Vegas. The Shining Jewel of the Nevada desert. Fortunes and pittances won and lost in the blink of an eye. Millions gather at the garden of gambling in the hopes of an experience they’ll never forget. Many of them soon coming to regret that wish. Most who tried their luck left with empty wallets or hangovers that seemed as though they would never heal.

Not everyone, though. For those with the right disposition and set of skills, there was a living to be made in front of the gambling tables. Knowing the odds was one thing, but you also needed to remember them under pressure. A poker face wasn’t complete without a veneer of cool confidence. The line between gambling addict and professional gambler was very thin: whether you won or lost more.

The formative years of Felix Hara’s aspiring card career were spent straddling the line between the two. Learning the odds came pretty naturally to him, but keeping a clear head when the stakes started to rise was something only time and experience could give him. That, and one or two trips to the bank of mom and dad. Their terms were quite lenient: clear your debts and prove you can make it on your own before you try to strike out on your own. By the age of twenty-four, he’d finally done both. His plane ticket was secured within the day.

With a dashing figure, slightly bronzed skin, a mane of shiny copper-blonde hair and confidence that by all means seemed well placed, Felix touched down and hit the ground running.

The plan was simple enough. Find a cheap enough place to stay, then make his money at the tables. Not blackjack, mind you. Trying to take on the house alone was a fool’s errand; even if you could get the edge a ban was sure to follow. It was the Poker tables where he would find his fortune. Taking on the player opposite of you was the way to millionaire’s row and not the poor house. All he needed was his pool of skills, along with an endless sea of casual and overconfident players to part with their chips. Vegas was more than happy to supply both kinds.

The first month was spent acclimating to the unique atmosphere of Vegas; its own ebb and flow. Once the unwritten rules were clear, the wins started to outweigh the losses, and the numbers in Felix’s account kept rising. From three digits to four, then five. When you could win on bad hands all night, anything was possible.

Only, it soon wasn’t enough.

The high-octane lifestyle of the poker tables wasn’t enough for Felix as a profession. It soon started to become a lifestyle. Gone was the dingy, stuffy room he’d settled on renting. Much more exciting to live from hotel to hotel. Choosing suitable accommodations based on his winnings from that particular day. Sure, some nights he could only afford a place hardly any better than his short-lived apartment, but that was all part of the thrill. Each night in a luxurious suite was a reward for the day of card wizardry. Having to sleep in a Hot room with paint starting to crack served as motivation to do better tomorrow. Whenever it started to feel like work, he’d take a day off or two to unwind. The perfect system. At least for a time.

After all, Felix wasn’t the only shark in this ocean.

When playing for profit, most of the sharks knew to avoid each other. They were easy enough to discern from a minute of observation by the trained eye. At best, you were just diluting your winnings between you and the other player. If you thought you could go for their stash, there was a good chance they would catch on and make a tactical retreat before that could happen. That was, unless they had countermeasures at the ready.

The evening started out like most others. Felix chose a casual short/shirt combo and found a nice poker section away from the intense lights and sounds of the slot machines. Just a cool blue light and the gentle breeze of aircon to keep him company, aside from the dealer in a red uniform and the other players whose chip piles Felix was slowly but steadily lightening over the rounds. At the course he was going, he’d be sleeping well that night.

That was, until she arrived. As the round played out, all Felix was aware of was a red blur moving in the corner of his vision. The cards came first, always. Once things wrapped up and one of the players; a middle aged balding man, got up with a depleted chip stack and an exasperated sigh, his immediate replacement demanded Felix’s full attention.

Perhaps it wasn’t so much a demand as it was a gentle enticement. The woman couldn’t have been more than a few years older than Felix himself. From a brief glance, she looked to be a mix of east asian and caucasian. Glittering green eyes that could turn hard or soft at a moment’s notice. Shimmering black hair cut into an A-line bob that came just short of her shoulders and partially covered her left eye. Most of her body covered up in a patterned red dress from the east. What was it called? Che- chem- ches-

Cheongsam. That was it. What caught Felix’s attention most of all was her chest. She looked to be at least a C-cup. Looked being the operative word. The male gaze was a weakness plenty of women would use to their advantage, especially in this. Easier to just pretend they’re faked. Padded, or the like. Focus on her face. Focus on her face.

As the newcomer set her chips down directly opposite to Felix and the game resumed with a new hand, Felix got two impressions from the glances he could steal away from his hand: alluring, yet otherwise inscrutable. A face like water: able to adapt to every change in the state of play. His first instinct was the bail out. Now. Something told Felix this woman was out of even his league. Yet another voice was of an entirely different tune:

You can win this.

The more rounds he played, the more unsure Felix became. They went back and forth, trading wins and losses, while the other players were whittled down until they left the table, one by one. Though the lighting inside the room hadn’t changed, evening turned to night. Only the two of them remained.

The woman gave a pointed sigh. “One more round.” This was the first time she spoke outside of the game. Her voice was a lower pitch than Felix expected, yet silky smooth as her fine dress. What was her plan for this round? Go all in? On a close inspection, her pile of chips seemed quite a bit lighter than his own. Unless she was hiding a few more in reserve, she wouldn’t be able to clean him out in this last round.

The cards went out. Felix took a cursory glance at his pair. Two hearts: six and a ten. Some potential there for sure. Unprofessional as it may be. Felix wanted to make this last round interesting.

“Raise.” He advanced a stack of chips. One thousand in all. Now to gauge her reaction.

“Call.” She matched his bet, with a simple smile that looked more innocent than it had any right to be.

Now, the flop. Seven of hearts. Lucky seven. Then, queen of clubs. Not quite so lucky. Next card was- three of spades.

Such a promising start. Felix licked his lower lips. Once upon a time, that was a big tell of his. He’d trained himself to do it more erratically. Threw off quite a few people who thought they could figure him out. He could still come out smiling after the last two cards.

“I raise.” This time, his opponent went on the offence. Two thousand more now taunted him, trying to evoke a reaction. Felix wouldn’t be intimidated just yet.

“I also raise.” Felix pushed the pot up by another grand. His opponent called this time.

Both players laser-focused themselves on the turn. Nine of hearts. Things were heating up. It was still a long shot, but-

“Check.”

“Check.”

It seemed they both wanted to let the river decide this. Boy, did it.

Queen of hearts. Not quite the sure thing, but a solid hand nonetheless. Flush, five hearts. Now, to see how far he could push it.

“Raise.” Felix pushed in one more thousand for good measure. The woman’s remaining chips were already looking sparse. Any more of this and she would be forced to all-in. A silence set in. The air grew heavy and tense, in spite of the ventilation keeping things cool and breezy. The woman stared at her own hand. Was she running the numbers in her head, or-

“Fold.” She dropped her cards. If the woman was number crunching, she probably didn’t like the conclusion she reached. Despite the fact just thrown away over four thousand, she seemed to take it stoically. After a few deep breaths, she collected her few remaining chips and gave Felix a look of curiosity. “Might I have a word?”

Felix cleared his throat. “Is there a problem?”

A soft giggle was her first response. “More like a proposal.” She got up and walked towards the exit. “I’ll be waiting.”

Felix sat there, dumbstruck. At least there were no more games to worry about for the time being. His curiosity and his guard clashed at the offer he’d gotten. There were all too many people willing to resort to foul means when these kinds of sums of money were carried around in small, light, plastic chips. Especially when they decided they’d been cheated. Yet Felix could read people. All part of the job. He couldn’t sense any obvious ill will from this woman of mystery. He could always walk away later if he picked up on anything shady.

She probably wouldn’t wait all night for him.

With his winnings in tow, Felix left the poker area back into the main hall with its brighter lighting he didn’t much care for. It didn’t take long to find her; next to the wall, fanning herself as though she hadn’t just lost big. No doubt, that last round would come up sooner or later. As soon as he was close enough to get her attention, she folded her fan and gave a sly smile.

“That river was most kind to you, was it not?” She asked. If there was any question before, it evaporated with this one question. She was good.

Felix shrugged it off. “That’s how it goes, sometimes. Still, I won, fair and square.”

“So you did.” She opened up her fan again, revealing an image of a peacock, spread out. “I was simply wondering if the gentleman might give the lady a chance to- win some of her money back.”

“First of all, I’m no gentleman. Just a guy playing to win,” Felix tapped his foot. “Second, it sounded as though you’re done playing tonight.”

“I’m done playing, yes.” She gave a sly laugh. “That doesn’t mean I’m done playing. Far from it. Tell me: do you like what you see?”

“-I don’t even know your name,” Felix cut in, sidestepping the question.

“Well then.” She leaned in closer, giving a sultry look and a soft laugh. “Why don’t you give me yours first?”

Felix paused briefly, then gave a stiff nod. “It’s Felix, if you must know.”

“Very good. And you can call me Mei.”

“I would prefer to call you by your real name,” Felix said, eyebrow raised.

“Ohoho. Oh come, now. Where’s the trust?” Mei looked him straight in the eyes, as if daring Felix to outright call her a liar.

Felix shook his head. “We’re both professional liars on some level. You can’t blame me if you look too good to be true.”

“Haha!” This laugh was sharper. Louder. Felix flinched a little. “You certainly have a way of giving compliments. Well, mister Felix. We’ve made enough small talk. I’m certain those chips are burning a hole in your pocket. Perhaps you’d like to come to my room? I promise you it’ll be worth every penny.”

“Oh, you think I would have to pay for that kind of thing? I’m hurt.” It would be wrong to say he wasn’t interested, but at the price Mei would want? Not so much.

Mei shook her head, never losing her seductive smile. “You won’t feel ripped off.” She leaned into Felix’s ear. “I guarantee it. Room 373, if you care to join me.” Felix felt something coming into his hands. A spare card key, it seemed.

“And if I don’t?” Felix asked, getting back a bit of personal space.

“I’m sure the reception desk would gladly take that off your hands.” Mei turned, taking a measured walk towards the elevator. “Give me a few minutes to- freshen up, would you? I would be obliged.”

Felix couldn’t look away, even as the elevator doors closed, leaving him alone with about a thousand different thoughts. How long did she need, exactly? Felix decided to take a seat and spend the next fifteen minutes making his decision.

This was much less calculated than most of the other risks he took. Was he going to blow all his winnings just to get blown? Mei promised that kind of thing wouldn’t happen, but it would be just a bit reckless to take her at her word. On the other hand, this could be the kind of excitement he’d been longing for. It all came down to the price of it all. For all of Felix’s skill at the card table, he wasn’t the best haggler.

He checked his phone. The fifteen minutes were up. It was time to make a decision. Or was it? Showing up to her room wasn’t technically a commitment to anything. With that in mind, he took the same elevator Mei disappeared into up to the third floor. Just needed to find the right hallway, and count up the numbers. 369, 370, 371, 372-

Here. 373. All he needed to do was slot the card key in, and entry would be his. What would be awaiting him inside, he couldn’t know for sure. He couldn’t only imagine for so long, though. After a couple of knocks to announce his presence, Felix unlocked the door and entered.

The room’s lights were all set low; trying to set a certain mood, perhaps. The main room was plenty spacious while the furniture all looked expensive and well polished. Was someone who stayed in a room like this really wanting for money? Aside from the dark red walls, the only other thing that stood out was the double bed, standing tall with four posters and all made up from a good night’s sleep. If that was what one wanted. The balcony door was open, letting in a cool breeze along with the lights of the Vegas promenade. There was just one thing conspicuously absent from this room.

“I was beginning to think you would leave me all on my lonesome.” Felix heard the voice behind him, unmistakably Mei’s. It seemed she’d been in the bathroom.He could sense a hint of- excitement in her voice.

Felix started to turn around. “I just wanted to make sure you have enough- er- time.” He gulped. Mei was leaning against the wall. More on his mind was the fact her cheongsam completely vanished. All that remained was a set of lacy, black lingerie. She wasn’t leaving much to his imagination, wild as it was.

“Like what you see?” Mei asked again, arms folded. “You can do a whole lot more than gawk once we reach a- satisfactory arrangement.”

Down to business. Good, Felix was already close to losing himself. “I have two questions: what can I do, and how much are you expecting?”

“Getting straight to the point, aren’t we? Very well, the answers are anything and anything.”

“What?” Felix stared at Mei’s unchanging, sly expression. “You’re going to leave it all to me? Really? I could take everything and give nothing, you know.”

Mei nodded. “Of course. That’s part of the fun. I’m betting you’re the kind of man I believe you are. I just have to hope that I’m not wrong.”

“Well then,” Felix said. He circled around Mei, slipping his shirt off. “I shan’t be one to waste an opportunity. I look forward to seeing how much anything I can do.”

Mei let out a low moan as Felix closed in around her. “Try not to be too- unreasonable, okay? I’d like to walk out of this room tomorrow morning to enjoy my winnings with a smile on my face. Don’t worry about how you finish though. It’ll be safe.”

“You drive a hard bargain,” Felix said, creeping his hands upwards. “I still plan to get my money’s worth.”

“I’m all y-ahh~” Mei gasped as his hands found their way around her soft cups. Rubbing circles around them. Getting a soft squeeze in on each side. The gasps turned into a soft moan.

Felix leaned his head in, as his hands pulled back. “I think they should be Free.” With dextrous movement, he unfastened the back of the bra, then moved his hands up to lower the straps down. After a couple of seconds, it fell to the floor, leaving his hands to pick up where they left off, this time against her bare skin. Round and around. Even giving her nipples a quick squeeze. Then her own hands found their way onto his.

“No, no. This won’t do.” Now the breasts were Free, the fallen bra could be put to better use. Picking it off the floor, Felix took Mei’s arms and held them folded behind her back, using the length of the bra to tie them together. It could even hook together with just enough tightness. Lucky him.

“What are you-” Mei asked, before a hand landed on her mouth.

“You didn’t change your mind, did you? Become more risk averse all of a sudden?” Felix’s heart started to accelerate. It felt as though Mei was in a similar situation.

Then, she made a sudden exhale. “Well, this is a surprise. Seems you enjoy control.”

“Don’t worry; you’re in good hands.” Those hands were back to their chest massage, with just a touch more pressure. After a few more seconds, his left hand took a detour downwards. Past her stomach. In her panties. With just a touch-

“Ahhh!” Mei gasped. Felix pulled his hand back, though not out of trepidation. He held the hand up, letting the wetness it picked up glimmer in the low light.

“That’s quite the warm welcome.You know what? I think it’s bedtime.” Felix pulled the covers off the bed, leaving just the white sheet and the pillows. With a bit of guidance, Mei was placed on her back, head resting on the pillows. “Comfortable? Don’t get too used to that position.”

With a pair of Felix’s fingers, Mei’s panties were next to go; laid on the bed beside her. Felix left the remainder of his clothes on the carpet, leaving them both exposed. Time for the finishing touch. He lifted each of Mei’s legs until they reached the metal rungs of the bed head, then tying the ankle on with the curtain tie. He couldn’t help but take a step back to admire his handiwork. There she was, spread out, Ass lifted slightly. Exposed and helpless.

What a spread.

Felix leaned forward, letting her enticing Pussy fill his view. Then, his taste buds. There was only a hint of pubic hair growing, leaving him Free to hold her legs and feast to his heart’s content. Ever escalating moan from Mei was both a reward and an incentive to push her further. Higher and higher. Louder and louder. At first he made simple, slow motions. Up, and down. The odd circle. Savouring the taste. Then, faster and faster. Deeper and deeper. He could hear Mei’s head tilting back. Her moans turn to cries.

“Please, just a-” Mei’s words sank into nothing as the dam burst; her liquid pleasure flowed out freely. At least, until Felix intervened. Instead of allowing the sheets to soak, he took the loose panties and had them bear the brunt of the tiny flood. When things stilled, Felix wiped his mouth with what little dryness they still had.

“Hold on to this, will you?” Felix asked.

Mei lifted her head to see. “What do you- mmm!” Her words were cut off by a ball of wet panty filling her mouth. She made no effort to resist or push it out, though. With that done, her head was propped up further by a double stack of pillows.

Felix stood in the middle of the bed, towering over her. Finally showing the extent of his own arousal “You know, I thought about blindfolding you as well. Now, I’d rather give you the best possible view.”

Lowering himself to his knees, Felix once again zoned in on Mei’s Pussy, though this time from the other end. With a sure hand he guided himself to the outside. Then, the inside. He was all the way in.

“Even better than my tongue, isn’t it? I’ll make us both winners tonight.” First, Felix set up a rhythm. Up and down. Up, and down. Build up the confidence he’d bluffed not seconds ago. Along with the pleasure. Each thrust was another push of ecstasy. Each muffled moan was more vindication. He wanted more. More speed wasn’t enough. He needed more contact. First, he held onto her legs, picking up speed along the way. Then, her hips. Felix settled on her chest; the place of pure bliss. His grip tightened little by little, until Mei threw her head back once again.