Chain of Lust (7 page)

“
Chérie
…” he breathed out. “I…”

She exploded. She called his name as she came. Dark clouds swarmed across her vision. Her ears rang. Her breath cut off from her throat. Her pussy contracted, gripping his cock hard. Her spine stretched and kinked at the height of her rapture. Maddie cried, tears staining her cheeks. She gushed more cream, wet and hot, bathing his cock in liquid fire.

Jean-Luc battered two dozen more strokes before he surrendered to his own climax. He shouted and jerked, emptying his seed in her channel. Then he shuddered, his breath laboured. He gave her mind-muddying kisses.

He slipped out from her and drew her into his arms. Maddie basked in both her afterglow and his embrace. It had been a while since she’d felt this secure. So protected.

It felt wonderful.

She thought she’d dozed off for a few minutes. When she opened her eyes, she found Jean-Luc was watching her. He stroked her thigh.

“C
hérie
…” he purred.

Her gaze skittered down. He was hard again.

Jean-Luc leaned closer and kissed her on the lips. “I want more.”

Instantaneously, wanton aches stirred from her sex. Her pussy clenched and creamed. She wrapped her arms around his neck and opened her legs. Usually, she had never been so frisky, but with him, she became ravenous for
carnal desires. “Yes,” she whispered back.

Jean-Luc smiled. He kissed her again. “You’re so good to me.”

Chapter Four

“Morning, beautiful.”

Maddie lazily opened her eyes. “Already?” She squirmed and pulled the blanket up to her nose. “It’s too early.”

Jean-Luc mussed her hair. “It’s nine o’clock. You sleep in, but I have to get ready.”

“Where are you going?” She wanted to snuggle with him a little longer. It had been a while since she’d spent the night with a man and the bed was just too comfy.

“I have to attend to some business.” Jean-Luc pecked a kiss on her forehead. He shoved off the blanket and got out of the bed.

Maddie had a blast admiring his backside as he padded to the bathroom. Her heart fluttered like a dancing butterfly. Jean-Luc was a sexy man. She wouldn’t ever get bored of watching his body, which she had explored thoroughly last night.

She closed her eyes and tugged the blanket up until it covered her face. Comforting warmth cocooned her body. Her pussy stirred and a familiar ache thrummed from her centre. The thought of him sent shivers to her spine. God. She’d never been loved so hard, so passionately, by a man in her life. His touch had seared her skin with pure lust.

And his kiss…

Maybe becoming his lover wasn’t such a bad idea after all. Jean-Luc hadn’t asked her to perform degrading stuff. He was kind and gentle. He was obsessed with her pleasure. Jean-Luc wasn’t like the djinn who had abused Aunt Liv. He was different.

Jean-Luc was a good man.

She drifted in her own thoughts and didn’t notice Jean-Luc had come out from the bathroom. The bed dipped as he crawled in and pulled the blanket down.

Maddie blinked. Jean-Luc had taken a shower and was fully dressed. Water dripped from his damp hair. The scented soap wafted to her nostrils. He kissed her deep and long, until the aches between her thighs intensified. She wouldn’t have minded pulling the guy back to bed and riding him for one or two more rounds. But Jean-Luc seemed preoccupied with something else.

“I have to go now.” He caressed her cheek dotingly. “When you’re up later, Chabert will show you to your new room.”

“New room?”

“This one is too small for you, it couldn’t hold your belongings. I’ll send somebody to get your things from your apartment. I want you to be comfortable in here.”

“Oh. Thank you.” A feeling of relief washed over her. Since she couldn’t come up with the rent money, she was afraid her landlord would throw her stuff on the sidewalks. That old fart had been threatening to evict her every time she’d been late with payments.

“I’ll see you later, beautiful.” He kissed her again.

Maddie felt dreamy as she watched Jean-Luc simply vanish into thin air.

That was kinda cool.

All of a sudden, she didn’t feel sleepy anymore.

Maddie decided to take a shower.

* * * *

Someone knocked on the door while she was drying her hair. When she answered, Madame Chabert came in with a cart laden with food.

“Your breakfast, Miss Cartwright. Monsieur Berthier ordered for you.”

“Thank you.” Her stomach growled noisily. She was ravenous. Perhaps from the rampant sex last night. Maddie eyed the cart as Madame Chabert pushed it into the room. Orange juice in a fancy glass. Freshly brewed hot coffee. A plate of scrambled eggs, ham, and bacon covered with a glass cloche. Fresh fruits. Toast and jelly. Yum.

“When you’re finished, I shall take you to your new room,” Chabert said.

“Okay. Thank you.”

Chabert inclined her head. “It’s my pleasure, deary.”

Maddie ate with gusto after the hostess left. She didn’t remember the last time she’d had a big breakfast like this. She’d been watching her dollars closely, the only thing she could afford for breakfast was oatmeal porridge.

After breakfast, Madame Chabert took her to her new room. As they walked through the maze of halls and corridors, Maddie wondered how big Maison Plaisir really was. The Folsom wasn’t a big building, let alone a skyscraper. She knew Maison Plaisir only occupied two floors, but from the inside, it looked like an all-inclusive five-star resort. She wondered if everything had been enhanced with magic. It seemed impossible to cram all of these into two floors of a typical office building. They had walked past two restaurants, a spa, a bar and a coffee shop before Chabert led her into the private residency area.

Madame Chabert nodded at a man in a livery jacket who tended the small lobby. “Hugo, this is Miss Cartwright. She’ll be staying in seven A from now on.”

The man greeted her cheerily. “Welcome. The movers have just finished with the last of your boxes.”

“My boxes?” Maddie echoed.

“The items from your home.”

“Oh.” She didn’t expect they would have had her stuff out of her apartment so quickly.

“I think you’ll be pleased with your suite.”

“Suite?”

Madame Chabert patted her shoulder. “Mr Berthier wishes only the best for you.”

And the hostess wasn’t kidding.

The new room was bigger than her crummy apartment and a thousand times nicer. It had three bedrooms, a kitchen, a personal library and a spacious living area. The bathroom in the master bedroom had a big-ass Jacuzzi that could fit six people at once. Maddie felt frisky and couldn’t wait to jump in and relax with a glass of wine.

Dozens of brown boxes were stacked in the foyer and in one bedroom. They were labelled neatly—clothing, shoes, knick-knacks, china, miscellaneous. The mover hadn’t taken any of her furniture. Maybe because her stuff was junk anyway. Madame Chabert seemed to provide her with everything she needed, including modern amenities like a phone, television, stereo, and even a brand new computer.

“This is your new phone number.” Madame Chabert gave her a card. “Mr Berthier thinks you should be wise about giving out your contact number—only to people you trust—given your situation.”

“Of course.”

“Would you like to see the sunroom?” Hugo asked.

No way.
“This suite has a sunroom?”

Madame Chabert smiled. “One with the best view in the city.”

They walked past the kitchen and laundry area before stepping into a vast, bright room drenched with sunshine. The sunroom was fully furnished with a patio set that looked inviting. Potted plants and flowers graced the room like a personal oasis. A dwarf orange tree, heavy with fruit, nested against the seamless window, the scent of its flowers intoxicating and pleasant.

Maddie touched the glass, admiring the view down below. The busy Lake Shore Drive, and beyond that, Lake Michigan, water stretched out as far as the eye could see. Truly, the best view in town. “Wow,” she breathed out. “The view is amazing.”

Madame Chabert and Hugo beamed.

“I’m glad that you’re pleased with this suite,” Madame Chabert said. “Please let us know if you need anything. Hugo will be your personal concierge from now on,” she added.

Hugo inclined his head solemnly.

“Thank you,” Maddie said. “I think I’m just going to unpack now.”

“Splendid,” Madame Chabert replied. She and Hugo excused themselves.

Maddie took an orange that had fallen to the floor. The fruit was so ripe and fragrant. She peeled the skin as she sank herself on the cushioned chair. She tasted a segment. Sweet and tangy flavour exploded in her mouth. Maddie sighed happily. Her heart fluttered as she thought about him. Despite what Aunt Liv had said about consorting with the Unseen, she enjoyed the attention Jean-Luc had given her.

He couldn’t be a bad guy if he wanted only the best for her, could he? Had she been wrong?

She reminded herself that she shouldn’t pass judgement so quickly. She had only spent a night with the man. She didn’t really know him, other than that he was a great lover.

You don’t know his ulterior motive.

He was a Hellhound, and all Unseen were self-serving creatures.

She let out an exasperated sigh.

She should wait and see. It wasn’t like she had a choice, or anything.

Maddie finished her orange and went to unpack her belongings.

* * * *

Jean-Luc waded through the Central Office’s enormous waiting area and walked straight into the main hall. A cool breeze surged past him as soon as he stepped inside. Behind him, the doors sealed shut, muffling the groans and whines from the undocumented souls waiting to be processed.

He shivered. He had got used to the heat in the Pit and the air conditioner was too cold for his liking. On these typical weekdays, the office was jam-packed with people. Jean-Luc zeroed in on the person he was looking for and headed straight to her desk. Ivanka Djavik grinned when she caught his sight. The Pit admin worker had been his mentor when he’d been a rookie. Two decades ago, she’d had enough of field work and transferred to the Central Office for a desk job.

“Berthier.” Ivanka greeted him with her signature raspy voice. “I heard you’re on vacation.”

“I am. Just wanted to check on a few things. I was hoping you could help me.”

“Why should I?”

“Because you love me.”

Ivanka snorted. “What do you want?”

Jean-Luc pulled a chair next to her cubicle opening and sank in it. “It’s about
andras
. I believe you keep a record of their assignments each time someone uses them, if I’m not mistaken? I need to know who was using
andras
yesterday.”

“Oh.” Her expression changed. “That information is classified.”

“Classified.
Merde
. I had no idea. By the way, it’s a lovely blouse you’re wearing.”

“Fuck you.”

“The colour complements your hair.”

“Cut the crap, Berthier.”

“I take it you can’t help me at all?”

“Well…”

Jean-Luc leaned closer. “That’s a beautiful brooch you have. Is it an heirloom?”

“Shut up.”

“Suppose you leave this piece of information lying around unintentionally, and a certain person accidentally gazed upon it, naturally, you wouldn’t be held accountable, would you?”

“Supposedly…” Ivanka played along. “I wouldn’t, would I?”

“I think not,
madame
.”

Ivanka pulled out her drawer and took out a leather-bound, heavy ledger. She flipped through its pages until she found what she was looking for. Casually, she dropped the ledger on the floor. It fell with a thunderous boom.

“Oh, my.” Ivanka looked around. Everybody was too busy to even notice it. “How clumsy I am.”

Jean-Luc bent forward and picked it up. He quickly scanned the written pages that were left open. He returned the ledger with a smile. “You’d hurt yourself if you dropped it on your toes.”

“Geez. Luckily, I didn’t.”

“Be more careful next time.”

“Screw you.” Ivanka put the ledger back into the drawer. “Why are you still here?”

“Can’t friends catch up for old time’s sake?”

“Get out.”

Jean-Luc laughed. “Good to see you.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

He rose from his seat.

“Hey, kiddo.” Ivanka paused. “Watch your back.”

“I always watch my back.”

“I mean—really—watch your back this time.”

Jean-Luc reflected on her warning for a moment. He hadn’t guessed Sieg’s screw-up news had reached her ears. He shouldn’t be surprised. His former mentor had been a skilled spy in her former job and she liked keeping tabs on her subordinates. “I will.”

Ivanka gave him a nod of approval. Jean-Luc exited the Central Office the same way he had come in. Uneasiness bubbled at the pit of his stomach. What he feared had come true. Maddie’s accident wasn’t a mere nuisance. Someone wanted her dead because he was hot for her.

Someone with high power who always got what she wanted.

When he saw Ivanka’s ledger, he immediately knew the mastermind behind the death omen that had attacked Maddie. It said Adrian Storke’s
andras
had been assigned to cause Maddie’s death. This whole thing couldn’t be more obvious. The Reaper had had a big job yesterday and when his friend had a big reap, he’d never taken his
andras
out again the same day. He knew Adrian too well. In the ledger, he saw Adrian had taken out his
andras
twice. Once in the afternoon, right where Adrian had said he had a big job, at I-90. And again, later in the evening. Someone had used Adrian’s
andras
to do their dirty job.

Lilith’s name crossed his mind instantly.

This wasn’t the first time that bitch had used this kind of trick. Jean-Luc recalled two other occasions a Reaper’s
andras
had been used without their knowledge. They had sparked unpleasant scandals. But Lilith’s hands always came clean in the end. Cunningness was her best virtue.