bodies.
âDo I look like that sort of reprobate?â replied a corpulent man who looked to easily weigh four hundred fifty pounds.
While the arms of the women were wrapped around his neck and torso, their eyes feverishly embraced the tall figure behind himâa young man dressed in a black suit. Neither his face nor his build resembled that of Balcon. From the way he carried himself and the look in his eyes, he had to be a bodyguard.
âIâm only going to engage in some gentle conversation. Unlike those other dirty old men, Iâm not out to take a âpeek and a pokeâ at the private areas of some young virgin. You see? My interest, in fact, is purely in staying up all night talking,â he bellowed, an explosion of vulgar laughter filling the hall before flowing out toward the entrance.
-
When he arrived at Fisher Lagoonâs in a carriage drawn by six galloping horses, Balcon was promptly surrounded in the front hall by the women who accompanied the madam. Though he had the poorest imaginable excuse for a chest, a chin that disappeared into five or six rolls of fat, and a belly that sagged like a sowâs ass, the hands that reached for the bulge in his pants were prompted in part by a professional approach to customer satisfaction, but the proof that the act was mostly motivated out of very real interest was the way every last woman had her eyes rolled back in her head and drool spilling from the corner of her mouth as she moaned incessantly.
This was the result of the sexual stimulants mixed into their daily meals and aphrodisiacs in the incense that even now filled the air. The longer they stayed, the worse it became, and in fact, spending a mere week in this house would make these women slaves to the endless swell of carnal cravings that came from within, smothering the will to escape and leaving them animalistic bitches in heat who did as their master and his clients commanded and pleasured them in any way they desired. And although there were naturally many clients who sought that sort of woman, the calls were even louder for virgins pure as the driven snow. As a result, âscoutsâ of sorts set off for neighboring towns and villages and even went all the way to the Capital to find fresh girls to meet Fisher Lagoonâs endless demand.
âYou have the girl from the earlier communiqué, I take it?â Balcon asked the foxlike madam.
âBut of course, Mr. Balcon. Have we ever said we had a girl and not delivered? Sheâs up in the penthouse suite, sure enough, just awaiting your arrival, Mr. Balcon. Although the girl did arrive just today, so she may be somewhat impertinent. Please try to keep that in mind. And another thingââ the madam said, lowering her voice to add, âthough we donât mind a few broken arms and legs, you mustnât kill her.â
âI know, I know. That last oneâGiselle was it?âI was drunk then. But as you can see, Iâm practically sober today,â he said as he coughed a cloud of seemingly inflammable breath on the madam.
Stopping and looking all around, Balcon said, âBy the by, is that old dog Lagoon not going to come out to greet me today either? Five years Iâve been coming here, and in all that time, I canât remember the owner showing his face even once. Donât you think thatâs a bit rude of him?â
âBegging your pardon. You see, the bossâs motto is that no matter how pretty our girls are, folks would lose their taste for taking their pleasure if they were to see his face. But thatâs fine, isnât it? After all, a greeting from the boss wouldnât change the thrill from the girls in the least.â
As the crafty old woman stated her case plainly and stared at Balcon in an unpleasant manner, something seemed to suddenly occur to the rotund man.
âWell, there are places like this in even the smallest villages, but it really seems strange that
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