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.
