Maison Plaisir

by Lizzie Lynn Lee

  She was scared because her lovers weren’t human. Curious because the otherworldly beings really existed. Flattered because Hervé and Armand had fought over her. And angry because the two of them had acted childishly, playing pranks against one another and lying to her. She had a pretty good idea of what had happened while she watched their fight. Their voices had been loud enough to wake the dead from their coffins.

  Were Armand and Hervé attracted to her because she was human? She couldn’t think of any other reason they’d wanted her in the first place. She didn’t exactly stand out in a crowd. Over the years, she’d made a habit of disappearing into the background in any social gathering. She knew she’d clean up nicely if she invested in nice clothes and makeup, but she liked her semi-hermitic life and wasn’t looking for any potential mate. Her friend Lisa had always complained about her icy demeanour towards the opposite sex, but that was the point. After Trent, she’d sworn off men.

  Until she met Armand and Hervé.

  Human or not, the carnal game they’d introduced her to left her wanting more.

  Belle crossed her arms around her chest, hugging herself. What the hell is wrong with me? Just because I’ve had some cookies, now I feel like I’ve got to get some more. This is nuts.

  The bell rang and she almost fell off of the couch. Her heart froze in her chest. Who could possibly come at this late hour? It was already nine and she was ready for bed. Could it be Hervé or Armand?

  A dizzying vertigo slammed into her cranial.

  She wasn’t ready to face them. Yet. She still hadn’t figured out what she wanted. She knew she couldn’t avoid them forever, but now wasn’t the right time.

  Dreadfully, she forced herself to her door and peeked through the peephole. To her surprise, her guest was neither Armand nor Hervé. It was her sisters, Clara and Sarah.

  What could they possibly want?

  Belle unlocked her door and opened it.

  “Isabelle!” Her sisters’ yell was loud enough to cause her neighbours to make a valid disturbance complaint to the cops.

  Clara jumped on her and hugged her to the point she couldn’t breathe. Sara did the same. Belle only stiffened, feeling wary. Usually, the nicer her sisters got, the more devious they were and had something in mind.

  “It’s late.” Belle’s voice sounded grating. “What do you want?”

  Sarah pretended to look shocked. “Can’t sisters visit each other?”

  Belle schooled a blank expression. “I have to wake up at five tomorrow.”

  “This won’t take long, Belle.” Clara brushed past her and invited herself into her apartment as if she owned the place. “It’s about Mom.”

  Sarah followed Clara, throwing a glance at her small apartment. Even though Sarah sported a big smile on her face, her eyes emanated contempt.

  Belle crossed her arms on her chest. Usually, she would’ve offered them drinks and obliged in menial pleasantries, but she’d decided she’d cut her family off from now and she wanted to let her sisters know their visit wasn’t welcomed. “What does she want?”

  Her twin sisters traded a glance. Clara started. “Mom was concerned about you. She feels sorry to have invited Trent over.”

  “Duly noted. Anything else?”

  “Mom wants to us to get together again. Maybe a weekend in Hampton or something? Giselle Lambert went to Europe until the end of this year and she said we could use her bungalow.”

  Good Lord, a weekend trip with her mom and her sisters? No way, Jose.

  “I don’t know. I have to check with Hervé. He’s pretty busy lately.”

  “Tell Hervé, Mom is looking forward to meeting him again soon. To discuss a few things,” Clara said.

  “What things?”

  “Silly girl. To see when you and Hervé are going to get married. You two are serious, aren’t you?”

  “Sorry. Hervé and I haven’t planned that far.”

  “Maybe you should discuss this matter with Hervé.”

  “I’ll talk to him.”

  “Are you two really seeing each other?” Sarah blurted out.

  “What the hell is that supposed to mean?” Belle snapped back. She felt suspicious that this whole thing was only the twins’ hoax.

  “What she means is, a man like Hervé is a hard catch. I bet he won’t get married without a prenup and stuff. We know his type, Belle. Mom and we were talking. We thought you should consider a smaller fish in the pond. Trent is a good man.”

  Belle narrowed her eyes. “If I can get Hervé, why would I bother with a guy like Trent?”

  Sarah’s mouth pursed grimly. Clara flustered. She wanted to rebuke when she saw someone at the door. Belle turned and saw Armand. Her heart stopped for a moment.

  “Evening, babe. Need to talk to you,” Armand told her.

  Belle stammered. “It’s not a good time. We’ll talk tomorrow.”

  “I can’t wait. It has to be now.” Armand walked through the door and turned to her sisters. “I have something to discuss with Belle if you ladies don’t mind.”

  Clara and Sarah gawked at him.

  “Who are you?” Clara finally managed.

  “I’m her boyfriend.”

  The twins spun their heads to Belle with triumph. “I thought Hervé was your boyfriend?” Clara didn’t bother shielding her accusing tone.

  “Oh, Hervé was only a temporary distraction. But not anymore. Belle’s my girl now.” Armand seized Clara and Sarah’s arms and pushed them out the door. Her twin sisters protested, but Armand ignored them. Unceremoniously, Armand slammed the door shut. “Well?”

  She felt heat rising between them. “You should go, too, Armand.”

  “Hell, I will.”

  He grabbed her arm and pulled her into his embrace. Belle gasped when Armand trapped her between his hard body and the door. His hot breath seared her cheek. “We need to talk now,” he said huskily. “And I can’t wait.”

  “There’s no—”

  “They’re your sisters, aren’t they?”

  “Y-yes.”

  Armand lowered his face and captured her earlobe in his mouth. Her heart lurched. Lust surged within her.

  “Whatever they’ve told you, they lied. Your sisters came because they were curious about you and Hervé,” Armand whispered in her ear.

  What? “How…how did you know?”

  “I just know. We fae are gifted to read humans. And your sisters are particularly devious.”

  For a moment, Belle lost her speech. The twins’ prank. As usual. She should’ve known.

  Armand brushed his lips over hers. “I miss you.”

  “Armand…”

  “I’m sorry I missed that dinner party. I know how important it was for you. I promised I’d come. Hail or sunshine. Hervé drugged me so he could take my place, because that night in Maison Plaisir, I tricked Hervé so I could have you all to myself.”

  “I…I kinda figured that one out.”

  “Can you forgive me? I’ll make it up to you.”

  “Armand, I…”

  “I won’t give up on you, Belle. Hervé and I have decided we’ll compete over you fair and square. No more tricks.”

  “That’s ridiculous.”

  Armand stared at her. His brown eyes were steeled with a grim determination. “Ridiculous? No.” He shook his head. “I want you so bad, Belle. And I will stop at nothing to make you mine.”

  Belle halted him when he was about to kiss her. “Wait.”

  Armand lowered his voice to a barely audible whisper. “Do you know that your sisters are still at the front door? Eavesdropping on us?”

  She tried to wade between the hazes of lust that made it hard to think. “Really?”

  “They think you’ve schemed with Hervé to pull a charade. They think you never get a decent fuck. Well, I’ll say let’s prove your sisters wrong.”

  He ripped her pyjama bottoms. She squealed. His hand cupped her pussy, stroking the growing dampness on her panties. “Armand!”
<
br />   He muffled her protest with a kiss. Her mind went blank in an instant. Brimstone of lust stripped away any coherent thought. Armand groaned and pried her mouth open with his tongue. Belle resisted at first. But when he ripped away her panties and felt her wet heat, she gave up the last strand of her resistance. It was hard to keep her thoughts in order when someone like Armand was determined to stake his claim. She hadn’t wanted to see him, afraid this would happen. She didn’t know what kind of mojo he had, but each time he lusted over her, his horniness seemed to rub in. Her body responded to his mating call, rebelled against her own common sense.

  “Belle,” Armand breathed out on her lips. “I need you.”

  She could feel him unbuckle his belt. Then she heard the sound of his zipper. A heartbeat later, his cock nudged her burning sex. He thrust in. Belle screamed.

  “That’s right, baby. Scream for me. Let them hear you…” Armand slid his hands underneath her thighs and lifted her body to his level in height. “Don’t hold back.”

  Belle clutched his hair, shivering. This blatant claiming sounded so…thrilling. Twinges of ache shot through her spine at the sensation when that huge cock plundered her deeply. She threw her head back, breathless. Alien heat invaded her, searing her alive. Armand slipped in until he was balls-deep inside her. My God, Belle gasped, amazed. The neurons in her brain short-circuited, marvelling at the sinful sensation. She felt stuffed, the good kind of stuffed. So intimate. So wickedly good.

  Armand pressed his body against hers after he was fully sheathed. His eyes glowed. He pulled in one agonisingly slow motion until his cockhead almost left her pussy, and he thrust in with the same precision as if he wanted to relive the initial penetration.

  Her toes curled from the impact. Goosebumps crawled all over her skin. She could feel him so deeply in places she hadn’t even known existed before. The pleasure was too exquisite for words. She was drowning in a tide of ecstasy.

  Armand crushed his mouth to hers, kissing her with the ferocity of a beast, tongue thrusting into her mouth, mimicking the way his cock plundered her cunt, raining slam upon slam of harsh, savage, pistoning fucks on her.

  She couldn’t do anything but surrender. Surrender to his domination. Surrender to the sinful sensation. The tight walls of her vagina clenched from the onslaught, hiccupping around his ravaging cock. He lunged, thrust, and slammed, fucking her as if he was blinded by his own lust. He tore his mouth off hers, growling, ranting a series of half-formed words, gasps, and murmurs that even without translation, she knew what he meant. He loved the way they mated as much as she did.

  He pounded harder, making her gush more cream. The sound of their mating flesh was obscene, but it only fuelled her lust. The pleasure thickened. Her pussy was on fire. He hammered faster, nailing her to the door, each thrust a pure savagery, a man who abandoned his humanity and only followed his primal instinct, hammering her against the front door of her apartment. Belle clawed his shoulders, feeling desperate to grip onto something. He kissed her. He bit her. Marking her exposed flesh with his teeth as he battered his cock into her cunt over and over again. Belle couldn’t breathe. Her body tensed. The pleasure was too much, it was bordering on agony.

  She screamed as she came. The climax was raw and powerful. Her heart wanted to burst from her chest. Her ears rang. The air around her thinned. She gasped, nails scratching across his back, thighs wrapping his waist in a fervent grip as she surrendered to the ultimate ecstasy.

  She floated. Soared free.

  Her body shook as her cunt clenched desperately around his still pistoning cock. Armand didn’t stop while she was climaxing. He still rained her with a torrent of primal fucks. Belle couldn’t take that much pleasure anymore. Just when she was about to ask Armand to stop, he slid his hand down to her clit and pinched her hardened bud.

  “Come for me again,” he rasped. “Come hard.”

  The combination of the way he battered her cunt with his cock and the almost-cruel pinching on her clit sent a jolt of pleasure through her. She climaxed again. She threw her head backward, hitting the door with a loud smack, baring her throat at him. She thrashed, writhing, gasping. Armand slammed into her so hard he knocked the breath out of her. He was also climaxing. His body shuddered and his harsh cry stormed to the ceilings.

  His cock spasmed inside of her cunt, ejaculating. Belle shivered from the aftermath, marvelling at the wicked sensation as her cunt milked his cock dry.

  It took a while before they both recovered from the climax. Armand nipped her lips. “You’re so beautiful.”

  Belle snorted. “Yeah, right.”

  “Don’t believe me?” Armand withdrew from her. His semen trailed down her thighs. He noticed and swept her off the floor. “Let me show you how beautiful you are. Where’s your bed?”

  She was incredulous. “One cookie isn’t enough?”

  “Ma belle Belle, I want the whole jar. We still have plenty of things to discuss. The bed is a comfortable place to talk things out.”

  “Oh, man.”

  Chapter Six

  Hervé came to Belle’s office when she was about to wrap up her work for the day. He didn’t appear out of nowhere like the first time she saw him in Maison Plaisir. He’d actually had the courtesy to use the front door, attracting the attention of her co-workers as he sauntered to her cubicle. Belle wasn’t surprised. Maybe because he was the prince of fae and all, people around him were affected by his unsettling charm.

  Armand had told her about their competition during the long talk last night. Neither he nor Hervé would back down until she chose. Belle thought the two of them were off their heads, but she figured eventually they’d get bored when they got to know the real her. From her experience, gorgeous guys never lasted. And since she couldn’t get rid of them, she might as well play along.

  The receptionist followed Hervé like an enchanted mouse led by the song of the piper.

  “Yes?” he asked.

  She blushed profusely. “Sir, you don’t have an appointment…”

  “That’s all right, Jane. He’s with me.” Belle nodded at the receptionist.

  Jane stared at Hervé dreamily until the rings from Belle’s phone snapped her out of her trance. The receptionist hurriedly returned to her post.

  Belle picked up the phone. It was her friend, Lisa, calling from her cubicle across the corridor.

  “Who’s that delicious hunk?” Lisa demanded.

  “Later.” Belle put the phone back onto the cradle and acknowledged Hervé. “Hey, there.” She studied him as he slipped into her cubicle. Hervé was dressed in casual clothes today. Blue jeans, faded denim jacket, and a simple white button-up shirt. Still. He looked positively heart wrenching. He could dress in rags and still stand up like a shining golden god among the ordinary people.

  “Busy?” Hervé asked.

  “No. I’m done for the day.”

  With a swipe of his hand, Hervé produced a long stemmed red rose from his sleeve. “For you.”

  “Nifty magic.”

  “I actually stopped by at a florist before I got here.”

  Belle grinned and took the flower. She put it in a glass of water she had on her desk. The rose smelt fragrant. Her cubicle became redolently perfumed with the scent of romance.

  Hervé studied her cramped workspace with curiosity. He looked fascinated with the computer screen, keyboard, stacks of printouts, and every little knick knack she had. “I want to take you out for dinner. If you’re up to it.”

  “If I’m not?”

  “Then I’ll come by tomorrow. And the next day. And the next day…”

  “You and your cousin won’t leave me alone, will you?”

  “No. Not until you choose between us.”

  “What if I don’t want to choose?”

  “That’s not an option. We’d have to court you until you choose one of us.”

  Belle sighed. “Why? Why did you do this?”

  Hervé paused long before he answered. “I wasn’
t proud of what I did, lying to you to be my cousin’s replacement. Forgive me. But I have a good reason why I did it.”

  “Not that. Why do you…?” Belle looked around and lowered her voice. “It’s because I’m human, isn’t it? You two got a kick from dating a human?”

  Hervé leant towards her, eyes glittering, “Do you believe in love at first sight?”

  She jerked backwards, blushing. “Oh, come on…”

  “It’s not as bad as it sounds, love.” Hervé straightened his posture. “Shall we go? I know a great restaurant you’ll like.”

  Belle hesitated. “I’m not dressed up for a froufrou place.” She was late this morning because Armand had practically kept her awake all night. When her alarm rang at five forty-five, Armand had shut it off and teased her for a morning quickie until she was really late for work. She showered frantically and came to the office in mismatched clothes. Her laundry had piled up because she hadn’t had a chance to do anything since that dinner party fiasco.

  “The place I had in mind isn’t fancy at all. It’s more like Jimmy’s,” he said.

  “You eat peasant food?”

  Hervé smiled. “Food is food. And even the worst meal tastes like a king’s feast if you enjoy it with your friends and people you love. Let’s go.” He grabbed her purse and slung it over her shoulder. “It’s Friday night after all. I thought you might be interested in doing something different.”

  “Where are we going?”

  “Seventh Realm.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “I’m not, love.”

  Hervé herded her out of the cubicle under the nosy looks from her co-workers. Lisa motioned for her to call later, but before Belle could respond, Hervé had dragged her out of the front doors.

  “How do we get there?” Belle asked him while they were in the elevator, going down to the ground floor.

  “Walking.”

  “How far? My shoes aren’t comfortable for a long walk.”