Page 38 of Allure
She turned to face him, their lips so close all he had to do was lean in and he’d be able to taste her. He had to remind himself to hold steady, knowing the second he kissed her he’d be diving into her black sea. He was man enough to admit he wasn’t strong enough to find his way back to the surface, and while they were barreling down the path that led them back to each other, he wasn’t ready to admit that he could no longer feel the bitterness that was once so engraved into his skin.
“Why do I have a sneaky suspicion you and Asli are up to something?” she whispered, and this time he couldn’t hold back his deep chuckle. She had no idea what was in store for her—all good things that would leave her a beautiful mess.
“And if we were up to something?” he questioned, curious to see where her head was.
“As long as you both aren’t planning on hogtying me and doing something weird like tickling me, we’re good.”
Marco snorted at her imagination. “If I remember correctly, you look rather beautiful tied up, estrellita.” The image of her bound, riding the dildo in his living room while Asli watched, flashed through his mind, and he didn’t miss the flush on her cheeks. “But don’t worry,” he cleared his throat, trying to get a hold on the lust filling his body. “We won’t do anything nefarious. You remember your safe words?”
Syra nodded. “Good.Mira la actuación, estrellita.You don’t want to miss this.” Marco tapped her on her nose. “If you do have any questions, save them for after unless you think you’re going to forget but watch, they already started.”
She huffed out a breath and slowly turned around but stopped herself. “Wait, I do have one question.” He nodded for her to continue. “I meant to ask before, but we kept getting sidetracked. Are these performers guests of Orchid Tree?” She kept her voice low since the conversations had almost completely died down.
Marco had explained that the rooms on the lower level were for more individual people, but the rooms on the higher levels each had a theme and held either a presentation to help guide newbies into whatever they were showing or, as in this room, a performance to set the mood for the room. The performers could physically interact with the guests if they wanted to.
“They’re hired sex workers,” he whispered, so his voice wouldn’t carry. “Orchard Tree makes sure only the best of the best are in attendance for these rooms. Tonight you have Layla and Monica.” Both women had been regulars before they opened their own business together, helping sex workers get paid their dues and stay safe. Orchid Tree employed their company more often than not.
“So Asli is a sex worker?” There was a hint of curiosity and something else he couldn’t entirely pinpoint in her voice.
“Asli’s not a sex worker in the traditional sense of the term. He just enjoys sex.” Marco mused. “Something to do with it helping his creativity. Besides, he’s good friends with Monica and Layla, and there’s a lot of trust built between the three of them, so they often ask him to join when they book a gig at Orchard.”
Ohwas all she could manage, but that one word still held a lot of weight behind it. She used the same tone she had used before when she questioned him about his presence in Orchard. If he didn’t know any better, he would think his little star was being territorial over Asli.
He grabbed the strands of her hair, wrapping them around his hands. He gave a slight tug, letting her head fall back, exposing her neck to his lips. The more she sat staring at him with twin flames of desire and anger, the harder it was not to play in them and make them grow.
He brushed a feather-light touch against her pulse, loving the way her fingers curled into the armrests. “Estrellita,” he taunted, “do you have an issue with Asli being part of the performance?”
“No.” She whimpered when he nipped at her skin.
“Really?” He brought his head up, letting his other hand grab her chin. “So that anger that’s been dancing in your eyes since you questioned my attendance at Orchard is for what?” He felt his frustration with her and the situation they were in spike.
Ahh, there’s my old companion.
Marco wasn’t sure if he was glad or annoyed that he felt the burn of bitterness igniting his blood again. The bitterness kept him level—it put the space he needed between them to remember she wasn’t his and not to fall for the pretty lies that left her lips. It helped him remember that she was the one who left knowing damn well how he felt about her. He thought for sure she had felt the same, but she walked away without remorse, and now somehow she was mad at the time he spent here or with anyone else when she ran back to her ex?
“You can’t be mad about what I’ve done in your absence or what Asli has done.” He growled, allowing the bitterness to fuel his words. “Asli was never yours, and as for me? You went back to another man. Let him touch you, reclaim your body and heart the way I once did.”
He brought his lips down toward hers. “Tell me something, estrellita. How many times did he have to fuck you to erase the taste of me off your body? What about your heart?”
She sucked in a sharp breath. Those dark eyes of hers whispering promises she had never been able to hold on to. He could hear the pounding of his heart in his ears, the room falling away with everyone except Asli. He could still feel his friend as if he were standing in front of Syra, demanding the same things from her.
He felt her hand dig into his shirt, not to push him away but to pull him closer. Her gaze flicked to his lips and back to his own eyes, and he wondered what she saw there. His resentment for the time they missed together? The love he tried to erase and bury? Or his need for her that still burned like the brightest star in the sky?
“He couldn’t.” Syra whispered the words so low it took him a minute to realize she was talking. “I tried,” her voice broke. “I tried to get you out of my system, but his touch felt wrong after you. So wrong I stopped letting him touch me because all I thought about was you.”
Asli’s body was hard as granite. Heat curled in his low stomach, and the temptation of sex in the air had done shit to ease the ache and need coursing through him. He’d been hyperaware of Syra and Marco as soon as they walked in the room, and that should have been the only warning he needed not to go through with Marco’s plans for his little star tonight.
In all the times they had shared women, Asli had never been aware of the women the way he was of Syra. He hadn’t meant to go to them when they first walked into the room. He still had to finish setting up, but the second he’d seen them—seen her standing in front of Marco—his feet had carried him toward them as if he heard a whispered song off her lips he couldn’t ignore. The need to bring her back to his front—expose her body to Marco’s hungry gaze had been what brought his palm to her hip. The need to touch her smooth skin had been on his mind the second he picked her up and hadn’t let up since.
Asli watched them now as Marco escorted Syra to her seat. He couldn’t keep his eyes off her legs or the way Marco touched her. He licked his lips as his pulse beat wildly. He could feel the tension between them even though he wasn’t near them to hear the whispered words Marco spoke against her skin. It echoed in the air he breathed and his body felt like a livewire waiting for the right moment to go off. Everything in him wanted to go to them—to help Marco bring his little star a pleasure she couldn’t have dreamed of.
“Who’s the woman with Marco?” Layla shifted on the table.
Asli forced his gaze away from the pair to focus on Layla and Monica. He walked behind her, running his fingers against the bare skin of her arms. “So curious,” he murmured, choosing not to answer her question. “You remember your safe words?”
Layla chuckled. “She must be someone important. You never dodge a question, and I’ve never seen Marco bring anyone here. In fact, I haven’t seen him here in a long time. Does he plan on sharing her tonight?”
Asli grabbed one of the oils on the nearby table that doubled as lube. He finally found a company that made a massage oil that could be used as lube. It was a pain in the ass to have to keep stopping when they were getting hot and heavy to make sure they washed their hands.
