Bath 1

*WARNING! Chapter contained sexual scenes not suited for young audiences. Skip to the next chapter if you're not comfortable with this type of scene.

You've been warned.

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[Catherine's POV]

"A bath . . ." I rolled the words in my tongue, hoping I misheard when Mille and Millie said to join Charles in a bath.

"Yes, my Lady. Lord Charles is hoping that you can join him in the bath."

". . . Can I not go?"

"I'm sorry, my Lady. But Lord Charles's orders are the rules here," they both said as soon as I let out my protest.

". . ." I looked to the side. My heart was beating loudly for me to think. Was he going to mark me now? But we still have a week before the bloodmoon. He promised that he wouldn't touch me by then.

Did he change his mind?

I willed my bottom lip not to tremble. I didn't want to mate with him, much less bore him little monsters. But what could I do?

He owned me now.

He literally held me with one arm by my neck. If I wanted to be with Benjamin and find that mark, then . . .

"Very well." I gathered my resolve and took one full breath. "I shall see him."

Mille and Millie undress me and let lose my hair.

"Shouldn't I be wearing anything?" I asked a stupid question when they just put a robe under my naked form.

Millie and Mille looked at each other. "You can, my lady, though you'll still have to remove it later when you're in the bathhouse."

". . ." Either walk to the bathhouse naked under a robe or striptease later for Charles's amusement.

I sighed. Did I have a choice in the matter? If I had, I wouldn't be here in the first place.

Walking through a series of hallways, I keep my mind occupied with the paintings and flowers displayed. The oil paintings smell old in contrast with the fresh flowers. Something I didn't know I would take comfort to.

The castle was huge, and try as I might, I would take probably a hundred or hundreds of strolls until I get to memorize its maze-like corridors and thousands of its rooms.

I didn't know where I was. I suddenly found myself inside a hallway encased in crystals with gold frames and moldings. The stars looked lovely tonight. If only I were in the mood to appreciate its beauty.

Right now, I was a walking drum of gong. My body was vibrating with how hard my heart thumped against my ribs. It was suffocating just to take that extra steps towards the giant door carved in gold.

"My lady." Mille and Millie ushered me forward when they opened the door.

I remained frozen from where I stood. The steam from the bathhouse hid what was inside, and not until I heard Charles's voice that I take my first step.

"Come, Catherine."

At his sensual tone, I forgot everything, and I was hypnotized to come in the blurs of steam.

The door closed behind me, but it might as well be invincible, for I didn't hear and see anything except the man sitting in one of the grandiose pools whose golden intense eyes pinned me to a stop.

I didn't have time to marvel at the marble bathhouse where two giant statues poured water like a waterfall on the numerous pools.

(Pic)

My focus was on Charles as the background dimmed in comparison with his beauty. His skin was pale, luminescent. His hair was wet, clinging to his skin, and my throat dried with the view of his lean muscles and abs.

I tried my hardest not to peek, not to glimpse at his abdomen, but my own body betrayed me. The sexy muscles lining his pelvis were enough to make me wet, and I gasped when I inhaled my own arousal.

I knew he smelled it too, but he just faked a chuckle.

"Come here, Catherine."

I was panting now. Panting with the need to be with him. To feel and put my fangs on his neck.

I rubbed my thighs together. I didn't have any control. I lost all of it. My robe fell on the floor, and his eyes turned to slit while his jaw clenched.

My fangs itched from my gums when I smelled his arousal, and there was no stopping me from claiming his neck.

One second I was standing at the edge of the pool, and the next thing I knew, I was in front of him with my fangs buried deep in his skin.

Trinity was wrong. Her portion wasn't effective in controlling my thirst. At least my thirst for this man.

Charles huffed a laugh, and he rubbed my hair as I fed on his neck. His arousal was palpable. Our pheromones were thick with a desire to mate. There was no stopping him if he claimed me now. I certainly wouldn't.

In fact, all the veins in my body would probably burst if he didn't claim me here and then.

"My dear Catherine . . ."

His voice sent shivers from the strand of my hair to the tip of my toes. I felt his caress around the hair of my pelvis.

A sensual moan I didn't know I could make pushed through my throat when his hand rubbed my clit. My hips rolled forward on their own to give his long slender hands clear access to my lower regions.

He dipped his head down to my ear and whispered in a husky voice, "You're still not ready for me, Catherine. But that could be arranged."

He bit my ear and murmured, "Do you want me to touch you, Catherine? I won't touch you unless you do."

I gasped, and I found his offer more enticing than his blood. My arousal flared, and we both inhaled its strong scent.

My eyes returned to normal as I retracted my fangs from his neck. I was straddling him with my butt raised on the marble floor of the pool. My palms stayed plastered on his shoulders for support while the warm waters brought a new feeling that made me bolder.

I felt like I would collapse from embarrassment when a little bit of clarity returned to me. Where did I get the courage to do something like this? But what's more . . . I couldn't stop myself and nodded my head.

I didn't know who I was anymore.