Allure

Epilogue

1 year later

Heather

As I walk through the doors, a feeling hits me in my chest, a familiar one, and I nearly gasp as I finally put a finger on it. Home. That's what Allure has become to me over the last year. I've officially moved in with Matteo, we've found our new sense of normal, resumed our routines, and are continually working through our issues, with the help of a therapist Matteo swears is  the best one money could buy. He's thrown himself wholeheartedly into repairing our relationship, and no longer keeps a single secret from me, nor do I. He is extremely supportive of my work and even threw me a huge party when I finally won the case I had been working on since before our Italy trip.

He's told me every day how much I mean to him and it's truly showed in his actions and through the way he treats me. Though it was slow work upon our return, we gradually eased back into our dynamic and I am now thriving as a submissive under his guidance. He lavishes attention and love on me in droves and truly nothing fills me with more joy than earning his praise. I never knew something like this existed, a bond so strong that with enough work put in, it could withstand anything.

I'm startled out of my thoughts at the sound of my name being called from across the room. Matteo sits at a table in the corner of the lounge, his hand raised, with a cushion laid at his feet and another two gentlemen seated across the table from him. I flush at the smirk on his lips and quicken my step, reaching his side quickly and falling to my knees on the cushion. "Hello, Darling," Matteo croons, stroking my hair. "There's someone I would like you to meet." I peer up over the table at the well dressed men sitting at the table. The one closest to me takes a sip of his drink and looks down at me with a bemused but not unkind expression. "This is Master Liam, and Master Silas, the owners of the club." Matteo tells me and my eyes go wide, darting to the man sitting closer to the wall in the booth.

I always pictured the owners to be old, creepy men, but neither of the gentlemen in front of me can be much older than Matteo and I. With his impeccably styled, dirty blonde hair and gorgeous hazel eyes, Silas looks like he belongs on the cover of GQ, not the owner of a secret sex club. Liam is slightly older, with closely cropped salt and pepper hair, a clean shaven face that shows off his sharp jaw line, and piercing green eyes. "Hello, Heather, it's nice to finally meet you. Matteo has told me much about you, but I haven't been in the club much this year unfortunately." Silas says in greeting.

"Oh," I murmur. "Um, hello, Master Silas..." I trail off for a moment, looking to Matteo for approval. He gives me an amused smile and a nod, and I turn my focus back to Silas. "It's very nice to meet you. I love the club... it's amazing, really." Though he smiles kindly at me, there's something sharp about his gaze that has my nerves at attention. "Well, I'm glad to hear that. I'm looking forward to spending more time up in all the action in the future, now that we've finished getting the London location started. I'll always have a soft spot for New York."

Liam's appraising gaze sweeps over me, and his vivid green eyes are unreadable as he takes me in. "I never thought I'd see the day my dear friend Matteo collared a submissive." He murmurs thoughtfully. "Though seeing how gorgeous you are makes it slightly less surprising." A blush spreads across my cheeks and my eyes dart up to read Matteo's expression. Though he's usually excessively territorial, he just rolls his eyes dismissively at his friend. "Ever the flirt," he grumbles, earning a wink and a sly smile from Silas.

Matteo lifts his glass and everyone's gazes shift away from me. "To the three biggest troublemakers of New York reunited," Matteo crows, and Liam and Silas chuckle as they clink their glasses together. "Well old
friend, I'll be seeing you around." Silas nods to Matteo and stands, looking around for a moment before heading to the bar. "Scening tonight?" Liam asks as he finishes his drink, glancing around the room as if to formulate a route to make his rounds. "Oh yes," Matteo replies, shooting a smirk down at me. "This one has racked up quite the punishment with that dirty mouth of hers." Liam laughs, and my cheeks darken. "Oh well that sounds easily rectifiable."
He teases.

"And you?" Matteo prompts. "Surely you must have some submissive waiting for you in the play rooms, trembling with excitement?" Liam gives him a somewhat melancholy smile. "Ah, not extactly. It's been a while since I've participated in the scene, I've become more of a... watcher, in recent years, I suppose one could say." Matteo's brow furrows. "We'll see, I'm sure you just need to find the right match to get back into it. That's what happened for me, at least," He smiles down at me, affectionately stroking my head. A warm feeling spreads throughout my chest and I nuzzle into his touch. As Liam bids us goodbye, I spy two familiar faces heading to our table.

Becca brushes her hair gracefully behind her ear to show off the bling of her collar, the sparkle nearly as bright as the giant diamond ring on her finger. I haven't seen her stop smiling for the last 2 weeks, and Peter has been walking around like a love struck puppy. As Peter slides into an empty chair, Becca falls gracefully at his feet, resting her face on his thigh as his hand settles into her hair. Everyone exchanges greetings as the last couple of the group makes their way over. "Carter, nice to see you, man," Peter calls out. The tall and slender man in an dark, impeccably tailored suit smiles and raises his hand slightly in greeting, the leash loosely grasped in his fingers clinking with the movement. He snaps his fingers and points sharply to the floor next to the empty chair and Nina, his submissive, quickly kneels, her posture perfectly straight.

I inquisitively watch Carter and Nina settle in at the table. Though Carter and Matteo are old friends, they're the newest addition to our group and I can't quite get a read on them. Carter is one of the most lively and jovial men I've ever met, the last type of person you'd expect to be a sadist. Though Becca and Peter as well as Matteo and I engage in some level of impact play, Carter and Nina take everything to a more extreme level. Matteo and I have watched several of their demonstrations and it always takes my breath away to see how far the seemingly shy and sweet masochist is willing to go to please her master. Carter catches my gaze and quirks an eyebrow. I flush and quickly glance away. A few moments later I sneak another quick look at him to see if he seems mad and let out a soft gasp to see him staring at me with a sharp glint in his eyes. I look down again and nuzzle further against Matteo's leg, suddenly feeling quite shy.

Matteo finishes his drink and stands up, placing a hand on my lower back as I rise as well. We bid our goodbyes and he leads me through the doorway and down the stairwell to the dungeons. We walk down the hallway and enter one of the private rooms, though Matteo hits the switch that allows people to see in through the tinted mirror and leaves the door slightly ajar to allow spectators to filter in if they desire. The familiar tingle of anticipation spreads throughout my body as I walk to the center of the room and kneel, my eyes locked on the ground as I hear Matteo stroll leisurely throughout the room, taking his time gathering his tools form the scene.

"On the spanking bench," He barks, and I scramble to my feet, rushing to lay on top of the piece of furniture he chose. He fastens the restraints around my ankles and wrists, grunting in approval when he ensures I'm secured to the bench. My eyes fall closed and I lose myself to the sweet release of subspace. I cry out with bliss at the first strike, and I feel the world melt away as my focus dwindles solely to the man I love and the whip he wields in his hand.

The end.

Before you go, let's play a game ;)
In a comment, guess which character(s) the next book is about. The first one to guess correctly will be in the dedication of the first chapter of the next book! I will also be dedicating chapters to readers who I see frequently engage with my books (comments, votes, shares etc) so definitely keep an eye out for that.

Author's note:
I WROTE A BOOK!!!!!
Over 46 THOUSAND words and 27 chapters. I truly cannot believe it! I may even go back at some point and add a few bonus chapters.... But I really did it. It may not be perfect, but it's mine! I can't thank you all enough for taking the time to read my story and I look forward to my next adventure with these characters. I have big plans for Allure! Please please let me know which characters you would like to see get their own stand-alone novel as well as any tips or feedback on my story! I love you all so much!