Authors: Lizzie Lynn Lee
The elevator shuddered to a halt and the door opened. Maddie bounded from it like a junkie on PCP, looking for the nearest exit. Luckily, there were no people in the hallway at this time. Or she probably would have run over them. Dr O’Bannon had scheduled her for a late interview because he didn’t have the resources to make his appointment in regular business hours.
Maddie dashed to the left, following the emergency exit sign. She barely ran past half the corridor when the poltergeist tripped her. She stumbled like a fallen tower. They got the hem of her pants and started dragging her towards the elevator again.
“No!” She writhed, abandoning her attempt to be secretive. “Help!” And she really needed help. She thought she could handle them like she always had. But this time, she couldn’t. This gang of poltergeists wasn’t like any she’d encountered before. Maybe this time they would try to kill her. Maddie tried to grab on to something, anything. There was nothing to grab on. “Help me!”
Maddie squirmed, trying to shake them off. It was useless. They were too many and too devious. They gave a hard yank and she sort of flew to the end of the corridor. “Help!” She blindly grabbed above her head. This time, she caught something. A foot. Boots.
A man.
She heard somebody bellow, “Be gone!”
For a moment, she thought the shout was directed to her. Then, she found out the man was shouting at the poltergeists.
Wait a minute—he could see them?
The poltergeists scattered with scampering shrieks.
Maddie took a good look at her saviour. A pair of black boots filled her view. Then a pair of strong, long legs wrapped in black leather pants, followed by his black leather coat. His body was mostly obscured by his trench coat, but he was built like a truck, solid and powerful. He was handsome. Devastatingly handsome. Unruly copper hair framed his features. He had a strong jaw, an aquiline nose, lush eyebrows, and piercing eyes.
Maddie’s heart started to race again. His eyes were glowing red.
The man wasn’t human.
* * * *
Jean-Luc Berthier was amused.
He hadn’t stepped into Maison Plaisir for the relaxation he desperately needed, but he hadn’t expected to find some entertainment by the establishment’s front doors. A gang of poltergeists had tried to molest a human female.
He narrowed his eyes, looking closer. Make that a pretty human female. Fine ass, too. He bent down and helped her back on her feet. She shrank in fear as he was about to touch her. A few stray hairs obscured her beautiful face.
“I’m not going to hurt you. Just wanted to make sure you’re okay,” he told her.
She took a step backward. “I’m fine,” she squeaked.
“Doesn’t look like it.” Jean-Luc inched closer, curious. Not every day he met a mortal who could see the Unseen. He studied her with great interest. This woman was one sweet delight. Even though she was dressed in slacks and a blazer, the allure of her femininity dripped from her every pore. “Name’s Berthier. Jean-Luc. What’s yours?”
She eyed him as if he had sprouted a second head from his neck. “Thanks for your help, Mister. I need to go.”
“Do you have a name?” he pressed.
Her gaze was laden with suspicion. “I’m not giving my name to people like you. You aren’t human.”
“Afraid not.” Jean-Luc couldn’t help grinning. Her huge, gorgeous fawn eyes captivated him. The irises were dark as midnight, complimenting her thick, long lashes.
She took another step backward. “Who are you?”
“Jean-Luc. You certainly have a short memory.”
“I meant—what are you?”
“What do you think? Look, I just want to know your name so I know what to call you. It isn’t a ridiculous favour to ask.”
She blanched a little. “I’m Maddie.”
“Maddie,” he echoed. “It wasn’t that hard, was it?” Jean-Luc grabbed her arm and steered her to the entrance of Maison Plaisir.
“Where are you taking me?” she protested. “I…I need to go home.”
“Just treating you to a drink. You look pale.”
“I’m fine, really.”
“Don’t look fine to me.” Jean-Luc paused to pick up her purse and give it back to her. With his shoulder, he pushed the door open. Maison Plaisir’s hostess materialised before them.
“Jean-Luc Berthier. Well, I’ll be…” Madame Chabert spread her arms and patted his back dotingly. “I haven’t seen you in a while. Where’ve you been?”
“The usual, Roxanne. Nose to the grindstone.”
Chabert slid her gaze to the woman he’d just saved. “And this is…” Chabert narrowed her eyes. “How curious. A human.”
“She’s a bit rattled, I’m afraid. Some
zacrahs
tried to molest her. Is it possible for us to have a private room? And perhaps tea as well? She could really use some.”
“Poor thing.” Madame Chabert spread a hand. “Please follow me.”
“Come.”
Maddie resisted. “I need to go home.”
“Look.” Jean-Luc gave her a hard stare. “Your clothes are ripped. Your face is dirty and you have a cut on that elbow. It would be best if you clean up before you go home.”
“I don’t have a cut.” Maddie groped her right elbow and flinched. “Oww… How did you know?”
“I’m a Hellhound and I can smell blood from miles away. I suppose that explains everything, yes?”
She didn’t resist when Jean-Luc carefully ushered her to follow Madame Chabert. The hostess placed her hand on the doors behind the reception desk and murmured an incantation. No unwanted guests were able to enter Maison Plaisir without her permission. The doors swung open by their own accord, revealing the grand sight of Maison Plaisir’s Common Hall.
Maddie gaped as they waded among the patrons. She looked impressed. A few people noticed she was human and whispered among one another, watching her every move. Humans who were able to see the Unseen was exceptionally rare and desirable.
Jean-Luc stole a glance at her. She was a pretty young thing, couldn’t be more than twenty-five, in human age. Her oval-shaped face with big eyes elicited the saving-the-damsel-in-distress urge within him. Her fair skin was flawless and looked creamy enough to lick. Jean-Luc gulped hard, indulging himself in a little dirty thought. His cock stiffened under his pants, jumping with interest at the prospect of bedding her. He hadn’t been aroused in a long time. Decades, perhaps. Being an agent of the Pit had dried up his sexual drive to nothing. He became less and less of what he was before. A red-blooded male with healthy sexual appetites.
He wondered if she was unattached. No ring on her finger, and he didn’t smell any male who had laid a claim on her recently. Which was a good thing. Jean-Luc was itching to discover if the body underneath her clothes was as lovely as her face.
Madame Chabert led them up the stairs and onto the second floor of the establishment. They walked through a long corridor before they arrived in the private wing, reserved for the patrons who wished to spend a night in Maison Plaisir. Jean-Luc never utilised his stay to sate his carnal needs. He liked the rooms because they reminded him of his home a long time ago.
They arrived at a small lounge marked as ‘private’. Madame Chabert opened one of the doors. “Would this be acceptable?” she asked him.
Chabert gave him his favourite room whenever he had a chance to visit Maison Plaisir. “Perfect.”
“Splendid. I will send the tea right away. Will you be needing anything else?”
Jean-Luc turned to Maddie. She was still busy gawking at the décor. “Are you hungry?”
Maddie quickly shook her head.
“Have you eaten dinner yet?”
“No, but—”
“We’ll order dinner,” Jean-Luc firmly decided.
Madame Chabert inclined her head. “I’ll notify the chef right away. Enjoy your stay.”
“
Merci
, Roxanne.”
“The pleasure is mine, as well.”
Jean-Luc closed the door and motioned to Maddie to relax. The room Chabert had given him had a small living area, a dining table, a bathroom and a large four-poster bed perched in the middle.
Maddie found her way into a nearby chair and sank in. “What is this place?”
“Maison Plaisir, a pleasure house for the spirits and otherworldly beings, where all pleasures are to be explored and all taboos are meant to be broken.”
Her eyes rounded incredulously. “This is a brothel?”
“You make it sound dirty. I prefer to call it a fun house.”
Maddie jumped from her seat. “If you’re thinking—”
“Relax. I just want you to clean up and rest before I take you home. Let me take a look at your cut.” Jean-Luc took off his coat and piled it on the coffee table. He unholstered his guns and knives.
She watched him warily. “What did you say you were again?”
“Hmm?” Jean-Luc lifted an eyebrow. “You’re asking what I do for a living?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m an agent for the Pit.”
“What is that?”
“A bounty hunter. I track down bad guys and haul their asses back to the Pit.”
“What is the Pit?”
“The Pit of Hell.” Jean-Luc motioned her to lose her blazer. “Let me see your boo-boo.”
“Why?”
“I’ll make it better.”
“You can heal people?”
“Only if they’re nice. Come on. The smell of your blood is starting to bug me.”
She blinked. “How come?”
“’Cause I’m a Hellhound, that’s why.”
Maddie shrugged off her blazer. She wore a thin, short-sleeved white blouse underneath it. And a white cotton bra beneath her shirt. Nice. He made a cursory calculation. C cup, perhaps? Breasts that size would fit perfectly in the palm of his hands. Not too small. Not too big. Just right. Jean-Luc felt his mouth begin to water.
Damn, temptation.
He took her right arm and examined her cut. There was a narrow gash just above her elbow line. It wasn’t as bad as he had thought and it hadn’t bled much. Her blouse and jacket were blood stained. She looked dismayed when she realised this.
“Man. These are new,” she complained.
“If you run them under hot water, you might get the stain out.”
“I’ll do that when I get home.”
“You can do it here,” Jean-Luc ventured. “Take a bath and I’ll have someone launder your clothes.”
Maddie cringed. “Thanks, but no thanks.”
It appeared she didn’t trust him. “Wait here.” He went to the bathroom to get a fresh washcloth. He cleaned her cut and placed his palm on it. He summoned his power and healed her. She gawked at him when she saw the cut was gone.
“Thank you,” she murmured.
“You’re welcome.”
Somebody knocked on the door. A man brought a cart filled with their order. Jean-Luc gave him a tip and sent him out. He found the steaming tea and carried a cup to her.
Maddie looked happy with the tea. She sipped it with delight. The brew seemed to soothe her fraying nerves. “Thank you, again.”
“How did you end up wrestling with those
zacrahs
?” Jean-Luc was curious.
“
Zacrahs
?”
“Poltergeists. We call the lesser spirits
zacrahs
.”
“Is that so?” She sipped her tea some more. “I went for a job interview. But as soon as I got off in Dan Ryan, they followed me and ruined everything.”
“I take that you didn’t get the job?”
“What do you think? I hope the doc didn’t get hurt, though. Those poltergeists dropped a frame on his head.”
Jean-Luc cringed. “A doctor?”
“Dermatologist. I’d applied for a receptionist position.”
He studied her closely. She would be more than qualified as eye candy for an expensive physician’s private practice. “And you would have gotten the job had they not ruined it for you?”
“That was a bummer. Usually, things don’t get out of hand like this. They’ve never attacked me before.”
“Have you always got harassed?”
Maddie sighed. “Lately. Since I’ve lived on my own.”
“Oh? And before?”
“I lived with my aunt. My parents got divorced when I was five and I ended up with Aunt Liv for some reason. My aunt was rather eccentric. She knew how to ward bad spirits. But she passed away last summer and I discovered I’m not that good at making amulets.”
“I see.” Jean-Luc sat at the end of the sofa. “I might have a solution to your problem.”
She perked up. “Oh?”
“Make a pact with me. Be mine and I’ll protect you from every soul that bodes ill wishes against you.”
Her face coloured in an instant. “You mean—”
“Your body in exchange for my protection. It’s a fair trade.”
Maddie jumped from her seat. “I—I need to go.”
“Did I offend you? Don’t tell me you’re a virgin and such a proposition is too outrageous for your delicate ears.”
Her lips thinned into a grim line. “You aren’t human.”
“I was one, a long time ago.”
“My aunt always told me to never make a deal with people like you.”
“Well, your aunt isn’t here to protect you anymore. I strongly suggest you consider my offer.”
Maddie gave him a wary look.
“Are you attached?” Jean-Luc had to ask. “Got a boyfriend? Husband?”
“It’s none of your business.”
“If you’re unattached, I don’t see a reason why you should turn down my offer. Think about it. Live without constant fear from those
zacrahs
and all I ask in exchange is your intimate companionship.”
“I need to go. Good bye Mr Jean-Luc.”
“Berthier. Jean-Luc Berthier. You need my name when you change your mind. Say it upon your lips and I’ll be there.”
“I’m sure I won’t need it.”
Jean-Luc felt his grin lurking around his mouth, but he tucked it away. “You can’t leave yet. You still owe me a payment.”
“Payment?”
“For saving you. A simple kiss would suffice.”
“I don’t think so,” she retorted hotly.
“Maddie, Maddie, Maddie. You know our kin never dispense free services, right?”
A scowl plastered over her pretty face. “Fine. If I kiss you, you’ll leave me alone?”
Jean-Luc purred. “On second thoughts, I’ll collect that at my leisure. I don’t want to kiss an angry woman. When I kiss you, I want your complete surrender. With you under my body, where I’ll take my sweet time exploring and quenching my thirst on your sexy lips.”