Page 29 of Allure
No one told her if there was a theme for tonight, they just made her sign her life away in forms till her wrist hurt. They made her repeat the safety rules and protocols should anything go wrong close to five times, which she respected. Any place that didn’t go over safety measures wasn’t a place she wanted to be in.
“Are we waiting for Syra and Mr. Jones?” Kat spoke toward Marco who stood in front of them with a scowl on his face. He seemed more agitated tonight than any other time she’d been around him, and for a moment she wondered what demons were weighing him down.
Demons he’ll be able to defeat, unlike you.
“You don’t have to wait for them.” Marco’s voice pulled her from her mind. She used Kat’s fingers and his scowl to keep her focused on the here and now. If she slipped into the exhausting loop her mind wanted to keep her in, she wouldn’t be able to enjoy tonight and gather information they could use for Sirens.
“I mean, you can if you want,” Marco continued, “or you can stay in this area and mingle with those not ready to move on to the rooms. Once you’re in the main lobby, you don’t need to remain with the person who brought you here.”
The car Kat and Delilah were in dropped them off in a parking lot, and they weren’t allowed to move until someone from Orchard Tree got them. They couldn’t come inside either unless they were with the person who invited them. The rules for guests were a little different than those for members, and while D hated the cloak-and-dagger feel of it, she understood and respected the level of safety they provided for their guests. Delilah even thought about using a variation of the forms she had to fill out for Sirens. She’d seen what Raven had done, and maybe if she combined what Lush had with what Orchard did, they’d be able to cover all their bases.
“Well, that’s good news. It might be a little awkward walking around with you.” Kat smirked, and D knew she had plans to find someone to play with tonight.
Marco looked around at the guests before his gaze went back to them. “You might have a better chance of getting a feel for the guests and what they’re into in this room before they’re distracted. We can use that info for when we get operational for Sirens.”
Delilah fought not to roll her eyes. The use of “we” when talking about Sirens annoyed her. She hadn’t fully been on board with the sneaky underhanded way Marco got Syra back in his orbit. As one of Syra’s closest friends, Delilah wasn’t sure she was one hundred percent on board with whatever Marco was doing behind the scenes to get her back either.
Marco might deny it, but that’s exactly what this felt like from what Syra had told her and how they both behaved around each other. Delilah’s concern was for her friend; she didn’t want to watch her fall for a man who was only going to break her heart in the end to get back at her and inevitably destroy the foundation they were trying to build with the club.
Sirens was supposed to be theirs—Katrina’s, Syra’s, and hers—and in the back of her mind she feared whatever went down between Marco and Syra would ruin the club or they would be forced to sell their portions and she’d lose Sirens again.
If you lost Sirens again, it would be your own fault. You were never good enough to do it on your own. This will fail like everything you do eventually does.
Aren’t you tired of it? How easy would it be to end it?
Delilah’s heart pounded in her throat, and she felt a little nauseated. Her body heated, and she couldn’t get enough air in her lungs as panic tried to make her crumble. She squeezed Kat’s hand, using it to anchor herself, but she couldn’t shake the sense of dread that cloaked her skin.
Focus, focus, focus, Delilah chanted to herself. The room flickered in and out, a fuzzy connection she couldn’t quite catch no matter how hard she focused on the soft conversations, her friend’s hand in her own, or Marco’s voice.
“There are a lot of rooms in this massive place that I think you guys should check out. Though you’re going to need to check your phone if you leave the main lobby area. No phones or recording devices past this point. You’ll probably have to check your bags too. I think this will be a good party for us to brainstorm ideas for Sirens.” Marco’s eyes narrowed as he looked at Delilah. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing?” Delilah answered confused, wondering if her dark cloud had been more pronounced and he had gotten sight of her inner thoughts.
“Every time we’re in the same room together you keep looking at me like you want to wring my neck, and right now you look like you want to punch me. Is there a problem we need to fix?” Marco casually asked.
Something in his tone spiked her anger, and she was momentarily grateful for it. It gave her something else to focus on, other than the mental chatter in her mind. She tried to keep things civil for the sake of Sirens and for whatever Syra was feeling toward him, but now that he was addressing the undercurrent problem of how their business association came to be, she was ready to lay into him.
She took a step forward, the harsh words on her tongue ready to cut him, but Kat’s grip on her hand pulled her back. “This is hardly the place to have that type of conversation.” Katrina’s voice was sharp as she glared between them, like an adult reprimanding their children.
“We’re here to network, research, and maybe play, not hash shit out,” Kat turned toward her, keeping her voice low. “Whatever your issues are, you made them clear to Syra. We both stood by this decision because she agreed to it. Whatever else is going on that doesn’t have to do with Sirens is none of our business.”
Delilah opened her mouth to argue but quickly shut it. Regardless of what she felt about the situation, they all did agree to work with Garrison Inc. They were already in it and moving forward, regardless of the whispered words in her mind, Delilah had to believe Sirens would succeed, as long as she kept her focus on the club and not on what Marco and Syra were doing.
She let out a breath, ready to mingle and collect information for Sirens and maybe settle in to a nightcap with a person or two. She glanced at Marco. “We’re fine,” she grumbled and then yelped when Kat pinched her side.
Delilah rolled her eyes and plastered a smile on her face and addressed him again. “Since you’ve been here before, is there anyone we should look for and strike up a conversation with, and what about the rooms? Any in particular you think we should see?” Delilah nudged Kat with her elbow, hoping the questions were enough to satisfy her need for diplomacy.
“Actually, yes.” Marco’s gaze bounced between the both of them. “The owners usually make a general announcement once the majority of the guests are here. You’re going to want to get in touch with them at some point. They normally don’t play. I think, Ms. Lopez, you should check out the rooms on the basement level, and Ms. Santiago,” he cocked his head to the side to study her, “for business, I’d say the second floor, and for pleasure, maybe the third one.” He looked at his watch before excusing himself.
“Well, that was informative.” Kat stood in front of Delilah. “Do you want to meet back here at a certain time? Or should I assume that you’re going to have some fun after you check out this castle.” She looked up, and Delilah followed her gaze.
The ceiling was painted with bodies in various sexual positions. The faces were either blocked by clouds or out of the frame of the ceiling, only allowing the bodies to be seen in the throes of passionate embraces. Delilah thought it was an odd choice to make them faceless—missing an opportunity to showcase different facial stages of a climax, and she made a mental note to get with Syra sometime in the next couple of days to see if she had settled on any ideas for the artwork at Sirens.
“I think we should check out the second floor together before we sep—” Delilah let out ahumph, cutting off what she was saying when she was abruptly pushed forward. She stumbled into Kat and her earlier anger flared to life, ready to have an excuse to be unleashed.
The main lobby wasn’t crowded enough for someone to accidentally bump into her. The whole place was huge with enough room to allow for personal space, and she turned around to tell whoever bumped into her exactly that, but her words dried up in her throat as she took in the woman whispering her apologies.
The red dress she wore hugged the curves of her body, and it made Delilah’s stomach tighten. She let out a curse when she saw the material was sheer across her chest, exposing pierced nipples that were hoops instead of bars. Delilah’s fingertips tingled—wanting to gently tug on them just to see what reactions the woman would have. Were her nipples so overly sensitive that a slight touch could make her combust?
