Garrison Fawkes’ POV

The Madame drinks the glass of water I hand them, pale throat working to swallow. I look away. 

“What is wrong with you?” I’d asked, after situating them of the settee. 

There is a stray trickle of water down the corner of their mouth. I brushed it away. The black veil obscures the top half of their face and I cannot see their eyes. Somehow, I still know that they are watching me. 

Eventually, they say, “I do not know.” 

I frowned but waited for them to elaborate.

“People have disappeared,” they spoke coarsely and quietly. “My harem was frightened, but they stayed. Until Adonis disappeared and the rest began to flee.” They coughed, pressing pale fingers to their chest. “I do not know where they have gone.” 

“Why hasn’t Lord Jacob done anything?” I asked. 

They shake their head. “Edenis is not a town that many put down roots in. Most come and go. At worst, this looks like a lull in tourism. Lord Jacob can’t do more than advertise for travellers to visit.

“The disappearance doesn’t seem to affect humans. As far as I can tell, Adonis vanished and left all his belongings in his room.” 

I urged them to drink more water when they coughed again.

“It’s alright,” they said. “It won’t help.” 

I stared searchingly at the lace. “Then what will?”

The Madame turns their head. “I’ve been called to a meeting,” they diverted. “By the Council of the Sinners and the Virtuous.” 

“What is that?” I asked. Letting them distract me from my previous question is fine. Eventually, I’d come back to it.

“You are familiar with the seven deadly sins and their heavenly virtue counterparts?” they asked. 

I nodded. “Which one are you?”

There is a light tinkle of laughter. “Which do you think?”

“Lust,” I realised. My cheeks pinkened. “You are Lust,” I clarified. 

They inclined their head. “I have many forms,” they told me. “One of them is Chastity.”

“Oh,” I mumbled to myself. That certainly put a name to the strange feelings that I kept experiencing in their presence. Too bad it was artificially induced. “This meeting…” I trailed off awkwardly, wondering whether it was strange to tag along.

“Come with me,” they offered. “I can hear you thinking it,” they smiled in amusement. 

I looked down in an embarrassed flush. 

“You should get some sleep,” said the Madame. “We leave tomorrow.”

Following orders was second nature to someone in a trained guard and I obediently took the bedroom beside theirs. “Thank you,” I murmured, somehow shy about sleeping only a wall apart from the Madame.

~

Alone in my room, I lay on the mattress contemplatively. My bag—containing only one other set of clothes and the piece of leather embossed with the royal crest that I carried everywhere—had been unceremoniously dumped on one of the loveseats. 

The room was pretty luxurious for those seedy establishments that sold sex as a product—except that it wasn’t illegal to that at all here. As far as I could tell, the Madame ran a perfectly respectable escort service of incubi and succubi in a building that she ironically called ‘The Harem’. It was clever. The Madame was an intelligent person that I did enjoy talking to.

Unbidden, the image of us talking over a glass of wine sprang up. I paused, wondering if that was the beginning of a vision, but no pain struck my temples. It was merely an active imagination I had. And because it seemed harmless, I allowed my mind to develop the scene. 

In my head, the Madame and I were seated in this very room, chatting on that loveseat and wine in our hands. No, we were half tangled in bed, our faces close enough to share breaths. Immediately, my cheeks heated. 

I hadn’t seen the Madame in nearly two years and suddenly I was imagining us in such a romantic setting. 

The bed bounced lightly when I flopped over in embarrassed frustration. This mattress was excellent, I thought. Firm, but not overly so. Good for lovemaking.

I smothered my face in said mattress and groaned. 

Pressed firmly against the bed, I twitched in my pants. Groaning again in betrayal, I rolled onto my back and tried not to move. Any action would result in delicious friction and escalate the situation. 

Once more, the visage of the Madame filled my mind. With that half-veil, I’d only ever seen their mouth and chin. And I wondered if their pale lips would redden under a kiss. My kiss. I was suddenly breathless at the thought. 

Unconsciously, my fingers came to frame the warm bulge between my legs. I hissed at the touch.

I was reminded of the last time I’d been touched. It had been nearly a year when the last person who touched me did so behind a dirty alley of a tavern. The abstinence had only enhanced my sensitivity, and I was having difficulty in finding reasons not to take myself in hand. 

Frankly, the only thing that stayed my hand was knowing that I wouldn’t be able to look my sort of friend in the eyes. Except…I couldn’t exactly look in their eyes, could I? That veil both teased and frustrated me. 

Giving up my inhibitions was too easy. Not wanting to dirty my clothes, I stripped and flung them off the side of the bed. 

Now completely naked, the silken sheets were smooth and cool on my heated skin. I licked my lips, still hesitating. The night breeze was a gentle caress against my hardening length.

Grimly, I grasped the base of my cock and stroked once, staring at the ceiling. The pleasure made my features soften with a sigh. I would not be able to be silent.

Pressing a pillow over my face to muffle my cries, I tugged quickly and mechanically at myself. As sensitive as I was, it didn’t take long for me to reach climax. My hand was unceremoniously coated by my gratification.

I washed up and climbed back into bed as a sudden fatigued overcame me. That climax must have been more powerful than I thought. It didn’t take long for me to lose myself in slumber.

~

My sleep was excellent, and I awoke bright and early the next morning. The Madame had prepared some breakfast for me that I ate with a hearty appetite. They didn’t eat again—I was starting to think they didn’t need to eat—but they did look a little more well-rested and less aged from last night. 

“You looked well,” I commented pleasantly. 

“I do feel better, thank you,” they smiled.

I looked away from the mouth that I’d been dreaming of all night, and asked, “What time do we leave?”

“Once you finish,” they replied. 

Nodding, I ate quickly and grabbed my belongings. “Will we need my horse?”

They shook their head. “Leave her with Lord Jacob,” they instructed. 

I was curious about how we were meant to travel but didn’t question it too hard. I'm sure they would have an interesting way of commuting. As expected, the Madame produced a pendant from under their lacey collar and took my hand. I watched inquisitively.

There was a flash of light and I wanted to throw up all the breakfast I’d eaten.