Maison Plaisir (Spirit World 1)

For seven nights and days, they tore through many obstacles and headed to the peak of Elangour. When they finally reached there, a

t the verge of exhaustion, there was only one Queen of the Night for them to claim. There was supposed to be two. Hervé and Armand raced to it and touched their trophy at the same time.

The Council Elders thought it was fate. They were convinced Hervé and Armand were born from one soul. However, their Gods had a plan for them, and instead, they were born through two different women. It was no surprise they always thought alike and desired the same things. And since they held the same trophy, it was impossible for them to harm each other.

Hervé thought this whole thing was a joke. For decades, he tried to be different from his cousin. But he ended up crossing paths with Armand again and again. Especially regarding their love life.

He’d fallen in love with a fae princess before, Minette Kasim from the Fifth Realm. But Armand had also loved her. Hervé surrendered his claim because he wanted his cousin to be happy. Besides, Armand had an obligation to take over the dukedom, and without a wife, Armand could never officially be allowed his title according to Seventh Realm’s law.

Minette died before Armand could marry her. His cousin had been heartbroken. They became close friends again until their daily routines had made them drift apart once more. They collided on their paths the night they saw Belle in Maison Plaisir.

Armand paced around the drawing room. “What do you propose to our problem?”

“I’d say we should let her choose.”

His cousin gave him a hard stare.

“We compete fair and square. Whoever she chooses wins.”

Armand fell into silence. “What dirty tricks are you planning this time?”

“None. It’ll be my personal triumph if I can win her fair and square from you.”

“You wish.”

“Let’s see about that, shall we?”

It had been three days since she found Armand and Hervé playing the Incredible Hulk at each other, and she still couldn’t get over how unnerving her shock had been. Belle jumped each time she heard somebody knock at the door, or when her phone rang. At the office, she could control her jumpiness by drowning herself in work. But when she was alone in her apartment, the thought she had slept with men who weren’t exactly human made her nerves hang on tenterhooks. She was scared, curious, flattered, and angry. She didn’t know what to feel anymore.

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?”