Allure

Copyright © 2023 by Nicole Banks/Verbal Seduction, LLC All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews. This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, organizations, events, and products are either a product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Printed in the United States of America. Editing by Rosemi Mederos Formatting by: Champagne Formats Cover Design by: Emma Rider at Moonstruck Cover Design & Photography Photographer: Reggie Deanching Model: Marie Reyes TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page Author’s Note Dedication Epigraph Chapter 1 Chapter 2 Chapter 3 Chapter 4 Chapter 5 Chapter 6 Chapter 7 Chapter 8 Chapter 9 Chapter 10 Chapter 11 Chapter 12 Chapter 13 Chapter 14 Chapter 15 Chapter 16 Chapter 17 Chapter 18 Chapter 19 Chapter 20 Chapter 21 Chapter 22 Chapter 23 Chapter 24 Chapter 25 Chapter 26 Chapter 27 Chapter 28 Chapter 29 Chapter 30 Chapter 31 Chapter 32 Chapter 33 Epilogue Author Information This book is completely fictional. There is a little praise, tiny bits of degradation, and some exhibition and voyeurism. While not everyone has the same tastes, please go into this with an open mind and remember it’s fiction. Also, remember THIS IS FICTION AND NOT A RESOURCE FOR EDUCATIONAL PURPOSES. I am fully aware that some things might not work out the same in the real world and took creative liberty to fit the narration of the story. If something you read has piqued your interest, please do your own research/talk to someone you trust who can guide you into whatever your interests are safely. Content warning: While I wouldn’t classify this as a dark romance, there are minor dark elements, such as mental/emotional manipulation, the use of blackmail, off-page murder and assault, and one of the side characters dealing with some dark thoughts. Let’s set the mood with the Allure playlist on Spotify. To all the good girls embracing their journeys. Don’t worry about the destination; just enjoy the ride. How do you define your pleasure? Is it in the touch of your lover’s hands? Is it in the whispers of your lover’s lips Against your sweat-slickened skin? Is it in the anticipation Of watching them touch themselves, Imagining it’s you? Or is it in the way You crave more than one To satisfy your hunger? “you cannot burn away what has always been aflame. —Nikita Gill, “Witch” from Wild Embers Syra sat in a large conference room with big windows that allowed an abundance of natural light to brighten the place. The sun warmed her too-cool skin. Her nerves were making her antsy, and she could barely sit still in her seat. She looked around the room, trying to give her mind something to focus on. She took in the deep mahogany furniture. It filled the space with a welcoming masculine energy that she tried to lean into to keep her grounded. The conference room smelled of pine and wood, reminding her of the outdoors, and it made her feel less trapped and further eased her anxiousness. Just breathe. You, Delilah, and Katrina planned for this. This meeting is just a formality for Garrison Inc to say yes. Syra mentally repeated her mantra over and over again, knowing the more she felt it, believed it, the better her chances were that her and her two friends would walk out of here owners to one of the empty buildings on Bleecker—well, not official owners yet. They were leasing the place out with the option to buy later down the line, but there was no question in Syra’s mind that she and her friends would own the building eventually. Once the remodeling was done and they opened the doors, Sirens Pleasure Club would be a success and a new staple in Lockwood. Sirens would be the only pleasure club in the area, and it would be the only female-owned business in Lockwood to boot. Sirens would cater to everyone with certain kinks and to those looking to explore a sex life outside of their bedrooms and their partners safely. Syra watched her friend, Raven Wright, do it in Ivywood with Lush, and she believed she and her friends could have the same success here. And hopefully this will help find your way back to yourself and back to your art. Syra glanced down at her hands, wondering if her gifts would ever come back to her. She used to be a highly in demand and successful artist. Her paintings ranged from the abstract to erotic self-portraits, but she hadn’t been able to put anything on a canvas in what seemed like forever. Her hands couldn’t connect with her mind or with her heart. There was a blockage she couldn’t move past or figure out how to dissolve no matter what tricks of the trade she looked up for artistic blocks. Every time she stared at a blank canvas, frustration and sadness seeped into her bones and she felt like a fraud. Had her art deserted her? Had she only been allowed her fifteen minutes of fame? Was that time in her life a fluke? Was it nothing more than a moment in time she would never get back? You painted six months ago. The thought made the back of her neck heat, remembering exactly what sparked the need to put something on paper in the first place—a multitude of orgasms from the last man she’d ever thought she’d see again. Six months ago, Syra, Delilah, and Katrina had gone out to a club in celebration of Kat getting a new job. The energy had been so potent it teased Syra’s senses—whispering a chaos that demanded attention. She felt that same allure to peek behind the chaos she always had when she painted. It was the taunt to let the emotions and energy she felt inside of her take over and bleed