“Lilith,” I said with an awestruck nod.
“Exactly.” She looked down. “It’ll all come off throughout the night, but what fun is it to be a woman if we can’t make a grand, dramatic entrance?”
The rest of the women had followed the theme more traditionally. There were a few fairies, one butterfly, three different princesses of various shades and styles. One woman was dressed as a literal doe, with ears, face paint, and strappy lingerie that covered nothing at all. When she turned, my eyes widened at where her deer tail was coming out of.
“Oh,” I said, making Maisy giggle.
When someone else slipped into the room, she was already nude. She winked at me, and I realized it was the slave nun—the one who wanted Wes to paddle her.
“We have your outfit,” Jayne said, pulling my attention back to her. “It looked beautifully complex. Could I assist?”
“And I can do your makeup! I took a peek inside, so I have an idea,” Agnes offered. She was one of the princesses.
“Um, sure, thank you,” I said to both. I moved to the boxes laying on the edge of a table. When I opened them, I realized with a sudden dread I was about to be fully nude in front of this room full of women and half-nude in front of a few hundred strangers.
A portion of whom presumably ran the entire world.
Oh my God. I was in a mansion with Max Graves’s son and Elliot effing Sulton. Who the hell else was here? Was I about to show my ass cheeks to the President of the United fucking States of America?
“I think she might be freaking out,” Maisy whispered at a volume I could obviously hear.
I thumbed the hand-beaded outfit, the lines of crystals about to drape down my body, the delicate choker—or perhaps collar—that would encircle my throat.
When a hand closed on my shoulder, I jumped.
“Let us help you. It’s normal to be nervous. Everyone’s a little scared at their first party,” Jayne said.
The girls nodded and echoed Jayne’s sentiments. Even the nude slave nun offered warm words of encouragement with the chorus.
I glanced around one more time. Everyone else was naked or close to it. They’d probably also seen each other in far more compromising positions.
Before I could talk myself out of it, I declared a resoundingfuck itinternally.
I nodded to Jayne, and I dropped my dress. It brought me one step closer to Lorelei. I could see her walking inside this room any minute now. Maybe someone here was friends with her. One of them could’ve been the mystery woman who joined her for brunch. She might not have even gone by the nameLoreleiwith them.
I’d decided it was supremely stupid of me to have given my real name. Though I wasn’t sure that would’ve stopped The Circle from knowing everything about me already.
I slipped off my underwear next. Jayne smiled warmly, admiring me like I was a marble statue in the Met.
None of the other girls batted an eye for more than a few glances or appreciative looks. This was all as shocking as a normal Tuesday afternoon for them.
Jayne helped me into the top portion. I held the beaded masterpiece in place over my breasts as she fastened the clips at my back. Her touch was cool, sending a shiver down my spine.
“You’re going to look otherworldly in this,” she whispered. “A work of art.” Her fingers brushed my neck as she clasped the collar attachment.
“Are those diamonds?” I whispered to Jayne. “Actually, no, don’t answer that. It’ll make me sick.”
Jayne laughed.
I bashfully put on the delicate panties myself, grateful they weren’t sheer or cutout at the crotch like some of the other girls’. I wouldn’t have worn them otherwise.
Jayne helped with the garter belt and thigh jewelry, and soon, I was draped in surprisingly heavy, glittering lingerie.
The room oohed and ahhed.
The matching ethereal wings were much lighter, though I didn’t love the way my range of movement was limited by them. Knowing me, I’d accidentally poke someone in the eye before I left. Maybe a congressman, if I was lucky.
“Someone clearly doesn’t want anyone else touching you,” Maisy said with a mischievous smile.
