Page 29 of Beg the Night

“What the hell are you doing?” Margaret darted over, her eyes wide as she scanned my body like she was concerned for my mental well-being. “I’m not sure if you know this, but you’re, like, totally naked right now.”

Fair.

“Where have you been?” I planted my hands on my hips and glared at her. “Someone came in there and took my clothes, Margaret! All the clothes, and the towels.”

She glanced over my shoulder into the bathroom, holding her hands out in front of her as if that was really going to calm me down. “I’ve been standing here the whole time. Nobody came in or out. I swear.”

A couple of men to my right snickered.

Fury sparking to life, I spun and took a step closer, ready to kill the next person who laughed. “What?” I yelled. Yeah, I was definitely losing my mind. “Does this amuse you? You all think this is funny?” Water dripped down my body, and if not for the anger burning through me, I probably would have shivered.

The guys continued to gather around, drawn to me like they hadn’t seen a naked woman in years. Hell, maybe they hadn’t.

Sinner barreled through the crowd, knocking men over left and right. “What the fuck are you doing?” he barked as he stopped in front of me. His dark eyes raked my body once, and I could have sworn he got even angrier as he looked at me.

Wow. Did I really disgust him that much?

“Someone took my clothes from the shower.” I threw my arms out to my sides. “That desperate to see a naked woman, it seems.” I propped my hand on my hip and lifted my chin. “Ground-breaking, I know.”

A few more men laughed. One near the back even whistled, causing a round of cheers to break out.

Potent anger radiated from Sinner, each wave slamming into me more forcefully than the last. “Cover yourself. Now.”

There it was. The possessive, arrogant asshole who thought he could control every person here, every situation.

“Why?” I stepped closer. “Not liking what you see? If that’s the case, I have bad news for you. I don’t think you’ll be happy when the claiming ceremony comes around.”

More laughter.

But not from Sinner.

A few painfully slow seconds passed. With each one, I became more and more aware of the fact that I was a naked woman standing in front of a group of depraved men.

With a curse, Sinner stepped forward and peeled his own shirt off his body.

“What are you?—”

He cut me off by shoving it down over my head.

As the hem hit my thighs, I froze. I couldn’t move if I wanted to. Not when his hands were on me. He let go, but he didn’t back up, not at first. He stood inches away from me—shirtless—breathing so heavily his chest nearly touched mine. “You’re coming very close to pissing me off. And you don’t want to see me angry.”

Right. Because so far, he’s been nothing but cheerful since I arrived. “Why do you care if I stand here naked or not? It’s none of your concern.”

“It’sexclusivelymy concern.”

I scoffed, arms crossed under my breasts. “Because someone’s finally disobeying your orders?”

Face reddening, he tipped his chin down until his sharp features were cast in shadow. If I wasn’t so pissed, I may havebeen afraid. By the silence of the others, it was obvious they were.

Always so frightened of big, bad Sinner.

Even Margaret, my ridiculously chatty friend—formerfriend—was silent.

It was impossible to focus on any of them for more than a heartbeat. Not with the way his masculine scent flooded my senses, making my pulse race.

“You’re mine, New Girl,” he said, heat rolling off him and soaking into me. “I agreed to claim with you, and as much as I wish I could change that, we’re stuck in this situation.”

“And what situation is that?”

---