Vegas Ch. 06

This is my first attempt at writing, having been inspired by a small band of authors whose work I immensely admire, and I have attempted to occasionally incorporate a flavour of their imagination in this story in tribute to them.

Having completed the novel, I have learnt so much more than I knew at the outset. Two areas of feedback are welcomed:

1. Comments of encouragement that will inspire me to write more... and constructive criticism that will help me improve.

2. Voting that will help me assess the enjoyment factor.... or otherwise.

CHAPTER 6: LAUREN FINDS RELIEF

He had a free day today. That was Daniel's first thought as he awoke in the empty bed. He jerked himself up onto his elbows and looked around the room, wondering where Grace was. Then he heard the shower and gently eased his head back down on to the pillow, craning his neck to check the time. It was already late morning. His jet lag from the flight was still with him, and the poker and late nights at the club had compounded the feeling of tiredness he was feeling.

Thank goodness Grace had not realised he had missed her performance. After tidying himself in the restroom, he had returned in time to hear her final song and she assumed he had been listening all the way through. There had been one sticky moment when Lauren asked where he had been, but he sidestepped that one by saying he had stayed by the bar because he had not been able to get near the stage.

He had been slightly unnerved when Samuel's son had come over to see Grace, his big eyes gleaming at Daniel as if he was aware of something that Daniel was not. But then, how could Daniel have known that his session with Katherine had been captured on the dressing room camera?

As he propped himself up on the pillow, his mind returned to his encounter with Katherine and as it did, his penis began to unfurl under the bedcovers as he recalled their wild, uninhibited sex. He snaked a hand under the sheet and gently stroked his hardening shaft as his mind returned to the dressing room and the way in which the redhead had taken his sexual experiences to a new level. Goddam, she was a sexy woman.

The same contradictory thoughts of arousal and guilt were running through his mind and he thanked the stars that, for the first time since he had won the Vegas trip, Grace had not wanted sex last night. When they returned to the hotel she had just thrown her clothes on the floor and climbed into bed. By the time he had showered, she had been fast asleep.

Part of Daniel craved for more time with Katherine, and he smiled to himself as he knew which part that was. But the more sensible part of him was telling him to call an end to their liaison. This was no way to go about rekindling his relationship with Grace. Yes, he had responded to Katherine last night, but then which man would not? But the more he thought about it, the more he realised that this affair was leading nowhere.

Or rather, if it did have a direction, it was leading him into trouble. His inevitable physical reaction to Katherine suggested the best way to stop this right now was simply for him to stay out of her way. When he was with her, it seemed that his body simply overruled the good intentions in his mind. More discipline, he told himself. More discipline.

Okay, he decided, staying out of her way was the approach he needed to take. But the more difficult question was exactly how to achieve that. Particularly when he remembered her final words to him.

"Same time tomorrow night!"

*

Grace watched as Daniel slipped out of bed, gently pecking her on the lips as he made his way to replace her in the bathroom. She could not help but notice that his penis was semi-erect and she had to restrain herself from grabbing it as he walked past her. God, she felt horny.

After her amazing encounter with Joshua yesterday, she seemed to be in a constant state of sexual arousal. It was amazing the effect that the young man and his father had on her libido. She had remained aroused throughout her performance at the club and during the journey back to the hotel, but she wanted to save herself for Joshua and Samuel. Consequently she had gone straight to bed and feigned sleep when Daniel had returned from his shower.

She had only needed to wait for a few moments until he had fallen asleep, and that allowed her to use her hand on herself. But even that had just resulted in temporary release, and she was anxious to get back to the club again. She had no idea whether it would be Samuel or Joshua that would greet her next time, but neither did she care. Right now, she would be happy to see either and the uncertainty just created a little more spice.

She quickly dressed whilst Daniel was showering, knowing that Lauren was leaving early for her second photo shoot and that Daniel had a free day. But she did not want to get caught up by either. Her intention was to travel straight to The Forum to purchase several sets of the sexiest underwear she could find. And after that, she would head off to the club.

Calling out, "Have to go now. See you later," she headed out of the door.

Daniel would think it strange that she had left so suddenly, but that was his problem.

*

Lauren had a spring in her step as she returned to the agency for her shoot today. The sensual effect of yesterday remained both in her body and psyche, so much so that she had to relieve herself again when she returned to her hotel room after Grace's late night performance. And she was so proud of her sister. She had the whole place rocking again last night and was undoubtedly on her way to stardom.

She was determined to give her best again today in what she hoped would be the start of her own journey to modelling stardom. But that was not the only reason she was looking forward to the day. She also craved more of the sexual fusion that had built up throughout yesterday. She could not wait to work with Jimmy again and that thought alone sent little electrical currents shooting right through her nerve ends.

She had telephoned Bobby first thing this morning, in an attempt to assuage some of the guilt she felt by, quite frankly, wanting Jimmy to fuck the life out of her. But he had been too busy to speak for more than a few minutes and seemed more interested in telling Lauren what was happening with him rather than hearing how well matters were progressing for her. Selfish bastard, she thought.

It would serve him right if... no, don't go there she told herself, shaking her blonde head to help her discard the idea.

She had spent an hour by the pool before leaving for the studio. Just a little sun therapy, she told herself. But once there she had found herself ogling anything that resembled a fit male, and to her surprise, had found herself checking out several of the more attractive females also. There was no shortage of tanned, finely toned bodies of both sexes. She felt her body oiling with arousal, realising there was nothing to take her mind away from the sex that she craved.

She briefly thought back to her frustrating call to Bobby and as she watched the variety of men parading themselves around the swimming pool, she began to imagine herself with Jimmy again. God, she would like to fuck his brains out. Pretty soon her fertile imagination had taken in thoughts of Kay, too, and her mind fantasised about three way action with the two of them. She wondered if Kay would be at the studio today. God, she so needed a good seeing to!

Arriving at the studio she saw that the room was once more arranged as a bedroom, but this time the size of the set had been reduced and there was a huge mirror at the headboard. She saw to her delight that Kay Kristen was present and she tightly hugged her as Kay explained that she had been called away on business yesterday, but complimented Lauren on how well the shoot had gone.

"Dan told me he had got some very sexy shots, particularly towards the end," she confided to Lauren, the familiar purr in her voice. "Just what we need, sweetie."

She stroked Lauren's bare arm as she spoke. "Do you think you can give us that look again today?" she asked.

Her fingertips were sliding languidly up and down Lauren's exposed inner arm with a smooth, slow rhythm, and as she did so she lingeringly held the young, blonde model's eyes with her own. There was a look of lazy challenge in her bright eyes.

"Dan said it was quite a look you gave to the camera, almost like you were desperate to be fucked!"

Lauren started, her excitement intensified by Kay's deliberate use of that most basic of words. If only you knew, she thought, recovering her composure. But Kay did know. That was part of the plan. She gave a delicate feminine laugh as she leant closer to Lauren, her scarlet tipped fingernails now tightly gripping her arm.

"Don't worry, sweetie. I understand. Jimmy has that effect on women, especially when he's in his underwear."

She continued to hold Lauren's eyes and this time it was the back of her fingertips that resumed their sensual trail up and down the blonde's inner arm.

"Sometimes he even does it for me," her sultry voice continued, "Though I much prefer women."

Lauren's eyes widened and she felt a growing dampness between her legs. She had no experience of being with another female, but this woman's gentle caressing, her use of words, and those knowing eyes were a real turn on. She felt a sudden pang of disappointment as Kay pulled away.

"But Jimmy isn't here today," Kay said, taking Lauren's hand and leading her towards Dan. "It's just you and Ming."

"Ming?" Lauren asked in surprise.

But before Kay could answer, Dan called her over and took her around the revised set to familiarise herself and feel comfortable with what he had planned for today's shoot. He explained that it would take place on and around the bed and that he wanted her in an assortment of poses incorporating individual shots of her face and her body, and then a variety of shots of her and Ming together.

"We'll finish with some topless," he added in a matter of fact way, and then pointed her towards the dressing room. "You'd better get ready now."

Topless? That had not been part of the deal, Lauren thought. Not that she was going to object. Quite frankly, she would do anything requested of her to make this shoot a success. This was her chance of the big time and there was no way she was going to blow it.

Kay was waiting for her in the dressing room, as was another young woman, a small, thin and extremely beautiful oriental dressed in a white robe.

"This is Ming," Kay said, her palm held out towards the young woman. "And she's one of our up and coming models. Her job today is to support you, Lauren. You'll be the main feature, but Ming will compliment you in a number of shots."

Ming smiled at her and Kay added, "Her job is to add a different perspective to the shoot, just as Jimmy did yesterday. She'll make your photographs look even more stunning than ever. And I can assure you, Lauren, the two of you will look terrific together. You'll be well satisfied when you see the end result."

She turned to Ming, "Isn't that right, sweetie."

"I've never had any complaints," the oriental girl softly said, and the two women burst into laughter.

Kay looked at Lauren's puzzled face and purred, "It's an in-joke. We'll explain later but for now, let's show you the outfit you'll be wearing this morning."

She handed Lauren a black corset with a push up bra and a tiny black thong. The blonde girl took them, looked down at the outfit and then back at Kay, who gave a shrill laugh as she raised an eyebrow.

"Very sexy," she purred. "And it will provide quite a contrast."

When Lauren's brow furrowed, Kay glanced over at Ming as if in explanation. She nodded and the oriental model removed the robe to reveal a similar outfit, but all white. She looked simply stunning.

Kay explained that today would be somewhat different than their normal shoot and that they were looking for some provocative shots, some that would show the two women almost nude. Lauren was not sure how to react, or what to answer, but remained quite prepared to do as she was told. Kay came closer to Lauren as she spoke, and put a protective arm around her shoulders.

"Lauren, I just know that these photographs are going to be fantastic for your career. Give it everything you can, sweetie."

*

As Daniel stood at the entrance to the Bellagio card room, he pondered over the different levels of No Limit Hold 'em cash games available. He chose one of the smallest levels and was fortunate enough to find an immediate seat open at the $10-$20 table. He peeled off a thousand dollars of his Omaha winnings and took his place, the very first time he had played in a casino for cash.

As he familiarised himself with the other faces around the table, he decided that the worst he could do was to lose his stake. He smiled wryly as the mere thought of losing a thousand dollars would have been an anathema to him only a short time ago. But now, he reflected, he had a different mindset. It was half of his Omaha entrance fee, and as he had turned that into a nice profit, he saw it as free money.

And even if he should lose it all, he could walk away or buy in again, dependant on how comfortable he was feeling. So the absolute worst he could do was to lose two thousand dollars, he told himself. But he was not planning on doing that. His intention was to test himself in this environment, but to leave with a nice little profit in his pocket.

The other players were a little different to those playing in the Omaha tournament, at least in their dress sense. It may have been the venue, but the people in the poker room seemed to be paying due deference to their surroundings and had dressed with a degree of respectability that seemed unfamiliar to him in his Vegas experience so far.

For a while he got into conversation with a young guy immediately to his right, who told Daniel that Table Poker had promised to pay him a ten million dollar bonus if he was to win the main event after qualifying on their site. Daniel's eyes widened as he stared into this youngster's soft pale brown eyes and momentarily compared that to the Practically Poker offering.

"Yup, I'm gonna be rich," the sandy haired young man added with a laugh.

Daniel laughed along with him, realising their naivety when considering just what astronomical odds there were on such an achievement.

"The thing is," continued his new friend, clearly in conversational mood. "You don't even have to be the best player to win. Just look at that Jamie Gold."

Daniel nodded. Gold had certainly been the luckiest of all Main Event winners, and also one of the most unpopular.

"Perhaps not," responded Daniel. "But it certainly helps."

"Yeah, but think of it this way," continued the sandy haired youngster, pushing up the sleeves of his light shirt as he leaned closer to Daniel. "There is over a week of fourteen hour days, with as many pieces of good fortune as you can think of. The winner's gonna suck out a few times. It's a lottery. With so many amateurs there's little chance of a pro winning again. So why should it not be you or me?"

Daniel smiled. "A bit like winning the lottery?"

"Maybe," responded the youngster, caught up in his own enthusiasm. "But why not?"

Daniel smiled to himself. The young man's enthusiasm was infectious. But no matter what the odds, he was determined to live the dream until he was knocked out. And after that, he had his Omaha success to keep him warm.

*

When Grace had returned to the hotel after her morning shopping expedition, she was relieved to find the room empty. She had not wanted to explain to Daniel why she had purchased so much underwear, especially following the hard time she had given him about the money he had 'wasted' on his Omaha tournament. But she knew that money was no longer going to be an issue for her going forward.

In no time at all, she had packed the new lingerie away, showered and dressed again and within minutes she was in a taxi heading for the club. When she arrived, her clear brown eyes gleamed in anticipation as Joshua met her, again looking immaculate in a dark suit, blue shirt and yellow silk tie. He led her through a different door and as they entered an unfamiliar room, Grace's heart dropped. She had hoped it would be another bedroom but in fact it was an office.

As soon as he closed the door, Joshua pulled her to him and kissed her full, glossy lips, her tongue instantly snaking into his mouth. She pressed her eager body into his, feeling an instant reaction against her.

Joshua's immediate thought was to accommodate this incredible woman there and then, but he knew that would have to wait. Right then he had other plans. He untangled himself and led her to the big dark green leather chair, watching as she sat back and crossed her tanned legs.

She looked expectantly at him, wide eyed, wondering what was happening.

"Our cameras caught this last night whilst you were performing," he simply said as he pressed the buttons on the remote.

The giant television screen on the far wall leap into life... and Grace gasped out loud when she Daniel and Katherine together, jerking her body up in the chair as she leant forward, a deep frown covering her forehead. She immediately recognised the venue as her dressing room at the club and sat in silence as the tape played out, her narrowing eyes glued to the screen. She glared at Joshua and then back to the now blank screen.

"Who is that bitch?" she asked, finally reacting.

She leapt out of her seat and paced across the room, her voice wavering as she spoke through gritted teeth.

"Her name is Katherine," Joshua softly replied.

He deliberately softened his tone, hoping that would help calm her down a little although inwardly delighted at her response. With their plans for Grace, they did not need a boyfriend hanging around.

"I'll kill the bitch," she said, her almond eyes wide with anger and her nostrils flaring as she spat out the words. "Daniel, too!"

"No," Joshua responded, his tone sharp and commanding.

Grace's head shot back at his words, her blazing eyes staring defiantly into his. Joshua smiled slightly and closed the couple of yards between them but the angry woman took a step back. Joshua sighed, but softened his tone further.

"Grace, have you heard of the phrase, 'Don't get mad, get even'," he asked.

She did not answer, and just continued to stare defiantly at him, her cheeks red with anger. In truth she felt like crying at the betrayal, despite the knowledge of her own recent activities.

"Grace," he softly said once more. "Your future is with us now. Before too long you will be a star in your own right and you can forget about Daniel. Right now, you have two choices. The first is to confront him with this today... "

She stared at him as he spoke and when he paused, she asked, "And the second?"

Joshua smiled broadly. "I much prefer the second. Rather than confront him now, we will keep this to ourselves. Then we can break up his new relationship, make them both pay, and send him home with his tail between his legs."

It was important to Joshua that Grace chose the second option. They already had recordings of her pleasuring Samuel, and also of yesterday's encounter with Joshua. And then there would be tomorrow's video, if all went to plan. But they wanted something else, something to hold over her when she became a big star. It was important to ensure she would not get above herself and would remain loyal.

"Revenge, Grace," he added as he watched her mind whirl. "Revenge!"

Grace thought for a while. The silence between them lasted for some time until finally she nodded her head, the look on her face hardening.