Taken by the Beast (The Conduit Series Book 1) by Rebecca Hamilton, Conner Kressley Read Free Book Online Page A

through the fabric, exposing—well, everything I had that was exposable.
    My face ran hot as I realized everyone was staring at me.
    “Damn it!” I muttered, crossing my arms over my chest.
    “I didn’t expect you to be so modest.” Ester pursed her lips. “I guess models are only comfortable showing skin when they have Photoshop to correct those little imperfections.”
    “Ester!” Lulu said, her gaze shooting daggers at her new friend.
    “What?” she asked, motioning to my unintended display. “So they’re not perfect? I’m not judging her or anything.”
    “You’ll have to excuse me,” I said through clenched teeth. Without waiting for an answer, I bolted off, arms still crossed to salvage what dignity I had left.
    This was
so
not how I wanted the night to go. Not only had I exposed myself in front of basically the entire town, but I had made a fool of myself in a place I was supposed to run. This officially could not get any worse.
    “Char?” Dalton’s voice boomed in my ear like a firing squad cocking their guns. He had just walked in and (if there was a God in heaven) maybe he hadn’t seen everything I had to offer.
    “I can’t right now,” I said, trying my best to move away from him.
    The place was crowded, though, and the guys here didn’t seem as though they wanted to help a buxom (and basically topless) woman run away.
    “I just wanted to say hey,” he said, weaving through the crowd with irksome ease.
    “Hey,” I said, over my shoulder, still moving, still intent on getting out of this with at least a little of my self-respect intact.
    “Well, I mean, and to say congrats.” He was close now—so close I could feel his breath on my neck.
    He swung in front of me, stopping me where I stood. My shirt dripped onto the floor, I stunk of alcohol, and worst of all, every inch of breast that wasn’t covered by my hands, might as well have had a blinking arrow pointing to it.
    I sighed, accepting defeat. “Thanks.”
    “Oh, wow,” he said. His gaze lingered where everyone else’s had, but to his credit, he forced his attention upward to my face. “That’s a lot of—”
    “Yes, it is,” I answered. “And there are a lot of people here, so if you don’t mind—”
    “Right!” Dalton said. “On it.” He shrugged off his jacket and tossed it over my chest. “There we go,” he said, looking at me again. “I wanted to tell you congratulations on the opening.” He grinned. “Though, if I’m being honest, I sorta want to congratulate you on other things now.”
    “I’m mortified,” I said with a groan, but he just scooped me up into a hug. “I just flashed the entire town.”
    “Lucky bastards,” he muttered.
    Though I tried to fight it, I couldn’t help but smile. Sure, I had embarrassed myself. And I had probably given Ester at least a month’s worth of ammunition. But things felt better in Dalton’s arms. He was warm. He was dry. And what was more, he was inviting—the sort of inviting I hadn’t felt in a long time.
    “It’s going to be all right,” he said, in a slightly more serious tone.
    And the thing was, at least for a moment, I believed him. Maybe everything would be all right.
    A huge boom rocked from above. I jerked, looking up. Another boom shook the roof, followed by the creaking and breaking of wood beams.
    The entire club ground to a halt, music and all. Everyone looked up, staring at the source of the strange noise. Then another crack erupted, and something crashed through the ceiling.
    A woman screamed. Her scream became many screams. People ran, some filing for the door, some too drunk to know where the door was. I weaved through the crowd, easier to part than it had been minutes ago.
    And as I neared where some of the crowd had gathered, I saw exactly what had shaken them up so much.
    Lying lifeless and bloody on the floor, covered in scratches and bite marks, was a woman. A woman with dark hair and bright eyes.
    A woman—another one—that