Free Maison Plaisir by Lizzie Lynn Lee Page A

quick fix for your situation?”
    “I do love her.”
    “And so do I.”
    “You change bed-mates like you change your bed sheets. Just this one. Let me have her. You’re one of the Crown’s heirs. I don’t think your mother would approve of you taking a human mate.”
    Hervé ground his teeth. “Fat chance. I. Want. Her.”
    Armand stiffened. The glass in his hand exploded, sending shards of tiny crystal and alcohol to the floor.
    “Are we going to fight again? You know it’s useless.”
    He knew Armand like the back of his hand. They’d been born at the same hour, the same second in Chantrarae Palace. But the duchess died right after she gave birth to his cousin, and Duke Shah, unable to recover from his loss, abandoned Armand and his fief to live a hermitic life in the freezing mountains of Elangour. Her mother, the Queen, then raised Armand as one of her own.
    They’d gone to the same training when they were young. Same school. Same teacher. They shared everything and were best friends. Except when they were being competitive. Since they were much alike, they began to take an interest in the same girls. That was when their friendship had started to crumble to the point they could barely tolerate each other. Their relationship deteriorated when they entered into a rite of Vraelda that marked the end of their youth and the beginning of their adulthood. The Council Elders had dropped them in the middle of the Elangour wildness, where they had to use their fighting skills and magic to obtain The Queen of the Night, a rare night-blooming flower that only blossomed at a specific time in Seventh Realm, as the trophy of their success.
    For seven nights and days, they tore through many obstacles and headed to the peak of Elangour. When they finally reached there, at 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