Page 36 of Allure
“Nope,” she huffed out, looking straight ahead. “Just wondering if I can get away with strangling you before we make it to this mysterious room you’re taking me to.” They seemed to be walking forever, her feet were starting to ache in the heels.
Marco’s outright laughter rankled her. How was it this man always seemed so unaffected by her presence and yet she turned into a puddle of need at his feet with the slightest touch?
“Don’t be grumpy,” he taunted as they came to a stop in front of a purple door. “I did you a favor. We’re keeping things professional.” He turned to fully face her, bringing his hand up to cup her chin. He tilted her head back until their eyes were locked, something passed in his gaze that made her fight back her flinch. “Nothing we were about to do was professional, estrellita. I was saving you from having any regrets.”
He dropped his hold on her and knocked three times on the door. The harshness in his words doused some of the heat in her body. Was that what had stopped him? Did he think she would regret any time with him?
If she was honest, she knew on the surface if they had gone down that road, she would have blamed it on the atmosphere. She could practically taste the sex in the air; it mingled with her breath. She would have blamed it on her attraction to Asli and their car ride over, which had her wanting things she had no business wanting—the man who stood beside her and his best friend.
But once she let go of that safety net, she would have known deep down that whatever happened between them here at Orchard or outside of it, she wouldn’t regret it or make any excuses about it. She never regretted her time with him when they had first gotten together over five years ago. The only thing she did regret was leaving him.
The purple door opened to reveal a man wearing a suit and gold tie with a matching mask. “Good evening. If you need anything, I’ll be by the door, and there are four others like me in the room all wearing gold ties and gold masks. There’s a performance set up in the middle of the room. The right side of the room is for those only interested in watching. The left side is for those who would like to engage with the participants of the performance as well as each other but don’t have to. Safe words for this room?”
“Red to stop, yellow to slow down, green means go.” Syra found her voice easily enough even though a swarm of butterflies took occupancy in her stomach as the man continued to speak.
It was the same speech she received whenever Marco decided to stop in any of the rooms on the lower floors. Asli told her when they made their way in that with a party of this size, the safe words were all the same for each room, but if it was a smaller scale they might change the safe words depending on the themes of the rooms.
“Good girl,” Marco whispered as he led her into the room. Her body bloomed under the praise, and she felt herself open up when his warm hand was on the small of her back.
Her swarm of butterflies died down, and her nerves morphed into anticipation the deeper they went into the room. She could hear light music playing that sounded suspiciously like the playlist Asli had on during the ride here, and she felt the phantom touch of his palm on her thigh. The dual sensation of him and Marco touching her caused her to stumble.
“Easy, estrellita.” Marco’s dark timbre sent a shiver down her spine. He wrapped his arm around her waist, pulling her flush against the front of his body. She gasped when she felt the brush of lips against her ear. “Those dirty runaway thoughts causing you to be unsteady again?”
His big palm pressed into her stomach, guiding her closer to him, and she felt his erection on her ass. She whimpered, pushing herself back into him. Her body already open and ready for the wicked promise his body and voice teased her with.
The lights in the room dimmed, and he pressed his lips against her rapid pulse. “Las cosas que quiero hacer contigo….” His words wrapped around her throat, pinning her to his body. “Mi hermosa estrellita.” She felt his teeth nip at her skin, causing her knees to buckle. “I hope before the night is over, you find your voice and beg me for what we both want.”
He abruptly let her go but kept a lingering touch on her small back, as if he was afraid she’d fall over without his support. Her body was a livewire of need, and she was almost afraid to keep walking, not sure if her legs were solid or had turned to jelly.
Get it together, Syra.
She blew out a breath, trying to shake the effects Marco and this place seemed to have on her. She was losing a battle with herself—she had a hard time remembering why she was having it in the first place.
What harm came from consenting adults finding pleasure with one another?
Raven had told her it was okay to indulge even with the history there. Marco was sure things between them would only be about sex. Syra knew it would be phenomenal between them. plus with her added attraction when it came to Asli, she knew she shouldn’t keep ignoring what was brewing between the three of them.
“Come on, estrellita. They’re going to start soon.” Marco nudged her forward, and she pulled herself out of her recurring thoughts and focused on the room.
The smell of peppermint and something else tickled her nose as they walked farther into the room. She saw what looked like a massage table in the center of the room with smaller tables sitting on either side of it. The smaller tables were covered with towels, what looked like oils and maybe lube, and various toys still in their packaging.
She had no clue what she was about to witness, but her interest peaked when a woman wearing a black sheet draped over the front of her body got up from the left side of the room and walked over toward the table. She lifted herself up to sit on the table, letting her legs hang off the sides. She had these crazy golden curls that framed her face and tattoos inked all down her arms and legs. The black sheet covered her intimate parts, but everything else on her was bare.
Syra felt her stomach tighten when she watched another woman with dark braids and slim build sit in the chair in front of the massage table. She wore a short gray sleeveless dress with splits going down both sides, exposing the soft curves of her ass, hips, and thighs. When she sat, her legs were stretched open and faced toward the woman with the curls.
“Left or right?” Marco hummed in her ear, and she turned toward him just as an awareness of being watched trickled down her spine. She tried to shake it—chalking it up to the fact that she was standing in the middle of the room as if she was part of the entertainment, but the caress felt intimate, familiar.
“We can’t stand here while the performance is happening, though I wouldn’t mind seeing you on that table, estrellita.” His gaze traveled the length of her body. She felt herself swaying on her feet, and she tilted her head up toward the left, silently asking him to touch her.
It was subconscious; she had no active thought of seeking out his touch, but it had always been like this between them. A pull—a magnet—something she couldn’t see or even understand tethered her to him. He’d exhale, and her body soaked up the breath as if it was the only thing sustaining her.
“You know what’s about to happen? Is this one of the rooms you would come in to watch?” Her voice came out harsher than she intended. He already told her he spent time behind these walls with Asli, only watching. She had no claim on what he’d done before her or in her absence, but a spike of irrational jealousy coursed through her at the idea he spent time here—sharing an experience like this with someone who wasn’t her.
“Careful there, estrellita,” Marco leaned down, letting his lips ghost over hers. She could have shifted—could have extended her neck just enough to meet him halfway, but she held back. That line in the sand she had drawn still held steady even if she was secretly contemplating giving in.
“Green isn’t your color, and there was a hint of envy in your voice.” She felt his fingers against her thighs, a gentle touch but it felt like she’d been shocked—electricity flashed through her body, causing her to reach for the lapels of his jacket to hold on. “What’s the matter, Syra? You want to be the one I explore my every sexual desire with?” She held her breath when his fingers inched up her leg, teasing the bottom of her dress.
“What if my desire is to strip you out of this dress? To put you on that table and let another fuck you while I watched him find pleasure in between your lush legs?” His gruff voice sounded harsh against her skin, and she found herself growing wetter the more he spoke.
