Forced To Love You

Arousal

When I woke up the next morning, Christian was gone and I was in bed alone. I assumed Christian had carried me in some time throughout the night since I didn't remember getting there myself.

I sat up in the large bed and sighed as I scanned the room. It was quiet in the room, telling me I was there alone.

I tried to think back to what Christian and I had talked about the night before. I knew a lot of it was personal but I assumed he would be fine telling me because I was his mate.

Did I say the wrong thing and upset him?

I glanced to my left at the nightstand where I typically found notes from Christian but saw there wasn't anything more than his wallet sitting by the lamp. There were only so many places he could go without his wallet.

He wasn't going to come back any sooner just by me waiting around in bed so I got up and made my way to the bathroom.

I found myself looking into the cabinet behind where the door opened and looking through the many soaps and scrubs that were stocked on the shelves. I didn't picture Christian as the type to take any baths so I was sure most of the items sat unused for a long time.

I found a bath bomb that smelled of cinnamon and grabbed it before taking a towel from a lower shelf.

I set them down on the chair beside the tub and turned the water on for the tub. As I waited for the tub to fill up, I began undressing. I tied my hair up into a loose bun at the nape of my neck, wanting to keep as much of it from getting wet as I could.

I caught my reflection in the mirror across the room as I turned to put my clothes in the hamper.

I wanted to be ready for my gift for Christian but it still scared me to be so vulnerable in front of him. I never let anyone see me with such little clothing on. It always seemed like an invitation for more and I didn't know if I was ready for that yet, either.

I knew that at some point, it would happen. I couldn't stay a virgin forever. I couldn't do that to Christian when he seemed content being with me for the rest of his life.

Sighing, I leaned over the side of the tub and shut off the water. I tossed the bath bomb into the water before I stepped in and submerged myself in the warm water until it was covering my skin all the way up to my neck.

I closed my eyes as I let my muscles relax. I must have still been tired because I fell asleep in the tub before the bath bomb was even dissolved completely.

But my sleep was short-lived. A knock on the door woke me up and caused me to jump up into a sitting position.

"Blair?"

I leaned over to the chair and grabbed the small hand towel. I covered my chest with it. "Yeah?"

"Did you eat yet?"

"Not yet."

"I'll order us something."

I stared at the door for a few seconds in case Christian decided he wanted to come into the bathroom. When he didn't, I figured it was a good time to get out of the tub. I let the water drain while I hopped into the shower and took the fastest shower I ever had.

I wrapped a towel around my body before making my way over to the sink. I reached back and pulled the hair tie out, letting my hair fall down my back. I needed to remember to find somewhere in town to get my hair done. It needed a good cut.

I brushed my teeth before I gathered up the courage to leave the bathroom, knowing full well that Christian would see me in only a towel. It wasn't the first time but the thought still made me nervous.

Christian wasn't in the bedroom when I left the bathroom. I figured it would be safe to head right for the closet and quickly get dressed before he could see me in just a towel.

But as I approached the closet door, Christian stepped out right into my path. He was pulling a sweatshirt over his head so he didn't see me in front of him. I reached out with one hand and stopped him from running into me.

Fuck, he was chiseled.

He pulled his sweatshirt down with one quick tug so he could see me. He smiled as he ran a hand through his hair to fix it so it wasn't as disheveled. "Hey."

"Hi."

He reached under his sweatshirt and pulled my hand out. I hadn't even realized that my hand was still there until he was holding it. Clearly, I didn't have a problem with skin-to-skin contact.

"Feel better?"

I nodded. "Where did you go this morning? I didn't see a note or anything."

"I went on a run earlier. I thought I'd be back before you woke up but it took longer than I expected."

I nodded and walked around him to get into the closet. "So that would explain why you were half naked."

He grinned and turned around to face me. He leaned against the doorframe as he watched me pick out an outfit. "I could get completely naked and join you if you'd like."

I felt a blush creep up on my face and I rolled my eyes. "I'm good."

He approached me with slow, drawn-out steps. "You know, werewolves have pretty strong senses. We can hear things that normal humans can't and can smell things that aren't normally privy to others. We've always been good at smelling the arousal of a person. Especially that of our mates." He put his hand under my chin and turned my face away from the clothes and towards him. He leaned close and placed his lips so they were almost touching mine.

I could feel my heart racing in my chest and I couldn't distinguish if it was due to his words, how close he was to me, or a combination of the two.

"You might say you aren't ready but I think, deep down, you are."

I stared down at his lips which were barely in my sight. He was so close that it was hard for me to think properly. But I knew I wasn't letting him get his way so I pushed through the cloudy thoughts I had and found a resolve. "You know that's coercion, right?"

His eyes met mine and, while they were dark, they didn't carry a lust that most boys would have. He wasn't going to take advantage of me. "I'm not going to force you into anything. I want you to say yes because you truly want to."

I swallowed down the lump in my throat. "Okay."

He let go of me and took a step back all at once. The sudden movement caused me to waver on my feet. I hadn't realized how much of a hold he really had on me.

"You're worth waiting for but, fuck, is it hard sometimes." He left the closet just before a knock came on the main door and I was left to catch my breath with only a towel to cover the fact that I really, really wanted Christian.