Vegas Ch. 08

Although the central theme of the publication is poker, I have constructed the story so that it also works for those who have no interest in that subject and who wish to skip those sections. But as it is the central tenet, you may feel you lose the whole ambience of the story.

A number of the situations have been inspired by some of the small band of authors whose work I immensely admire. I have attempted to occasionally incorporate a flavour of their imagination in this story, in tribute to them. Without their inspiration, this story would not have been told.

CHAPTER 8: GRACE AND KATHERINE GET CLOSE

It was early morning and Daniel was heading for the Rio. He was confused. He had told Grace that as long as he remained in the Main Event, his late night finishes would prevent him from attending Samuel Smith's to watch her performances. Her smile in response had been a little chilling, but she had simply retorted that as his poker was why they had come to Vegas, she had no problem with that. But it was not that, that had caused his confusion.

There had been a note pushed through the door when he had returned to their hotel room last night, or rather, in the early hours of this morning. It had been from Katherine, addressed to him. The note was insistent that he should visit her in her room in the Rio the next morning. Room 315 at ten, it said. She had to speak to him urgently about something that had come up and that affected them both. Katherine being Katherine, she did not explain what that was.

As Daniel had slumped down on the bed and reread the note, two things had occurred to him. First, that it could just as easily had been Grace who had opened the message, although that fitted into Katherine's proclivity for sexual gratification through risk taking. The other was that this might simply be a pretence to see him again. Either way, he needed to immediately finally resolve things with Katherine.

As he had no contact yesterday, he had wondered if he would see her again, or if she had understood how difficult things were for him. She had continued to flit through his mind throughout the long day and although he had missed the excitement of their sexual chemistry and her imaginative mind, he had firmly reached the conclusion that Grace had to come first and therefore their liaisons must come to an end.

It was true that Grace had acted rather strangely with him over the last thirty six hours and try as he might, he could not quite put his finger on the reason why. He had thought about asking Lauren, but she had been nowhere to be seen for a couple of days. And not only had Grace been unduly quiet, but their recently adventurous sex life was now nonexistent, although he understood that the late night pressures on them both were a major contributory factor.

Whatever the explanation for Grace's behaviour, he knew that he wanted to try and resurrect their old feelings for one another. His connection with Katherine was based on sex only, incredible as it was, but Grace meant more to him than to just through their relationship away and he determined to try again for a fresh start and make the most of their few remaining days in Vegas.

It was with that thought in mind that he headed for the Rio, a steely determination to help Katherine resolve whatever the immediate problem was and then bring their affair to an immediate end. It was just before ten when he arrived at his destination, feeling better for the long walk and the decision he had just made. As he took the elevator to the third floor, memories of their first meeting in this hotel jumped into his head, but as he lightly tapped on the door to her room he attempted to shed such images from his mind.

She was only partially dressed when she answered the door, wearing a lacy, white brassiere and a pair of pink shorts. Daniel felt an immediate reaction in his loins as he hurriedly moved past her into the room, ignoring her efforts to throw her arms around him as she opened the door.

"My," she softly said, "Someone is Mr Grumpy this morning."

She remained there, making no move to follow him into the room and instead, waited beside the door for him to turn to face her. When he did, she crossed her bare arms in front of her, and that had the effect of pushing her full breasts upwards and outwards against the thin material. They stood for a few moments, a battle of wills developing as Daniel attempted to keep his eyes firmly glued to her face, whilst Katherine waited for them to drop to her freckled cleavage.

She was impressed at his self restraint but that only increased her determination. She dropped her hands to her shapely hips and challengingly thrust one leg out in front of the other, leaning slightly to one side. It was a provocative pose and when she gave a deep sigh which had the effect of raising and lowering her breasts, that had the impact she wanted. She saw his dark eyes flicker and then sweep down her body, widening slightly as they took in her superb figure.

God, she looked so good, Daniel thought. Her red hair was still wet, not yet towelled dry from her shower. Her freckles had always been a real turn on for him, and as he took in those tiny pink shorts, he wondered if she was wearing anything underneath them. But it was her breasts that commanded most of his attention.

They were straining against the lacy top, and the whiteness of her bra provided a perfect and sensual contrast to her tanned skin. His eyes feasted on her, devouring the outline of her dark, jutting nipples denting the lacy fabric of the material. As he sighed deeply, he felt

She quietly waited until his roaming eyes eventually returned to her face and then raised an eyebrow as if celebrating success.

"You look stressed," she softly said.

"No, not stressed," he responded. "Guilty."

"And so you should," she huskily replied. "How many times have you fucked me?"

Daniel felt his penis trapped against his clothing as her words encouraged it to extend further, but knew he could not adjust himself in case he drew Katherine's attention to his predicament. He needed to stay in control of his emotions if he was to get through this situation and fulfil his promise to himself. As she took a few sultry steps towards him, he realised it would be more difficult than he anticipated.

But rather than attempt to touch him, she simply brushed past him, allowing her perfume to filter across his nostrils, and leant back against the window. As she crossed her arms once more, Daniel studied her, her body an exotic image as it was framed in the early morning light. She looked stunning.

"I have some news," she began, "And I'm unsure how you will take it."

She saw the alarmed look on his face, and watched his eyes flicker with puzzlement as various possibilities immediately ran through his mind. She gave a short laugh, pushing herself away from the window and walking across to the bed.

"Please don't worry," she comfortingly said, running her hand through her wet hair. "There's nothing wrong and this affects me not you. But I thought you should know. I have a new job for the next week."

Daniel's relief was palpable and he let out a long, soft, sigh.

"That's great," he responded, "But why... "

She finished the sentence for him. "Why is it important that you should know? It's with Samuel Smith's, that's why."

Daniel's eyes widened in astonishment. That was the last thing he was expecting, or wanted. The thought of Katherine working with Grace was an uncomfortable one. It seemed she read his thoughts and she laughed again.

"Don't worry, Daniel. I don't expect to be bumping into Grace. My job is on the promotional side. I'll be attending different sites around Vegas to promote the club. It will mainly be promotional events, handing out leaflets, that sort of thing."

Daniel gave another sigh of relief.

"But I knew you would be worried if you found out, and I didn't want you to think I was stalking you or Grace. So it was important for me to explain that to you."

Daniel nodded. "Thanks, I appreciate that Katherine," he said sincerely. "When do you start?"

"Today at noon," she replied. "That's why I thought it best to see you this morning."

He nodded again and smiled at her.

She laughed, interrupting him. "What... you'd have married me?"

They both laughed and the tension Daniel had been feeling had all of a sudden disappeared from his body. Even his penis was now resting a little more comfortably, he realised with some relief.

"I knew at the club that you didn't want to go on with this, Daniel. And I understand. I've been dumped before."

His body jumped at the remark and he began to respond, but she cut him off.

"That was just a joke, Daniel, lighten up."

She walked across and hugged him, her slim arms wrapping themselves around his neck. He felt her soft lips kiss his cheek and then slide across to his ear. Before he could act, her white teeth took his earlobe and pulled on it, sending bolts of sexual lightening through his body. To his dismay he realised his manhood was becoming alive again.

"One final time, Daniel?" she softly asked, whispering into his wet ear.

He put his arms around her waist, torn between pushing her away and ripping off the few clothes she was wearing. His sensible side won out, if only just.

"I can't Katherine," his dry mouth responded. "And anyway," he added with a grin, looking into her beautiful green eyes, "It wouldn't be much fun for you. No danger!"

They laughed together.

"Well that's true enough," she said.

"I'd better go now," he said, sighing slightly as he turned away. "Before you make me change my mind.... "

"Just give me one second before you do," he heard her soft voice say as he stepped towards the door.

As he turned around, she had the telephone in her hand, punching in a number.

"Oh hello," he heard her say to the voice on the other end. "Room 623, please."

Daniel hesitated, that seemed familiar. He realised why, just as she spoke again.

"Hello, Grace? This is the Rio Hotel. I have a Daniel on the line for you."

Daniel's eyes widened as the realisation dawned on him. Katherine held out the telephone, waiting for him to take it from her. For a second he thought of turning to leave but goodness knows what she might have said down the phone. His heart raced and his eyes clouded over as he covered the few paces between them and took the phone, his brain attempting to find something to say, some reason for the call.

"Hi, it's me," he mumbled.

His attempts to find some coherent reason for speaking to Grace were hampered as he felt Katherine's hands snake around his body from behind him and run along the growing bulge in his trousers. He attempted to smack them away, but felt an instant erection at her touch. His free hand grabbed one of hers, but her other slipped to his belt, deftly unfastening it and then pulling open the top button of his chinos.

"Sorry?" he mumbled again. "Yes, I know I rang you..."

It was so difficult to concentrate with Katherine working at his chinos, but Grace was asking why he was calling her and he had to clear his brain, think of something. He felt his zip being lowered as he attempted to speak.

"It's just that... er... we haven't seen much of each other lately, and I wanted to make sure you were okay." he burbled.

His chinos were being slid down his legs and a slim hand, an amazingly soft hand, was gently fondling and caressing his testicles through his shorts. He looked down at the erotic sight and watches as a freckled arm appeared and now her other hand was stroking his covered erect shaft to an even harder state. He gasped out loud.

"No, I've just run up some stairs," he hesitatingly offered over the phone, his face grimacing from the unconvincing lie, but also from the faster working of the hands.

The cold air hit his freed penis a second or two before her mouth enveloped him. He felt her teeth either side of the crown, and after she sucked him inside, she pulled her mouth away, holding the base as her tongue ran up one side of his pulsating hardness and then the other. Her voracious mouth took him back inside, her sucking movements sending warning signals to his brain.

"Grace, I'm concerned," he gasped, desperately trying to think of something to say but fighting a losing battle. "You haven't been yourself lately...."

Katherine's eager mouth had left him and he felt his shorts being pulled completely away. She eased his trembling body back down so that he was sitting on the bed, urgently tugging his shoes from his feet and sliding his chinos and shorts from his body.

She moved around in front of him and he watched as her hand went to the catch at the front of the bra, theatrically pulling it apart so that her tanned, full, freckled breasts

"Say that again," he asked Grace. She had asked him something but he was not paying attention.

Instead, his eyes were now on Katherine as she pulled at her pink shorts. She provocatively shimmied as they fell down her hips onto the carpet and he let out an involuntary gurgle of arousal. He could feel his penis aching, it was that hard. He had been right, she wore nothing under the shorts and his eyes feasted on the well groomed strip of red hair between her thighs.

"Grace, I was ringing to see how you are, not have an argument," he stuttered.

His eyes followed Katherine's movements and he turned his head to savour the sight of her full breasts as she deliberately swung them from side to side. Watching his mouth open, she laughed and pushed him flat on the bed. The cord on the phone was not long enough, causing the cradle to fall onto the pillow. Katherine ignored it, her face transmuted into a gleam of lust as she crawled over his prone body and without a second thought, lined up and then sank onto the hard, contoured penis that had been standing so upright waiting her attention.

"Oh fuck," Daniel said as he felt her velvet body envelop him completely.

She began to move, undulating on his hips as she leant backwards, resting her hands behind her on his knees. The sight in front of Daniel was amazing and he felt his hips responding to her fucking movements

"No, I wasn't saying that to you, Grace," he answered, a tremor appearing in his voice as Katherine picked up the pace.

The bed shook violently beneath them as Daniel responded and he knew that he was not going to last. Neither was Katherine it seemed and her groans became louder, so much so that he covered the receiver with his hand. She wrenched it from him and replaced it in its cradle, leaving him to find an explanation for cutting Grace off when he met up with her later. She did not care.

His wide eyes stared at her, not believing her actions.

"Fuck Grace," she gasped, and then added, "Forget that, baby. Fuck me instead."

Her pupils had dilated into huge black saucers behind her flickering eyelids as she felt her flat stomach and frantically working thighs trembling with anticipation. She threw herself forward, her slim fingers tightly gripping handfuls of the bedcover as she passed the point of no return.

The sensation of her gushing

It took a good few minutes for them to recover.

"Record time for us both," she murmured, easing herself off the bed.

As she reached the bathroom door, she turned around to look at him. "Think of it as a going away present..."

*

Fifteen minutes later Daniel hurried down to the Amazon room, past the mostly empty check-in tables and across the lobby to the main poker room. The encounter with Katherine had resulted in his running slightly late and although he found an official and began to make his apologies, the man simply handed him his bagged chips and pointed him towards his table assignment.

As he sidestepped his way across the floor and flopped down into his seat, he found to his relief that he had missed only a few hands. Even better, he realised that the blinds were just coming round to him and therefore all he had lost were several antes. What had been a fractious start to the day had turned out okay and he experienced a moment of contentment at the thought that, despite their sex that morning, he had finally drawn the line with Katherine.

He recalled that poker professional, Barry Greinstein, had once suggested: If you have sex before you go to sleep, you will probably be more rested and less distracted when you play. Therefore a sex partner who travels with you can be a big asset.

That may have been true, Daniel thought, but after his session with Katherine, he would have added that it was important to choose your sex partner very carefully. Right then, the last thing he felt was rested.

At the start of each day, table and seat positions were reallocated and glancing around the new table, two things struck Daniel. First, there was one familiar face - Katrina Jett, an attractive professional female player he immediately recognised. Secondly, a number of the other players looked as if they had been up all night. Unkempt hair, unshaven faces and dirty clothes seemed to be a common theme.

But appearances were deceiving, he had come to learn, and it took some time before he began to feel comfortable. Despite yesterday's full day, he still had a feeling of being in a foreign environment and the noise in the room, for some reason or other, seemed even more deafening for the first half hour or so of action.

He felt frustrated that it was taking him a while to acclimatise, not helped by the fact that no cards were finding their way to him, and whilst some interesting hands had developed for others he remained on the edge of the action. He attempted to turn the situation to his advantage, using his long periods of inactivity to assess the other players. He mentally fitted each of them into different categories in his mind, as he observed their betting patterns and frequency of involvement.

But goodness knows what they made of him, he thought, after folding yet another starting hand. This time it was the Ten-Three off suit, and he stood up and walked away from the table for a few moments in an attempt to clear his mind. As he did, he felt the crystal in his chino pocket and took it out, running his thumb along the side as he held it in his bare palm.

Curiously, the feel as he stroked it brought an eerie sense of calm and his mood changed from one of uneasy nervousness to positive expectation. It was unlikely for him to continually remain card dead, he thought, and he was aware that one good hand would restore him to his end of day-one chip position if not better.

That hand arrived shortly after the lunch break.

Katrina Jett had been steadily building up her chip position, as Daniel would have expected. After all, there were only a limited number of women playing poker in the casinos and there had been fewer than eighty at the start of the Main Event. But those who were playing knew what they were doing and this stunning looking brunette knew exactly what she was up to.

Despite several attempts by others to bully her from time to time, they found she could cope with just about everything they could throw at her. Indeed, Daniel thought that if anything, she looked to be the strongest player at the table. But by one of those twists of poker fate, it was Katrina who kick started Daniel's day.

He was dealt pocket sixes in the big blind and after a couple of early folds, Katrina made a big bet in what Daniel thought was an effort to take the pot there and then. The bet had the desired effect, everyone folding round to Daniel. He had been watching Katrina's gaze as she followed each player as they folded, and now the beautiful, dark eyes were locked on him.

He returned the stare, attempting to show little emotion. Neither gave way, until Daniel looked down and checked his hand again. As he thought about his next move, he heard her speak.