“Welcome,” a voice says from behind us, and I turn to find a beautiful, but rather unsettling woman standing behind us. She seems familiar, but I can’t quite figure out why that is. She watches us all for a long moment, waiting to make sure she has everyone’s attention before continuing, “You are to spend the day enjoying yourselves to the fullest here. Attendants have been provided to see to your every desire.”
As if on cue, a line of gorgeous men appears behind her. Some carry towels and jars of oil, while still others are laden with platters of fruit and pitchers of wine, ready to pamper us in every possible way.
I follow the other women as they begin to undress, their garments falling to the floor in a pile of fabric as they wade into the water. Their eyes widen in pleasure as they sink into the steaming water.
Smiles and laughter are quick to replace the somberness that haunted us before. As if they’ve already forgotten that our very lives now hang in the balance.
I wish I could bring myself to relax, but I can’t shake the feeling that something isn’t right.
Wrapping my arms around myself, I look around the room, unsure of whether or not I should join them. Still fully clothed, I finally decide to sit at the edge of the pool.
I dip one foot in, smiling faintly at the soothing warmth of the water as it laps against my skin. The others begin to chat, their voices gradually growing louder as they aren’t hushed or scolded into silence.
Movement catches my attention out of the corner of my eye, and I turn to look just as a handsome half-dressed attendant crouches down beside me.
“Is there anything I can do for you?” he asks, his eyes like molten amber beneath thick lashes.
For a moment, I hesitate before shaking my head.
“No, thank you. I am quite content as I am,” I answer, dragging my eyes away from him and back to the glistening water.
He doesn’t leave my side, though. In fact, he shifts closer. Nearly invading my space now, I have no choice but to glance at him.
“Are you sure there isnothingI can do to please you?” he presses, his honied eyes growing darker as he arches a brow.
It takes a second for the meaning behind his words to hit me, and I blink at him in stunned silence before a nervous laugh bubbles out of me. As beautiful as this man may be, there is nothing he could offer me that would tempt me away from this spot.
“Again, thank you, but no.”
He frowns slightly at this but otherwise doesn’t seem to care that I’ve now turned him down twice.
Much to my chagrin, he settles next to me instead. Dipping his own feet into the water, he shifts so that his thigh presses against mine.
“Come now, surely there is something I can do to bring you pleasure,” the attendant whispers, his voice as low and soft as it is enticing. “I am quite talented in a number of ways.”
I pull my leg away from his, a shiver running down my spine at his words. There is something unsettling about this place, and this man’s persistence is not helping to ease my nerves.
“Be that as it may, I said no,” I repeat firmly, my voice carrying a hint of warning.
I try to ignore the attendant's presence, looking away from him and focusing on the other women in the pool. But his words linger in my mind, and I find myself growing more and more uncomfortable by the second.
Still, he doesn’t seem to take the hint. Instead, he reaches out and places a hand on my knee, his fingers trailing up my thigh through the slit in the dress.
I freeze, unsure of how to react. My instincts scream at me to push him away, to run as far from this man and this place as possible, but something keeps me rooted to the spot.
“Perhaps a massage then? I have been told that my hands are quite skilled,” he suggests, his hand inching even higher up my thigh, “and there is nothing I will not do to please you.”
“You can please me right now by removing your hand from my body,” I hiss, my patience wearing thin.
He looks offended, his expression twisting into a scowl as he withdraws his hand. But before he can say anything else, a commotion at the other end of the pool draws our attention.
Turning, I find one of the other women in a rather delicate position with her own attendant. She lets out a moan, and I quickly drop my gaze as I realize what they’re doing.
All at once, it’s like a floodgate has been opened as others join her in seeking pleasure with their own attendants.
My cheeks flush, heat surging through my body, as I struggle to know what to do with myself when all I want is to run away. After my time spent in Eros’ palace, you would think I’d be used to seeing this kind of behavior from the gods and creatures here, but I am not.
The man next to me leans in again, drawing my attention sharply back to him.
