colors swirling through the fabric as it moves. I touch it and it feels buttery soft against my fingers. “That is pretty,” I admit. “Think it’s my size or yours?” She’s got a bigger bust and a tinier waist than me.
Yulenna just laughs. “It’ll fit. Disrobe and I’ll show you.”
Sure enough, it does fit. I mean, how can it not? Once I get naked and she drapes it over my head, I see why she laughed. The word “gown” is a very loose term. There are two embroidered frog-clasps on each shoulder, and the rest of the gown falls to my feet in a shimmering, sheer fall of fabric that slithers over my skin. And it’s sexy. The fabric is sexy. The sheerness of it is sexy. Even the way it hugs my shoulders as if barely managing to stay on is sexy. The material itself clings and slinks against my body as if it’s a second skin, outlining everything and leaving nothing to the imagination.
“Want to rouge your nipples and cunt?” Yulenna asks. “So they stand out under the fabric?”
“Um, no, I’m good.” I resist the instinctive urge to put my hands over my privates as she studies me. Stand out? Everything’s already standing out. My nipples are standing at attention, sticking out against the dress and completely outlined. The now-trimmed strip of bush I’m sporting is utterly visible. I don’t think I could stand out more if I tried.
“Yes, I suppose he likes how natural you are. I can see it holds a certain appeal to him.” She studies me. “Lick your lips.”
“What?”
“Lick your lips. Wet them. Make them glisten.” She arches an eyebrow. “That’s what this is about, right? Seducing Aron into your bed?”
53
I can feel myself blushing. “Maybe I just wanted to feel pretty.”
“Uh huh,” she says, unconvinced. Her expression turns gentle, sisterly. “Look, I know what it’s like. You think I haven’t been sold to a dozen masters before? You’re only as safe as your master’s favor extends. I understand the need to secure yourself. And I want to help you, because if he’s happy with you, we’re all safe.”
I don’t know what to say to that. “Thank you?”
Yulenna just smiles. “This is the best moment of your life. You have the favor of the gods. Use it. Enjoy it. Get everything you can out of it.”
She thinks this is the best moment in my life? Seriously? I open my mouth to protest, because the world I came from is so much better than this one, when a servant rushes through the door. “The lord of storms is coming,” she says, breathless. The other servants in the room scramble to get out, and Vitar rises from the cot with a yawn, moving toward the door to take his post.
Yulenna studies me for a moment, then puts a hand to the back of my neck and pulls me against her in a kiss. Her mouth works against mine, her lips shockingly soft, and then she bites my lower lip and slicks her tongue over it before releasing me.
I just gape at her.
“There,” she says, pleased. “Now you look like you’re ready to fuck. He’ll like that.” She winks at me, gathers her skirts, and follows the other servants out of the room.
I stand there, alone, my mouth throbbing from her kiss. I can’t believe she just kissed me. How weird. Her mouth was a startling contrast to Aron’s, too. I think I like his better, though. I touch my lips, wondering if I look as distracted as I feel. It takes me a moment to shake myself out of it, and then I move back to the reclining couch just as Aron enters. I pick up my goblet of wine and hold it as I try to look sexy.
He storms into the room, tossing off his cloak and throwing it down on the bed. “Idiots,” he mutters under his breath. “An entire keep full of fools.”
“Hi there,” I say, and manage to take a tiny sip of wine. “How was your day, dear?”
Aron pauses in his tirade, mid-removal of his sword belt, and looks over at me. He’s wearing one of the long, fur-lined tunics that these people favor and it covers him practically from head to toe. His big thighs are encased in fur-lined leggings and he looks like a mountain man, ready to take on the snowy peaks surrounding Novoro. Kind of hilarious, given that I’m dressed in something that would bring zero warmth.