The Temptress

by C. J. Fallowfield

  ‘I pity the girl we take on to do your job,’ I smiled as I reached over and squeezed her hand. ‘She has the most enormous shoes to fill.’

  ‘Sorry horse shoes was that?’ she asked, trying to keep a straight face, until we both burst out laughing.

  Luc

  I watched Myrtille walk out of the door and I sat back on the sofa, covering my face with my hands. I was exhausted. It was done, she had no choice but to sign and she knew it. I hadn’t been unfair, I’d not asked for anything that I hadn’t worked for and earned myself. I’d suggested we each keep our own assets, but she could have the marital home in Paris along with all of the contents, except for the artwork I’d chosen and paid for myself. She’d looked broken as she’d picked up the pen, I don’t think anyone had ever told her “no” in her life, she was used to getting her own way with everything, well no more. Even if Lulu hadn’t pulled that trump card out, I’d have been prepared to go bankrupt just to free myself of her. I’d clawed my way from the gutter to being one of the most successful entrepreneurs in Paris once before, I could have done it again, but I wanted to be everything that Lulu needed. She had done well for herself, but I needed to provide for her and my son, it was my duty as the man of the family. Or the family that I hoped we’d become. Thinking of that put a smile back on my face. I got up and went in search of the bathroom. I washed my hands and stood looking at the bed for a moment, perplexed and opened the wardrobe, to find it full of clothes. I was not impressed. I strode out to her office, throwing open the door to see Lulu walking down the corridor towards me. I stopped to drink her in, I was angry, but the sight of her softened that, I’d never seen anyone with beauty to compare, or such a body. I was annoyed to find my heart beating faster, what hold did this woman have over me? It was unprecedented and alarming how she affected my temperament.

  ‘Are you ok?’ she asked, reaching up to touch my face. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the sensation. I felt every touch from her right to my heart, just as I did that very first night with her. I loved that she was strong, a force of nature, opinionated and vocal, yet when I commanded it sexually, she became meek and compliant. My erection that was lost the minute Myrtille had entered the room, returned with force.

  ‘I am more than ok,’ I confirmed, grabbing her and throwing her over my shoulder.

  ‘Luc Le Grand,’ she gasped. ‘Put me down, right now. We’re in my office!’

  ‘Yes, we are. An office with a bedroom. Which you will explain to me,’ I ordered, as I shut her door and turned the lock.

  ‘Don’t they have bedrooms in France?’ she asked, a hint of sarcasm in her voice. ‘Traditionally it’s where one sleeps. You will put me down.’

  ‘Yes, I will,’ I confirmed, as I tossed her onto the bed in question. I gritted my teeth as I looked down at her, her breasts barely concealed by her jacket. Blood was pumping through my system, I was horny and angry. ‘I demand to know why you have a bedroom and wardrobe full of clothes?’

  ‘You’ve been snooping? You’re so out of order,’ she gasped, glaring up at me.

  ‘You have this to attempt to seduce men in here?’ I asked, my muscles tensing at the thought of it.

  ‘You did not just ask me that. I told you that sex was not part of my job, it’s not part of any of my girls’ jobs. We’d go in to tempt only, to get evidence of their willingness to take us to their rooms, or to get them in there to capture them undressing for us. The most was stripping to underwear, before excusing ourselves, but never here.’

  ‘This stops. Immediately. I will not tolerate you flirting with other men, let alone letting them see your body in underwear,’ I growled, feeling even angrier. ‘You belong to me, no one sees you. Understood?’

  ‘It’s just my job, I may still need to flirt if a distraction’s required.’

  ‘You want me, it ends. Choose. Now.’ I ensured the tone in my voice was unmistakable, I would have no one seeing her, looking at her the way I did, or her looking at them. It was unacceptable.

  ‘It’s my job, you’re being unfair.’

  ‘I do not care, Lulu. Would you accept me flirting with other women, letting them see my body, maybe even kissing my skin?’

  ‘No,’ she shot back, making me smile a little. ‘Fine, I’ll stop,’ she muttered under her breath, with a scowl at me. She was displeased, but this was tough, this was a small price to pay for what I was prepared to offer her in return.

  ‘Excellent. Now, why do you have a bed, you evade the question.’

  ‘Because some nights I work late, I didn’t want to risk waking Tristan or having him see me looking like someone else. Occasionally, when I was really busy, Mum would have him so I could work until the early hours, I’d sleep here and keep spare clothes for the morning.’

  ‘You’ve never had sex in here?’ I demanded, not sure if I wanted confirmation.

  ‘No, of course not,’ she exclaimed, setting my mind at ease.

  ‘Well now you will,’ I confirmed, undoing my button and zip, relieved to hear this room had been used for no other purpose than to sleep.

  ‘I thought you had to get back to Paris?’ she asked, her eyes wide with surprise, widening even further as I freed myself from my tight boxers.

  ‘You cannot be trying to tell me that you no longer want sex? Your body betrays you.’ I cocked my head as I studied her with a frown. She quickly scooted down the bed, sat on the edge of it and grabbed the waistband of my trousers, pulling me towards her. I groaned as she grasped my shaft, her fingers curling tightly around it as she ran her tongue over the tip. My God, she had never touched me before, because I would not allow it, and it surpassed any of my expectations. ‘Mon Dieu,’ I moaned as she parted her lips and nearly swallowed me whole.

  The feeling of warmth surrounding my cock, along with the suction as her head moved back and forth was incredible. Even in the days when I was sexually active, I rarely let a woman take me in her mouth. I was usually too busy looking after their needs and somehow allowing a woman I hardly knew to suck my cock, seemed too personal, more personal even than sex. Lulu though, I’d dreamed of having her lips wrapped around me, but reality was far better than I’d dared to dream of. I heard a low growl escape my lips as I grasped her pony tail with one hand, chuckling for a second as I wondered if she’d chosen this horse related hair style especially to taunt Myrtille, but as she bobbed back and forth, trying to draw my very soul from me, I soon brought my mind back to her technique. My other hand clasped the back of her head, encouraging her to move faster. I looked down, through eyes half-closed with pleasure, groaning with satisfaction.

  ‘Regardez-moi, ma belle, I need to see your face,’ I commanded. She complied immediately, those eyes of deep amber, tones of yellow and orange, more beautiful than any roses or sunset, met mine and I felt my body stiffen as the spasm in my balls announced my impending release. I pumped my hips harder and faster, ecstatic that she took everything I had to give her, all the way up to the moment that I tried to muffle the roar of satisfaction as I shot my load again and again to the back of her throat. Watching her swallow me had me lightheaded and overjoyed. ‘Mon Dieu, incroyable,’ I uttered as I tried to catch my breath. Incredible was an understatement. She pulled back, delicately wiping that tempting sexy mouth of hers and tucked me back in, doing up my trousers, then she rose and slid my jacket off my shoulders.

  ‘What time must you be at the airport?’

  ‘Six o’clock,’ I mumbled, incoherently, still on a high.

  ‘You’re exhausted. Come and lie down, you need some sleep.’

  ‘I need you,’ I confirmed, trying to pull her against me, but she evaded my clutches and took my hand.

  ‘You can have me next time you’re here. Please come and sleep for me.’ She encouraged me to lie on the bed with her, curling her body tightly around mine as I fought the urge to close my eyes and heard her tapping on her phone. ‘Claire, sorry for the short notice, would you be able to pick up Tristan and look after him until I get b
ack at around six? I’ll cook for us when I get in … great thanks.’

  ‘Tristan, my boy.’ I tried to sit up, the thought of seeing him spurring me to move, but she pulled me back down again and cradled my head on her soft chest.

  ‘Your boy is fine. He’s asking me lots of questions about you, I don’t think it will be too long before he agrees to see you. Turn that mind of yours off. You’ve been working too hard, flying around the world, not sleeping, worrying about your ex-wife and Tristan, you need rest. Sleep for me, Luc, please. I’m so worried about you. You look exhausted, sleep now.’

  ‘Ma belle,’ I whispered in amazement. No one had ever cared about me, it was a feeling I could get used to. ‘Talk to me, tell me about those first few hours with him again.’ I closed my eyes as I listened to her talking in a soft voice, as her fingers gently massaged my scalp. I wanted to stay awake, to hear the wonder in her voice as she recounted how our son came into this world, but was surprised when I woke with a start to the sound of beeping, to find myself alone. ‘Lulu?’ I called, confused for a moment as to where I was.

  ‘I’m here,’ she called. I rubbed my eyes and sat up on the bed as she appeared in the doorway. ‘I’m sorry, you were fast asleep so I’ve been working, my alarm must have woken you.’ She walked over to the bedside table and turned off the noise, then came and sat on the edge of the bed next to me. ‘Do you feel a bit better?’ she asked, taking my hand in hers and kissing each finger.

  ‘I do,’ I confirmed, as I squeezed my fingers tightly around hers.

  ‘I let you sleep until the last moment, you’ll miss your flight if you don’t leave now.’

  ‘Merde,’ I muttered, as I dragged our hands away from her mouth and kissed her. ‘But I haven’t looked after you.’

  ‘Then you just make sure you look after me when you’re here next,’ she replied, with a twinkle in her eye. ‘Which will be when?’

  ‘I have to tie up loose ends in Paris, then I will return Friday to view some properties for my business here in London. I will be free all weekend and I’d love to make it up to you, but you have Tristan, oui?’

  ‘I’ll ask if Mum can have him Friday and Saturday night, so we can have some of the weekend together, but I’d like to spend Sunday with him.’

  ‘I cannot wait to meet him properly,’ I sighed, with a heavy heart.

  ‘I can imagine, but he’s asking questions which is a really good start. Just be patient for a little bit longer?’ She dipped her head, to gaze up into my downcast eyes.

  ‘I have no choice, but it eats me up inside, Lulu. Thank you for what you did today for me with Myrtille, to protect me, and our son. You have no idea what this meant to me.’ I clasped her face as I gazed at her earnestly, my heart swelling with love.

  ‘I did it for us, Luc. Call me tonight?’

  ‘Without a doubt, maybe I can tell you of all the things I long to do to this body when I next see you, help you release some of the tension I see you are feeling.’

  ‘I’d love that,’ she blushed, as she placed her hands on my chest. ‘Please go now, or I’ll never let you go.’

  ‘I don’t ever want you to let me go again, Lulu McQueen. I will lay all of my cards on the table now. I am in this for life. You are the woman that I’m going to marry, who’ll give me more sons, daughters too. I’ll love you all with a fire more intense than the ninth circle of hell. I already love you like I have never loved anything, I didn’t even know I was capable of such intense feelings or emotions until that night I saw you. You stole my heart and it has been missing ever since, right until that moment in the bar when I found you again. The happiest day of my life.’

  ‘Kiss me,’ she moaned, as her eyes filled with tears. I did, I kissed her like I’d never see her again, my heart aching to hear her return my words. I’d never been gifted love in my life, it was a rare and precious commodity that I would award the highest respect. While I was desperate for it from her, I would wait. I wanted her to be as certain in her convictions as I was, that nothing was ever going to come between us. I’d make damn sure of it. Much as I valued my money, having lived without any for too long, I’d give away everything I owned to keep this woman safe and at my side.

  The Last Temptation

  Lulu

  Wednesday

  I headed back to work as soon as I’d put Tristan down, with Dom watching over him for me. I wasn’t happy. I’d started refusing to assist clients requiring deliberate entrapment, but we had one existing client that Frankie had been working for some time and was close to breaking. He’d set up a suite in The Dalton Hotel to meet her tonight, but she’d come down with a bout of food poisoning. His wife was growing impatient with the lack of proof, other than texts and the odd drinks in a bar and was threatening to cancel the contract. My girls had earned bonuses on this type of contact, Frankie had worked so hard it would be unfair of me to cancel the job and for her to lose that payment. Equally, the commission from the client on a lure for my company was much higher. Violet had called asking what she should do, so I’d told her, given I was the closest in body shape and looks to Frankie, that I’d step in and try to make it work. I parked up at the office, got changed and called a taxi.

  On arrival, I quickly checked myself in the mirror as I stood outside. I was flying solo on this mission, Frankie’s backup, Treena, had turned off her phone, obviously thinking she was off the hook for the night. Violet had made me promise to call her as soon as I was done, to let her know I was ok. Half an hour and I could be done and on my way back home. Mr. De Vere had been sexting Frankie, on a phone that wasn’t the one he used for his wife, and apparently one of his fantasies was for a hot librarian, secretary type. Such a cliché. I smoothed down my short tight black mini skirt, making sure it just covered the top of my lace edged stockings. I was wearing a grey tweed jacket and a white cotton blouse, with matching black lace lingerie, so my bra was just about visible through the white blouse, that I’d left unbuttoned low enough to show off my cleavage. My natural hair was pulled back into a loose chignon, with a few tendrils escaping and I’d put on one of Henry’s pairs of glasses, with no prescription lens in the frame, but a tiny camera and microphone built into each side of the thick black rimmed frames. I closed my eyes for a second and made sure I was mentally prepared, then headed into the bar. I recognised him immediately, from the photo in the file I’d read up on. Auburn hair, green eyes, not bad looking with a stocky build. He was sitting at the bar checking his watch, it had been a rush to get here, but it was already fifteen minutes after Frankie was supposed to meet him. I took the stool to his right and noticed him give me the once over.

  ‘A screwdriver please,’ I asked the barman, pushing the glasses up my nose.

  ‘Coming right up, lady,’ he smiled, his eyes focussed on my chest. These bad boys were such an asset sometimes. I looked around as I tapped my freshly painted dark grey nails on the bar, making sure to let my gaze lock with Mr. De Vere, before reaching down to check my watch and letting out a large sigh.

  ‘Waiting for someone?’ he enquired, as he swivelled in his chair to face me.

  ‘Someone was supposed to be waiting for me, I’m late, so I’ve either been stood up or he’s already left,’ I replied.

  ‘I would imagine he’s running late, I can’t see anyone standing you up. Boyfriend or first date.’

  ‘First date,’ I nodded, ‘sort of.’

  ‘Sort of?’ He tilted his head as he frowned. I crossed my legs, making sure the tops of my stockings were visible and heard him inhale sharply, as he shifted in his seat. I leaned forward and put a hand to the side of my mouth, as if I was letting him in on a big secret.

  ‘We met on one of these “dating” websites. Except everyone knows it’s not really for dates.’

  ‘Not for dates? It’s for hook-ups?’

  ‘Sssshhh,’ I warned with a finger against my lips. ‘I’ve never done anything like this before, but the thought of it was so … hot.’

  ‘Hmmmm,
I can imagine,’ he replied, a lascivious smile creeping across his face. ‘So how do these things work?’

  ‘Easier than you’d think,’ I nodded, turning to thank the barman for my drink and taking a sip. ‘You just log on and fill in your profile, age, size, picture and then, you know, what you’re looking for and guys email you to ask if they can meet.’

  ‘And what was it that you were looking for Miss …?’

  ‘Granger, Isabelle Granger.’ I offered him my hand, which he took immediately and kissed.

  ‘David Parker,’ he replied, using the cover name he’d been giving Frankie. O Mrs. De Vere was spot on about this one having a hidden side. ‘So, your profile?’

  ‘I feel embarrassed telling you, you’re a virtual stranger,’ I giggled, knocking back the rest of my cocktail and ordering another.

  ‘No more a stranger than the man you were about to meet,’ he winked, as his hand dropped to his crotch. I didn’t have to look to know he was hard already. This was going to be a piece of cake, Frankie had wound him up ready to go. He’d come here, booking a suite, expecting sex and he wasn’t going to walk away from the offer of it now.

  ‘No, I guess not. You’ll think I’m so wanton, but I work in a University, cataloguing books and it’s kind of boring and means I get type cast as a stuffy librarian, all the time. I just wanted to live out a crazy fantasy of meeting a hot stranger in a bar and have him take me to his room. He’d slowly remove my jacket, then unpin my hair and ...’

  ‘And …’ he asked leaning forwards, drool virtually escaping from his lips, as I stopped to take a sip of my drink.

  ‘He’d carefully unbutton my shirt, toss it on the floor, unzip my skirt and hold my hand as I stepped out of it. Then he’d tell me how beautiful and sexy I looked in my glasses and lace underwear, then he’d … make love to me,’ I added in a whisper, then giggled and covered my mouth with my hand, coyly.