Page 14 of Allure
Maybe they couldn’t work together because they were both straddling a line of need and mutual destruction. How easily would it have been to peel her out of her clothes had they had this conversation in private?
A flash of light hit Marco in his eyes, making him squint and pulling his focus off of Syra. He looked past her toward the windows of Gregory’s and saw Colton standing outside looking in. He didn’t bother to hide the fact that he was staring, and that didn’t sit well with Marco, especially given the area the coffee shop was in. This wasn’t an upscale neighborhood; it wasn’t a place someone like Colton would deem worthy of his time or money. In fact, Marco couldn’t remember the last time Colton lingered in Lockwood after any Crimson National business.
Marco’s gaze bounced back and forth between Colton and Syra. Her earlier frightened behavior came to mind, and a low rumble fell from his lips, wondering if Colton had been the creep harassing her. He was up and out of his seat before he knew what he was doing, could feel his hands curling into fists he wanted to put through Colton’s neck. The guy was a dipshit; he didn’t trust him in business or around women. The thought that he put his hands on Syra had him moving toward the door until he felt soft hands against his chest.
“Whoa, what the hell just happened?” Syra gasped.
He looked down at her, unaware she had gotten up with him. He would have mowed her down had he not been paying attention. Her wide eyes were on him, no hint of fear, just mild curiosity. They were too close again. How easy would it be to wrap his arms around her waist and press her firmly against his body? How easy would it be to dip his head and tease her lips open with his tongue?
“Marco,” she whispered his name in a way that made him want to sink into her and never leave.
He brought his hand up, aware that his heart was a wild gallop—pounding against the feel of her hand against his body. He ran his knuckles against the bare skin at her shoulder before he tucked them under her chin, to tilt her head up toward him.
“Careful, estrellita.” he whispered, getting lost in the way her eyes sparkled—like little stars in his night sky. “You know what happens when you say my name like that.”
Her eyes closed and he watched with too much satisfaction the way her body swayed, leaning into his. Maybe she was right to have her reservations about them working together, but he didn’t particularly care when she looked like his destruction wrapped in a pretty package.
Marco ran his thumb across her bottom lip, and it took everything in him not to press it into her mouth, knowing she would open up for him. He was spellbound by her body’s reaction to him, he almost forgot about Colton and his lingering presence.
He glanced behind Syra, thankful he didn’t see that dipshit in front of the coffee shop anymore. The need to put his head through the concrete hadn’t lessened when he thought about the fear he saw on Syra’s face, but he was glad she had stopped him. Colton wasn’t a man to fight with fists—though the satisfaction would be worth it—he was the type of man he had to take on in a business aspect. Marco made a mental note to have Asli check out Colton’s movements. If he was staying in Lockwood for an extended period of time, Marco wanted to know what it was for and how to use it against him.
“You see,” Syra let out a heavy sigh and abruptly stepped back, and the distance left him cold. “You see how quickly things escalate between us?” She sat back down in her seat, grabbing her coffee drink. “What was that about? Were you planning on storming out of here because I said I wanted out of this business deal?”
Marco’s gaze lingered toward the windows of the coffee shop a second longer, wondering if Colton had merely moved out of sight or was smart enough to leave altogether. “I wouldn’t throw a tantrum like that, estrellita,” he grunted, sitting back down. Their chairs were still too close together and with them both being tall, their knees ended up touching again.
“I thought I saw someone I don’t like and lost my head for a second.” He leaned back in his chair to give his body some room to do something other than breathe her in. “But back to business. Us working together is the better option for you and your friends.”
Marco smirked when he saw her roll her eyes, ready to argue her point, and he tapped her knee with his to stop her rebuttal. “Look, you’ll be putting up less—not that you can’t afford it.” He cut her off, knowing she was ready to lash out at him with the way she narrowed her eyes.
“Again, my resources are extensive, so you won’t have to worry about someone shittin’ on you or taking advantage of you because they think women don’t know their shit.” He shrugged as if the answer was a no-brainer, and to him it was. “On paper this partnership would be gold and you know it. What are you scared will happen?”
He let his question linger in the space between them. A smile teased his lips as he watched her eyes narrow. He wanted to hear the reason she was pulling away—wanted her to spell it out for him, so he knew he wasn’t alone in this madness for her.
“You’re going to make me say it, aren’t you?” He nodded, biting his bottom lip to keep his smile from growing wide.
She rolled her eyes. “As soon as we sat down, we couldn’t keep our hands off each other. It happens every time we’re around one another. That night six months ago? Just now? Something’s always pulling us together. Mixing business with pleasure isn’t a good idea. I wanted in on this business deal with my friends because I wanted a fresh start. I need something after my…um…I just needed something fresh.” She stumbled over her words. “I don’t owe you an explanation, but with our history, this could get messy.” She grabbed her drink, putting the straw between her lips and chewing on it.
Marco watched how a blush coated her cheeks and how she no longer looked at him in the face. He grabbed his own coffee and brought it to his lips to keep his smile from showing. She understood their connection. It made him feel vindicated that he was in her system just as much as she was in his. They were inevitable, and she knew it was only a matter of time before she found herself underneath him again.
A smart businessman would heed the warning and put them both out of their misery by leasing the building to them outright. Marco prided himself on being intelligent, and if this were anyone else, he’d give Syra what she wanted. But they both knew the truth, and as long as she was in Lockwood whether they worked together on Sirens or not wouldn’t stop the collision path they were currently on.
He shifted, leaning forward so he was in her space again. “Do you remember what I told you six months ago?” he asked, ready to play the long game and put her mind at ease. “It was right before you agreed to come home with me.” He grabbed the edge of her chair and tugged her closer to him, until his thigh was in between her legs.
The slight parting of her lips turned his blood to ash, and he had to reign in the part of himself that clawed at his skin. needing to taste her.
“I told you, I don’t need to repeat lessons to learn from them. If this is only business,” he shrugged, “it’s only business. I know how to stay on my side if you stay on yours. But…,” he let his voice dip. He felt his own arousal taunting him, making him want to push her until she begged him to touch her. “Whenever you want to be bold enough to ask me to fuck you like you need to be fucked, I have zero issues helping you out, estrellita, with no strings attached, of course.” He grabbed the inside of her thigh, loving the way she gasped and opened her legs farther for him. “And if I’m feeling generous,” he got even closer, so his lips hovered inches from hers, “I’ll let Asli watch again since I know how much that turned you on last time.” He fought his own need to kiss her and sear her taste on his tongue. “And if you’re a good girl, I’ll even let Asli join us.”
Syra whimpered his name, and the bind he had on his control weakened. This was supposed to be a game meant to taunt and unravel her, but he didn’t hold all the power here—he never did when it came to her.
Marco pulled back, taking his hands off of her before he did something stupid like prove her right and make her completely shut the deal down. His voice dropped. “I know now what we were and what we weren’t, Syra.” He could hear the cold accusation in his tone, and when Syra flinched, he tried to not let that hurt him. “I know what we won’t be. If we happen to fuck while we build Sirens, it’ll be on your terms, and it won’t cloud my judgment like it did the last time. I told you six months ago, I am not the man you remembered. I have no expectations when it comes to you.”
Marco’s words sounded like a whip cracking in the air between them. He hadn’t meant for the last part to be hurled at her like an insult, but it had been partially true. In the back of his mind he still feared she’d up and walk away again after she found a way to sink her claws into his skin.
He could see that he hit his mark; her shoulders fell, and she wrapped an arm around her midsection, looking withdrawn. He could see the regret and sadness sticking to her features like the caramel syrup coating the interior of her cup. It should have made him shout in victory, but he hated seeing her like this, withdrawn and defeated. Syra was his star—the light in his darkness—even at her lowest he hadn’t known her to feel the effects of defeat.
“You have nothing to worry about, Syra,” Marco pressed on, softening his tone. “Sign the deal so we can make this club happen.” He reached into his pocket, his finger touching an invitation he wanted to give to Syra and her friends, but he hesitated.
If she agreed to go, even under the guise of doing research for Sirens, he wasn’t sure they’d be leaving the event as they were now—two exes navigating their business relationship toward one another. If she accepted this invitation, he knew in his gut it would speed up the path they were on toward one another, and he still pulled it out of his pocket, toying with it before he handed it over to her.
