Page 63 of Beg the Night

Sinner paused and smiled against my inner thigh until I shivered. “I think I can figure it out.”

“Be careful,” one of the other men grunted. “Who knows how many guys got a piece of that while she was outside. She doesn’t exactly look like a virgin.”

Another scoffed. “That girl is insane! Of course she’s a virgin! Who would come near a mystic like that?”

“Anallegedmystic.”

Heat rushed to my face and all the desire that had built washed down the drain.

Who the hell did they think they were?

I expected Sinner to lash out, to get pissed and attack the guy for his brash statement. But when I looked down at him and his water-covered lashes, he was still smiling.Smiling.He had never looked more dangerous.

“She’s mine, now, boys,” he said. And my entire fucking heart tightened. “Nobody else gets to touch her.”

And then he returned to his feast, devouring me until I was ready to scream his name, ready to let it echo off every stone wall.

My heart raced in my ears, but I was still vaguely aware of the guys making jokes as they shuffled out.

Then, blessedly, the footsteps were gone. The voices too.

Until it was only us.

And when my pleasure reached its peak, I did my best to suppress the scream that ripped from my lips.

I was sure I failed.

Sinner didn’t try to shush me that time. What was the point? We were the only ones left in the shower rooms, our breaths filling the small space around us like a privacy blanket.

“You still have issues with personal space,” I added, trying my best to regain some semblance of control over the situation.

He rose from his knees without taking his eyes off me, the water beating down on him as he loomed over me. “You think I couldn’t feel you? Your need practically screamed at me.”

My heart lurched. “It did not.”

“It did. How else would I know you were in here?”

I opened my mouth to argue, but words escaped me.

“Right,” he sneered. “This claiming is already changing us. It started the second we were both in agreement. Once it’s over, I’ll go back to staying as far away as humanly possible. But for right now, I have to handle these things when they arise because my power literally does not let me ignore it.”

I grimaced at his words, wishing I could escape him. That stung. It didn’t surprise me that he’d want to go back to avoiding me, but at some point during the last few days, I’d begun to think—stupidly—that something had changed between us.

God, I was growing soft.

“Fine by me,” I retorted, forcing my expression to morph into one of apathy. “And next time you feel the need to join me in my shower,” I leaned in so my lips almost brushed his, “don’t.”

I pushed past him and grabbed a towel. Yes, he’d seen me naked, but now that the rush of the moment had passed, vulnerability was creeping back in. Heat, confusion, and an annoying level of pain swarmed my mind, making me dizzy. Yes, this was all part of the claiming. That made sense.

But why couldn’t my stupid heart understand that? What was happening between us wasn’t personal. But itwasour ticket out of here, so it had to happen.

As I dried off, I could feel his attention on my back. “What?” I snapped.

When he didn’t respond, I spun to face him. He watched me, his eyebrows pulled together, his fists clenched at his sides, his every muscle coiled tight.

He shook his head and straightened to his full height. “Nothing. Not important.” With that, he stormed out of the showers, finally leaving me in peace.

If only peace was what I felt.

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