soap him down. The last three in line met me stare for stare with smirks on their ugly, flat faces. I pegged them with a glare that didn’t scare them in the least as they pranced out. They would not be allowed back in this room. If I had my way, they would be on latrine duty for the remainder of their servitude. I almost laughed but stopped. Why in the world did I even care? I didn’t plan to stay here, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to offer up sponge baths or happy endings to the devil himself.
But you don’t want anyone else to touch him either. Ugh, I sounded just as jealous as he did earlier. If not, more so, my subconscious teased again.
“You may turn around now,” Astaroth said.
I stared at the goblin statue on the shelf in front of me. “Hard pass.”
He sighed in frustration. “I want to look at you while we converse.”
“I don’t want to watch you bathe. Hurry up—”
I screeched, clinging to the chair’s arms and lifting my legs as it turned on its own.
Astaroth smugly leaned against the tub, his arms resting on the edges. “That’s better.”
Pissed off, I raised up to scoot it back around. His hand barely lifted from the tub and the chair didn’t budge when I jerked on it as if it were bolted to the stones. I turned my head and crossed my arms over my chest.
“You are angry.”
“Pretty sure we established that,” I said, pretending to study the painting above his fireplace.
“You’re angrier.”
Did I hear a smile in his voice? I refused to find out. “You’re naked-er.”
“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.