the nude.”
“I know it’s weird,” Tasha added softly. “It’s just one of those things you have to get used to. Might as well be now, you know?”
Celia nodded and took a deep breath. Then she quickly took her clothes off. She tried not to think about the way it made her feel. She didn’t do a sexy striptease or try to make herself look better than she did. She simply slid off her shirt and pants, then her panties. She had slept without a bra on. She was used to undressing alone. Even when she’d dated people, she had always undressed on her own. The idea of getting naked in front of other women both scared and excited her.
She shouldn’t like the idea of them looking at her, yet she kind of did. She felt like she should be embarrassed, but she also felt strangely at ease undressing in front of these other women. Once her clothes were off, being naked didn’t feel weird. It was the undressing that was weird. Besides, they were here to help her. At least, she thought they were.
Maybe they weren’t. Maybe they were going to destroy her, mock her, set her up for failure. She didn’t know. All she knew was that standing naked in front of them, she suddenly felt sexy and confident in a way she never had before.
“Now get in the tub,” Ariana repeated. Celia climbed in. She let out a moan as she sunk in. It wasn’t the claw-footed type of bathtub she expected. It was a big, oval-shaped tub that reminded her of a hot tub. It was easily big enough for three people and it was full of warm, bubbly water.
“Feels good, doesn’t it?” Jade smiled shyly.
Celia could only nod. She sunk back in the bath, suddenly forgetting her nudity. The water felt good: great, even. Her sore muscles instantly begin to relax. She closed her eyes.
“Here’s what’s going to happen,” Ariana said, grabbing a washcloth. “We’re going to wash you, shave you, dry you, clean you up, get you dressed, and fix your hair and makeup.”
“Shave me?”
“Of course that’s the one thing that stuck out to you,” Ariana grumbled, starting to wash Celia’s hair. “Out of all the things I said. You aren’t put off that a woman is going to clean your body. You just think it’s strange one will shave you.”
“Why do I have to be shaved?”
“Because the masters don’t like body hair,” Ariana said simply. Then she continued washing Celia’s body. Celia tried to relax as Ariana moved the washcloth over her skin. She had never been washed like this. No one had ever taken care of her in this way. Even when she’d dated, the men she was with had never washed her. She had always been alone.
Now she wasn’t.
And with a deep breath, she determined to enjoy this moment while it lasted. Maybe Ariana was actually trying to help her. Maybe she wasn’t. Maybe she would lead Celia to her death. She couldn’t be sure.
But she did know that in this moment, she felt peaceful and safe for the first time in a very long time.
“What’s going to happen to me?” Celia asked quietly. Ariana began washing her hair.
“You’re going to go with Gordon.”
“Who’s that?”
“He’s the one who took you last night.”
“He’s a vampire.”
“Yes.”
As much as Celia wanted to ask more, she bit her lip. Ariana began to shave her legs and her armpits and the area between her legs. Celia didn’t want to distract her and end up with a nasty cut. She was in the habit of shaving her pussy, so Ariana only had to trim things up a bit. She hadn’t shaved in a few days, so there was some stubble.
“You take good care of yourself,” Ariana murmured. “But from now on, you’ll have to shave every day.”
“Okay.”
“No exceptions,” Ariana said. “Even if you have your period or you’re tired or you didn’t get a lot of sleep, you have to shave every day. If you don’t, they’ll punish you.”
“I understand.”
And she did. Her life was not her own anymore. When she had been taken, it wasn’t just her body they