[Music Background: Bitza & Vanessa - Take me slow]
"Welcome to my club," he said proudly, now closer to Marie in his new city apartment.
With a sudden jolt, the lift halted at the fifth floor, the yawning doors breaking the magnetic draw of their intense embrace. The glass wall unveiled the city's sprawling vista.
Marie-Rose couldn't help but express her feelings:
"I'm so glad we're not meeting at Cedric's crib again."
"Why babe?" he asked mischievously. "You scared of a threesome or something?" he inquired, unable to hold back from teasing her.
"No, Jayden, if we'd end in a threesome with Cedric, you'd f*ck him in the ass, while I'd be watching." though the latter assertion wasn't entirely accurate. While she could entertain the idea of a threesome involving a friend of Jayden, the prospect of sharing Jayden with one of her female friends was out of the question. Her possessiveness over Jayden was a non-negotiable aspect of their dynamic.
Things had gone out of hand for them, but mutual attraction eventually drew Jayden and Marie-Rose to the same bed.
She would finally be intimate with Jayden, fully free of Alexandre. In a way, she left Alexandre for Jayden, though neither wanted it to appear she dumped Alexandre for Jayden, who supposedly left his wife for Marie-Rose, despite already divorcing when they met.
Ditching the deranged ex-wife wasn't easy, but Jayden succeeded. Alexandre also wouldn't leave Marie-Rose alone, acting like they were on a break, not separated.
She dreaded the club, often finding Alexandre there, never letting go. Always hovering.
Earlier in the club, Marie-Rose decided to go back to find Jayden in his aisle rather than offering herself on a plate for the other guy.
Getting closer, she didn't dare disturb his trance. She found a stool near a pillar and admired him tossing his curls in slow motion.
Soon, she noticed two couples near her, kissing ostentatiously.
Clearly they thought themselves the stars of her favorite book "They Both Love Me."
The first was a same-race fat couple, faking affection with awkward kisses, failing due to poor acting. So forced, unnatural - bad actors playing roles. Lame yet funny.
The second featured a dark-haired blue-eyed boy with an epicanthic folded eyes girl. When he finished pretending to kiss her lovingly, she noticed he looked as if high on meth. Something seemed off. 'I wish to never "See you again",' she muttered. She discerned the cryptic insinuations of the psychopath who had been covertly observing her.
She knew they were sent by the network of spies.
The saga unfurled when, much to the dismay of a despicable hater, she found herself drawn to the illustrations of a novel she was engrossed in: "Rosie's Games," featuring a male protagonist with raven-black hair and piercing blue eyes.
Unfortunately for the protagonists of "They both love me", "Rosie's Games" and "See you again", there were were much prettier boys with dark hair and blue eyes in the world than the ones acting like the boys in the novel (such as those who served as inspiration in Marie-Rose's novels).
Besides, she saw the illustration of the character in "He stole me from my deadbeat husband" and she fell in love on the spot because the male lead looked like someone she liked. Jayden.
Repulsed by the sight of the odd couples, she looked away. When she returned her gaze to the same spot, their place was taken by a man ogling her in a peculiar way. Another addict looking for his next fix, or someone more sinister? Wait, didn't he resemble Vadim? Oh, yes, positive, but he's not him so she averted her gaze anew. Who the hack wanted the villain role in the real world? Perhaps another reader prematurely enjoying what he perceived as the climax of the story?
Next stool over sat two gorgeous young men.
Soon they kissed passionately, a beautiful sight lacking pretense.
The cool thing was they lacked the others' awkwardness.
This couple reminded her of a rainy night walk with Jayden. Lost in their world, they'd kissed crazily on the crosswalk for minutes as a car stopped politely, loath to disturb them.
Captivated, she watched the heartfelt embrace. Who said two kissing men were gross? Young, beautiful, in love - their image was pleasant.
Some protested kids seeing ostentatious street kisses. She agreed, whether straight or gay couples. But this was a club, supposedly where this was acceptable. It was not like they were in an airport.
The guys noticed her stare and kindly asked:
"Are we disturbing?"
"No, you're a nice sight," she admitted. "Do you have an open spot for me? I'd love to join in! Clearly your show's better than theirs," she indicated the others.
Sensing something odd, they observed the couples, frowning.
"I wonder when they'll start undressing..." one joked wryly. "At least we'd know the price paid." After both parties had their fair share of laugh, she let them continue their moment.
"Sorry to interrupt. I'll leave you two be." She waved goodbye.
Then, she returned attention to Jayden, face still hidden, dance over.
Just like earlier, seeing sullen Jayden ignoring everything, Marie-Rose couldn't take it anymore. 'Take that hair from your face and see the truth, you idiot who broke my heart!'
She strode toward him, steps firm with resolve.
Hurting in his own way, Jayden let the music soothe his soul, forgetting to glance at Marie-Rose. Not her fault she attracted many. Single, he had no say. But he knew she misunderstood him.
Halting before him, he felt a presence. Recognizing her heels, he raised his head and looked up.
"Why act like this? Are you stupid? Don't you see you're the one I like?" She maintained calm with difficulty, ready to erupt.
She had sworn never to make the first advance toward a man, but for once in her life she disregarded trampling her own heart to clarify things for him. Anyway, the fault was hers for indulging the overtures of others.
Unable to stomach watching Jayden suffer silently, immersing himself in inaction and shying from her while other men stole a march, she summoned her lioness's persistence to approach him first.
She wondered if two hard slaps would wake him up to reality.
Weary was she of matters unfolding thus, with delicate yet reserved boys respecting boundaries to avoid imposing, while desperate men claimed the floor, self-entitled.
His eyes widened at her sudden outburst.
Though inclined to stay passive and aloof, he couldn't treat her so.
Cupping her defiant face, he gently stroked her cheeks, hoping she wouldn't cry.
"Hey babe," he greeted as if seeing her the first time today. "Forgive me, I didn't mean to upset you. Just enjoying the song!" Kissing her forehead and eyes, he drew her close. "Dance with me?"
Startled by his couple-like assumption, she was convinced that night she'd been just another girl offering herself while he had a wife. Merely a side fling.
"Let me explain if you let me," he offered as they swayed in their unconventional dance. Tired of any other explanations, she fixed his lips in her gaze, waiting for him to kiss her instead, wanting to resume their passion from months ago.
Unsure how much time passed in his firm embrace, perhaps hours in her perception?
His old self resurfaced with a slight smile. Beyond the perceived arrogant facade, a delicate side she'd only glimpsed emerged that she knew lurked underneath.
Happy she hadn't declared her love or lust, risking further misunderstanding if seeming overeager to get in his pants, in truth she yearned for intimacy now, right from the moment she felt his heart against hers again.
"Where to now?" he asked to no avail. The silence persisted for a while.
"Back to where we left off last time," she finally dared admit.
He cupped her face again and found her mouth, wetting her lips with his tongue.
Enchanted as if by a spell, their kissing only intensified the thirst. The more their tongues pressed, the less excruciating the torment.
Needing a better place than this, when he paused for breath, gazing at her, she seized the moment:
"Jayden, why are you here tonight?" Suspecting he still lived out of town, it was a fair query. Cedric's place didn't sound like the most suitable place for quenching their thirst.
"I moved here, to be near you." Then he hesitated and asked, "Want to see my place?"
Unsure if rushing wise, he didn't want to hit his peak in a public place and stop, then struggle to leave and restart things later.
Afraid he'd misinterpret accepting as consent for intimacy, which she didn't intend, Marie-Rose wanted assurance he sought commitment, not a one-night stand. Also uncomfortable entering a married man's home, even if ex-married.
Yet she wanted to spend more time together.
"Not so fast! Let's stay a bit longer."
His hands gently caressed her back as she returned the favor, running her fingers through his hair, kissing unhurriedly with eyes closed, savoring each brush of their lips.
Recalling a coven elder's advice on assessing male virility, no need with Jayden whose obvious arousal came naturally, not her intention.
Amused at the elder's cattle-like tests on potential mates, she mused, 'What's the point of his erection if our sizes don't match?' Size was more important.
Only wanting fiery temperaments herself, not repeating the mistake of accepting one with a clashing personality, her solution was a three-year engagement to properly assess intimate compatibility before permanent commitment. But first, assurances of serious intentions.
Unable to just stand statuelike, her naughty nature took over. 'What if I turn that knowledge to my advantage?' She'd done a lot to please the frigid Alexandre, likely why he stayed.
Now she was through initiating for cold, insensitive men who treated her like a sex worker on call, never making her feel wanted.
Jayden seemed an attentive lover, though not yet lovers. With her mischievous grin, she slowly licked his lips, holding his gaze as his hands grasped her bottom. So far, a very skillful lover who understood very well the woman anatomy.
Taking it further, she slid her hands into his jeans, gently caressing his sensitive parts as they kissed. Head on his shoulder, she rested her hands there, inside his pants. Arms around her waist, he leaned against a pillar. Her hands hidden under his underwear. No one knew in the dark except for their kiss. Both wondered the next move as desire grew.
She longed for intimacy with him, yearned for the moment their paths would align. But for now, she was left to tame her restless emotions and quell her mounting desires, the wait becoming an agony she couldn't ignore.
Oblivious to being watched, as he considerably grew, squeezing her buttocks, imprinting his fingers in her soft flesh, due to fear of letting out loud sounds that would betray his arousal, he decided:
"We need to stop. I can't take anymore!"
The observer nodded in disapproval: "Acceptable public behavior?" Unable to reconcile her actions with his values, the informant saw them again.
Soon at Jayden's apartment, their pent-up ideas on their way to becoming reality, ready to consume their fire, little did they know another club target was monitored that night.
Vadim, her department coworker, right hand to their boss, Cezar, and fellow party member, supposedly desperately seeking a woman, unsatisfied with just one, needing fresh one-night stands since his divorce.
Daniel knew better, having watched Vadim for some time.
***
[Music Background: Spike - Manele]
In another part of the club, known for bad music and people, the two exiled girls, Inès and Héloïse, the ones expelled from the coven (in chapter 6 Just for the record), danced on the tables to the rhythm of the "manele" music.
None of Daniel's men watched them. To them, their behavior seemed passable unlike Marie-Rose's. They kept their hands in sight.
One sister was especially exuberant, ecstatic at seducing another married man. Affairs thrilled her - she felt powerful intruding into couples.
Her latest target was a young man she planned on sleeping with.
***
Meanwhile, as Jayden prepared to sleep with his beloved in an apartment block in a neighborhood nearby, he discovered his front door gaping creepily in the dim hallway.
They both froze, terrified.
Maybe the former owners forgot something? Jayden considered, hoping they left the door open so they weren't mistaken for thieves.
Horrified, Marie-Rose immediately related it to her stalkers.
Bravely, Jayden entered, turning on lights. Marie-Rose lingered in the dining room. Jayden searched thoroughly – nothing.
His steps echoed eerily on the bare floors, like a haunted house.
Perhaps he forgot to lock the door and the wind opened it?
Returning to Marie-Rose, thinking to take her coat off before showing her to the bedroom, he found her horrified, stifling a scream at the wall's message:
"The witch must die" in blood-red paint. Not actual blood, just for scare effect.
A solution came to Marie-Rose in a flash. "I should cross out the first word and replace it with 'Romeo must die'," she muttered under her breath. It was the title of one of her favorite action movies, yet it held a deeper meaning now. If she was dealing with truly unhinged people, she had to beat them at their own twisted mind games.
Let them obsess over the cryptic message for hours, desperately searching for hidden clues and symbolism. Of course there was no coded meaning, but she knew how these psychopathic types operated - they would imagine one.
Jayden embraced her comfortingly. Too late to ask neighbors if they witnessed something. Her safety came first, so he decided to drive her home.
"Welcome to the club, Jayden" Marie-Rose told him, aware she was the one that dragged him into this.
"Babe, I'll drive you home!" he said smoothly, calming her.
"What about you, baby? It's not safe to return here," she fretted.
"I'll stay at Cedric's," Jayden decided on the spot.
Seeing the swinging door, he immediately thought of Cedric's. He was part of this now, the best one to help. Though he'd uncovered Marie's tracker, he warned things were more complicated than they appeared. They had a plan but couldn't act yet.
Once back in the car, they forgot the incident, purposely ignoring it, lost in more foreplay.
After driving awhile, he pulled over at the back entrance of her residence in a block of flats. He stopped her, grabbing her wrist, taking time to admire her before they called it a night. Her striking green tint of eyes complemented the shade of her natural red hair, which framed her delicate features perfectly.
Under her hair, face covered by the red leonine mane similar to a cameo framing her head, her gaze was fluid.
Their gazes locked.
On the dark alley, passing cars briefly lit up the surroundings. Police sirens interrupted their moment.
Jayden explained to the officers he'd stopped to grab his phone, which he did immediately. He had to update Cedric about the incident ASAP - maybe they shouldn't brush off the incident so easily. Before Marie-Rose could suggest Jayden stay with her instead, he was absorbed in his call.
Cedric welcomed Jayden warmly, relieved to hear they were okay.
"Want me to order food for when you arrive?" he asked.
But contemplating this mess, a new idea hit him:
"We're both sleeping there tonight."