Page 36 of Sacrifice

Lucien waved one hand in a mimic of her own gesture. “Don't ask me where I got it,” he said, amused with himself, but it seemed to Eve that Laveau didn’t care and couldn't lock the little vial away in her cabinet fast enough.

When she sat back down, the smile on her face was the toothiest Eve had seen yet. “The price is paid, in abundance,” she said, "But I do not like to be indebted. Perhaps there is a little more I can offer you?”

“Actually, I do have something in mind,” Lucien said. He rubbed thoughtfully at his jaw. “How about you ask your cards their opinion of my companion here?”

Laveau clapped her hands together. “Yes! Yes!” Her eyes popped with excitement, and she pulled a fat silken pouch from the hidden depths of her chair, released its drawstring, and extracted a pack of battered cards. Her eyes moved to Eve as she manipulated the deck in her hands, fanning them out with a twist and winding them back; cutting and switching; and riffling them together in a crackling rasp mid-air.

“And what question shall we pose?” she asked but continued to speak before anyone had had the chance to answer. “The transit of Venus approaches, child. I can only assume you have not known my old friend for long.”

Lucien cleared his throat.

“We would have met, would we not?” Laveau added quickly, and Lucien nodded.

“Where will this chance meeting take you, Eve?” Laveau grinned broadly and pressed the cards into Eve’s hands. In Laveau’s hands holding the pack had seemed quite natural, but in Eve’s the pack was thick and just a little too much for her tohold comfortably in a one-handed grip. She wrapped the other around it too, to stop the cards from slithering away.

“Get a feel for them, child. Shuffle and put a little of yourself into them. A little of yourquintessence.”

Eve cut the cards and did her best to change their order. “Are you going to tell me my future, Madame?” The dagger had made her feel wild and the rum more confident. Tarot was humbug as far as she was concerned.

Laveau’s eyebrow twitched. “Cut the pack into three and place them on the table.”

Eve fiddled with the cards a little more and then made three separate piles as she’d been instructed.

Lucien leaned in to lay a hand on Eve’s thigh and watched as Laveau flipped over the top card of the first pile.

“The basis of the matter. The Empress.” Laveau sucked in a long breath and closed her eyes. A sigh rumbled deep in her throat. “The card of feminine power. The card of Venus herself and yet something is missing. Something is lacking in your life. There is no fulfilment.” Laveau slapped at the table and Eve nearly jumped out of her skin. “The significant connection comes. Gears are clicking into place.”

Her eyes flickered to Lucien, then she reached forward to flip the card on the second pile.

“Ha ha! The Magician.” She wagged a finger in Lucien’s direction. “New beginnings. The manifesting of desires and love’s urgings.” She ran a flat palm down over her own breast to then squeezed at her thigh. “There is a new order in the making.” She added with a lick of her lips.

Eve blinked at her. How could the cards possibly know about her and Lucien’s connection? “And the future?” Eve asked, despite herself.

Laveau turned over the last card. Its picture showed a woman holding the jaws of a lion. “Strength.” She tipped her head to oneside. “Lust. Your connection is the key. Restraints will come to an end and a situation will arise with one who will exert a great deal of power or influence over you.”

Laveau leaned back in her chair, looking quite obviously back and forth between Eve and Lucien. Some kind of inner amusement pulled at the corner of her mouth. “Nothing will defeat you,” she said.

Back downstairs in the club,the music was pounding. In the space of time they’d been in Laveau’s den, the DJ had increased the heat on the dance floor by a good few degrees. The air was thick with sweat and booze and pounding music. Couples draped around each other unselfconsciously and moved together to the beat. Men who earlier had worn their shirts open, now had taken them off entirely. Some danced together, while others paired with women who gyrated in exposed corsets and scant underwear. The only part of their bodies covered to any actual effect: their faces - hidden behind ornate masks.

Eve was feeling the effect of the drink now. After the first delicious sip, she’d found Laveau’s rum incredibly easy to consume, and now a warm buzz of vibrant contentment ran through her veins. They’d found the last dagger. Lucien was incredibly happy, and his delight was infectious. She had to admit, she’d got a buzz out of it too. The dagger was special. It had an energy that excited her.

Lucien led her across the dance floor, toward the bar, and couples moved around them, sliding their hands over each other’s glistening skin and kneading flesh. Eve’s eyes ran to the darkened alcove where bodies entwined, kissing and moving. A woman on her knees sucked the cock of a man standingwatching the dancers. The club had been pretty hot the first time they’d passed through. Now it was practically on fire. Eve had never seen so many people lost in sexual desire at one time. The shock of it left her blinking to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. She laughed. It was outrageous and incredibly hot. The thrill of it pulsed in her veins and brought to the surface a desire she’d been fighting to control all day. Her own body craved attention.

Lucien, it seemed, felt inspired by the scene, too. He pulled her into his arms and kissed her hard on the mouth. Every nerve ending fizzed. Her body tautened, breasts puckering beneath the slippery silk of her dress. Lucien ran a hand down her back, over her curves and then up, under her dress, to stroke at her skin. Goosebumps rippled out from the places he touched her. Waves of desire ran over her flesh to lap between her legs. They were in the middle of a club, but still she wanted his intimate touch, to feel his fingers on her skin. The rush of desire consumed her. She pressed her body against his and pulled him close.

Lucien put his mouth to her ear and ran his tongue around the lobe. “God, I want to fuck you,” he whispered, and adrenaline rushed through Eve’s veins. This man was sexual dynamite. Around them, bodies pulsated to the beat, utterly lost in each other and the music. Their place in the middle of the dance floor felt both public and yet disguised by the activities of those around them. Lucien skimmed a hand over Eve’s breast and sighed at how eager she clearly was for his touch. He ran his hand further down her body, over her stomach and down to cup between her legs.

Eve swayed in time to the music, making space for him to touch her. Lucien looked down into her with eyes that burned with need. He walked the fabric of her dress up with his fingers until he’d found the soft fabric of her panties and ran a fingertip along the line where lace met skin. Eve laughed at thebrazenness of it. It was crazy and so public, yet everyone around them was utterly immersed in their own desires. They were lost in a fog of sound and desire. One hand on the small of her back, Lucien slid the other beneath the lace and dove to caress her. She wanted him so badly now it didn’t matter where they were. The pounding beat of the music took hold, and she moved in time, pressing her body against his. He moaned his approval and found the taut bud of nerve endings that so desperately craved him. His fingertips swiped around and around and Eve felt all self-control leaving her.

There was nothing but him and her need to be touched. Her hips ground involuntarily against his and his cock pressed hard against her hip.

“I want you naked,” he growled in her ear, “But I don’t want to share you with them.”

He glared down into her upturned face, dark eyes full of fire, took her hand and pulled her away, through the buffeting crowd, the sea of shining bodies parting to let them pass. They had their coats and were running through the catacombs to Lucien’s car and speeding away before Eve had time to catch her breath.

The drive was frenetic. Rain lashed at the windscreen as Lucien sped them across Paris, taking chances to cut through traffic and shave precious moments from their journey. A storm had gathered in the time they’d spent closeted in the depths of the catacombs, and now Eve felt a building of electrical power in the air that fought for supremacy against the power of attraction she felt for Lucien. In a blur of tight corners and honking horns, he took them from central Paris to spraying gravel on the chateau’s driveway.

He sped around the west side of the chateau to a garage Eve had not seen before. The press of a button opened an electric door, and they rolled inside to a safe haven from the hammering rain.

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