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Excerpt

CHAPTER 1

(unedited)

Benoit

SEDUCTION WAS A dangerous game. Show your hand too early and you risked giving the object of your desire the upper hand. Come off too strong and you might lose them altogether.

No way in hell was I allowing either of those two things happen tonight. I had to play this just right, which was why I had been chosen for this particular mission.

After all, there wasn’t much I did better than seducing a man.

I slipped on the final piece of my ensemble, a heavy, gold brocade robe that gleamed under the light of my dressing quarters. The back collar rose up above the top of my head, fanning out like I was a regal queen, which, accurate.

The latest burlesque dancer to take the stage walked back into the room wearing a sequined thong and sweat on their brow. He did a double take when he saw me and let out a curse in Arabic.

I smirked. “I know. But if you think the outside’s glorious, just wait until you get a glimpse of what’s underneath.”

He replied, but I could only translate enough to get the gist of what he said. Something along the lines of “sex walking,” which I took to mean as sex on legs—quite a compliment from a fellow performer who could just as easily deem me as competition. Any other night he would’ve turned my head too. It was unfortunate I had to keep it on straight for now. Both heads.

I stepped in front of the full-length mirror, checking to make sure I was a feast for the eyes. The gold-flecked gloss that adorned my lips had them plumped up and extra juicy, and the brown kohl liner around my eyes added to the dramatic flair. It wasn’t enough to get the attention of my target tonight—I had to make him desperate with need.

“Benoit.” The stage manager gestured for me to follow her, and off we went, through the curved hallway that ran the perimeter of the tallest building in Dubai. We were so high up, the only glimpses I caught of the outside were dark sky and moonlight.

“Nervous?” the manager asked, giving me a smile over her shoulder as if that would help ease any butterflies.

It’d been years since the last time I’d performed burlesque on a stage, but there was nothing but confidence radiating through my body. I’d always enjoyed putting on a show, having all eyes on me. What was there to be nervous about?

The way she was watching me, waiting for an answer had me smiling back at her and lying through my teeth. “Oui,” I said.

She stopped in front of the backstage door and pulled it open for me. “It’ll pass,” she said, and inclined her head for me to go inside. It was pitch black except for a lighted pathway along the floor that I followed carefully, not wanting to catch my four-inch heels on anything hiding in the dark.

I took my cue, center stage, back to the audience—can’t give too much away—then waited for the music to begin.

The slow, sultry rhythm started and as the beat of the drum hit, a spotlight lit me up like an exquisite jewel. A priceless gem that none of the men in the audience tonight could resist, which was the plan, of course.

I was there to garner attention. There to lure in hungry eyes. I was the bait and right now, I was up here setting the trap. A delicious honey trap, that was going to be sticky once my target was secured, but nothing I couldn’t handle.

I’d been in tricky situations before. This one would be no different.

I glanced over my shoulder, my eyes searching the crowd, then began to seduce the audience. I swayed my hips to the provocative music and slinked across the stage. The cape swirling around my bare legs as I flirted my way through my routine.

A wink here, a smile there, as one glove, then two, was removed. I tossed them out to the crowd, letting them fall where they may, then continued to peruse the greedy onlookers for the man I was really there for.

He wouldn’t be up front, not a man like him. So I needed to be looking toward the back. He wanted eyes on his performers—yes, his, after all, this was his establishment—so he’d be sure to stay away from prying eyes. Stay in the shadows. That’s where he did his best work. But that wasn’t going to do tonight. I needed to draw him out, and as I moved up to the center of the stage again, my eyes caught on a tall figure in the back.

Dimitri Stavros.

His name alone was enough to make most men run in the opposite direction. But that wasn’t my goal tonight. My goal was to capture and keep his attention, and to do that, I needed to get much closer than this.

With my target in sight, I reached for the gold clasp of my robe and unfastened it, and as the heavy garment cascaded to the floor like a rippling waterfall, I was left in the high fanned collar, a black gem-covered corset laced at my trim waist, and a matching G-string that showed off my spectacular ass.

My heels showcased my long legs in ways that would make any supermodel jealous, and what I could do in them, made everybody jealous.

It was a lethal combination, which worked well for this particular man since that’s what he was, and when I executed a perfect flip off the stage and landed square on said heels, my eyes collided with the dark ones locked on me.

Gotcha.

Not about to roll over and make this easy for him though—because who wants that?—I started flirting my way through the crowd. Fingers through hair, coy smiles offering more than I was giving, whispers of sweet nothings as patrons tried to get friendly and I flitted just out of reach.

It was all about the tease and I was the master at that. The social chameleon who could slide into any scenario and charm anyone, but who could especially fit into this moment and was doing just that.

My eyes tracked back to the man in all black. The one moving when I did to always make sure he had a clear line of sight on me.

Time to give him a little personal one-on-one.

I slinked through the tables until I reached his, and then immediately turned my back on Dimitri Stavros, something no one in their right mind would ever do. Arching forward, I grabbed hold of my ankles and shook my sweet ass, giving him a view he couldn’t resist.

That was the hope, anyway, but just in case…

I straightened and spun around, and sure enough, those dark eyes weren’t looking anywhere but right at me. And they were piercing as hell.

I’d seen photos of Dimitri, knew exactly who my mark was, but being in his orbit slapped me in the face in a way I didn’t expect. Of course I knew the man was attractive, even with the scar that marred his cheek, so that wasn’t a surprise.

What was surprising was the intensity of the power and magnetism radiating off him. It scorched my skin and left me breathless as we locked eyes. There was hunger in his gaze, yes, but also a confidence that would’ve rattled anyone, and had I not been prepared to seduce, I might’ve lost my footing.

In one swift move, I lifted my foot onto the table, the heel slamming into the wood and shaking the glasses. Dimitri didn’t flinch as his eyes traveled down my body to the way I’d opened myself up. Taking advantage of his attention, I unfastened the corset and tossed it into his lap, and a thrill ran through me at the way he lifted it to his nose. He took in a deep inhale, his eyes flaring and meeting mine again until I moved my hips in a way that had his gaze dropping to my covered—and getting harder—cock.

If I happened to bust out of it, that wouldn’t be the worst thing.

Leaving Dimitri wanting was the plan, so as much as I found myself enjoying this little one-on-one, I dropped my leg and continued moving about the room back toward the stage. Shaking my ass in a way that had whistles and catcalls being thrown my way.

For a brief moment, I wondered why I’d stopped performing all those years ago, until I remembered being a man of leisure suited me more. That didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy the hell out of this rare moment in time.

I sashayed back onto the stage, made a big show of bending over to retrieve my cape, then draped it around my shoulders. I glanced back at the one whose attention was still fastened on me, and as I reached beneath the luxurious material and removed the final garment that had been covering me, I twirled the G-string around my finger, winked at Dimitri, then flicked it off to the side of the stage as the lights went dark.

A roar of applause filled the immediate silence, and though I couldn’t see the crowd, I could feel Dimitri’s gaze on me as I strutted off the stage.

The manager was waiting in the wings, a pleased smile stretched wide across her lips as she nodded. Her approval obvious as I made my way to her.

“I have a feeling they’ll be fighting for a seat the next time you’re on stage.”

“Well then, très chère, my job here is done.”

She hurried ahead of me, rattling off something in Arabic as we made our way back to the dressing rooms where a flurry of activity, much like a mini tornado, was taking place. Garments, make-up, wigs and heels flying everywhere, as the next performer brushed by me, and headed toward the manager.

I almost wished them luck, because let’s face it, they were going to need it following after me. But then I remembered the reason I was there and decided to keep my well wishes to myself. I needed Dimitri’s focus to remain on me, so maybe I’d work on manifesting an electrical issue with the lights instead.

As the dressing room emptied out and the chaos died down, I slipped into my silk robe and settled into a make-up chair, where I pulled out my phone and brought up a new text window.

Then I typed a quick message:

Fish is on the hook

And hit send.

IMMORAL: Copyright © 2025 Brooke Blaine & Ella Frank. All rights reserved.

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About the Author

Brooke Blaine is a USA Today Bestselling Author best known for writing romantic comedy and M/M romance. Her novels lead with humor and heart, but Brooke never shies away from throwing in something extra naughty that will scandalize her conservative Southern family for life (bless their hearts). She’s a choc-o-holic, lives for eighties bands (which means she thinks guyliner is totally underrated), believes it’s always wine o’clock, and lives with the coolest cat on the planet—her Ragdoll/Maine Coon mix, Jackson Agador Spartacus.

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About the Author

Ella Frank is the USA Today Bestselling author of the Temptation series, including Try, Take, Trust, Tease, Tate, and True, and is the co-author of the fan-favorite PresLocke Series. Her Exquisite series has been praised as “scorching hot!” and “enticingly sexy!”

Some of her favorite authors include Tiffany Reisz, Kresley Cole, Riley Hart, J.R. Ward, Erika Wilde, Gena Showalter, and Carly Philips.

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