A Marked Deck Ch. 01 - Diamonds

Author's note: Be aware that there is a long, but hopefully still enjoyable, build-up to the actual sex in this one. All characters are over 18, as stated in the story.

A Marked Deck: Chapter 1 - The Queen of Diamonds

It was my friend Ellie who started it and so is the one to blame - or perhaps I should say, to thank. The rational part of me thinks it should be the former, but my heart and soul tells me otherwise, and so does my bank balance but I am getting ahead of myself with that part.

Ellie had come to see me on a Sunday, unusual in itself, and all she seemed to want to talk about was a live show she had seen three days earlier. She said it had so impressed her that she was planning on returning tomorrow evening and wanted me to come too. I wasn't keen. It didn't sound like my sort of thing at all, but she wouldn't let the idea drop. Reluctantly I asked for more details, hoping to find a way out that wouldn't offend her.

Ellie and Rachel - most of our other friends thought we were chalk and cheese, so different were our personalities - but we had been close friends since school. I liked to think my sensible, rational approach to life calmed down her flights of fancy a bit, while also having to admit that her sense of fun was very good for me.

"So this guy - what's his name again?" I asked.

"Alexander Sharp."

"He's a stage magician - an illusionist - right?"

"Partly, but that's not the best bit. He's also a mesmerist ... you know, hypnotism. And he uses his powers to help people! He takes people who are unhappy about something and fixes it for them. It's amazing. You have to see it to believe it."

Ellie was excited. She was a naturally enthusiastic person anyway, but I couldn't recall her being quite this carried away since we went to see some boy-band she was fan-girling about when we were teens. Knowing her, she probably still liked them, whereas I couldn't even remember the band's name.

Our tastes often differed like that, and they did about this show. I concede that magicians are clever in their fakery, but I like to find out how things work and take no pleasure in being tricked. And as for hypnotism, it was well know that a person could only be affected if they allowed themselves to be. There seemed no real point to it and I certainly couldn't see how it could help anyone in the real world. Ellie obviously sensed my scepticism as she followed up by saying:

"Oh come on Rach, just give it a try. It'll be fun - and you need some. It'll take your mind off worrying about bloody money for a while."

She had me there. When we had left sixth form at eighteen, she had decided against university - academic study had never been her thing, although she was far from stupid - and got a job instead. The result was that that she had five years of earnings behind her, although that didn't mean everything was rosy; judging by Ellie's complaints to me her line manager was something of a bully. In contrast I had always loved school, especially science, and had eagerly set off to university, filled with the excitement of learning. I had spent three years on getting my BSc and another on a Masters and emerged highly qualified and confident of getting a well-paid and fulfilling job.

It hadn't quite worked out like that. My timing was bad, the job market seemed to be in decline and all the roles I applied for wanted practical experience I didn't have and couldn't get as no one was giving me the chance. I'd had typical student jobs while at university - waitressing, shop work and the like - but the money from those had all gone on living expenses, and while I could easily get similar work now, that wasn't going to pay the rent and other bills on the flat I was living in.

The problem had become acute when my boyfriend had walked out on me a month earlier. I didn't miss him - good riddance in fact - but he had been paying half the rent and I simply couldn't afford it without that second income. I had already cut costs where I could. Unless I found a new source of earnings soon I would be at risk of eviction by my landlord. And beyond that were all the debts accumulated as a student. The whole situation was wearing me down.

Perhaps seeing my gloomy expression as these thoughts ran - for the thousandth time - through my mind, Ellie said, "Oh for god's sake Rach, look at you! You need a break. I've got two free tickets, so it's my treat; just say you'll come tomorrow night."

I could see, for whatever reason, this meant a lot to her. Perhaps an evening out, even one at an event that didn't interest me, was a good idea after all. The alternative was another night sitting in my flat wondering how long it would be before I had to leave it. So, to Ellie's delight, I gave in and agreed to go and watch Mr Alexander Sharp perform.

*****

In preparing for my unplanned evening out, my initial thought was to not bother with my appearance too much. I wasn't trying to impress anyone and I certainly wasn't looking for a new boyfriend. I'd only just got rid of the last loser and at twenty-three time was on my side. Two things changed my mind. The first was that this magic show was taking place in a nightclub style bar which I knew required a good standard of dress to get into, for example no denim.

The second factor was Ellie. I have always thought my friend much more attractive than me, although she insisted otherwise. She has long red hair and creamily pale skin, only lightly freckled, that often goes with it, making her naturally stand out in a crowd. While neither of us is especially tall, she still had the advantage being 1.7m to my 1.65 (or two inches taller than my 5'5" if you prefer), and although we were both slim and fit, I was convinced the extra height made me look dumpy in comparison to her.

In contrast to those ginger locks, my own hair was a standard brown - although Ellie insisted that I had a lovely natural chestnut tint that she envied - and I wore it short in a pixie cut. Together with my glasses, I thought it completed a look that could only be described as 'nerd'. Ellie instead insisted I was 'cute' and, to be fair, quite a number of boys had taken the same view over the years.

Not wanting to let my more glamorous friend down, I decided to put on enough make-up on to be presentable. But there was still no need to be too sexy, so I went for a nice pair of trousers (which I will admit showed off my tight butt to good effect) and matching top, together with a light zip-up jacket and flats. Smart enough but all very sensible.

When I met Ellie as agreed at her place, which was nearer the club, I found she had taken a very different approach. Short skirt, low-cut blouse, a bit too much make-up, high heels and ...

"My god Ellie, are those stockings? In that skirt you're showing the tops. Who wears stockings these days? I don't even own a pair."

The redhead looked embarrassed but defiant at my derision. "Yes, they're hold-ups. I just fancied the idea, so I bought some Saturday. Quite a bit of other stuff too, at Anne Summers and Victoria's Secret; there's nothing wrong with a girl enjoying some sexy underwear."

"Are you looking to hook up with someone at that club?" I said teasingly. "It would explain why you were so keen to go back and see this show a second time." This time Ellie did blush deeply - her pale complexion was always vulnerable to that - but I could get no more out of her, so I let the subject drop. If she had the hots for some club employee I reckoned I would know soon enough.

As usual for a 'girl's night out' where alcohol would definitely feature, we took the bus into the city centre. We generally got a taxi back, but the bus saved money on the way there and I certainly appreciated the need for that. We made our way to the club without difficulty. I had been to it a couple of times before but on nights where it was pure dancing and drinking and it wasn't my favourite one for that. Ellie's freebie tickets got us inside and we bought drinks and found a table, not too near the front but with a good view of the small stage. It was about 20 minutes before the show was due to begin, and the place was slowly filling up. Monday was hardly prime club night.

"So how did you get free tickets?" I asked. "You didn't say."

My innocent question produced a surprisingly furtive response from Ellie. She ducked her head down and avoided my eye, before mumbling, "He gave them to me."

"Who did?" I asked, puzzled.

"The mesmerist guy. Alexander Sharp."

"Really? Why?"

"Because I was part of the show. He picked me out of the crowd and afterward he said I'd done well, so he gave me the tickets."

I had known Ellie since we were at school together and I judged that what she was telling me was true up to a point but that she was leaving a lot out. It had to be something embarrassing and I was intrigued.

"So what did he do? I bet he took you up on stage, hypnotised you and got you to do dumb things and everybody laughed. That's it, isn't it?"

"Not quite, but something like that," she answered reluctantly.

"Oh my god, you fancy him don't you!" I said, suddenly certain that was the truth she was hiding. It would certainly explain the short skirt and low-cut top.

Ellie's face flushed red again and I knew that much at least was correct. I sat back in my chair thinking that this evening had suddenly got a lot more fun. I was now looking forward to seeing my friend's new crush perform. It seemed that a night of good-natured teasing awaited me.

*****

However, once the show started I forgot about ribbing Ellie; it was interesting enough in its own right. The first hour was fairly standard stage magic. Although that was not my sort of thing, I could see that Alexander Sharp was pretty good and I didn't have the faintest clue how any of it was done. In fact he was so good I started wondered what Mr Sharp was doing performing in a small club in a provincial city rather than up in the West End of London or maybe even guesting on TV, because I had certainly never heard of him before.

I might not have been terribly interested by the magic tricks but the magician himself I found fascinating - and I was not entirely sure why. He was fairly young - about 30 at a guess - of medium height, say 1.78m/5' 10", and handsome in a continental sort of way with lightly tanned skin, deep brown eyes and a head of somewhat unruly light brown hair. But it can't have been his good looks - my private fantasies had always run toward tall blond Viking types.

What he certainly had was lots of charm, charisma even, in the way he moved and spoke which made it hard to take your eyes off him, and he backed it up with a line in presentational patter that was both humorous and engaging. It was, of course, an act, a performance. This was his job and Alexander Sharp was probably a dull as dishwater off stage, but I had to admit he was very good on it.

Not that he actually stayed on the stage that much. He did a few set piece illusions with bits of equipment there, but card tricks seemed to be his speciality and for this he preferred to wander around the audience, microphone in one hand, deck of cards in the other and a spotlight following him, stopping at tables and doing tricks close-up to the seeming delight of the paying customers. Even if I was a bit cynical about such things, I found myself wishing he would stop at our table so I could get a closer look. As for Ellie, her eyes never left him as he circulated in the crowd.

But it seemed we were not in luck, which surprised me. I had noticed that Sharp seemed to take a particularly close interest in any young and pretty women at each table and Ellie certainly qualified as that and so, if I put my self-criticism aside, did I. I can't say I approved of that behaviour, but then he was a bloke and I was well aware that few men could resist checking out attractive women, as irritating as it often was to be on the receiving end of such attention.

His first set would finish shortly and then there would be a break before he came back to do his hypnosis act. I was just thinking about heading for the bar to get Ellie and I more drinks when Alexander Sharp suddenly appeared in front of us. "Hello Ellie," he said with a cryptic smile.

To my disgust my friend looked like she might just melt on the spot. Lost for words for a moment, she finally stammered, "Umm ... ahh ... hello Ma ... Mr Sharp ... umm, Sir."

"It's alright Ellie, you can call me Alexander when we have company," he said smoothly.

I was wondering what she had been about to call him before changing it. There had been a definite pause in her sentence. I was certain now that Ellie definitely had the hots for Sharp, but it seemed that he knew her rather better than I had guessed. Had something gone on between them? It was none of my business what she did, but I still felt somehow disappointed in my friend. She was behaving like an idiotic teenager, not the grown woman she was. Then he turned his eyes on me.

"So this is the friend you told me about; the one with the financial problems. Yes, you were right to bring her to me. I think I may be able to help her. What's your name, cute girl?"

I should have been angry with Ellie for discussing my personal affairs with a stranger and with him for the patronising description, but just at that moment I wasn't thinking about any of that. Those dark brown eyes were staring into mine. It was like looking into a pool of deep water, one you could so easily fall into and sink to the bottom, there to be trapped forever in the warm soothing waters, both lost and found. But there was more; those same eyes were probing me, searching out my secrets, reading my innermost thoughts and desires, understanding me better than I knew myself.

His firm gaze was penetrating every millimetre of my being, thrusting its way into me, burying itself to the root in my soft, moist ... What the hell! ... Where was all this sexual imagery coming from? I realised I was trembling. The man had asked me a question; I should pull myself together and answer it.

"Umm ... Rachel," I squeaked in an embarrassingly high voice, desperately flustered.

"Well Rachel, you can call me Alexander as well ... for the moment at least." Then he swung the microphone up and stopped talking directly to me. We were part of the show again.

"Ladies and Gentlemen, last week this young lady here, the lovely Ellie, featured in the second part of my show. She had some problems that I was able to help her with. We will find out later how that went. I have been looking in the audience tonight for anyone who I can help in the same way and I think I have found someone, none other than Ellie's friend Rachel. But we must test if I am right and, as ever, fate lies in the cards."

He put a hand in the pocket of his suit jacket and held up a pack of playing cards. "This deck is a special one I use only for this purpose, however, in every other respect it is a normal set of cards, as you can see." Alexander, as I now thought of him, spread the cards on the table; they did indeed seem perfectly ordinary. "The only difference is that one card is missing - the Queen of Clubs - and that is because Ellie removed it last week and it is hers to keep."

"I've brought it with me," Ellie said excitedly, but Alexander just smiled again and then signalled to her to be quiet. She obeyed at once.

He picked the cards up from the table and smoothly shuffled them. "There are just three queens in a pack of 51 cards and yet I am confident that if I ask Rachel to choose one at random she will pick a queen. Further, I will name to exact card Rachel will select. It will be the Queen of Diamonds." He then spread the cards out into a fan shape face down on the table and asked me to pick any that I wished.

As he was not actually looking at me, my brain had kicked into gear a little. One specific card in 51 was a less than 2% chance. The deck had to be rigged in some way, but I had seen nothing to suggest how that was done and I had a very close view. The other possibility was that he was trying to manipulate me into picking the card he wanted. I looked at the fan of cards in front of me and went out of my way to select the one that seemed least likely to meet those criteria. I picked a card from the left side of the fan about two thirds of the way to the end. Bringing it to me, I turned it over. It was the Queen of Diamonds.

"Thought so," Alexander muttered to himself, then into the microphone he added, "Ladies and gentlemen, the Queen of Diamonds it is!" There was applause.

"They ... they must be all the same," I said, staring at the card in amazement.

He smiled that odd smile again and said, "Have a look."

I turned another card over - six of hearts; another - three of clubs; another - jack of spades. They were all different. I sat back dumbfounded.

Alexander collected up the cards. I went to offer him the one I had drawn, but he shook his head: "No, keep it. That's yours now. You'll be one of my guests on stage in the second half of the show. See you later." And he walked away.

I was left with mixed feelings - amazement at the card trick, annoyance at his arrogance in assuming I would take part in his hypnotism show without even asking and, stronger than both, the memory of those eyes staring into my soul.

*****

When the interval was announced Ellie told me she needed to go to the loo and, as good girlfriends do, we went together. Equally inevitably there was a queue for the ladies, while the men wandered in and out of their room with annoying regularity. When we reached the front of the queue, I let Ellie take the first available cubicle - at the far end next to the wall - as her need was more pressing than mine. I had to wait a while before another became available. She seemed to be taking her time and I wondered what the problem was.

The cubicle next to Ellie's became free and I took it. When I got inside I finally had a clue as to why she was taking so long. There were strange muffled gasping sounds from next door. Was my friend really doing what I thought she was doing in this public place? The strange thing was that I too was aroused and had been since Alexander looked into my eyes. I realised my pussy lips were slightly damp. I was seized by a sudden urge to copy Ellie and masturbate. I suppressed it fiercely and got on with the proper business of relieving my bladder. What the hell was wrong with me this evening!

Ellie and I excited the cubicles at about the same time and I said nothing to her while we washed our hands. After we left the ladies I headed straight to the bar area. While I was getting the drinks I overheard two guys discussing Ellie and I. One was suggesting that we were obviously 'plants', by which he meant associates put in the audience by the magician to make him look good. Normally, I would have been saying something similar but I knew we weren't stooges and I had no idea how I had ended up with that card.

It was only when I returned to the table with the drinks that I asked Ellie exactly what she had been doing in the loos. Her flaming hot scarlet blush - that was becoming a theme this evening - confirmed my suspicions.

"I couldn't help it! It was seeing him again," she said. I had no doubt who 'him' meant. "He just makes me so excited! I know you felt it too; I could see the effect he had on you. I just had to have some ... you know ... relief for my feelings."

"Delicately put," I said, laughing, "But really Ellie, jilling off in the club's loos, what were you thinking?"

Ellie looked embarrassed but defiant: "I'm sorry, but that's the effect my Master has on me."

I was stunned, not quite believing my ears. What had she just said? I was about to ask when music surged, the lights dimmed and Alexander Sharp bounding back onto the stage to start the second half of his act. Ellie was no longer taking any notice of me; her eyes were fixed on the man I had just heard her call 'Master'.