Assist?As in, bathe me? Oh hell no. If Belphegor bathed me, I could at least try to pretend it was Holga instead.
The goblins were shriveled, warty little creatures with curling yellowed fingernails and rancid breath. They leered at my naked body, their ratty little loincloths tenting with their erections.
The thought of them touching me had me edging away until my back hit the bathing chamber’s cold stone wall.
The only way out was the single doorway the goblins blocked off. Even if I made it out of the bathroom, where would I go? This entire place was a prison.
Belphegor snickered at my reaction, clearly finding my disgust amusing, but to my relief, he took the basket of brushes and loofahs and waved the goblins away. “Get out. No one touches the Lord of Greed’s royal meat but me.”
Bile burned in my throat at being referred to as the “royal meat.”
He placed the basket on the ground beside his seat and dipped a pinky into the water, testing the temperature.
“It’s too hot. Unless you’re trying to boil me before you dump me into that cauldron,” I muttered, trying to keep the fear from my voice. It was pointless, though, considering how my body wouldn’t stop shaking no matter how hard I willed it to stay still.
“You’re terrified, aren’t you?” Belphegor's small smile sent a violent chill through my core.
“Your heart is beating like a little rabbit’s caught in a snare. I feel so sorry for you,poor thing.” Belphegor's smile indicated that he didn’t feel sorry for me in the slightest.
I bared my teeth, and he laughed again. “Well, you still have more spunk than any human I’ve met. I suppose you’d have to have something special about you to wiggle your way inside Belial’s icy heart.”
Was that jealousy I caught in his tone?
“Maybe you’re just putting on a brave face because your soul is still in the hands of your precious master, which is really too bad.” Belphegor poked his bottom lip out in a fake pout. “That means once Mammon sucks the last bit of marrow from your boiled bones, there won’t be anything left to torture.”
“Belial isn’t going to let you do shit with my body.”
“Oh, honey.” Belphegor's snowy brows furrowed, as if he almost did feel sorry for me now. “You’re not stupid enough to think he’s going to reach you in time, are you?”
He snorted at my expression. “This realm is a fortress. I’m sure he’ll try his best, considering how hard up he seems to be for your scrawny little body. That was quite the show he put on at the masquerade. Chaining you to his throne? The way he looked at you… Either he had his ferryman’s oar stuffed down his pants, or he was thinking about bending you over his throne, right there in front of everyone.”
A moan crawled up his throat, and his white lashes fluttered. “Mmm, nowthatwould have been a show.”
With the claw-foot basin full, he cut the water, and his gaze slithered back to me. His plump lips pursed as he considered me. “You must be quite the little fuck to keep a monster cock like Belial’s standing at attention.”
I cringed, and he threw his head back, his mocking laughter making the little hairs on my nape rise.
“Oh, don’t give me that pathetic look. Unlike my brothers, I’m not interested in that little mound between your thighs.”
Something akin to relief flooded my system, releasing some of the tension in my chest. If he wasn’t bullshitting me, then whatever his plan was, it didn’t entail eating me, boiling me, or raping me.
As much as this demon made alarms go off in my head, he was the lesser evil as far as his plans with me went. I just had to convince him to defy Mammon and get me the hell out of here.
“You said earlier you had a better idea on how to make use of me. So why are you going along with the feast?”
Belphegor’s brows furrowed as his hand hovered over the tray of herbs. He opted for a mixture of salt and rosemary and tossed it into the steaming bath. “Mammon always gets what he wants.”
“But aren’t you a demon lord too?” I asked, my eyes bouncing between him and the tub. “Why should Mammon get his way and not you? Is he better than you, or is that just what he likes to think?”
The white-haired demon’s lip curled and his nostrils flared. “I know what you’re doing. You’re not going to drive a wedge between me and my Mon-Mon.”
Mon-Mon?Oh, barf.
The demon lord gave an irritated flip of his snow-white hair while drumming his manicured claws against the edge of the now-full tub. “This is boring me. Get in so we can get this over with.”
He stirred the water with a slender index finger, musing through a devious smirk, “Maybe your meat will taste good enough to make this worth it.”
Fuck.
