niggers/ZooTracker_Torrents/Petbooks/LLP-115.TXT

LLP-115 The Loser's Wife by Jean-Jacques Tibor


Chapter 1


The lights in the cabaret lounge brightened again and the spots 
centered on the casual figure on the stage. As Johnny Dutton finished 
another number the applause was spontaneous and enthusiastic.

The lounge was almost completely filled, though more with middle-aged 
women than others and the young singer had a way of capturing the 
audience completely. His delivery was ultra-casual and the smooth 
richness of his voice was a portent of the great star many figured him 
soon to become.

As the orchestration behind him launched into a Bossa Nova medley, the 
man singing in the center of the stage had the total attention of the 
women in the audience, but many of the men had settled on a different 
attraction.

To these men the stunningly beautiful girl seated alone at a small 
table held more fascination for them than any male singer could ever 
have.

Even in the dimness of the showroom it was evident that the leggy 
brunette was extraordinarily lovely. Her glossy ebony hair was very 
long and draped casually over one shoulder, so black and glistening 
that it seemed to be a deep royal purple. The darkness of her hair was 
strikingly contrasted with the china white of her skin and the light 
grey-blue eyes.

She sat oblivious to the stares of the men in the audience, intent only 
on the singer, and as he finished his song her applause was even more 
enthusiastic than any other.

Johnny, if he hadn't been blinded by the spotlights and could have seen 
the distraction the girl was causing, might have been filled with a 
combination of annoyance and pride. He wouldn't have liked the 
influence she had on his audience, he wanted them to see and hear no 
one but him--but the girl was Laura, his wife. And there were times 
when he wanted to stand and shout, "Look, you unfortunate people! Look 
at what's mine, all mine!"

At the small table the same desire was passing through the girl's proud 
admiring thoughts.

He's so wonderful, she thought silently, so talented and handsome. Oh, 
Johnny, they all love you so much, but no one can ever love you the way 
I do! No one can ever want you the way I do, from the moment I first 
saw you! ...

She was jolted suddenly from her silent reverie by the scrape of a 
chair that was moved out from her table. She looked up into the oily 
slickness of the man's face who was joining her without invitation and 
felt a chill of revulsion pass quickly through her.

Deke Vito! Johnny's boss, and the man who controlled the hiring of all 
the talent that was booked into the cabaret shows in the three major 
clubs in downtown Reno.

Anyone seated nearby would immediately have noticed the distaste on her 
face, but it went unseen by the swarthy man as he joined her. He wasn't 
unhandsome in a Latin sort of way, but the small sharply trimmed 
mustache and his slick oiled appearance caused an unpleasant reaction 
in almost anyone who met him.

Perhaps he had sensed this so many times in his fifty two years that 
his subconscious had built in an automatic screening device and he no 
longer even noticed the adverse reactions.

Laura slid her chair to the side slightly to make more room for him 
only to have him move closer still, until their thighs were touching.

He's so repulsive, she thought. So Goddamned sneaky! But, for Johnny's 
sake I can't offend him.

She nodded at him, trying to affect a warm smile, and returned her 
attention to her husband as he began another number. Deke Vito glanced 
at her half-filled drink and snapped his fingers at a passing waitress.

As he gave the girl the order, Laura watched him fondle the woman's 
leg.

That Pig! He'd never get away with it if he didn't have so much control 
in this casino. And he thinks the girls let him touch them because he's 
so attractive!

"Laura, Baby ... that chick's got nice wheels, but they ain't nowhere 
as gorgeous as your legs." He leered at her in what she thought he 
figured was a seductive glance. "Yes sir, Johnny's got himself a nice 
little thing going hasn't he?"

He leaned over to pat her hand as he spoke, and she had to fight the 
desire to jerk it away from him. She reached for a cigarette, using it 
as an excuse to remove her hand, and tried to change the direction the 
conversation was definitely heading.

"Deke. What do you think of Johnny? Isn't he great! He sure has this 
crowd wrapped around his little finger, doesn't he?"

"What, oh yeah. 'Course they're just a bunch of frustrated ol bags 
hungerin' for a young guy." He chewed on his cigar as he gazed 
contemptuously around the people filled room. "Hey, don't get me wrong. 
Your boy's alright. Someday he might just get somewhere. Yeah, someday, 
if he's got the right influence behind him." He nudged her painfully. 
Yeah, I might just decide to give the kid the right push ... if I had a 
little cooperation. Know what I mean ...?"

Good God! she thought. He's finally come right out with it. She tried 
frantically to think of something to say that would avoid acknowledging 
his question.

"Come on, Deke," she laughed hesitantly. "You know we'd both appreciate 
anything you could do. Johnny thinks you're the greatest manager in the 
world." She paused. "Hey, listen, Deke ... he's going to do that song 
everyone likes so much ..."

But the man just leaned closer, ignoring her. "Johnny? No, Baby, I'm 
thinking of a way you and I can help his career ... you and me."

Just as she started to pull away from him they were interrupted by the 
waitress with their drinks. In the moments that it took him to find his 
pen and sign the drink tab Johnny finished the last number in the set 
and the house lights came on.

She watched her husband finish the song on his knees like Al Jolson, 
bowing his head to the standing applause of the audience. He's so 
terrific, she thought. I can't hurt his career with Vito. Please, God, 
get him over here before Deke gets a chance to continue!

The man at her side turned disappointedly from the waitress to watch 
Johnny Dutton thread his way through the milling crowd toward the 
table.

"Hi, honey ... Hey, Deke, how'd you like the show! Boy, these people 
are great. Man, what a great set! Hey, how did you ..."

Laura watched her husband's excited gesticulations, heard him rattling 
happily to his manager. Her relief at having him break up the 
conversation that Vito had started was spoiled by the realization that 
Johnny was loaded again.

Whenever he finished a set with a good audience he was always wound up, 
but again tonight she recognized the glassiness in his eyes, the soft 
slurring in his voice when he spoke, and knew that he'd been drinking 
heavily again.

It was strange. He could get up on the stage completely smashed and it 
never showed in his singing but as soon as he got away from the lights 
and the music it became very obvious to anyone that knew him.

Even Vito saw it. "Johnny, baby ... you're on the sauce again. Man, you 
gotta cool it." There was a cold harshness in his voice, enough to make 
itself known to the singer.

"Hey, no Deke, I just had a couple," he said soberly. "My throat was 
kinda' sore."

Then he grabbed his manager by the arm. "Come on," he said cheerfully. 
"Let's hit the tables, tonight I feel lucky."

Laura reached out for him and he saw the movement, the apprehension in 
her eyes. "Don't worry, Honey. Have a quick drink at the bar and I'll 
be right back." She started to protest, but before she could answer 
him, he shouted to the bartender at the lounge bar. "Hey, Harry, fix 
this lovely young lady up with another daiquiri and keep an eye on her 
for me, willya."

"Sure thing, Mister Dutton. Great show!"

As she was led to the bar Laura got a little consolation out of the 
bartender's remark. She knew everyone was impressed with Johnny and 
perhaps she was being a little unfair to him. Every entertainer had to 
unwind a little after three hours of constant work. Besides, if Johnny 
really was lucky tonight it would make up for some of the money he'd 
lost during the past few weeks.

The men at the bar parted to give her a seat with undisguised 
admiration in their eyes as she perched herself on the stool and tugged 
her short skirt back down to cover the shapely softness of her thighs.

Johnny kissed her lightly on the cheek and then he and Vito wove their 
way through the throngs of little old ladies at the slot machines with 
their paper cups of nickels, fighting their way to the center crap 
table.

Harry, true to his word, moved up to her end of the bar and mixed his 
drinks from that side. He stood there and talked to her, protecting her 
from the more confident men who had edged up with the hope that they 
might be lucky enough to pick her up.

"Laura," said Harry, "that man of yours sure is talented. I hear an 
awful lot here at the bar and, just like me, everyone thinks he's going 
to be a great star. But," he added thoughtfully, "he's got to watch the 
booze."

She turned to the kindly old man behind the bar, thankful for his 
company and the advice she knew only too well to be true. Besides, he 
was talking about the only thing that really mattered to her anymore. 
Johnny. Johnny and his success.

"Thank you, Harry. You know how much it means to him. It's all he's 
ever wanted. And ..." she continued with a sigh, "the drinking's just 
temporary." The men standing nearby had heard the bartender's remark 
and each of them, if for no other reason than an excuse to talk to the 
beautiful girl, moved close enough to say that they agreed.

She sat there for a little over an hour, acknowledging the talk 
whenever she had to, and watching her husband at the dice table. She 
could tell from his animated expressions and joyous laughter that he 
was winning, and also from the trips that the cocktail waitress was 
making to the table that he was drinking very heavily. Vito was still 
there along with about fifteen other people, but they were all standing 
back watching her husband make one winning pass after another with the 
dice.

As Harry poured another daiquiri for her she thought inwardly that she 
really couldn't criticize Johnny's drinking. Sitting there, she had 
already had five or six of the rum-flavored cocktails and she could 
feel the dizzying warmth spreading through her.

She glanced around wondering what time it was but there were no clocks 
on the casino walls. "The City Without Clocks." In Reno, as in any of 
the other gambling centers in the country, the casinos were open 24 
hours a day and none of them displayed any clocks on the walls. Inside 
the clubs it was impossible to tell night from day and the casinos had 
no desire to remind anyone how long they had been drinking or gambling.

Laura turned to one of the hovering men for the time and was amazed to 
find that it was almost three in the morning. She was due back in the 
casino at noon in her job as a cocktail waitress. Turning to watch 
Johnny again, she realized there was no way to get him peacefully out 
of there in his present exuberant condition, particularly while he was 
ahead.

She called Harry over to say goodnight and rose a little unsteadily 
from her stool.

A few moments later, during a lull when the dice were being passed to 
another player she pulled Johnny to the side to tell him she was 
leaving.

When he felt her hand on his arm he jerked away angrily and started to 
say something, but she interrupted him ...

"No, Darling, I'm not asking you to go. I have to, because I'm due back 
early in the morning."

He mumbled something unintelligible and turned back to the game, 
patting her clumsily on the buttocks.

He's so different so cold, when he's drinking. He never drank so much 
before, she thought. It's only been since he started working here. And 
the gambling! If only he was working somewhere besides a casino! It was 
so much better before.

She and Johnny had only been married a little over three months and 
working in the casino just three weeks. His last job had been in Denver 
and until they'd reached the gambling areas in Nevada she had never 
known he had such an insatiable desire to gamble.

Now, it was only her money as a waitress that kept them going. And that 
wasn't enough. Although he was being paid very well to perform in the 
cabaret, in the past weeks he'd lost every cent on the tables. She'd 
pleaded with him to stop, they couldn't even pay their rent, but it had 
only led to violent arguments.

Finally, she had reconciled herself to the fact that there was no way 
to stop him, and she only hoped that he'd be through here soon.

His next engagement was supposed to be in either San Francisco or 
Hollywood and the temptation of gambling wouldn't exist. Maybe then 
they'd be able to get along a little better. She might not even have to 
work.

She made her way through the crowded club and out onto the brightly lit 
street. Even in the middle of the night the streets were full of people 
crossing from one casino to another, the winners smiling and the losers 
scowling.

Laura walked through the tunnels of flashing neon lights until she came 
to a darkened street several blocks away. She turned there, passing 
through a part of Reno the tourists never see. Winos and derelicts 
sprawled in blackened comers and row after row of sleazy buildings 
offering rooms for the night for those fortunate enough to scrape up 
fifty cents or a dollar.

The street always made her uneasy and though the night was warm she 
shivered as she pulled her coat a little tighter.

She paused under a street light and stared at the ramshackle box-like 
hotel on the other corner. She was looking for a light in the manager's 
room. Old Mr. Rogers, the manager, always seemed to be wandering around 
at any hour of the day or night, and he was the last person in the 
world she wanted to see.

He had been hounding Johnny and her each time they came in for the 
overdue rent, and more than that, every time Laura turned around he 
seemed to be watching her. He was like all the others and she knew 
exactly what he wanted from her. There was no mistaking that evil glint 
in his eyes.

She stepped back out of the light and waited until she was satisfied 
the dirty old man wasn't awake to see her come in and then dashed 
across the street to the hotel's front door. Laura opened the door as 
quietly as she could and slipped inside. The single bulb hanging from 
the long cord in the hallway cast eerie shadows up the narrow flight of 
stairs to her and Johnny's rooms.

She walked quickly up to the apartment and locked the door and then 
rested on the edge of the bed to let the pounding in her heart slow 
down a little.

Even before she removed her coat, she went into the bathroom to run the 
water in the tub and then mixed herself a strong drink in the closet-
sized kitchen, happy she had missed their lecherous old landlord and 
his obscene looks he always gave her.

Moments later she sat on the creaky bed in her slip and sipped her 
drink. The bourbon and the soft music from the radio wasn't enough to 
dispel the gloom that had settled over her as she recalled the way 
Johnny had been acting lately. Feeling the tears beginning to well up 
in her eyes she quickly finished her drink and went back into the 
kitchen to make another before going back into the bathroom.

The El Diablo Hotel had once been the private home of a wealthy Spanish 
family and remnants of its past glory could still be seen in some of 
the fine woodwork that still remained or in the old photographs in the 
lobby that depicted it with the great verandah and fluted columns.

But the last of the Spanish owners had died more than twenty years ago 
and since that time the house had had many proprietors. It slowly 
changed from a fine home into a second-rate hotel, and finally became 
the property of Mr. Eloysius Rogers.

This was the man that made Laura so uncomfortable. A short fat, unkempt 
man about fifty-five years old. She had complained several times to 
Johnny that he always seemed to be watching her but her husband had 
just laughed and replied that so was everyone else, that she ought to 
feel proud.

Perhaps Johnny Dutton wouldn't have considered the matter so lightly if 
he had been fully aware of the old manager's movements whenever Laura 
was in the apartment.

Mr. Rogers sat completely concealed in the darkness except for the 
rounded mask of light on his face. He has turned off all the lights in 
his room and the only illumination came from the next room, through the 
hole he had drilled in the wall.

He had lain awake for hours in the blackness of his room, waiting for 
Laura Dutton to come home. He felt very pleased with his patience. Most 
of the time the young girl came home with her husband and though it was 
still exciting to watch her undress, to watch her husband fucking her, 
he liked it best when she was alone. Then, in the darkness he could 
pretend that she was undressing for him, that he was the man waiting in 
the bed for her ...

He sat nervously in the quietness and took long pulls at the bottle of 
cheap wine beside him. Why was she taking so long in that goddamned 
bathroom?

* * *

The slim, statuesque brunette wiped the last traces of cold cream from 
her face and dried herself with a small towel. The reflection staring 
back at her in the mirror made her feel better. She rarely wore much 
makeup, and now without it her face was extraordinarily beautiful. Even 
in the harshness of the bathroom light her skin was flawless and her 
eyes still that strange shade of very light blue. The bourbon had made 
her knees a little weak and she steadied herself with one hand as she 
carefully brushed her coal-black hair into blue-lighted glossiness.

She was wearing only a sheer silk nighty over her bra and panties and 
she stepped back from the mirror, opening it and trying to see the 
fullness of her figure in the small mirror. It was no use, the mirror 
was too high for her to see more than the tops of her shoulders.

She picked up her empty glass and moved back into the softly lighted 
bedroom, closing the bathroom behind her. It took only a moment in the 
kitchen to get some ice and make herself another drink and then she 
came back to stand before the full-length mirror in the bedroom.

Laura felt the soothing heat of the liquor spreading through her, 
numbing the sadness of a life that was going wrong, a husband that 
drank and gambled continually.

She often wondered if there was something she was doing wrong. She 
wondered if somehow her looks were fading. But, now as she stood before 
the mirror she knew nothing had happened to her appearance. If 
anything, now at twenty-two she was even more attractive than as a 
teenager.

If I have gained any weight, she thought, it doesn't seem to show 
anywhere. Of course I can't really tell with this lace thing on.

The man in the shadows on the darkened other side of the wall watched 
the girl undo the ribboned bow at her neck and tried to stifle a sudden 
gasp as the silken negligee slid from her shoulders and fell to the 
floor.

Laura stepped out of the swirled silk at her feet and returned her gaze 
to the reflection in the mirror. She stood at first with both hands on 
her hips, her legs slightly spread, and studied the image that faced 
her. She went through a checkpoint system that she always followed 
whenever she examined her body to make sure that she wasn't sagging or 
gaining weight in any area.

First, my feet and ankles, she said to herself, then laughed. There 
really isn't much a woman can do to make a foot pretty except cover it. 
At least they're small. And my ankles still look too slim to support 
me.

Her eyes moved a little higher, resting for a moment on her calves and 
then upward to her thighs. Her legs were perfect, with just enough 
weight to shape their flawless curves but still firm and slender.

I'm awfully lucky, Laura thought as she ran her hands over her thighs 
and across the firm flatness of her belly. She slid them past the 
elastic ridges of her black silk bikini panties and upward to her 
breasts ...

The peeping man sat entranced, leaning forward on the hard chair as he 
watched each sensuous move Laura Dutton made. He knew that as long as 
he made no noise there was no possibility that she might catch him. The 
hole that he had cut in the wall between the two rooms was disguised on 
each side by a phony ventilating grill.

When she had come home earlier and he had seen her remove her dress he 
had felt the familiar erection beginning beneath his trousers, but it 
had disappeared during the long time she had been in the bathroom.

Now, as she stood almost nude in the other room, he could again feel 
his penis straining painfully against the confines of his clothing. He 
stared intently through the small hole, gulping sloppily at his wine 
and trying to anticipate each further move the beautiful girl might 
make.

Laura cupped her full breasts in both hands and raising them. Even 
without the support of the bra she would have been able to raise the 
curved globes only slightly. Her breasts were so firm that they sagged 
very little, if at all.

My God!, if only Johnny were here, she moaned aloud as she felt her 
nipples respond to the caresses of her hands. My breasts feel so 
sensitive, so eager to be touched. I want to feel his hands on me. I 
want him here to put his hands on me! ...

She stood there with her eyes half closed, not consciously realizing 
what she was doing, and reached behind her to unsnap the small hooks 
that held her straining bra. As it fell to the floor and the cool air 
washed across her reddened, erectile nipples she shivered in quick 
delight. Christ! Why isn't he here! It feels so wonderful when he 
kisses me there, when I can feel his tongue on my breasts ... when he 
bites me so tenderly.

She had moved back slightly from the mirror while holding herself and 
now she felt the edge of the bed against the backs of her calves. The 
combination of the liquor and the sudden desire that had been racing 
through her made her feel a little weak and she threw the covers back 
and lay down on the bed.

The coldness of the sheets was doing nothing to counteract the raging 
heat in her body and her legs strained as she stretched spread-eagled 
on the cool linen ...

I've got to stop this, she thought, I'm driving myself crazy. It's 
these goddamn panties, they're so hot! I'm going to take them off and 
try to relax.

The old man's breath echoed back at him, coming in huge explosive 
gasps, as he watched her slowly inching the last remaining strip of 
sheer black silk from her raised hips.

She kicked the panties from her feet. Oh God! Where's Johnny! I want 
him here! I want to feel his hands here ... between my legs ... holding 
me ... inside me!

Laura's hands were between her thighs, lightly probing their way up and 
down and finally coming to rest on the raised mound of softly curled 
pubic hair ...

Mr. Rogers felt his blood boiling into a great pounding pressure in his 
brain. He couldn't believe it! Right before his eyes she was holding 
herself like that! Then he heard those strange moaning sounds coming 
from her lips. He tried to get closer, to hear was she was saying. 
Slowly he tried to calm the roaring noises in his head until he was 
able to make out her words.

"Johnny, where are you ... Ohhhhhhhhhhhh ... Johnny, please hurry ... I 
want you ... I need somebody ... anybody! .. . I need somebody Now! ... 
Ahhhhhhhhhhhh ... Johnny, SOMEBODY ... please, please help me! ..."

She was begging! The old man heard her. She's begging!, that little 
bitch! I'll help her. I'll help her right now!

The man moved back so quickly he knocked over the chair but neither he 
nor the girl in the other room heard it as it fell to the floor. Or the 
door slam as he hurried from his room.

Laura writhed violently on her bed, straining in unfulfilled desire. 
Her eyes were closed tightly as she drove her fingers faster and faster 
in and out of her eager, heated vagina ... she didn't hear her door 
open ... and the click of the light being turned off meant nothing to 
her crazed, lust-filled mind ...

It wasn't until moments later when she felt the weight of someone on 
the bed, felt the mattress sag, that she realized someone was here with 
her.

"Johnny! ... Oh, Johnny! Darling ... you came ... Oh, I want you so 
much, I need you now!" ...

"AHhhhhhhhhhhhh!" she felt the fiery shock spread through her as his 
body touched hers.

"Oh yes! ... please, put it in me! ... please, I want you to make love 
to me now ... I WANT YOU TO FUCK ME! ..."

The words burst from her lips in broken sentences, and her hands clawed 
at the man's back, pulling him with all her strength against her eager, 
reaching hips. She moaned from deep in her throat as she felt the hot, 
blood-filled head of his cock slowly part the slit of her cunt and slip 
wetly inside.

"OHhhhhhhhhhhhh ... YES! ... inside me ... more ... More ... MORE! ... 
Oh my God! ... hurry, Darling ... HURRY! ..."

She felt a great, roaring heat filling her, swelling and expanding 
inside the hot, stretched walls of her pussy ... not going deeper, but 
saturating her entire being with a flowing wall of fire and hardened 
flesh.

Her mind spun in huge, whirling circles--spinning colors blinding her 
to everything but the raging torrent of desire in her loins. Throwing 
her legs out wide into the air, her hands dug into his buttocks and 
aided his pounding rhythm.

An explosion was building in her she couldn't control. With each 
massive plunge of his throbbing cock she felt a new wave of ecstasy 
crash thunderously deep within her grinding hips.

"Aaaarrrggghhhhh! Yes, yes ... harder ... that's it!" she screamed in 
his ear. "Oh my God! Oh, yes, Johnny."

It was more than the old man could take. After watching her for almost 
an hour from the other room, the excitement was becoming too much for 
him and he couldn't wait much longer. He strained against her, driving 
himself as deeply as he could and trying desperately to hold back a 
little longer.

"OHhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh ... faster, FASTER!" Her fingernails raked his 
back as she strove to move him more quickly. "Yes! that's it, soon, 
Darling, soon ..."

She hung onto him, arching her back higher and higher, trying to hold 
back the impending explosion growing and swelling deep in her belly.

She moaned and churned beneath him with each hard, driving lunge, her 
face contorted into a strained mask of undisguised passion. Then she 
screamed.

"NOW!" her guttural cry shattered the softer noises in the darkened 
room. "Now! ... Ohooooooooh, yes! ... I'm cuming! I'm cuuuummming! I

Just as she felt him jerk against her, felt him filling her with 
powerful spurts of flowing, hot burning sperm, she felt herself 
erupting inside like a giant explosion rolling across the earth.

She strained against him, hanging on with all her strength as she 
throbbed out her own passion thick rivulets of white, liquid semen 
bubbled out from her cunt-lips around the tight, flesh-clasped prick 
and rolled down the quivering crevice of her buttocks to the sheets 
below.

It ended for them both in the same wild, instantaneous moment, leaving 
only an aftermath of two tightly clinging bodies panting out the last 
dying pleasures of their orgasm.

She fell back against the bed with her head lolling to one side and 
soft mewling sounds escaped breathlessly from her parted lips.

The man collapsed on top of her, spittle dripping from his lips as he 
dropped his head against her cheek.

"Oh God, it was wonderful ... Johnn ..." She stopped. He didn't feel 
right. It wasn't Johnny's head! He didn't feel like ...

"Who ... WHO ARE YOU!" she screamed, kicking at him with her legs and 
trying to get out from beneath him. She rolled violently to the side, 
half falling to the floor.

"No, NO! ... who are you!"

Laura ran stumbling to the light switch by the door and scratched 
frantically for it before her hands found the panel. The room was 
suddenly filled with a blinding brightness. Then, as her eyes adjusted, 
the form of the man who had just fucked her began to take shape.

Great, wracking sobs shook her as she recognized the triumphantly 
smiling face. "You ... it's you, you beast, you miserable beast!" How 
could it have BEEN? How was he here in her room!

The screaming girl groped drunkenly for her robe and tried to clear the 
shattered cobwebs of her mind. She stumbled against the dressing table 
and her fingers closed around a heavy glass ashtray. She grabbed it 
hysterically and threw it at the man trying to pull on his trousers. 
The glancing blow left a blood-streaked gash on his forehead, almost 
knocking him to his knees.

Laura ran at him and her hands became claws that slashed at the short, 
fat man. But the impact of the ashtray, rather than stunning him, had 
angered him.

He grabbed her flailing arms and threw her violently back against the 
bed knocking the breath out of her.

He stood over her with his hands on his hips, a smile flickered across 
his face before it was replaced with a sneer.

"One, Mrs. Dutton, there was no rape! You called out for me to come in 
..." Before the sobbing girl could interrupt, he continued, "and 
furthermore, before you entertain any thoughts of going to the 
authorities you might consider how it would sound if I testified that 
it was you who enticed me in here and offered your body to me in 
exchange for the back rent."

He paused, very proud of the authoritative tone of his voice, and then 
continued threateningly, "I'm known and respected around her and I 
seriously doubt anyone would take your word over mine."

Laura was so shaken she could barely understand what was happening. She 
only knew that something terrible had occurred to her and that the man 
in front of her, the fat little manager that had caused it, was 
threatening her with something else. She tried to clear the cobwebs 
from her befuddled mind and listen to what he was saying.

"I would suggest that you remain silent about this. Tell no one and, 
just to avoid any trouble in the hotel, I'll consider your back rent 
paid in full."

He stopped to make sure she understood everything she was saying. He 
saw the wide-eyed fright, her silence, and realized he had made it. 
He'd have no trouble from her he was sure.

"Goodnight, Mrs. Dutton. Think over what I've said and I'm sure 
everything will work out perfectly."

He'd finished buttoning his shirt and he picked up his shoes and 
smiling back at her helpless form, walked out of the room, closing the 
door silently behind him.



Chapter 2


It was almost six in the morning when the door opened and Johnny stood 
framed in the hall light behind him. He came into the bedroom with the 
exaggerated care of a man who had had too much to drink. He tried to 
undress in the darkness, hopping clumsily from one foot to the other as 
he removed his trousers, until Laura spoke, her voice filled with shame 
and humiliation.

"Turn on the light, Darling, it's alright. I'm awake."

She had been awake since the exit of Mr. Rogers, and had cried until 
there were no more tears to come. She had just lain there helplessly 
and struggled with her confused thoughts trying to decide what to tell 
her husband. During those tortured hours she'd been unable to make any 
decision and now that Johnny faced her she knew there was no way to 
tell him what had actually happened.

"Laura, what are you doing awake? You have to work this morning, don't 
you?" His voice was fuzzy and slurred from liquor.

"I was just waiting up for you, Darling. I don't know, I just couldn't 
sleep." She held out her arms to him and he burrowed up against her 
like a small child.

When he spoke his voice was muffled by her shoulder and she strained to 
hear him.

"Oh Laura, honey, all of a sudden everything went bad. I couldn't win. 
I just couldn't win! I was so far ahead, and then I kept losing ..."

He seemed so hurt and helpless that her own troubles seemed to 
disappear and she held him as tightly as she could and tried to soothe 
him.

"Johnny, Johnny, don't worry about anything. Come on, get into bed with 
me and we'll talk about it in the morning. You'll see, everything's 
going to be fine."

Her husband finished undressing and crawled in bed beside her. At first 
she thought he was relieved that she hadn't wanted to tank to him about 
the gambling losses, but all night long she could feel him tossing in 
his sleep. His breathing was very erratic and once she was startled to 
find a cold film of perspiration covering his forehead.

He awoke about ten and called to her in the kitchen while she was 
making coffee.

She came in with an extra cup for him and sat on the edge of the bed. 
As he slid up to rest against a pushed-up pillow, he took her hand.

"Laura, I have to talk to you." The words seemed choked with emotion 
and she could sense the seriousness and tension in his voice.

"Honey, I have to tell you about last night ... I'm so ashamed of 
myself. I don't know what happened to me, whether it was the booze or 
just all the excitement."

He was trying to be calm but his hand was gripping her so tightly that 
it was painful. She started to say something to calm him but she could 
tell he had to get it out of his system, and that there was nothing she 
could say that could help.

"Alright, Johnny, I'm listening. And don't worry."

"Remember when you left ... I was at the crap table. Well, everything I 
did seemed to be right. I kept winning and winning. I'd won almost 
three thousand dollars, and then the dice, everything, seemed to 
change..." He paused, as if he was trying to relive the whole night, to 
bring everything back into focus.

"I started to lose ... on every toss I lost. I tried anything--changing 
my bets, I moved to different tables. Nothing worked. Everybody kept 
patting me on the back, telling me my luck had to change, and Deke kept 
handing me more chips to play ..."

His voice trailed off and he was silent for several seconds. He wasn't 
even looking at her, just staring off into the distance, and Laura 
could see the pain etched into his face.

"It kept going on and on. I couldn't win! I couldn't win!"

She began to get frightened. She'd seen him when he started to gamble 
and she knew there was no stopping him until his money ran out. It was 
his remark about Deke Vito that worried her.

"Johnny, what do you mean Deke kept giving you money. Whose money was 
it? Wasn't it yours, wasn't it the money you'd won earlier?"

"No!" he shouted bitterly. "I'd already lost that, I told you! It was 
his money. Deke's!"

"Oh no, Johnny. Why? How could you have borrowed money from him. You 
know we don't have any money to pay him back. How much was it? For 
God's sake, how much was it!"

The worry in her voice hit him and he grabbed her, burying his head 
against her breasts. He mumbled something but she couldn't hear him.

"what, Johnny? Johnny, I can't hear you. How much of Vito's money did 
you lose? Please, Johnny, talk to me ..."

He raised his head and she could see the wetness lining his eyes.

"Over five thousand dollars. Over five goddamned thousand dollars!"

"Oh my God, Johnny! How could you? Where are we ever going to get that 
much money. We can't even buy groceries!"

She could feel him trembling against her and shaking his head from side 
to side, but her mind kept reeling with the thought of all that money. 
How? Where were they going to get the money? She tried frantically to 
think of someone who would lend them that much. Johnny had no family 
and they couldn't go to hers because they had been against the marriage 
in the first place. Their daughter, a society debutante from one of the 
oldest families on Cape Cod, marrying an entertainer. A singer that no 
one had ever even heard of!

"Honey ..." his voice interrupted her thoughts, "we were celebrating, 
me and Deke. He had a brand new contract for me. A big one! At the 
Fairmount Hotel in San Francisco! I was so happy, so goddamned happy. 
It was what we'd been waiting for, you and me. We'd made it. Big Time! 
... and I blew it, shot it all to hell ..."

His voice trailed off and she sat up trying to understand what he'd 
said.

"Johnny, what do you mean, you blew it? That's it! It's wonderful, 
that's the way we can pay him back. If the new contract means more 
money we can ..."

"Laura," he interrupted, "Laura, it's no good. I know Deke and he'll 
never let me have that much time to pay him back. When I left him he 
got kinda nasty and asked me if I was going to bring the money to him 
today."

He looked up at her, the hurt and confusion showing plainly in his 
eyes. "Laura, I didn't know what to say ... I told him sure I'd give it 
to him today. I couldn't tell him anything else, he had Black Jack with 
him--Mr. Mornay's bodyguard."

Johnny Dutton held his head in his hands. There was no sound except the 
convulsive shaking of his shoulders. "Honey, he'll ruin us if I don't 
pay. He'll blackball me in every club on the West Coast."

"Johnny, I don't understand. Surely he knows you can't pay him back 
right away. Why did he give you the money?"

"I don't know ... I don't know, he just kept handing me more chips. It 
was almost as if he wanted me to lose."

They sat quietly for several moments, the room darkened except for the 
brilliant shaft of sunlight that had broken through a half-opened 
window.

Laura's mind spun in a tortured turmoil. First it had been the old man 
the night before and now it was this. She didn't know what to do!

Johnny put his hand on her shoulder and turned her to him. "We've got 
to get out of here. It's our only chance. We'll go back East, New York 
or someplace... I'll just start over." His hand gripped her tighter. 
'Hell, I can still sing; he can't take that away from me."

Their eyes met, as if they'd both remembered a story they'd heard in 
the same instant. Just after they'd arrived fox Johnny's engagement at 
the casino a story had been going around about a saxophone player who 
had crossed Deke Vito. He had been found several days later in a ditch 
outside of town with his lip cut horribly and all of his fingers 
broken. Naturally, there had been no witnesses and the musician had 
been too frightened to speak, but the old timers in the club had 
mentioned Deke Vito's name more than once, and some of them even had 
similar stories of incidents in the past.

Whether the story of the sax player or any of the others was actually 
true, it frightened the two of them. Laura tried to stop the tears that 
were building up in her, but it was no use and she broke into great 
heaving sobs as Johnny held her tightly in his arms.

"My God, Johnny ... what are we going to do ..." There was no answer. 
No answer until ...

"Laura, baby, there's only one way out." He paused and she could hear 
the falseness in his emotion.

"Laura, if you talked to Vito, maybe if you went to see him you might 
be able to convince him ..." As he stuttered out the words she knew by 
the way he spoke they were rehearsed. Johnny was a tremendous talent as 
a singer, but he was no actor and she could almost see the words 
forming themselves in the air before he uttered them. She waited, not 
because she didn't know what was coming, but only to see how he was 
going to phrase it. She wondered if he was going to be able to squeeze 
out an actual tear or if he'd have to fake it.

"Honey, you wouldn't have to do anything with him, I promise. If it 
ever came to that I'd kill myself." His voice came haltingly, steeped 
with emotion.

"Laura, you could just talk to him; he likes you--you know that. If you 
could just get him to wait for the money, to give me that contract--we 
could make it."

She watched him carefully. She saw the tears forming in his eyes. He 
really is crying ,she thought. He must know that Deke Vito would never 
be satisfied with just a spoken plea from me. He'll want more, much 
more. Oh, Johnny, don't you know what you're doing to us?

Her husband seemed to sense that he hadn't succeeded with his guise of 
naive innocence. His voice changed and he tried a different approach. 
Laura, I know what you're thinking, about Vito I mean. We both know 
he'll want more from you. But, if you can just stall him until he gives 
me the contract to sign, until I get a copy of it, then it won't matter 
what he wants."

Laura looked at him. His voice was stronger and she was sure he was 
being honest with her.

"Don't you see, honey? We'll have the contract, and if he tries to 
break it in San Francisco I'll make such a stink about it, about him 
wanting you, that the publicity alone will take us where we want to 
go."

It seemed to make sense. Deke Vito wasn't that big, and if Johnny had a 
contract to headline at the biggest hotel in San Francisco and Vito 
tried to break it, her husband would easily be able to find another 
agent or manager to handle him.

She was fairly sure of herself. She thought she'd be able to hold Vito 
off long enough to get that signed contract. I ought to be able to, she 
thought, as much as that pig slobbers over me all the time. It might 
even be fun to turn him on and off like water faucet.

She took her husband's hand. "Don't worry, Darling, I'll get that 
contract for you." She leaned over and kissed him.

"I've got to get to work. I'll see you when I get home." It was 
Johnny's one night off at the cabaret.

She grabbed her coat and as she closed the door behind her she was 
already thinking of ways to ensnare the gambler who held the key to 
their future.

* * *

It was almost five in the afternoon before she saw Vito. She'd been 
going over and over different plans since she'd come to work and had 
finally decided to play it fairly straight, hoping that the man's 
desire for her was great enough to keep him satisfied with promises of 
the future.

It was the slowest time of the day in the casino; the night players 
hadn't come in yet and even most of the die-hards from the night before 
had gone back to their motels.

Vito had looked her way only once and she had been able to sense the 
curiosity in him, but there had been no chance to talk to him 
privately.

Now, as she stood in a far corner of the almost deserted cocktail 
lounge she saw him coming toward her.

He smiled in his inimitable way and called out to her. "Hi Baby, 
whattya doin' hidden way back here?"

"Hi Deke. It's so slow that I thought I'd take a short breather." She 
tried to keep her voice as steady as possible.

"I understand you and Johnny had quite a time last night."

"Yeah, quite a time. Johnny was a little unlucky--one of those nights." 
He stared at her. "Did he tell you about it?"

"Yes, he told me."

"Yeah, but did he tell you everything, baby?"

"Oh, you mean all the money he lost?"

"That too. Did he tell you about borrowing any money?"

He took the stool next to her and as always somehow managed to get his 
leg pressed too tightly against hers. But this time she didn't pull 
away from him. She just let his thigh rest where it was.

"He said he'd gotten quite a bit of money from you, Deke."

"It all depends how you look at it, kid. To me five grand ain't nothing 
to Johnny, who knows." He lit a cigarette and tried to make it look 
natural as he dropped his hand to her thigh.

"Yeah, to Johnny five G's might be a lot of money."

"It is an awful lot of money, Deke ..."

"Has he got it for me today, baby?" he interrupted. But Deke Vito had 
been in the money racket long enough to know the singer had been 
bluffing the night before when he'd said he'd have it today, and when 
the kid's wife hadn't jerked her leg away from his hand like she always 
did, he had a pretty good idea how Johnny Dutton planned to pay it 
back.

Laura started to give him some story about her family sending the money 
in a few days but, looking at Vito, she knew he'd never fall for it.

"No, he doesn't." She dropped her hand to his, lowering her eyelashes. 
"Deke, isn't there some way you can give Johnny a little more time 
until the contract comes through!"

"The contract? So, your boy told you about that too, huh?"

He ran his hand beneath her short skirt, toying with the edge of her 
stocking. "Yeah, that sure is a sweet contract. Big Time for your boy. 
Yeah, real big time." He lightly traced his fingers down the inside of 
her thigh. Already, the nattily dressed gambler had her confused. She 
knew he was going too far and too fast, but she didn't know what to do.

"I told you, baby, I'd take good care of ol' Johnny if you were nice to 
me." He accentuated his words with a sudden pinch right at the edge of 
her panties.

"Ow! Deke, you're hurting me." She tried to move away a little. It 
really had hurt. But his hand closed over her thigh right against the 
rise of her pubic mound and held her still.

"Sorry, Laura, I'd never want to hurt you. You know that, baby. I'd 
like to make you feel real good all over. Real good!"

He looked at her shrewdly and decided that maybe he was going a little 
too fast. He was completely confident that she'd be his to play with 
before long, but he didn't want to scare her. He moved his hand farther 
down her leg and cupped her knee in his palm.

"You know, baby, that's one hell of a contract I got for Johnny. If he 
handles it right it'll make him real big overnight."

"Oh Deke, that's wonderful. I don't know how I'll ever be able ..." she 
stopped. She didn't want to say that.

"I think I know, baby. And I also know a way you can get that contract 
for your boy. Why don't you just meet me up in Mr. Mornay's suite at 
eight when you get off. Then we'll talk over a few ways you can make 
things a little easier for Johnny Dutton."

He ran his hand quickly back up between her legs to touch the soft silk 
crotch band of her panties before he got up and walked jauntily away.

Laura sat there for several minutes more trying to erase the stain of 
Deke Vito from her mind, then she was called away to deliver some 
drinks to some blackjack players.

For the next couple of hours she was too busy to have any time to think 
of what novas awaiting her in the casino owner's suite on the top 
floor. It wasn't until the girl who relieved her tapped her on the 
shoulder and told her she was off that she had a chance to contemplate 
some course of action.

She knew Deke Vito wasn't the type to waste any time but she couldn't 
bear the thought of going completely through with what he had in mind.

She was still trying to think of some way to stall him when she felt a 
huge hand on her shoulder.

It was Black Jack. No one knew his last name, or even if he had one. 
The giant Negro was Mr. Mornay's bodyguard and the biggest man Laura 
had ever seen.

He was at least seven feet tall, always dressed in shining black mohair 
suits with a white tie, and he never seemed to say a word. It was 
rumored that he couldn't even speak because no one had ever heard him. 
He just nodded deferentially to Vito's or Mornay's commands and 
lumbered off to obey.

Laura had been in the lobby once when a drunk and irate customer had 
taken a swing at the casino owner. Black Jack had appeared out of 
seemingly nowhere, grabbed the man's fist in mid-air and crushed it 
with his own hand until the man screamed and fainted. Then the huge 
black man had picked him up like a toy and carried him outside to stuff 
him upside down in the sports car the valet had brought around.

 She turned to look up at him and then followed as he silently led her 
to the elevator.

He pushed a button on a side wall separated from the buttons that 
indicated the various floors of the casino and the elevator was 
completely quiet as it rose to the penthouse.

There was only one set of great double doors and the Negro waited 
patiently for Deke Vito to answer the buzzer. It didn't take him long.

"Hello, baby. I'm glad you decided to come up," the gambler said as he 
motioned her into the spacious living room.

"How about a little drink, kid, before we get down to business?"

Without waiting for her to answer, he motioned to Black Jack who 
immediately went to a concealed bar that opened with the flick of a 
small switch.

In seconds that seemed like a silent eternity, the man returned with 
two tall drinks and handed one to Vito before he bowed and offered the 
other to Laura.

My God, she thought, it's like a James Bond movie. The raucous noises 
of the casino below had disappeared with the closing door and the 
penthouse seemed to be suspended high above the earth. The curtains 
across the glassed front wall of the living room were wide open and all 
that could be seen were the tops of the snow-capped mountains that 
glowed eerily in the twilight.

There was no sound in the room except the clinking of ice cubes and the 
soft music of a hidden sound system.

Black Jack had retired to the opened bar where he stood at semi-
attention.

"Laura baby, don't be nervous," Vito said as he patted her salaciously 
on the knee. "Drink your drink and relax, we're just going to have a 
nice little chat."

Vito stood up and removed the deep purple dinner jacket he was wearing. 
He looked down from his jewel-studded shirtfront.

"I'm goin' to go freshen up, baby. I'll be right back."

She felt a little better with him out of the room and drank thirstily 
from the tall frosted glass--and she had no objections when Black Jack 
appeared to make her another. The drink had calmed her a little and she 
settled back into the velvet softness of the curved couch. She felt 
considerably more confident and didn't notice the care the huge man 
took in making her drink. She didn't see the exactness with which he 
poured the clear liquid from a special bottle in the far corner of the 
bar.

Black Jack handed it to Deke Vito who had just come back into the room 
and the sleek looking gambler brought it over to her with a smile.

As he settled onto the couch next to her she was almost sickened by the 
heavy, sweet smell of the cologne he'd just sprayed himself with.

My God, he must have taken a bath with it. He smells like a French 
whorehouse. The last thought sobered her momentarily. Whorehouse ... 
I've got to be careful. But the rich warmth that was gradually 
spreading through her washed away her tension and she felt very sure of 
herself.

He can't do anything I don't want him to. I may let him touch me a 
little with his greasy hands, but only enough to get what I want from 
him. Johnny's contract! The words kept tumbling through her mind to 
remind her she had to maintain a friendliness toward him in spite of 
her revulsion.

"Johnny's contract." The words startled her. "Baby, let's talk about 
Johnny's contract ... and the money he owes me."

She looked at the gambler's olive-skinned face through the pearling 
gray cigar smoke. She was a little surprised to see that everything 
looked a little hazy to her.

"Baby, that contract's worth an awful lot of money to you and the kid; 
but the five grand he owes me ain't nothin' to sneeze at."

Her lips seemed a little numb and it was getting difficult to focus her 
eyes clearly. She tried to concentrate on his words but her mind kept 
wanting to wander away.

She fastened her eyes on one of the sapphire shirt studs on the pleated 
front before her and waited til her eyes cleared and she was able to 
see it distinctly. Then his words became a little easier to understand.

"Yeah, Laura baby, that's a lotta dough. More'n your boy Johnny's got. 
So if I ain't going to get it from him, where's it gonna come from?"

She looked up at him, the fright showing clearly in her smoky eyes. 
"Johnn ... I mean Deke, I ... I don't ..."

"Take it easy, Laura baby, I know you ain't got it. But I got a little 
proposition for you."

"A proposition?"

"What am I." He leaned forward. "What does everybody call Deke Vito?"

Oh wow, she thought, the many ways I could answer that! What did he 
want her to say.

"I don't know. A gambler, I guess," she replied, shrugging her 
shoulders.

"That's right, Laura baby, the last of the high rollers." He chuckled 
softly. "And I'm gonna show you just how much of a high roller I am."

"I don't understand what you mean," Laura questioned, sensing a 
foreboding tone in his laugh. "W--What are we going to do?"

"Black Jack, make the little lady another drink." He stood and took her 
hand, pulling her to her feet. "Come with me and I'll show you."

She followed, a little frightened, and he took her into the next room. 
It was a large and beautifully decorated room. One wall was glass like 
the living room, but in a semi-circle around a huge bed were several 
odd-shaped forms with velvet covers over them. The bed was tremendous 
and completely round and above it were suspended several TV sets, a 
stereo system, and a row of telephones.

The bodyguard came in with her drink and after handing it to her, began 
to pull the velvet covers from what turned out to be crap and blackjack 
tables and a giant ivory-inlaid roulette wheel.

"This is Mr. Mornay's private little casino for his very close 
friends." He seemed to put extra emphasis on the "very" and Laura had a 
sudden obscene vision of lovely girls sitting nude at the tables while 
Mr. Mornay directed the play at their expense.

"I-It's a lovely place," she sad hesitantly, "but what does this have 
to do with me?"

"Simple, Laura baby. I said we were going to gamble. Take your pick. 
Blackjack, dice or roulette?"

"I-I don't understand. What are we going to gamble for?"

"Money, baby. The money Johnny Dutton owes me." He looked at her 
through his heavy-lidded eyes. "For the money and for his new 
contract!"

He chuckled again. "You win, and they're yours ... I erase his debt and 
you get his contract. I couldn't get any fairer than that, could I?"

She stood there in amazement at his words and his offer. The whole idea 
was fantastic! She could erase all their problems with just one bet! 
But, the sudden shock hit her, what does he want in return!

"B-But what do I have to gamble with? What am I betting with? What do 
you get if I lose?" She had trouble getting the words out. The drinks 
had her feeling strange and slightly dizzy and yet somehow, through the 
haze, she knew what his horrible price was going to be.

The gambler walked over to her and cupped her chin in his hand. He 
looked down hypnotically at her, the light reflecting from the black 
pinpricks of his eyes.

"You, Laura baby, you. You're betting with the only thing you have ... 
that soft little pussy down between your legs."

She tried to back away from him, the shock of his blunt answer 
frightening her, but he held her tightly. She almost fainted in that 
heavy cloud of sweet cologne, feeling a sudden tremor of sensation run 
through her as he slid a manicured fingernail down the side of her 
neck.

His touch seemed to send a vibration of high voltage electricity 
dancing through her body. God! What was happening to her?

"I can't ... I ... I don't even know how to gamble ..." she managed to 
stammer, fighting the strange sensation in her that seemed to be 
gnawing deep down in her belly.

Her words trailed away as she tried to think of some other way, some 
excuse to get out of this. She felt so strange, so hot, and everything 
seemed so far away--as if it were happening to someone else.

"Baby, you know how I've always wanted you . . .

"Yes, but, Deke, I just can't. I just can't do it with anyone else but 
Johnny," she said pleadingly, not wanting to anger him before she had 
gotten what she wanted.

"Listen to me, baby. There isn't any other way. It's so simple like 
this and you get just as good a chance at winning as I have. You can't 
ask any better than a fifty-fifty split on five grand." He still held 
her, looking straight down into her eyes as she cowered before him, the 
immensity of what he was saying sinking slowly into her alcohol 
confused brain. "And ..." he continued, not releasing his grip on her 
shoulders, "even if you lose, we might still knock a little off that 
five grand."

Laura swayed in the strength of his hands holding her. She knew it was 
she and Johnny's only chance to ever get even again and the whole of 
their future lay in her decision. She tried to think, to clear the 
confusion from her mind but she couldn't. The pressure was too great 
and she could only stand there with a glazed expression in her eyes, 
not moving or showing any emotion whatsoever.

"Well, come on, baby. You do love Johnny, don'cha?" He chided her at 
her weakest point. "You wouldn't be the cause of him losin' his big 
chance, now would you?"

Laura closed her eyes momentarily as she felt the big man's hands slip 
down from her shoulders and fondle her full, protruding breasts with a 
familiarity that repulsed her. She winced, her lips contorting slightly 
from the combination of the drink and another man's hands touching her 
as only Johnny, her husband, should be allowed to do. God, she had been 
shamed and humiliated enough last night by that horrible landlord of 
theirs and she didn't think she would be able to go through it again, 
no matter what. But ... at the same time ... she knew she had 
absolutely no choice and her delaying tactics were only to postpone the 
final moment as long as possible.

"Look, baby, we'll make it easy. One turn of the roulette wheel and you 
get to choose the color. If the little ball lands in your color, you 
win. If it lands in mine, then ole Deke gets to play a little 'hide the 
weeney' with you."

She suddenly jerked back from him, her eyes narrowing. "You don't have 
to be so crude about it. It's horrible enough as it is."

"That's my girl," he smiled slyly, sensing by the tone of her voice 
that she had already resigned herself to accept his proposition. "After 
all, you got a fifty-fifty chance and that's better than you've got 
downstairs when you're throwing money into it."

Laura's mind whirled. In spite of her dislike for the fat, insipid 
little man, these were the best odds they would ever have. Certainly 
better than Johnny had had last night when he had been playing against 
the house. And ... she could put them even again in just a matter of 
minutes. But ... Oh God, if she lost! Her eyes flickered involuntarily 
over the short, fat man's body in front of her and she shivered in 
revulsion at the thought of his touching her naked, defenseless flesh. 
But ... NO ... NO ... she couldn't think about that now. It was her and 
Johnny's whole life she would be betting against just a few short 
minutes with this pig of a man. She couldn't let Johnny down now ... 
when it really mattered. She just couldn't! And besides, she might even 
win! The chances were good and the right was on her side and that 
should count for something!

"Just one spin of the wheel, Laura, and it's all yours. The contract, 
the five thousand, and you and Johnny home free." He goaded her on, 
aware of the emotional battle that was raging in her mind.

"A-And if you win," she ventured falteringly. "you s-said you would 
forget some of the debt."

"You drive a hard bargain, kid." He grinned and stroked her chin. 
"Yeah, we'll forget the whole thing. You'd be worth five grand in the 
rack any day. So that means all we're spinning for is whether or not 
you're gonna put out to old Deke here. That's pretty fair."

Laura's hopes rose slightly when she heard this and as Black Jack 
pressed another drink in her hand and she took a long, hard swallow, a 
feeling of almost invincible confidence suddenly arose within her. She 
knew she was going to win! She just had to! After all, she was doing it 
for Johnny and his love and that made it so right! So right that it 
just couldn't go wrong!

She looked up at him, squarely in the eyes for the first time that 
evening and then brushed her long silken hair out of her eyes. It all 
seemed so easy now--perhaps reckless, but easy. In a matter of minutes 
all her and Johnny's problems would be over and she could fly home to 
him and tell him all about it.

"Alright, Deke. I'll play." And in spite of her exuberant confidence 
there was a slight quiver in her voice. She knew there was no turning 
back now and she knew she was in this thing right up to her ... to her 
... well, to her pussy, as Deke persisted in calling it, and she almost 
laughed from the grim thought, but it became all too serious a moment 
later as Deke grinned triumphantly and turned her toward the waiting 
table.

He had been waiting to get at that sniveling singer's young, voluptuous 
wife for a long time and now it had finally arrived. He smiled inwardly 
also at the secret thought that by the time they had finished the game 
she would be ready for anything he wanted to do to her. Black Jack had 
been doctoring her drinks carefully with tiny, tiny doses of Spanish 
fly and the affects were beginning to tell slightly already. He had 
detected it first when he had slipped his hand down to her breasts a 
few moments ago and had set off a small, but highly perceptible, tremor 
racing through her body. She had hidden it quickly by moving away from 
him but he knew it had been there and it wouldn't be much longer now 
until she got the full force of it. He had instructed Black Jack to 
save the knockout doses until last and she was sipping away on it now. 
He licked his lips in anticipation as, walking behind her, he watched 
the sensuous swaying of her full, rounded hips and buttocks. Man, it 
was going to be really something to cup those white, fleshy mounds in 
his hands as he rammed his cock up deep inside her. He could hardly 
wait and felt like grabbing her right now and throwing her over on the 
bed and shoving it to her with all her clothes on. But he smiled 
patiently to himself and thought, might as well make it all nice and 
legal like. It'll be more fun when she knows she's gotta do it whether 
she wants to or not.

Laura sat down on one of the stools at the wheel, thankful for its 
support. She felt awfully weak, but at the same time, for some strange 
reason, she'd never felt so good--so warm and alive--in her life.

Deke Vito brought her a heavily doctored drink and tried to affect a 
little nervousness in his voice as he spoke.

Well, to the victor, the spoils. What'll it be, red or black?"

Black Jack stood in the corner, just as intent on the tall brunette's 
answer as the man at the table. He was behind the bar and, after 
noiselessly sliding a small panel aside, stood with his hand poised 
above two buttons, waiting for her answer. The buttons controlled the 
multi-colored wheel where the man and woman sat. If the weight of the 
ball depressed the wrong color in one of the grooves, the metal rib 
that separated the red from black would lower just long enough to allow 
the ball to move over one color. With the wheel still spinning, it was 
virtually impossible to detect.

It wouldn't have worked downstairs in the casino, but up here for Mr. 
Mornay's special customers it had never been detected.

Laura toyed with her drink for a moment before she answered.

"Red." She smiled nervously at Vito. "I'll take red."

Black Jack pushed the button with the small 'B' in the center and moved 
from behind the bar.

"Okay, Laura baby, I've got black. Why don't we have Black Jack spin 
the wheel so there's no chance that either of us could cheat."

He moved around next to her and dropped his hand to her thigh. As he 
moved it all the way up until it was nestled firmly between the 
juncture of her legs Laura felt a violent, trembling sensation race 
through her.

My God! What's the matter with me? He touches me and I start to quiver. 
I can't stand the sight of him, and yet his hands feel so good.

Deke felt the hot moistness of her skin, felt her move beneath his hand 
and knew that the drinks were having their effect. It wouldn't be long 
now. Just this silly game and he'd have young Mrs. Dutton exactly where 
he wanted her.

Laura tried to tear her mind away from his electrifying touch and 
concentrate as the huge black man nodded to them both and casually spun 
the wheel.

At first it was nothing but an indistinguishable blur, then as it 
slowed she could hear the whirring of the ball turn into clicking as it 
ticked against the metal grooves.

The gleaming silver ball went slower and slower until it started 
rolling toward the center of the spinning table.

Finally, it stopped.

Deke Vito had turned his head away, crossing his fingers theatrically, 
and the beautiful girl had closed her eyes in silent prayer when she 
saw the ball slow down.

They were both surprised when Black Jack shouted.

"GREEN!"

The ball had settled into one of the two green grooves in the wheel 
that meant nothing in this strange seductive game.

Deke Vito almost choked on his drink because he'd been so sure of 
hearing his color called, but he cleared his throat and set the game 
into motion again.

"Goddamn it, Black Jack, don't do that! I almost had a heart attack. 
Spin that damn thing again."

He looked over at Laura and saw the glassy-eyed express on her face. 
Gaining confidence that the "fly" was beginning to work, he burrowed 
his hand deeper between the girl's thighs as the wheel spun once more. 
Her eyes were focused intently on the wheel but her body involuntarily, 
as though it were not part of her at all, responded to the touch of his 
hand and her thighs clenched weakly for a moment, then spread slightly 
open until he could touch the soft silken band of her panties running 
down between her legs.

She squirmed sensuously beneath his touch, savoring the delicious 
sensations that spread lewdly through her body.

Ooooooohhh, his hand is so hot and gentle! I can't think, I can't 
think! What's happening? What's happening? Her head was thrown back, 
her lips moist and parted; his touch drove everything else out of her 
mind.

She never even heard Black Jack, not until the man tapped her shoulder 
and said again, "Black, Miss ... the color is black."

She'd lost!

The wheel slowly stopped turning and there it was. The silver ball lay 
nestled in the long triangle of black lacquer.

Somehow, it didn't seem to matter any more. The hand pressed so hotly 
and obscenely between her legs had aroused a volcano of small fires 
exploding throughout her quivering body.

She only felt a tremendous loss as the hand went away--she wasn't even 
conscious of being picked up like a rag doll by the giant black man as 
he carried her to the bed.

Then she felt a thousand hands touching her at once, felt the clothes 
being pulled from her body.

Deke Vito knelt at the edge of the circular bed, putting her stockings 
from her long silken legs, running his fingertips caressingly down the 
velvet undersides of her thighs, slowly and so softly as he pulled the 
sheer nylons from her trembling legs.

Black Jack had removed her blouse and was now raising her as he 
unhooked the small fasteners of her bra. As he pulled it away and 
tossed it to the floor there was a muffled gasp from both men at the 
unbelievable perfection of her full, rose-tipped breasts.

They moved to each side of her to pull down the clinging skirt and 
then, with a conspiratorial smile between them, they hooked their 
fingers into the tight elastic waistband of her small, flimsy panties.

They eased them slowly and teasingly down her thighs over the full 
swell of her hips and wetly away from the tousled mound of soft ebony 
hair nestled between her thighs.

She arched her back, unconsciously trying to help them as much as she 
could. They pulled the small wisp of sink from her ankles and tossed it 
behind them.

Then, almost in unison, they began to run their hands over the majestic 
glistening curves of her body. From each side of the bed they reached 
for her, sliding their fingertips across the softness of her shoulders, 
one hand down each arm and the others lightly across her breasts.

"Ooooooooooohhhhhh!" Eager, desperate moans escaped her parted lips, 
her tongue darting back and forth to moisten the dryness that parched 
her mouth. Her whole body trembled as she felt a pair of hungry, heated 
lips attach themselves to her reluctantly erect nipples ... pulling ... 
nibbling at her.

She felt hundreds and hundreds of hands dancing across her heaving 
belly ... scraping across the screaming sensitivity of her goose-
pimpled skin.

"Ahhhhhhhaaaa ... yes, oh no ... Oh my God! ... don't stop! ... please 
don't stop!"

Deke watched the shining ebony blackness of his accomplice's skin as it 
contrasted the arching ivory body of the girl between them. He moved 
away from the bed to undress and standing back, watched the great black 
and white tableau before him. An almost unbelievable excitement arose 
in him as he watched the giant Negro caress and kiss the sensuously 
squirming girl.

Wheel he dropped his shorts to the floor and saw his straining, 
throbbing erection--larger than it had ever been before he knew he had 
never experienced anything like adventure he knew was coming.

He moved to his knees again, motioning to Black Jack to undress and 
forcing her legs wide apart with his hands, he busied his head in the 
downy softness of the tightly curled triangle of shadowed hair between 
her open thighs.

Laura was raving now, making strange guttural noises as she tried to 
reach the man's head with her hands and hold him there. It couldn't be 
like this! Nothing could be like this!

She felt his tongue probing and delving into the almost hidden opening, 
parting the glistening, moistened lips of her cunt. She could feel him 
take the passion-hardened protrusion of her clitoris between his teeth 
... feel him nibbling at it tenderly ... running his tongue over and 
across it ... the hot furnace of his breath scorching up into her belly 
as it bellowed into her eager, pleading vagina.

The huge Negro came back to the bed, and as though in a wild erotic 
dream, she felt him take her ankles and bring her legs high into the 
air, spreading them wider apart so Deke Vito could burrow his head and 
his tongue even deeper into her open, moist cunt.

Laura's mind and all her senses reeled in a whirling of ecstasy and 
lustful passion. The flames kept rising between her thighs, searing her 
whole body as his tongue fanned them into a raging volcano. It wasn't 
just the burning feeling of his tongue as it probed deeper and deeper 
into the throbbing heat of her vagina, there was the sound of it. The 
urgent liquid sounds that raced into the center of her mind, so much 
like the sounds of a cock actually fucking into her.

Her alms flailed at the bed at her sides and her hips squirmed 
violently as she tried to move her legs but couldn't. Her ankles were 
trapped in the powerful grip of the giant Negro and she could only lie 
there under the torturing caresses of Deke Vito.

"Ahhhhhhhhhaaaaaaahh! O my God! You're driving me out of my mind!" The 
soft, husky moans filled the room as the shorter man continued to delve 
further and further into the wet heat of the straining girl's moist, 
contracting pussy.

"Ohhhh, please ... please, I can't stand it! Dear God, I can't stand 
it!" she cried out as he grasped the erectile firmness of her clitoris 
between his teeth and tongue and rolled it salaciously around and 
around in his mouth.

Then she felt the cool rush of air as he pulled away, and the movement 
of the bed as he began to turn himself around.

Black Jack still held her ankles high in the air and the soft squeaking 
of the bedsprings combined with her heavy breathing was the only sound 
as the other man turned until he straddled her face and bent once more 
to bury his face between her thighs.

The girl felt something brush across her face and opened her eyes to 
find his huge, swollen prick only inches from her lips. She gasped at 
the size of it, almost crying out in fear, when she once again felt his 
tongue plunge hotly down inside her.

Greedily, almost insanely, she curled her hands around in between his 
legs and reached for it. She raised her head, her ovalled mouth wide, 
and encircled it with the heat of her lips--trying to capture its 
entire length in her anxious mouth.

In her ecstatic haste she sucked it so deeply in the warm, saliva 
filled cavern of her mouth that it almost choked her and in order to 
regain her breath she began to feverishly run her tongue up and down 
the soft underside, feeling it throb and pulse against her touch.

Tiny fires kept exploding with blinding ferocity in her brain as he 
moved it in and out in rhythm to the probing of his tongue below.

"ARGHhhhhhhhhhhh!" the animal-like groans burst from her lips as she 
tried to open her mouth wider and breathe in more air. She tried to 
think, to reason what was happening to her, but her mind refused to 
accept anything except the rolling waves of lust and passion that were 
erupting inside her like a constant undulating earthquake.

Her lips and tongue stopped their gentle caressing and, as she felt her 
climax raging towards a fiery threshold, she began to nurse and suck 
the hot thickness of his prick with all her strength! Her cheeks 
hollowed and swelled and her belly rose and fell frantically as she 
pulled at him. Her lips were clasped tightly around its throbbing 
blood-filled head like an elastic rubber band, sucking it desperately, 
to make it cum.

And at the same time, she could feel the violent explosion beginning 
deep inside her and her fingers scratched crazily at the base of his 
swinging testicles as she reached feverishly to hurry her climax.

Then it came!--The hot waves of boiling, creamy liquid pouring in spasm 
after spasm into her mouth--and it was joined by the arching trembling 
of her hips as her orgasm erupted ... exploded in blinding flashes of 
searing light and darkness ...

Almost an eternity later she felt the man's weight lifting away from 
her. She lay there barely conscious and tried to still the 
uncontrollable quivering in her legs, the bed seemed to come up and 
wrap around her, enveloping her in a soft cocoon of darkness and 
warmth--calming her and allowing her to drift off into a state of 
unknowing peace.

A seeming eternity later, she could hear a man's voice in the 
interminable distance.

"Okay, man, she's all yours and I want you to give it to her good so's 
she'll remember this as long as she lives."

Then, again, she felt the gentle dancing of fingers across her thighs 
and up to her breasts. They felt so soothing and tender and she lay 
with her eyes closed, luxuriating in the erotic sensations that were 
once more spreading through her sweat-glistening body.

Deke Vito stood at one side, watching for a moment before he went into 
the bathroom. That little bitch is the wildest thing I've had in years, 
he thought triumphantly. If I'da known she was going to turn on like 
that I never woulda waited this long. He smiled softly to himself, 
knowing that now he had young Mrs. Dutton exactly where he wanted her 
and by the time the Negro got through with her and she regained 
consciousness, she would be so shamed and humiliated at what she had 
done that she would never resist him or any demands he might make on 
her again. And ... that sniveling little husband of hers would never 
have the courage of object with all the money he owed him.

Christ! I'd better hurry with that shower, he suddenly thought, I don't 
wanna miss any of this. He spent a few more seconds watching the huge 
black man and the girl on the bed and moved reluctantly into the 
bathroom.

Laura's back arched and she squirmed as she felt the pressure of the 
hands on her body slowly increasing. She could feel them kneading the 
softness of her flesh like dough, first her thighs and then the full 
curves of her hips, moving over her like a sensuous Oriental massage as 
she lay weakly on her back.

Her nipples hardened again as the fingers moved to her breasts and she 
felt their ivory fullness being cupped in two huge palms, felt the heat 
as her breasts were completely enveloped by the massiveness of the 
hands that held her ...

Her eyelids seemed so heavy and she strained to open them, to see the 
gentleness of the man that touched her--to add the pleasure of sight to 
the delicious senses of touch that filled her.

It took a moment for her eyes to focus and then she saw him over the 
swelling curves of her breasts--saw the hands, the huge shoulders, and 
the glistening ebony skin. As she stared at his contrasting blackness 
it took a moment for her to realize who he was.

A scream started to build in her throat, but it was cut off by another 
wave of ecstasy as his hands moved down her body again to cup the 
raised triangular mound between her legs ... he sat at her side and his 
hands caressed and molded the sparse, hair-covered mound between her 
legs as if to change its shape.

She stared at the broadness of his back, divided by the deep furrow, 
and she saw that his skin was flawless and shining--and rippled with 
great bands of muscles.

Then his hands began to move tenderly down the soft inner skin of her 
thighs, and she threw her head back moaning and closed her eyes again-- 
reveling in the delicious sensations that raced through her eager body.

"SHhhhhhhh, Honey, Black Jack ain't gonna hurt you."

She heard the deep rumbling voice and realized that it was the huge 
Negro that had spoken. Spoken to her! And then she felt an insane 
desire to laugh. The giant black man could talk. Wouldn't it be 
something if she went downstairs to tell of her discovery--and then 
explained how she had found our!

She started to answer him, to tell him that she weren't afraid. That 
all she wanted was for him never to stop teasing her with those huge, 
gentle hands, but no words came out because his caresses started 
another wave of trembling desire rushing though her.

She vaguely heard the low thunder of his voice as he moved up to lie 
beside her and whispered soft sounds and words into her ear.

Then, she ran her hands exploringly and tentatively down his chest, 
feeling his massive power and size. She moved her hand further down 
until it touched the wiry curls of black pubic hair ... then just 
slightly further until her fingers enclosed the great throbbing shaft 
that rose from the center of his loins.

My God! she thought in her drug induced delirium, I'll never be able to 
take him. It's so big! Then, with passion driven courage, she almost 
cautiously, ran her hand up the entire length of his throbbing penis, 
trying to encircle it with her fingers--but they wouldn't reach all the 
way around it.

His hands, the touch of such a huge man next to her, began to arouse 
her almost beyond belief. Her legs began to tremble and quiver and she 
arched for him to come to her--to shove it into her pleading body.

As she scratched her fingernails across the pulsing fullness of his 
penis it seemed to grow even more, not steadily, but in a series of 
slightly jerking pulsations.

"Ohhhh, please ... do it to me ..." she pleaded softly through lust 
contorted lips, I want you inside me! You're so big ... so strong ... 
Oh God, do it to meee ..."

At her words he began to slide over on top of the girl beneath him and 
positioning himself between her open thighs.

When she felt him kneeling on all fours above her she spread her legs 
out wide as far as she could, drawing her knees up until they touched 
her white, flaccid breasts trying to open herself far enough to accept 
the huge organ that he was gleefully lowering toward her arching vagina 
...

She reached down with her hands surrounding his hardened cock with her 
fingers to guide his mixture of fear and desire penetrating her entire 
being.

"It's so big ... God, I'm afraid ... I can't, do it, I can't take it!"

The words gushed forth deliriously as she tried to stop him, but it was 
too late. The giant Negro was not going to let her go now.

"Don't you worry, little honey, I ain't gonna hurt you," he grinned 
down at her helplessness through ivory white teeth. "I'm gonna go real 
easy ..."

And he lowered himself with the aid of her hesitant hands until the 
smooth rubbery head of his cock touched the hot, moist opening of her 
vagina. She felt the great, black shaft begin to part the soft, fleshy 
slit and insinuate its way lasciviously between the smooth, hair-lined 
lips of her cunt, lubricated already by the flowing juices of her 
aroused body.

Her whole inside seemed to be stretching, expanding to receive him. 
There wasn't much pain at first, just a straining belt of tightness 
spreading through her loins, then it began to hurt her.

"OHhhhhhhh ... Ohhhhh! No!... I can't stand it, it's too much ... Ohhh 
no." she screamed. Over and over again, twisting and writhing beneath 
him as though he were impaling her with the hard, blunt end of a 
barbaric spear.

Then, as suddenly as it had begun, the pain slowly subsided and was 
replaced with a growing flood of lustful desire. He ventured deeper 
into her, but so gradually that the increase was almost imperceptible 
and the pain that would otherwise have been unbearable was erased by 
the hot slippery fluids flowing from the walls of her wide-stretched 
pussy.

But, the huge Negro was still too monstrous for her and was unable to 
completely bury his lust-swollen prick all the way down into the 
straining wall of her tiny, tight vagina. When he found that he had 
probed as far as he could go, there still remained almost two inches of 
his massive prick outside her.

She held her knees spread apart as far as possible and raised her hips 
even higher, desperately trying to absorb more of him, but it was no 
use.

The man remained motionless for several seconds, allowing her body to 
become accustomed to his great size, but she clawed at his back and 
tried to get slim to move within her.

"Please ... please! I want you to fuck me now! I've never felt anything 
so big ... so long ... please!" Her words echoed against his ears and 
he couldn't hold himself any longer.

The girl felt the muscles in his buttocks flexing as with a deep-
throated grunt he began to drive himself into her with great, powerful 
stokes. She strained and squirmed up against the huge, hot shaft that 
pounded relentlessly deeper and deeper into her arching body ...

"Oh my God ... My God! ... you're splitting me open ... you're so big 
... so HOT!" Her cries filled the room as the great glistening black 
body, dripping with sweat, thrust again and again, harder and faster 
into the burning heat of her cunt.

Deke Vito stood there, still wet from the shower, in a silk robe and--
listening and watching as Black Jack, throaty, animal noises coming 
from his mouth, mercilessly drove his huge, throbbing cock mercilessly 
down into the ivory-white body beneath him.

Though now only a voyeur, the gambler felt his passion rising as he 
stared vicariously at the erotic scene before him. He watched until he 
could stand it no longer and then began to stroke himself beneath the 
folds of his robe. The cries and moans from the bed drove him into a 
near frenzy and as the pressure mounted in his body his eyes closed in 
lustful passion until they were opened by a loud erotic scream from the 
young, flailing girl.

"Ooooooh, Ooooooh God, I'm cumming, I'm cummmming!" she cried, grinding 
her churning buttocks tight up into the loins of the Negro fucking her.

He came then, simultaneously with the girl as she jerked violently on 
the bed and her screams echoed throughout the room. He watched the 
giant man above her as he too shook convulsively, spurting his hot, 
liquid sperm far up into her quivering belly, and finally collapsed 
upon the trembling body of the twice-fucked girl beneath him.

The room quieted as her moans subsided gradually into silence and there 
was only the wet, sucking sound of the Negro withdrawing from between 
her legs and rising from the bed. In the stillness Vito realized the 
girl had fainted dead away, her arms and legs spread obscenely out on 
the mattress as though she were a mannequin devoid of all human 
mobility.

Now she's mine, all mine, he cackled victoriously to himself, and I'm 
gonna make sure it stays that way.

* * *

She didn't know how much later it was as she awoke with her head 
throbbing and myriads of confused memories tumbling in her mind. She 
shook her head and tried to wipe away the hazy mist from her eyes.

There was only one dim light in the bedroom and it was several moments 
before she realized where she was, and remembered what had happened 
earlier. The young girl stumbled from the bed, feeling a violent wave 
of revulsion shake through her as she saw the streaked stains of semen 
covering her loins and thighs and the bedcovers strewn all over the 
floor.

About fifteen minutes later she came out of the bathroom feeling a 
little better. The shower had washed away some of the degradation she 
had felt, though her body still tingled slightly especially around her 
thighs and she had at least one thought that eased her self-disgust a 
little ...

I've paid my debt, she thought, I lost the bet but I've certainly kept 
up my end of the bargain. Now he has to give me the contract for Johnny 
to sign and forget the money that Johnny owes him.

As she dressed she heard soft laughter coming from the other room. The 
living room. It was probably Deke Vito, and when the thought of once 
again facing him after the obscene humiliations he had subjected her to 
came to her she felt the tears begin to well up in her eyes. She 
angrily wiped them away. That bastard! I'll get that contract and walk 
out of here as if nothing ever happened--and I swear to God he'll never 
get near me again!

Laura opened the door and stepped into the soft music and laughter in 
the living room. Deke Vito sat on the couch, dressed once more in the 
dinner jacket and satin-striped formal trousers. Either he or the other 
man with him had apparently said something they thought was funny 
because they were both laughing uproariously. The other man was a 
gambler Laura had frequently seen around the casino.

Harry Goldman. An obesely fat man with great bouncing jowls that gave 
him the appearance of a huge breeding hog. They didn't hear her when 
she first came into the room and she stood there watching the two of 
them, the dapper, greasy smaller man and the far one with his loud 
maroon dinner jacket, lace ruffled shirt, and black stringed tie.

Harry Goldman was a notoriously wealthy man, rumored to be mired up 
with the Mob, and one of the club's most prized customers. She'd seen 
him many times at the crap tables and tried to avoid him ever since he 
reached out and pinched her on the rear once so hard that it had left a 
large purple bruise.

What a pair, she thought, they fit together beautifully. The two most 
obnoxious men I've ever known, side by side.

Then it occurred to her that Vito had probably told Goldman everything 
that had happened in the other room, and she felt her resolve to face 
Vito defiantly starting to disappear. But, there was no other way out. 
She had to see him to get that contract, to get Johnny out of the 
trouble he was in. She moved forward.

Both men heard her and turned around. Surprisingly, they both stood up 
and Vito moved toward the bar.

"Laura Baby, feelin' any better? Here, let me make you a little drink." 
He picked up a bottle and turned to her again. "Hey, Baby, you know Mr. 
Goldman, don't you?" He chuckled, and added, "He knows you."

"Hello, Laura. Sure I know you, never have been able to keep my eyes 
offa you downstairs." The fat man's high squeaky voice came as a 
surprise in a man so large.

"Deke, may I speak to you privately?" she said ignoring Goldman's 
introduction and trying to keep her voice calm.

Vito walked over to her and placed a drink in her hand, talking as he 
crossed the room, "Hey, baby, whaddya mean private? That's not polite. 
Mr. Goldman's one of our best customers, sorta one of the family you 
might say." He laughed and turned to the other man. "Ain't that right, 
Harry? Besides, Laura Baby, me and Harry ain't got no secrets.

"No, Deke, I don't think we do," the man answered with a facetious tone 
in his voice. "Unless Laura here wants to keep something from me."

"Aw, she wouldn't wanna do that. Laura's too nice a girl for that ... 
much too nice." He laughed almost mockingly. "The nicest girl I've ever 
known, if you know what I mean."

She felt the anger boiling up in her. That Bastard! He had told that 
disgusting man everything!

Without even thinking, she threw her drink straight at Deke Vito and 
stood there watching it dribble down the front of his jacket. A moment 
later her mind reeled with the force of his blow and her face stung 
painfully.

"Laura Baby, you just made a big mistake. Yeah, a big Mistake!" He 
wiped the drink from his coat with a handkerchief and spoke, trying to 
keep the anger out of his voice.

"Now, you just sit down over there. I'm going to make you another drink 
... and you're gonna drink it and listen carefully to what I say!"

The room was silent for a moment except for the clinking of glass and 
the girl's soft, frustrated sobbing. The gambler handed her another 
drink and then sat across from her, crossing his legs and carefully 
tugging at his trousers so that he wouldn't ruin his crease. Then he 
spoke, "Part of the bargain, kid. That's what you've fulfilled ... just 
part of the bargain. I mighta been a little easier on you, but you just 
did a very stupid thing. Nobody throws a drink at Deke Vito, right 
Harry?"

"I wouldn't think so, Deke. It just isn't very nice. Doesn't show the 
proper respect," the other man answered, a slow furtive smile curling 
around his thick, liver-like lips.

"Yeah, respect, that's it. You see, Laura, I had plenty respect for you 
..." he chuckled ... "so much, as a matter of fact, that I even told 
old Harry here how much I respected you." Then the gambler's voice 
became very hard, "Yeah, when we made out little bet I never figured 
you to be as good about holding up your end as you were. But, you did a 
pretty good job, as I told Harry here, and I figured ..." he paused to 
sip at his drink ... "I figured I'd give you the contract and the money 
just like I said I would." He brushed at his coat again, holding it out 
as if he wanted her to see it.

"But then you did this." He paused, thinking to himself how perfectly 
she'd fallen into his hands. Her anger fit his plans exactly, now that 
she'd thrown that drink at him he even began to feel a little self-
righteous.

"Yeah, when you did this, you broke off our bet completely." He was 
interrupted by her heaving sobs. She'd started crying aloud as soon as 
she realized what he was going to say.

"Shut up!" he shouted at her. "You ain't got nothin to cry about. You 
ain't hurt, I'm the one with the ruined coat."

He came over and grabbed her by the shoulder. "You listen to me, and 
I'm going to tell you how you can get outa this."

He pulled her out of the chair and led her over to the couch where 
Harry Goldman was sitting.

"Sit here, Laura Baby, with old Harry while I explain what you're gonna 
do."

She sat down wordlessly several inches from the fat man but he put his 
arm around her shoulder and pulled her closer. She tried to move away 
from his suffocating grasp but it was as if she had been trapped in a 
vise.

"Just sit tight, Kid, Harry ain't gonna hurt you. He likes you as much 
as I do. The gambler laughed softly and continued.

"Yeah, I was gonna let you go tonight with the contract and everything 
but that drink changed that. Now, I gotta figure out what the insult to 
my integrity is worth. Whaddya think, Harry?"

He turned to the huge round man on the couch. "You know what the deal 
was, Harry, what do you think I oughta do with little Laura here?"

Harry Goldman squeezed her a little tighter and chuckled. "Well, I 
wouldn't be too hard on her, Deke. She was probably just a little 
upset. Still ..."

Deke Vito laughed, and continued. "Yeah, but Harry, remember what you 
said about respect. She oughta have a little more respect for a guy 
what was going to be so generous to her, don't you think?"

The fat man just chuckled softly. It was like a great bowl of Jello, 
Laura thought with inward disgust. His whole body ripples when he 
laughs.

"Deke, baby, I have an idea," the man at her side said in that high, 
funny voice. "An idea about respect."

They were both laughing now, and Laura felt like a ping-pong ball being 
batted back and forth between them.

"Yeah, Deke, maybe I could teach her a little respect one night, and 
I'd even buy you a new jacket." The girl shivered and let out another 
helpless, broken sob. The shame and degradation they were subjecting 
her to was too much for her tattered nerves. The fat man reached over 
with his other hand and patted her on the knee. "Don't worry, 
Beautiful, I wouldn't hurt you. We'd just have a little fun, you and 
me, and maybe I can talk old Deke here into giving you what you want. I 
gotta lotta influence with him."

The fat man looked at the gambler. "Whaddya say, Deke? We can work out 
something for little Laura here, can't we?"

The gambler laughed, and walked over to the bar, seeming to consider it 
for a moment. "Yeah, I guess we probably could at that."

"No! No! I won't do it ... I won't." The girl's cry broke the sudden 
silence between the two men. "I won't do it! You can't make me!

Deke Vito turned from the bar. "Laura Baby, we're not trying to make 
you do anything." Laughing, he turned to Harry Goldman. "Are we, 
Harry?"

"Why, hell no, I was just trying to help."

Deke walked back over to the couch and took her hand, lifting her. And 
as he pulled her up she felt the man behind her pat her on her 
buttocks, letting his hand linger and then squeezing her.

"Tell you what, kid. Let me get your coat for you, and then you can go 
home and sleep on it. How's that?"

She felt herself being led to the door. In a daze she accepted her coat 
and heard the door close behind--still able to hear the lewd, 
triumphant laughter of the two men as the bolt clicked behind her.



Chapter 3


The girl didn't even remember coming down in the elevator or walking 
through the casino. She had crossed the crowded streets almost by 
instinct alone and it wasn't until she passed an all-night diner just 
before her corner and saw the clock inside that she realized it was 
almost two in the morning. God, she had spent hours there on that 
horrible bed ... and, she vowed ... "I'll never do it again!"

Occasionally a streetlight would reflect against the streaked tears on 
her face and the softness of her crying would hover in the night 
darkness.

She wondered if Johnny would be waiting up for her, and if he was, what 
she would be able to tell him. The whole thing seemed like a terrible, 
unreal nightmare that had been dreamed up by a mad man.

She stumbled along, her eyes half closed--the dark sides of her eyelids 
acting as a screen where she projected the terrible scenes of the night 
before.

Her mind was flooded with contrasting feelings of self-pity and anger. 
She tried to blank out the memories of Deke Vito and what she had done 
but they kept forcing themselves into her consciousness. The 
realization of everything that happened, the landlord, Deke Vito ... 
Black Jack ... the repulsive leering of the fat man ... how had she 
done it? What had caused her to lose complete control of herself and 
accede to their wishes? Two days ago, she had been almost a virgin, 
untouched by anyone else but her husband, and now ... now, she had 
taken on three other men in quick succession ... three men she didn't 
even like. And they had fucked her, not made love to her, but fucked 
her like some whore off the streets, without love, without respect, 
with nothing but animal lust burning in their loins. God, where was it 
all going to end? tumbled through her tortured thoughts.

She opened the door into their apartment, hoping that her husband was 
asleep, and tried to still the soft sobbing that still shuddered her 
body.

She put her coat away quietly but the darkness was shattered by the 
click and sudden brightness of the lamp by the bed.

"Laura, Honey, where have you been?" She turned to face Johnny who sat 
up in bed wide awake.

"Laura, are you crying? Darling, what's the matter ... please, come 
here."

She moved awkwardly to the bed, to his outstretched arms, trying to 
brush away the tears on her cheeks.

"Oh, Johnny, it was so horrible ... Ohhhh, Johnny "

He jerked upright. "What? ... Darling, what happened? Laura, what's the 
matter? Where have you been?"

"Oh, Johnny, it was Vito ... I'm so ashamed," the words came out 
haltingly. She didn't want to tell him. She didn't know what to tell 
... Black Jack ... he couldn't know about Black Jack!

He tried to calm her down, and after a few moments the words poured 
forth in a broken, husky stream . ..

"Johnny, you don't know what he did ... I tried to get the contract for 
you ... Oh my God! It was so horrible! ..."

He waited for her to catch her breath and as he did his mind whirled 
with what she had just said. She hadn't gotten the contract after all. 
All of his acting that morning, and she hadn't gotten it! He tried to 
remain sympathetic as she continued, but all the time he wondered what 
he was going to do now.

"Johnny, we ... we gambled for it ... and I lost. At least ... I lost 
the bet about going to bed with ..." She started crying again, in great 
heaving sobs.

Finally, she told him the whole story. At least it seemed like the 
whole story, about Vito and what they had done, and about Harry 
Goldman. Johnny had no way of knowing that she had left out the part 
with Black Jack.

As she spoke, describing everything that had happened between her and 
Vito, her husband wondered why he didn't feel more. He tried to picture 
his lovely wife in bed with her naked legs wrapped around that slimy 
gambler at the casino, but nothing seemed to happen. Just a heavy dull 
sensation, he barely heard what she was saying and it didn't seem to 
matter so much.

He'd been drinking heavily before she came home, anticipating his 
delight when she would hand him the contract that meant so much to him. 
He had known before when he had told her to see Vito that the gambler 
wouldn't be satisfied with just words, but he had been able to close 
his mind to any of the consequences and think only of his future and 
what that contract would mean. Now, it was all gone. It hadn't worked! 
Goddamn it! What was he supposed to do now?

Wait. What was she saying now? Something about Goldman?

"... and they told me if I'd spend the night with him, I could have 
what I wanted ... Oh, Johnny, I can't ... I can't ... I just can't!"

He was alive again! There was still a chance. He could feel the 
lightness again. He could still get that contract, go to San Francisco. 
God! Once he made it in the Fairmount, he'd never have to worry again. 
If he just played it right, could get her to do it ...

She lay there in his arms, waiting for him to hold her--waiting for his 
anger at Deke Vito--waiting for him to hold her and tell he'd take her 
away, that she'd never have to do anything like that again.

Her crying finally stopped and she felt hot and sticky. Dry and empty. 
Why didn't he say something? It couldn't be that he ...

He thought quickly. He had to say something, he could feel her 
shoulders stiffening in his arms.

"Laura, Darling," he forced as much emotion as he could into his voice, 
"Laura, Baby ..."

"Don't call me Baby!" she screamed. "You're just like Vito!"

"Laura ... I don't understand ... I didn't mean anything ..."

"Oh, Johnny, I'm sorry, it's what he always calls me ... I just can't 
stand to hear it."

He held her a little closer, stroking her hair. "Laura, it's all my 
fault. I'm the one that forced you to do it. I didn't mean for anything 
like this to happen." There, that's more like it, he thought. "I though 
maybe he'd listen to you. I didn't mean for you to go to bed with him."

She lay there, feeling him stroking her tenderly, but she knew that 
there was something forced in his actions, in his words. It was like 
the morning before when she had felt that he was just acting when he 
had cried on her shoulder. She felt a chill run through her and she 
extricated herself from his arms and stood up.

"I'm going to get undressed, Johnny," she said. "I'll be back in just a 
minute."

He watched her walk into the bathroom, knowing that he'd done something 
wrong. She's probably too upset, he thought, I know I was pretty 
convincing. What the hell, all she has to do is lie on her back for a 
few minutes and it'll be the answer to all our problems. It wasn't like 
she was losing her virginity or anything! The old man can't hurt her. 
Shit! She can just close her eyes and pretend it's me. Fifteen minutes; 
and it's worth five thousand dollars and a contract that'll put us on 
easy street for the rest of our lives. All I've got to do is handle her 
right. He turned off the light waiting for her to come back into the 
room, and trying furiously to think of the right things to say to her 
when she returned.

When Laura came back out of the bathroom she'd decided to talk again to 
Johnny. She could easily have misunderstood the inflection in his 
voice. After all, he'd probably been as upset as she was, and she 
shouldn't have expected him to act naturally. She knew he loved her. 
She'd just made a mistake, that's all.

She'd purposely left off her nightgown, and she stood there silhouetted 
by the light behind her waiting for her to call her to him. We can make 
gentle love, our kind of love, she thought, and wipe away all this 
dirtiness I feel.

She could just barely see him there in the darkness as he slid up in 
the bed, and she stood there posing--her breasts high and thrusting.

Then he called out to her, and she could hear the desire in his voice. 
If he only knew, she thought, as she walked slowly toward the bed, how 
wonderful the change in his voice makes me feel. I love him so much.

She stopped several feet from the bed waiting for him. He got up and 
came to her, taking her gently in his arms. As he spoke to her she 
slowly undid the buttons of his pajama top.

"Laura, I feel so terrible. Darling, I love you so much, I never meant 
for anything like that to happen to you. I'll make it up, I promise. 
We'll go away, nothing or no one will ever come between us again."

She felt the happiness sweeping through her and held him against her as 
tightly as she could. Then she stood back to tug the pajamas from his 
shoulders before she pulled the drawstring on the bottoms.

Laura watched the pants fall to the floor. Shivers ran through her as 
he ran his fingers lightly across the sensitive hardness of her 
nipples, and she saw the swelling fullness of his penis as it pointed 
up at her.

He pulled her fiercely against him, crushing her breasts against his 
chest, and scraping his fingernails across the tingling surface of her 
back. The great hardness between his thighs restricting them from 
getting any closer.

She reached down, laughing, and grasped the swollen shaft in both hands 
and using it as a handle pulled him toward the bed.

"Come, Slave," she laughed, "I have plans for you."

The light happiness in her voice was unmistakable and he knew that 
everything would work out just as he wanted. As long as he made this 
little session in bed something she'd never forget. Johnny knew the 
immense appetite for sex Laura possessed, once she got started, and 
this wouldn't he the first time he'd used it to his advantage. When he 
made love with a purpose he could make himself last as long as he 
wanted--he knew he was well endowed--and he also knew that when he made 
himself wait and expended all his efforts solely on the satisfaction of 
the woman that there were few that could resist his talents.



Chapter 4


Laura Dutton took another sip from the tulip-shaped champagne glass and 
nodded imperceptibly as the fat man murmured something about going to 
the restroom and got up from the table with what seemed to be an awful 
lot of effort. Well, so far so good, she thought, as she watched him 
lumber ponderously in the direction of the men's room.

She'd been a little curious when Goldman had ordered the waiter to 
bring ice and both a bottle of champagne and a bottle of Cordon Bleu 
cognac to the table and leave it. But now she was glad that he had. The 
fat man with a light grace strange for a man so obese had expertly 
mixed the wine and the brandy in the tall glasses and the result had 
been delicious. French 75's he had called them, named after the famous 
WW-I French anti-tank gun.

It was exactly the kind of drink she needed, very light and easy to 
drink, and very potent. Although she hadn't been able to keep up with 
Harry Goldman she had been able to drink quite a few and the second 
bottle of champagne had already been delivered to the table.

The alcohol made it a little easier for her to hold up through the 
evening and she was beginning to feel as if her promise to Johnny 
wouldn't be as hard to keep as she had thought. Remembering Johnny, she 
thought again of the wonderful time they'd had in bed. No one had ever 
made love like that to her before. It had been almost unbelievable, 
she'd climaxed over and over again. And afterwards, to make it even 
better, Johnny had pleaded with her not to see Harry Goldman this 
evening but she hadn't given in. She finally convinced him that it 
wouldn't hurt her just once more. There was so much at stake, and she 
had promised him that throughout the whole evening she would just 
pretend she was making love to him, and not to the fat man who had just 
left the table.

She had even been surprised by Harry Goldman. She hadn't known what to 
expect when she had finally gotten the nerve to tell Deke Vito that 
she'd see Goldman tonight. But, all night long the fat man had treated 
her more kindly and with more respect than anyone she'd ever gone out 
with. Even Johnny, she remembered, whenever they'd gone out he seemed 
to be less interested in her entertainment than his own, but with 
Goldman it was different.

Soon after she had talked to Vito a messenger had given her a note from 
Goldman telling her to get very dressed up and that a limousine would 
call for her at nine.

Laura had gone home and changed into her finest evening dress and at 
exactly nine a uniformed chauffeur had called for her, and taken her to 
Reno's most exclusive supper club.

Goldman had been a complete gentleman all evening, and had ordered her 
a delicious dinner, most of which she couldn't even pronounce.

He hadn't grabbed at her as he usually did, and his conversation had 
been fascinating, though a little sad at time. She remembered feeling a 
little sympathy for the fat man as a word now and then would uncover 
his unhappiness at being so grossly heavy and unattractive.

The wine and French 75's that she was now drinking had lessened her 
uneasiness considerably, even made her feel very good, and she didn't 
feel too frightened about the rest of the evening.

She was determined to go with him wherever he planned and then get it 
over as quickly as possible. Just as she'd persuaded Johnny, it would 
only take a few minutes and couldn't make any lasting difference. It 
wasn't like she was losing her virginity or anything.

Her reverie was suddenly interrupted by the return of Harry Goldman and 
she felt a little sorry for him as she saw the trouble he had fitting 
into the small curved booth.

"Whew!" he said as he brushed a linen handkerchief across his 
perspiring forehead--something she'd noticed he had to do continually--
"I'm afraid they don't make these quite large enough for a man my size, 
Laura," he said apologetically.

He chuckled bitterly to himself. "Husky." He looked at her through his 
puffy eyelids. "That's what I call myself. "'Husky' sounds a little 
better than 'fat' doesn't it?"

She knew he didn't really expect an answer but she saw the fleeting 
expression of unhappiness flicker across his eyes and she felt as if 
she had to say something.

"Harry, you shouldn't feel that way." She tried to put a light hearted 
lilt in her voice. "I've always heard size was a sign of success and 
prosperity. See, it fits ... and I've never seen a big man as graceful 
as you are."

She thought she could see the appreciation in his eyes at her words. He 
reached across the table and tenderly took her hand.

"Thank you, Laura, I actually think you mean it."

They talked for a while longer. He amazed her with the amount of liquor 
he was able to consume, and there was absolutely no sign of 
intoxication. She tried to keep up with him, and as a result she was 
beginning to have a little difficulty thinking clearly.

Then he called for the check and paid for it from the largest sheaf of 
currency she had ever seen anyone carry.

As they stepped out into the coolness she was startled to see the 
chauffeured limousine pull up the moment he put his foot on the first 
step. It's amazing, she thought, anything he wants he gets, and he 
doesn't even have to snap his fingers. Then she thought bitterly, that 
even includes me.

They were driven for almost a half an hour and the closed back 
compartment of the Rolls Royce was absolutely silent, except whenever 
he offered her another drink from the portable bar.

Then she noticed the car pulling up a long winding driveway to an 
immense house at the edge of a mountain lake. They stepped past the 
attendant chauffeur and walked up a cobbled pathway to a huge set of 
double doors.

Once again, with no sign from him, the door was opened by a uniformed 
butler. Goldman dismissed him with a flick of his massive hand and led 
her toward the rear of the house.

He stopped now and then to adjust a rheostated light switch and then 
brought her into an enormous living room. She settled into the softness 
of the couch and waited while he poured her another cognac.

He handed it to her and apologized as he left her alone for a couple of 
minutes.

She sat there in the semi-darkness and wondered what was to come. He 
had been so gentle with her all night that she knew there was nothing 
really to fear, except possibly the actual act of making love to him. 
Even that bothered her very little after the number of drinks she'd 
had, and the knowledge deep within herself that she would be doing it 
for Johnny and Johnny alone.

Moments later he returned. He exchanged his dinner jacket for a 
voluminous silk robe and he was carrying something which he handed to 
her.

"Go through that door," he said, "and put this on. You'll be more 
comfortable." She followed the direction of his arm and found herself 
in a tremendous bedroom. Everything in this house seems to be 
oversized, she thought in admiration and awe as she stoically and 
without hesitation unzipped the back of her evening gown.

As she undressed she wondered if she shouldn't leave on her lingerie 
but decided against it. It'll only take longer if I have to wait for 
him to remove it, she thought. And, this is something I want to get 
over with as quickly as possible.

Completely nude, she stood before the great mirror that rose to the 
ceiling along one wall. She felt awfully good and even a little curious 
as she wondered guiltily how he would be in bed because in spite of his 
weight he seemed so smooth and suave at everything else. She slid 
sensuously into the embroidered white silk robe, watching her image in 
the glass before her. Her black, glistening hair looked wildly exciting 
against the pure whiteness of the silk and she knew she'd rarely been 
more attractive. Mr. Goldman was certainly going to get his money's 
worth and she vowed that this time she would do nothing to endanger the 
agreement she had with Deke.

Johnny, she thought, please forgive me. Darling, I'm only doing this 
for you. She tried to remind herself again that this was actually only 
a cold, hard business deal and nothing more before she stepped back 
into the living room.

But, even so, she again felt the steady creep of guilt as an unwanted 
wave of pleasure and anticipation rushed through her as she wondered 
what he was going to be like when she lay naked and defenseless before 
him.

The fat man stood up for her as she came into the room, and as he did 
she noticed he seemed to be a little unsteady. Well, it's about time 
after all that drinking he's done, she thought.

He came over to her, bringing her drink, and led her to an odd looking 
couch by the huge windows that overlooked the lake.

It was S-shaped, though horizontally, and looked like one of those big 
reclining chairs except that it was wide enough for about three people 
to sit on. He put her drink on one side and his on the other and then 
helped her onto it.

It was wonderful. Curved to fit her back and curved again to fit 
beneath her knees. "You'll like this chair, my dear, it does almost 
everything except fly."

As if to illustrate his words, he pushed a button on the panel beside 
him and she felt the chair begin to vibrate beneath her.

"Let me know when it's the way you like it," he said as he adjusted the 
power of the vibrations.

Once, it almost bounced her off and then he began turning it down 
again.

"There, that's perfect, Harry," she smiled softly at him, trying to be 
as seductive as possible in order to get it over with quickly.

It really is a delicious feeling, she thought, every part of her body 
seemed to be getting a massage at once. She lay back and luxuriated in 
the movement and the warmth, there seemed to be heat also coming from 
the surface of the chair.

They lay there for several moments ... barely touching. Laura, thinking 
of nothing except the tantalizing sensations racing through her body, 
and the fat man thinking of nothing except the young, naked flesh of 
the singer's wife next to him.

For a moment Laura was disturbed by the memory of the promise she had 
made to Johnny, that during the whole evening she would think of no one 
but him. She realized it had been hours since a thought of her husband 
had crossed her mind. She decided it wasn't really her fault, she'd had 
so much to drink and Harry Goldman was being so nice to her that she 
felt strangely comfortable and safe.

Now, as she sat there on the chair with him she felt totally relaxed. 
Soft moonlight filled the whole room and the cognac was smooth and 
warm. She felt the fat man move his hand to her thigh but she didn't 
mind it at all. Instead, because he was so huge it even felt a little 
comforting and protective.

Laura put her hand on top of his and moved with him as he slid it 
softly up and down her leg. The warmth of the chair and his touch 
soothed her-- more than that, it strangely and disturbingly excited 
her. The gentle caress of his hand and the feel of the silk gliding 
across her skin sent low waves of desire through her body.

She began to wish that he would hold her more firmly, or at least move 
the robe out of the way. Finally she reached down and parted the white 
silk, separating it so that her whole left leg was uncovered--then 
lowered his hand again so that he could move it again across the ivory 
softness of her skin.

Laura felt him shift his weight and move closer to her, sliding his 
hand in to the sensitive inner side of her thigh. Her skin seemed to 
prickle with mild jolts of erotic sensation at his touch and she felt 
cool chills race down her back.

He touched her so lightly, so tentatively that it almost seemed as if 
he were afraid of her. It's so strange, she thought, in the casino or 
around other people he's always openly pinching or feeling every girl 
he can get his hands on--and now when he's alone with me he seems 
almost shy. Then it occurred to her that at this rate it was going to 
take forever and that she'd better hurry things along or she'd never 
get home and back to Johnny.

The girl turned to her side facing the heavy man, knowing that as she 
did her robe would fall open even further. The grace that she had 
noticed in him earlier disappeared as he clumsily put his aim around 
her and plunged his other hand roughly between her thigh again.

Suddenly she realized the tremendous strength the man possessed. Under 
those layers of fat he was extremely powerful and she began to get a 
little frightened for the first time since she had been with him 
tonight.

"Harry, don't hold me so tightly ... you're hurting me," she pleaded 
softly, but he didn't seem to hear her and she felt as if her shoulders 
were being crushed beneath his grip.

"Harry, please ..."

"Shut up, you stupid bitch!"

"Harry! ... what's happened? What did I do?" She stared at him. His 
eyes seemed to glaze over and he grabbed her even tighter. She couldn't 
imagine what had happened to him so suddenly, unless it was the liquor 
finally taking hold.

"It's not what you did, it's what you're going to do. And that's 
exactly what I tell you to do." He pinched the soft flesh of her thighs 
brutally to emphasize his threat.

"You've had your fun this evening, and now it's time for mine." He got 
up heavily from the chair and then reached down and picked her up as if 
she weighed almost nothing.

He never said another word until he threw her unceremoniously onto the 
huge bed in the bedroom. She lay there trembling as he went around 
turning on all the lights until the room was lit up like a gymnasium. 
Then he came back to the bed.

"Take off that robe! I want to see that lovely body you've been 
throwing at me all evening."

She was too frightened to do anything but obey him and her hands shook 
as she undid the knot at her waist. Then, as she lay there completely 
naked and trembling, he just stood looking down at her, a weird look of 
undisguised carnal passion flickering across the thickness of his lips.

"Now, undress me!" He towered over her at the edge of the bed and 
waited for her to begin.

There was some great inexplainable rage in him and she was terrified by 
the strange light in his eyes. Too frightened to protest or resist, she 
untied the belt at his waist and reached up to pull the robe from his 
shoulders, then she began to take the studs from his dress shirt. She 
was trying to hurry but her hands kept slipping. Then he slapped her.

"Hurry!" he ordered, his tone cold and unyielding.

She finally slipped the shirt off, revealing his huge pendulous belly. 
He looked like some great Buddha, completely hairless and pale white. 
She fumbled at his trousers for several seconds before she was able to 
get the zipper down and finally slide them down his legs. He kicked 
them away from his feet and waited for her to continue.

She pulled down his shorts, repulsed by the grotesque figure that stood 
before her. If she hadn't been so frightened he would have seemed 
ludicrous standing there. He was wearing only his patent leather dress 
shoes and knee-high black stockings that were fastened with garter 
belts--and his penis looked so small, dwarfed by the huge overhanging 
belly.

"My shoes!" He yanked her off the bed to her feet, making her kneel 
before him to remove his shoes. She crouched there trying to unhook the 
garters, and as she did she could feel his penis which was slowly 
becoming erect brushing vulgarly against the top of her head.

When she'd finally undressed him completely she started to rise but he 
placed both his hands on her head and held her down on her knees. 
Raising her just slightly until her face was only inches from the 
swollen shaft of his obscenely protruding penis.

"Kiss it!" he ordered. And forced her to take him in her mouth. It was 
only his great size that made his organ seem small, and she almost 
choked as he forced it deep into her throat.

"Suck it" he said, and then chuckled. "And with a little feeling!"

He continued to drive himself into her mouth while her mind screamed in 
the agony of what was happening to her. She kept trying to pull back 
from his but each time he would move forward and it seemed as if she 
was going to choke.

Finally, she felt the muscles in his legs quiver and tighten and she 
knew he was about to cum. Immediately he began to force his prick 
faster and faster into her straining mouth--and his fingers buried in 
her hair were clenched tightly as he shouted to her.

"Faster! ... harder ... that's it ... I'm cuummming ... I'm cuuuummm 
..."

His words were lost to her as she felt the hot, rushing spurts of fluid 
jetting into her mouth. She had to swallow as quickly as she could to 
avoid choking ... he kept cumming and her head spun and she felt like 
she was drowning ...

Then the flooding liquid slowed, though his penis remained stiff and 
throbbing for several moments more. It had been to much for her and as 
he pulled himself out of her arching mouth the silver-grey fluid 
dribbled from her lips and trickled lewdly down her chin.

She fell to the floor, crying, at his feet, great wracking sobs filling 
the room.

She barely felt it as he picked her up and threw her back onto the bed. 
He rolled her on her stomach and left her there with her soft, flaccid 
breasts pressed hard down into the mattress.

She had lain there crying for several minutes, trying somehow to 
understand what had made him change so, had made him so violent--and 
trying to bury the disgust and revulsion she felt so that she wouldn't 
cry out and ruin it all. Then, as she lay there trembling, she felt him 
crawl onto the bed beside her.

Oh my God, No! she thought, I can't stand any more. She felt the bed 
sag as he moved closer to her and then his hands as he began to run 
them firmly up and down her back.

She lay there on her stomach trembling, closing her eyes as if she was 
trying to close out the present, trying to make herself believe that 
she was somewhere else.

The fat man slid further down on the bed and then raised himself to 
straddle her thighs. He sat above her and then bent forward to run his 
hands up her legs until he grasped the tensed mounds of her buttocks.

He began to roll them in his thick, pudgy fingers--kneading and molding 
them like ivory clay. He massaged her like this for almost ten minutes, 
never saying a word and hearing nothing but soft moans from her, and 
then gradually he felt the tightened muscles in her thighs and buttocks 
losing their tenseness and relaxing beneath his kneading fingers.

Laura lay there determined at first to resist any movement he made 
toward her and then slowly succumbing to the warm pleasure that his 
touch was giving her.

She didn't understand what he was doing to her, or why his massage 
concentrated only on her buttocks. It was such a strange sensation to 
have just one part of her body so gently caressed and touched--it was 
strange but extremely pleasant. It seemed to have been going on for 
hours and she could feel the warmth of his hands spreading through her. 
The pain and disgrace that she had felt moments ago seemed to be 
disappearing and she lay there completely relaxed as he continued to 
sun his hands and fingers across her soft fleshy buttocks--encircling 
each in his huge cupped palm and running his thumbs side by side down 
in between the shadowed crevice separating them. Occasionally his 
fingers would brush teasingly across the small, tight circle of her 
anus or, even further down, touch the soft moistening lips of her 
vagina--and when this happened small tremors of excitement would ripple 
up gently into her belly.

Harry Goldman sat above her, lifting his weight slightly with his knees 
so that he wouldn't hurt her, and watched her body quiver each time he 
touched her anus or cunt. He knew that soon he would have her in the 
state of passion that was necessary for him to make love to her the way 
he wanted.

He had always been grossly overweight. Even as a very small child he 
had suffered the taunts of the other children--had always known the 
torment that a only a very fat child experiences.

And it followed that he was almost twenty before he had even held a 
girl in his arms--and he'd had to pay for that one. With no women as a 
distraction, Harry Goldman had immersed himself in his one dedication--
making money--and now his immense wealth allowed him to buy almost any 
woman he wanted, but it still filled him with blinding anger when he 
realized that without his money no woman would even look at him.

It was this that made him act the way he did each time he found himself 
with another woman he had had to pay for each time he realized that the 
only way he would ever find love in his lifetime would be to buy it.

The girl's moans snapped him out of his moment of self-pity and he 
looked down again at the warm, voluptuous young body beneath him. He 
watched her buttocks arching and falling beneath his touch and felt the 
desire in his loins fanning into hot, licking flame again.

Laura was beginning to lose all control of her senses, his hands were 
driving her crazy. She lay beneath him and squirmed with the excitement 
of his almost magical touch, the fire burning deep down in her loins 
fanned to greater and greater heights of creeping pleasure with each 
passing second of the obscene teasing of his hands.

Oh God, she groaned down into the mattress, her face pressed tight into 
it to stifle back the lewd, gutteral grunts of rising desire seeping 
involuntarily from between her tightly clenched teeth. She had vowed to 
herself that tonight, tonight she would not let her body run away with 
her as it had done with others. Tonight her body would give all that 
was expected of her but nothing more, her mind and soul were Johnny's, 
all Johnny's and she just couldn't let those depraved, stroking hands 
conquer her, she just couldn't!

But ... the gloating man straddling her naked and vulnerable body from 
behind was persistent and he could feel the victory he so desperately 
desired just a moment away. Her buttocks ground lasciviously beneath 
his caresses and he could sense the sudden urgency of the tremors 
rippling sensuously across her flesh.

One more moment, he grinned, his thick, rubbery lips wet from the 
anticipation of her total surrender.

One more moment ...

"Ooooooooh God, what are you dooing to meeee," he gleefully heard her 
moan down into the softness of the mattress, her voice thick with a 
forced desire.

One more moment ...

"Ooooooooooh, God!" she moaned again, twisting her head to the side so 
that he could see the effect his relentless teasing of her heated loins 
was having upon her. Laura, her buttocks churning involuntarily beneath 
him fought with all her inner strength against the lewd, carnal urges 
now racing almost out of control through her tortured body ... but ... 
it was not enough ...

Oh please, please ... she thought ... don't let it happen ... Dear God, 
don't let it happen like this ...

And then it did!

It felt to the guilt stricken girl as though a great hot gush of living 
flame suddenly licked out and curled its way deep up into the steaming 
walls of her tortured vagina and to her sudden horror she found the 
words she had sworn not use tumbling haphazardly from her moaning lips 
...

"Ohooooohhh, do it to me," she hissed back at him, trying to turn her 
head so that she could watch his hands working maddeningly back there 
between her open thighs.

"Do what?" he grinned down triumphantly at her lust contorted face as 
she looked helplessly and glassy-eyed back at the rising hardness of 
his cock.

"Oh God, fuck me," she half whispered as though the words had to be 
torn from her throat. "Fuck me on my knees."

"Okay, baby, and remember you asked for it," he spat victoriously down 
at her squirming back, the sweat beginning to form in glistening white 
drops on his upper lip. "Put your ass in the air," he commanded.

Without hesitation, she arched her hips even higher, and then felt his 
hands reaching for her to pull her to her knees. She kept raising 
herself until she knelt before him on all fours--she felt the weakness 
and trembling in her legs and wished he would hurry, hurry and come 
inside her ...

He probed tentatively at her with his swollen penis, searching for the 
hot moistness of her vagina, felt her buttocks clasping at his jerking 
penis as he guided it with his hand down the smooth white crevice, past 
her anus, to the eager hair-lined opening that awaited him.

He felt his prick brush across the softness of her pubic hair and 
finally reach the pulsating lips of her vagina. His caresses had 
aroused her to the point where the flowing juices inside her had 
completely lubricated her with a hot, slippery wetness that made it 
easy for him to worm his throbbing penis into the smooth tight gripping 
flesh between her legs.

Laura almost screamed in pleasure as she felt him coming into her--he 
seemed so hot, so goddamned big and hot!

"OHhhhhhhhhhhllhaaaa ... yes! ... yes, put it into me, all of it ... 
fill me with it, Harry! Fill me with it!"

The fat man grinned, his thick lips curling wetly back over his teeth 
and began to fuck into her with long, powerful strokes--not hurrying, 
and leaning back and watching his penis moving in and out of her vagina 
... he watched the soft, pink flesh gripping him, clasping his prick 
and pulsating against him. He felt the muscles deep inside her flexing 
and constricting against his huge shaft as he fucked deeper and deeper 
up inside her.

Then he began to withdraw from her. He gleefully watched her pushing 
back on the bed, trying to recapture him--to retain the fullness of his 
prick.

"Nooooo, don't stop ... don't leave me ... please, put your prick back 
into me! Harry, I want you to fuck me ... Harry, please ..."

But he paid no attention to her muffled cries, withdrawing completely 
and began to rub his prick up and down against the soft pools of 
whitish liquid that had formed along the lips of her vagina. He did 
this over and over again until his penis was completely covered with a 
thin film of her hot, white passion.

"Ooooooh ... Harry, please! ... Please put it into me! ..." Don't tease 
me like this ... don't tease me ..."

Then he took his throbbing penis in his hand and guided it toward her 
tiny, round anus, moving carefully, until its head rested against the 
small, tight circle.

Suddenly, through the heat of desire, Laura realized what he was going 
to do and cried out in fright. "No, Harry ... No! ... please, it won't 
fit ... you'll hurt me! ... please don't"

But he grabbed the cheeks of her buttocks, pulling her hard against 
him, and began to inch his way into the rubbery tightness of her 
rectum. He paid no attention to her cries as he continued to force his 
way deeper and deeper, feeling the taut elasticity, the rubbery 
stricture loosening ever so slightly to accept the un-natural intrusion 
of his huge burrowing penis ...

I can't stand it! I can't stand it ... he's going to split me in half! 
Oh God, no, don't let him do this to me! Her mind screamed out in agony 
as he kept driving deeper into her. She thought she was going to faint 
from the pain, and then suddenly, before she realized it, he was all 
the way inside her, and he stopped. There was no movement and the pain 
slowly began to subside, leaving only a great burning fire inside her. 
She felt his hand move down, and his fingers slide down under her 
stomach and around into her pulsating vagina--she felt his fingers 
moving, moving against the thin membrane that separated them from the 
huge cock that was buried so deeply in her rectum.

And, she felt the fiery heat spreading through her tortured body as the 
lustful desires of her entire being took control and urged him to 
continue.

She began to move back and forth against him.

"Oh My God, Harry ... it's so big! Bury it in me ... Burn me with it 
...! ... Hurry ... hurry! Burn me with it!

They screamed at each other, the words driving them into a wild, lewd 
frenzy of uncontrolled lust and passion. A last blurted image of 
Johnny's face flickered through her glazed mind and then burst into a 
thousand pieces of fire and desire.

"Whore! ... You bitch, can you feel me deep in your ass ... answer me, 
goddamn you!"

"Oh, yes ... oh yes ... you're tearing me in half ... you're fucking me 
to death ... you're fucking me to death!"

She screamed words at him she'd never said aloud before. She shouted 
every obscenity she'd ever heard at the fat man who drove into her with 
such pounding ferocity.

"Faster ... faster! Ram it into me! I want to feel it all the way up 
into my throat. Split me with it ... split me with it!"

And he shouted back at her. All the pain the loneliness he'd known in 
his childhood came out in a flood of angry screams. He slammed his body 
against her ass mercilessly, pounding against her and trying to wipe 
out the ugliness he'd known all his life.

He heard her screaming that she was cumming, screaming for him to 
hurry, and he felt the impending explosion rising in his belly as her 
words drove him towards a wild, climatic frenzy ... AHhhhhhmggghhhhh 
... I'm cuuumnniinnngg ... Harry, I'm cuumminngg ... Oh my God! Hurry 
... HURRY, HurRRYYYY!"

Then it burst inside them simultaneously. Great blinding explosions 
ripping through quivering flesh, a boiling eruption of flaming lava 
blowing skywards from wildly exploding volcanoes of lust and desire.

Laura screamed again as she felt the hot, white sperm ricocheting deep 
up into her wide stretched rectum. It seemed to last forever, colors 
and flames erupting over and over again, driving her into senseless 
exhaustion. As she fell forward on the squeaking bed, her breasts 
pressed tight down into the swaying mattress

Then it ended. Ended in the quivering collapse of two drained and 
helpless bodies. And a huge shaking mass that fell onto the trembling 
softness beneath it. It was over. Over and done.



Chapter 5


"Driver," the exhausted looking girl said for the second time.

He couldn't hear her, and then she saw the sliding panel that separated 
the passenger compartment from the driver's seat of the Rolls Royce. 
Sliding it open, she spoke again.

"Driver, don't take me home. Take me to the Casino." And then fell back 
into the seat and squirmed slightly to ease the pain down between her 
buttocks. Her mind recoiled completely from any memory of what had 
happened to her. She could only lie there in the comforting darkness of 
the silent car and try to concentrate on the soft music from the stereo 
system.

She was going to the Casino to see Deke Vito, to get the contract for 
Johnny--and then she was going away. She'd tell Johnny what had 
happened, how horrible it had been, then she'd go home for the two 
weeks it would take until he began his engagement in San Francisco. She 
loved him so much and would hate to be away from him that long, but she 
couldn't face another day in the casino. Couldn't face the thought of 
ever seeing Deke Vito ... or even worse, the possibility of ever facing 
that horrible fat man again who had taken her in the most degrading way 
possible ... and made her grovel for it.

The sleek silver and grey Rolls Royce pulled up in front of the casino, 
and the chauffeur whose name she'd never even heard came around to help 
her out. She wondered if he even had a name, and she wished he hadn't 
stopped in so obvious a place, under all those lights. She felt that 
anyone who saw her would know exactly where she'd been and what she'd 
been doing.

She walked into the brightness of the casino, through the milling 
throngs of tourist gamblers, and looked for Johnny. Then she realized 
that it was late enough for him to have already finished his last set 
and decided that he'd probably already gone home.

She still looked for him but found him nowhere. And she wished with all 
her heart that he'd been waiting there for her, that it could be he 
that went to see Deke Vito instead of her having to do. Well, it 
doesn't matter, she thought, this is the last time I'll ever have to 
see that horribly greasy man again.

Laura Dutton pushed her way through the crowds at the tables, searching 
for Deke Vito. But he wasn't at his usual crap table and she couldn't 
find him in any of the restaurants. Finally, one of the cocktail 
waitress whispered that she thought he was upstairs in Mornay's suite. 
It seemed that the casino owner had brought in a select crowd and 
they'd all gone upstairs for some private gambling. Mr. Mornay was a 
legendary figure around the clubs, mostly because no one ever really 
saw him. Word would just come down that The Boss was upstairs and 
whatever he ordered would be sent up.

The employees of the Casino knew that whenever he used the closed suite 
upstairs it was for some very high-stake gambling with people that 
didn't want to be seen downstairs. And Laura knew that it was very 
likely that Vito would be up there running errands or whatever he did 
for Moray.

She went to one of the house phones and asked that a call be put 
through to the suite's special switchboard. After giving her name it 
seemed like several moments before she heard Vito's voice at the other 
end.

"Well, hello Laura Baby. Have a nice time? She felt a shudder of 
disgust pass through her at the sound of the knowing laughter in his 
voice.

"Come on up, kid. I'll have Black Jack let you in."

She rode up in the it elevator and wondered how it would be to face 
Black Jack and then Deke Vito. But, she shouldn't have worried about 
the huge Negro, because as he opened the door for her there was 
absolutely no sign of recognition. He just nodded slightly to her and 
taking her arm, led her through the crowd to the table where Deke Vito 
was buried in conversation with several men whose faces Laura 
recognized from the newspapers.

"Laura Baby, just have the black boy here make you a drink and I'll see 
you in a moment." At the words 'black boy' Laura felt the huge hand at 
her elbow tense momentarily and then relax. And, turning, she saw an 
intense shadow of hatred pass across the giant Negro's face. Then he 
led her back to the bar and poured her a drink.

She sipped her drink and looked around the room. The crowd wasn't very 
large but it probably represented more money than everyone downstairs 
combined. She recognized several movie stars, older men who had once 
been the idols of millions, and other men in the room seemed to have 
been cast from a common mold. All a little fleshy looking and obviously 
extremely prosperous. And interspersed amongst the men were half a 
dozen beautiful girls. The latter caught her attention for a moment 
until she realized that they too all looked alike. Each one was tall 
and lovely, and each one was a little too trashy and hard looking as 
though they had really been around.

Call girls, she thought correctly.

It probably wouldn't have surprised her very much if she had known that 
the stable of beautiful girls was run completely by Deke Vito. Each of 
the larger casinos found it advantageous to have a few girls on tap for 
their better customers. The customers never had to pay for their 
favors, the casinos picked up the tab. And, it was Deke Vito who 
handled the procurement for the customers of the clubs owned by Mr. 
Mornay.

Even after her evening with Harry Goldman Laura Dutton remained 
spectacularly attractive and as she wandered around watching the action 
at the tables, she attracted the attention of every man in the room. 
And, particularly the attention of a tall silver-haired man a the 
center roulette wheel. The man was Cassis Mornay, one of the most 
powerful man in Nevada gambling circles.

It was almost an hour before Deke Vito came over to her and handed her 
a large Manila envelope.

"Here you are, Laura Baby. A little something for you and Johnny. Now, 
get outta here."

She snatched the envelope from him and tried to think of the 
appropriate words to thank him, but he had already returned to his 
table.

Black Jack helped her on with her coat at the door, and as it closed 
she heard him say something to her in that rumbling bass voice.

In the elevator she tried to remember what it was. It seemed like: "I'm 
awfully sorry, Missy."

She got out of the elevator and hurried out of the casino. She walked a 
half block to an all-night diner and took a booth in the rear. Then, as 
she sipped her coffee, her fingers trembling as she opened the 
envelope. She just wanted to see the contract that had streaked such 
havoc in her life.

There seemed to be several papers in it and she shook it until they 
fell into her lap.

Her anguished cry startled the other people in the restaurant but none 
of them paid enough attention to the brunette in the back booth to see 
her tears as she thumbed through the unbelievably obscene photographs 
in her lap.

Laura's mind screamed in disbelief. It couldn't be! He couldn't have 
done this to her!....

Something seemed to snap inside her, and she just stared into the 
distance, the tears streaming down her cheeks. She no longer saw the 
two figures so carefully depicted in the photograph--one, so white and 
eager, and the other black. The other photographs were even more 
graphic, showing her widely distended mouth as a man's swollen penis 
plunged wetly into it.

Then she picked up the small slip of paper that had also fallen out of 
the brown envelop--and through the blurred haze of tears she read the 
typewritten words: 

TOMORROW AT 8:30 AND WE'LL TALK ABOUT THE NEGATIVES.

P.S. YOU PHOTOGRAPH VERY WELL. 

Without even knowing what she was doing, she ripped the note and the 
photographs into shreds. She wanted to tear them out of her memory and 
then she realized that until she held the negatives there would always 
be more copies of the horrible pictures to haunt her.

She gathered up the scattered pieces and stuffed them into the 
envelope, and then walked out into the darkness. There were no more 
tears in her and she didn't even remember moving through the dimly lit 
streets until she reached the door of her hotel

She stumbled blindly through the dark hallway and almost fell as her 
foot bumped against a body at the foot of the stairs.

"Ohbhbhhhh ..." The moan startled and frightened her and she fell back 
against the wall-- then her eyes slowly picked out the crumbled form on 
the floor.

At first she thought it was some drunk who had staggered in from the 
outside and passed out on the stairs. She tried to step around and then 
she beard the soft mewling cries of pain. As she bent to help him, he 
turned and the dim light exposed his face.

It was Johnny!

She screamed, and tried to pull him to his feet. He stood for a moment 
and fell to his knees. "Laura ... honey, is that you? Laura, I'm hurt 
..."

"Please, Darling, get up. Lean on me." She pulled him back to his feet 
and together they were able to make it to their apartment. The pounding 
of her heart drowned out his agonized moans as she helped him to the 
bed.

Then she turned on the light and ran to his side. "Johnny, what's 
happened to you? Darling, what happened. She searched his face 
frantically for injuries but there were none then she saw his clothing. 
His suit was filthy as if he'd been rolled in mud, and through the 
tears in his shirt she could see the great, raw bruises on his chest. 
She tore his clothes from him and almost fainted when she saw the 
terrible damage to his legs and chest--and around his neck on each side 
were two darkened swellings oozing blood.

"... They said I'd never sing again, Laura. My throat ... they said 
they're going to ruin my ..." his voice trailed off and she couldn't 
hear him.

"Darling, who? ... who said you'd never sing ... who did it!"

Vito's boys ... they grabbed me outside ... they kept kicking me, over 
and over ... they told me that nest time they'd go for my throat."

He kept moaning, and she could see that he was almost in a state of 
shock. "SHhhhhhh ... Darling, don't talk. I'll be right back."

She ran to the bathroom to get some hot towels to clean his cuts, and 
in a while he was able to tell her what had happened.

Three of Deke Vito's men had beaten him up, telling him they were 
delivering a message from the gambler. They'd told him Vito wanted his 
money, that Vito was going to take it out in trade with Laura. And 
that, if Johnny and Laura had any idea of running away or going to the 
police they'd come after Johnny one more time. Only the next time they 
were going to fix it so he'd never sing again.

Johnny kept rambling on, crying and holding onto her like a lost child 
and it was almost two hours before she could get him to sleep--and then 
only by holding him and rocking him back and forth in her arms.



Chapter 6


Laura watched her husband replace the microphone on the stand and bow 
to the audience. Many people in the large cabaret closed stood and 
applauded and Laura felt the tears filling her eyes. It's so rotten, 
she thought, he's the greatest singer in the world and he's being torn 
apart by that bastard Vito!

She began to wonder what would happen if she ran up onto the stage and 
told everyone in the audience what the gambler was doing to Johnny and 
her--if she made Johnny take off his shirt and show them the great, raw 
bruises that covered his chest and ribs. And then she remembered what 
she had read lately about human apathy, about crowds standing by in New 
York and watching a woman get raped and killed, the bystanders doing 
nothing because they 'didn't want to get involved.' Damn them, if she 
told them about Deke Vito the audience would probably just get up and 
leave mumbling something about it being someone else's problem.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Harry, the bartender, as he reminded 
her that it was almost eight-thirty.

"Mrs. Dutton, are you crying?" There was genuine concern in his voice 
as he stared at the pain-stricken expression on the young girls' face. 
"Is something wrong, is there anything I can do?"

"What? Oh, Harry, no, there's nothing ... I'll tell you about it 
someday. I promise I'll tell someone!" she said cryptically.

He looked wonderingly after her as she abruptly left the bar and walked 
toward the elevator. It's Deke Vito, he guessed correctly. I'll bet 
that son-of-a-bitch finally got to her.

As he walked back down to the customer at the other end of the bar he 
hoped he was wrong. Harry was one of the few people in the casino who 
was aware of Deke Vito's activities. The bartender had been working 
that same bar for so long that there was very little that went on in 
the club that didn't eventually reach his ears.

I'm sure it is, he thought again, Vito's probably holding Johnny's 
gambling over her head and making her work for him. I sure like that 
little girl, and if I find out that that bastard's putting the screws 
to her--maybe I'll return the favor. Yeah, maybe I'll tell Laura Dutton 
a few things that could be very embarrassing for Deke Vito.

The bartender went back to work, but as he did he made a resolution to 
himself to talk to the singer's wife and find out if his suspicions 
were correct.

A bartender is forced to turn a sympathetic ear to most of his 
customers, and many of the girls that had worked through the years for 
Deke Vito had stopped in at some time or another to cry on Harry's 
shoulder. Harry had listened to what the girls were forced to do, and 
he'd also found that Deke Vito bad a weakness. The bartender knew that 
the casino, Mr. Mornay in fact, paid for the girl's services whenever 
they were sent up to one of the big-time gamblers--but Harry also found 
out that Deke Vito had been cheating the casino. He'd told Mornay the 
girls charged one price and then made a substantial cut off the top 
before he gave the girls a smaller amount.

Harry knew that information relayed to Mr. Mornay could make things 
very unpleasant for Deke Vito and had saved it in case the gambler ever 
tried to make things rough for him. And, now he'd decided that if Veto 
was hurting Laura Dutton it might be the time to pass along a few facts 
to the casino owner.

He had no doubts about what Vito would do to him if he found out where 
the information had come from, but he'd watched what that greasy 
sonofabitch had done to too many young, innocent girts ... married or 
not.

* * *

Laura's mind was numb with anger and pain as she stepped out of the 
elevator on the top floor. She took a tissue out of her purse and wiped 
the tears from her eyes and touched up her make-up before she rang the 
doorbell at Mornay's suite.

I don't care so much anymore about those photographs, she thought, I 
just can't let him hurt Johnny. I'll do what I have to, but I'm going 
to find some way to get back at that bastard. I wonder what sort of 
treat that greasy pig has in store for me tonight. I'll get him. Oh 
God, I swear I'll get him!

It was Black Jack again who took her coat as she stepped into the huge 
living room. It's strange, she thought as she looked at the giant 
Negro. Even after what happened that first night, somehow I feel he's 
my friend. The only one I have up here.

She smiled at him, "Good evening, Black Jack."

"Good evening, Missy." That great rumbling voice was so low that no one 
else in the room could have heard it. Laura wondered it she was still 
the only one that had ever heard him speak

She was a little surprised by the scene before her. Laura had thought 
that she would be the only one up there tonight, but there were about 
ten other girls talking and drinking, some of them she recognized from 
the last time she walked into this room

"Black Jack, please make me a drink. A strong one!" She turned to the 
huge man. "What does the greasy bastard have planned for this evening?"

"Another party, Missy. Another bad party." He took her elbow and led 
her to the bar. Silently, he mixed her a drink and then as he handed it 
to her: "Take care of yourself, Missus Dutton."

"Hey, girls Look! Look at the new one."

Laura heard the woman's strident voice, and then saw everyone's eyes on 
her. She tried to return their stares calmly but felt the chills run 
down her back and felt the weakness beginning in her knees. Finally, 
she turned her back to them and tried to collect her thoughts as the 
sipped her drink.

How was the going to do it, she thought. Whatever "IT" was. Laura 
didn't know exactly what was expected from her. She hadn't seen any men 
yet, not even Vito, but she knew that pretty soon that would change. 
What do they do, I wonder, herd the lechers in like cattle for feeding?

She turned at the touch of her shoulder. A girl had tapped her, a 
beautiful blonde girl who looked about twenty-two.

"Hi. I'm Rita, what's your name?"

"Laura ... I mean ..."

"That's all right, Laura. We don't really care what your real name is. 
Nobody ever uses their real name."

"Laura sensed the warmth and friendliness in the girl's voice. It made 
her feel a little better, and she relaxed as the girl took her arm.

"Come on. Let's sit down."

She followed the girl over to the couch, feeling a small laugh inside 
as she wanted to ask what a nice girl like her was doing in a place 
like this.

"You're new, aren't you?" the girl asked her casually as she raised her 
glass in a toast.

"Yes, I've never been to a party like this before." There was a tremor 
in her voice as she spoke.

"Hey, you're scared, aren't you. How in the world did Vito ever get you 
to ... well, never mind, it's none of my business." The girl, Rita, 
nodded to Black Jack to bring them another drink. "Listen, don't worry, 
there's nothing to be afraid of."

"Rita, what do they do? What happens here later on?" Laura forced 
herself to ask almost fearful of what the answer was going to be.

The girl laughed. "Well, other than the obvious, nothing much. We just 
stand around for a while and watch the tricks gamble, and tell them how 
brilliant and handsome they are."

"Where do they come from, the men, I mean. Who are they?"

"Gamblers mostly. Or some special friend of Vito's or Mornay." She 
paused. "And actors too. Hey, guess who I was with last time? Rita 
actually seemed to be waiting for her to guess, then she added very 
proudly: "Hal Wilson!"

Laura was a little surprised at the mention of the legendary financier, 
then the girl continued:

"I was so surprised when he picked me. Imagine ... Hal Wilson! And you 
wouldn'ta believed it, he was so nice. Wow! and afterwards, that man 
sure knew how to play in the sack. I was beginning to feel like an 
acrobat."

Laura listened as the blonde girl went into great detail about her 
adventures with Wilson.

"... and we were in the big bedroom, the one with the round bed ... you 
probably haven't seen it yet ... and ..."

Laura almost stopped her to tell her she was wrong, that she had photos 
to prove it, but the girl was completely engrossed in her story.

"... and, then he wanted another girl, Lily--and she came in too." She 
went on to describe what had happened with the three of them, finally 
finishing as she pulled Laura over and whispered softly: "But he told 
me afterwards I was the best. Don't tell Lily, but he called her a 
whore!"

Laura laughed, and saw the puzzled look in the girl's eyes. She knew 
the girl wanted to ask her why she'd laughed but they were interrupted 
by the sound of the door opening.

"Come on, Black Jack, pour the girls some more champagne. We want to 
have a lively little party tonight, don't we girls?" Deke Vito's voice 
hushed the feminine chatter around the room and no one answered him.

At least, Laura thought, I'm not the only one that doesn't like him. 
While Vito walked around talking to each of the girls and patting or 
pinching them, it gave her a chance to take a closer look at the other 
women in the room.

It's strange, just like the other night. They all look alike; short or 
tall, blonde or brunette, they all look and sound the same. And I guess 
this must be the cream of the crop, she thought. All of them really are 
extraordinarily beautiful.

"Laura Baby. I'm so glad you could come."

That Bastard!

"Girls, I want you to meet Laura. I thought it was time to give you a 
little competition. Remember when you used to look like that? You bags 
are all getting tired and worn out."

Laura saw the others stare at her, even felt the girl stiffen at her 
side, and knew that Vito had just made a lot of enemies for her. It was 
true, she thought, that I do look a little better than they do--or at 
least, not as hard and brassy--but I wish he hadn't said anything.

As the giant Negro poured champagne in everyone's glasses the talk 
picked up again, and the nattily dressed gambler walked over to the 
couch.

"Yeah, Laura Baby, I'm glad you made it. Buzz off, kid," he waved a 
hand at the girl sitting beside her.

"I figured when you saw those pictures you might decide to join us." He 
stopped, and then continued: "and I'm sorry about Johnny, but don't 
worry. You two stay in line and he won't get hurt anymore."

She turned her head away from him. She knew that if she had to look at 
his fat oily face she wouldn't be able to control her anger.

Finally, he grabbed her chin brutally and spun her head around.

"You bitch! You listen to me when I'm talking, understand? He sneered 
contemptuously, "Maybe I'll be able to think of something special for 
you tonight to teach you your place!"

He checked his watch angrily and walked away from her. Laura watched 
him, wondering what he'd meant by his last remark, and held up her 
drink for Black Jack to refill it.

She was watching the door several minutes later, waiting for the 
'guests' to arrive, when it opened and a tall grey-haired man walked 
in. She heard one man deferentially call him Mr. Mornay and watched him 
survey the room. His eyes touched hers momentarily before he walked 
over to join Deke Vito.

They talked for a while, apparently going over the plans for the party, 
and then the gambler brought him over to the couch.

"Mr. Mornay," Vito said servilely, "this is Laura, the new one you 
asked me about."

"Hello, Laura, it's a pleasure to meet you." She was surprised at the 
warmth in his voice. Strangely enough, he seems to mean it, she 
thought.

"Thank you." But he had already walked off with Vito to talk to someone 
else. Then she saw him leave a few minutes later.

During the next hour the door seemed to open continuously, and soon the 
room was quite crowded. There was a lot of liquor and laughter and it 
seemed like any other cocktail party Laura had been to, except for the 
gambling in the other room and the sprinkling of famous florid faces 
she recognized from newspapers and magazines.

Actually, it was quite pleasant. No one had made any unusual advances 
toward her and the men that had spoken to her seemed very polite. But, 
she could feel a strange tenseness or excitement in the smoke-filled 
air and she knew it wouldn't be very long before the atmosphere 
changed. I wonder how they do it, she thought, do they just come up and 
grab you by the arm and drag you into a bedroom?

She wandered from one room to the other, catching Black Jack each time 
and having her drink refilled. She was fascinated by the gambling in 
Mornay's private casino. Laura had never seen such large sums of money 
cross the tables and finally stopped trying to count the size of the 
bets.

Nobody seemed to worry about money at all. The men just laughed as the 
dealers or croupiers raked in the large stacks of chips and then the 
men replaced them with another just as large or larger. She realized 
that most of the girls had more or less attached themselves to one of 
the gamblers, and she watched them as they giggled at the hands that 
were beneath their skirts or brushing across their breasts.

There were several men there that were either too old or too intent on 
their gambling to pay any attention to all the feminine pulchritude 
around them, but Laura knew that unless she kept moving from one room 
to another she wouldn't be able to avoid being latched onto herself.

The girls all seemed to be drinking champagne and the men bourbon or 
scotch, but she finally decided that the champagne was too slow in 
bringing her the alcoholic numbness she was searching for. She switched 
to straight brandy, and soon, she began to feel a little more at ease.

Even when one of the more obnoxious men pinched her painfully on the 
rear she was able to laugh it off coyly and escape from him as he 
turned momentarily back to his betting.

The party was already several hours old before she began to notice the 
change coming over the crowd. The betting began to get more reckless 
and the laughing and shouting increased to a deafening roar. She 
recognized the glazed drunkenness that was settling over the gamblers 
and the girls, and the two cocktail waiters were hard put trying to 
keep up with all the shouted calls for drinks.

The brandy was working very well and she, too, was getting a little 
unsteady on her feet and could feel a slight numbness in her tongue.

She flinched at a sudden touch at her elbow, and turned to look into 
the grinning face of Deke Vito.

"Laura Baby, don't look so sad." He spoke to her in a soft voice that 
was strangely gentle. "Laura, it'll be easier for you ... I mean, this 
being your first party like this ... if you'll have several drinks."

She started to point at the brandy in her hand when he took the glass 
and replaced it with another.

"Here, this is imported. It's a little stronger and it'll make you feel 
a little better."

She took the glass without arguing, wondering at the change that had 
come over him. He left her after patting her on the shoulder, and she 
tasted the drink. It had a slightly reminiscent flavor, but she 
couldn't remember where she'd tasted it before.

She stood there sipping at her drink, and after a few minutes she felt 
a great lassitude slipping over her. The liquor made her feel so warm 
and alive. Swaying slightly to the rhythm of the music, she watched the 
enlivened crowd at the tables. Though she stood only a few feet from 
them she felt as if she were a spectator, in another room or watching 
through a great window. The noise and laughter seemed to be filtering 
through a softening haze and the people moving gracefully in slow 
motion.

She watched one of the girls removing her clothes in a bumping parody 
of burlesque striptease, and she felt the heat of her own clothing and 
she found herself wishing strangely that she, too, could rid herself of 
her constricting cocktail dress.

The sight of so many men and women caressing and pawing at each other 
aroused strange sensations of excitement and desire, sensations that 
raced through her like a small, growing blaze.

She had seen the circulating waiters pouring drinks for everyone from a 
single cut glass decanter, and in a blurred way it occurred to her that 
the drink Deke Vito had given her had something to do with the way she 
felt.

Then Laura saw the giant Nubian, Black Jack, tossing huge, red velvet 
pillows on the floor in the middle of the room. She wondered what 
they'd be used for, and she heard the soft rustled whispering as the 
man arranged what seemed to be a circular velvet arena with them.

Then she heard Deke Vito trying to quiet everyone. The raucous laughter 
and shouting at the tables was stilled as everyone stopped gambling and 
tried to find a seat. The huge rounded bed sank under the weight of 
about five couples and others settled themselves in a circle around the 
large red pillows.

"Ladies and Gentlemen," the man standing in the center broke the 
silence, "I think it's time we turned our thoughts from money to the 
more important Joys of life."

He paused, grinning at the murmurs of assent. "Before we each go our 
individual ways," Deke Vito laughed aloud, "I thought I might be able 
to provide a little inspiration. Yeah, a little inspiration for the 
rest of us."

Laura glanced nervously around her and thought she saw a slight flicker 
of fear pass across the other girls faces and then she looked back at 
Vito.

He turned to the huge black man behind him. "Black Jack, why don't you 
go get ready while we have our little drawing."

The man left, and Vito turned back to the seated crowd. "Gentlemen, 
would one of you be kind enough to pull a name out of this bowl?" He 
held out a large silver bowl with several slips of paper in it to the 
man nearest him.

Taking the proffered slip of paper from the man's hand, he read the 
name aloud:

"Jacqueline!"

There was a puzzled murmur as everyone looked around, and then a small, 
lovely redhead was pushed forward until she stood before him.

"Ah, yes, Jacqueline ... gorgeous, isn't she? he added as he turned to 
the men. The girl laughed and kissed him on the cheek Laura could see 
that the small girl was a little puzzled, but too drunk to really care 
as she stood posing provocatively before the rapt audience.

"Jacqueline, you'll do just fine. 'Course, you're still a little too 
dressed." He smiled wickedly and continued, "Why don't you let the men 
here give you a hand in removing some of those things."

He nudged her toward the man just in front of her, and she stood 
smiling and obligingly as he unzipped her green dress

Then, the men moved forward anxiously and each one eagerly helped to 
remove her clothes. The room was filled with loud laughter and cheers 
as each garment was thrown into the air, and then quieted when the girl 
stood there completely nude.

The noise and excitement had sobered Laura slightly. I wonder what 
they're going to do to that poor girl, she thought, but noticed that 
the girl, Jacqueline, didn't seem to be worried at all as she stepped 
back laughing to stand beside Deke Vito.

The crowd edged forward and waited for Vito to speak again. The tension 
and lust hung in the air like a great cloud as they watched the gambler 
run his fingertips across the girl's firm, erect nipples.

"How about you, kid? You ready for a little fun? He chuckled as he 
posed the question to the girl at his side.

"Sure, Deke, you know me. I'm always ready. What do you want me to do?" 
But, the answer to her question was readily apparent as a door opened 
and Black Jack stepped into the room.

The giant black man wore only a white silk robe and looked like an 
enormous prize-fighter as he strode into the center of the velvet 
cushion circle.

A multi-voiced gasp filled the room as everyone realized what was about 
to take place. And then there was a wild, excited clamor as Deke Vito 
helped the Negro remove his robe.

Even Laura, who only vaguely remembered having been made love to by the 
giant Negro, was started by the man's phenomenal development. My God! I 
couldn't have taken any man that big, she thought, it's physically 
impossible.

The little redhead, seeming even smaller by comparison with the 
tremendous man, shrank away from him--and looked as if she wanted to 
run until Deke Vito grabbed her.

"Hold on, Jackie, baby, we won't let him hurt you," he grinned 
obscenely.

Black Jack picked the hesitant girl up and then, kneeling, he laid her 
down on her back on the pillows

Laura stared as the man began to caress the reclining girl gently, felt 
the heat of remembrance in her own body as she watched the huge ebony 
hands gliding across the girl's milky white skin. The lewdly exciting 
scene continued for several moments in absolute quietness. No one 
seemed to be willing to break the stillness, or to interrupt the 
sensuous scene before them.

Then, softly at first, the audience could hear the low, throaty moans 
coming from the girl. Her pleading groans changed the mood in the room, 
and everyone started talking excitedly and moving even closer in order 
to watch more carefully.

Laura's legs trembled as the girl on the floor began arching her back 
and crying out to the Negro to heap greater and greater indignities 
upon her. The drug that Deke Vito had passed around had effected 
everyone, though not as much as the trembling Laura--Deke had pound 
Laura's drink himself and had purposely given her considerably more 
than the others.

The giant black man rolled over onto his back and lay there passively 
as Jacqueline began to nibble at his shining skin with tiny, darting 
bites--and began to stroke his chest with her hands.

Laura felt the fire building up in her inflamed body as she watched 
Black Jack's penis begin to swell in a series of jerking pulsations--
growing to an unbelievable size. She shouldered her way forward until 
she stood just above the writhing couple. Everyone was too intent to 
notice the enraptured brunette, except Deke Vito and he watched her 
with obvious satisfaction. Licking his lips lewdly, he envisioned his 
plans for Laura Dutton.

Laura, with the others, watched in amazement as the Negro rolled over, 
pinning the girl beneath him and allowed himself to be guided by the 
girl's hands toward her already moistened vagina. She had kicked her 
legs open wide and had curled them back around his buttocks to give him 
greater access to her throbbing cunt.

It can't fit, she thought, the girl is so tiny compared to Black Jack! 
She leaned forward, her eyes seeing nothing except the great black head 
of the man's prick beginning to insinuate its way between the girl's 
soft, pink vaginal lips. The room was dead quiet as the man edged it 
further and further into the girl's cunt, slowly, and gently, pushing 
the hair-lined lips wider and wider apart.

They heard the girl's cries of intermingled pain and pleasure as the 
massive shaft sunk deeper and deeper between her straining thighs. 
Several of the women murmured with horrified concern that the Negro was 
too big, that he would hurt the girl, but the men quickly quieted them.

Finally, the black man held still above the bereaved girl until she was 
able to adjust to the presence of the huge, throbbing organ in her 
soft, white belly. He watched as her pain-contorted face began a slow, 
hesitant relaxation.

"Ahhhhhhhh ..." she breathed in welcome relief, tightening her ankles 
behind his back.

Then he moved again inside her, a sudden groan exploding from her lips 
as he expertly began a slow revolving grind with his pelvis. Her cries 
slowly lessened as her hot, wet passage adjusted to the intrusion of 
his immense prick

Unbelieving eyes stared amazed that the tiny girl had been able to 
accept the enormous Negro. Laura heard their shouts and then 
unconsciously joined them, as everyone excitedly urged the straining 
couple to a faster and faster tempo of intercourse.

The wild, uninhibited debauching of the girl on the floor continued for 
several explosive minutes and the lewd spectacle seemed to have driven 
everyone into a uncontrolled, lustful frenzy. Laura looked around and 
all of the people in the room, including the women, were frantically 
stripping off their clothes. Guiltily, she could feel the same 
lascivious desire building between her own legs and, in spite of her 
initial aversion, almost wished there was some man there at her side.

Then they all heard the moaning cries from the girl on the floor and 
turned to watch her arching her back frantically, screaming out to the 
huge Negro that she was cumming. Everyone was mesmerized by the 
writhing couple's final race for orgasm on the pillows, and the room 
quieted again except for the man's heavy bellowed breathing, the girl's 
frenzied cries of completion, and the rhythmic sound of flesh smacking 
wetly against flesh.

When it finally ended, and Black Jack had gone somewhere to get 
dressed, the girl still lay there, legs spread wide apart and moaning 
softly down into the velvet cushions. She was wet between her open 
thighs and tell-tale trails of white, hot sperm lay across her thighs 
where the huge Negro had withdrawn after shooting his full, heavy load 
deep down inside her.

Everyone had been aroused to a state of unbelievable desire and Laura 
watched as couples grappled all around the room in wild, sensuous 
embraces. Then everything was stopped suddenly by the sound of Deke 
Vito's voice:

"Boys," he said, motioning to the two waiters, "fill up all those 
drinks. Now, we're really going to have a show." He laughed and turned 
back to the rest of the people in the room.

"Gentlemen, are you all prepared to make a small wager?" He grinned at 
their quick assent, and continued, "I have a special prize here tonight 
and I think we should gamble for it."

Laura didn't understand what Vito was talking about until he came over 
and took her by the arm.

"Laura Baby, stand out here where the men can see you." He turned again 
to the staring men. "What do you think?" he said, pointing to her. 
"Don't you think this is worth a small gamble?"

The room was filled with gleeful cheers as the men stared at the 
extraordinarily beautiful girl at Vito's side. Some of the men stood 
and cheered, while others left the sides of the girls they were with 
and moved closer.

"Yes, Deke ... beautiful! ... How are we going to do it?" one of them, 
with a lecherous face breathed excitedly.

The men's shouts and the obvious lust in their eyes terrified Laura and 
she tried frantically to pull away from the gambler but he held her too 
tightly.

Then, he called one of the waiters over, telling him to bring him the 
decanter of special liquor. One of the men sitting in front of Laura 
tossed Vito a glass.

She struggled again in his grasp, and finally slapped him with all her 
might.

No one said a word as the gambler regained his balance. Then it sounded 
like a pistol firing as he slapped her brutally twice across the face. 
She almost fell but he supported her with one hand as he grabbed the 
low neckline of her cocktail dress and with one violent motion ripped 
it completely down the front.

The room was silent except for her faint cries of indignation as he 
stripped her bra and panties from her trebling body, and left her 
standing wearing nothing except her panty girdle and stockings. The men 
and women in the room stared in amazement at the girl's spectacular 
beauty, some of them feeling sorry for her but most of them laughing 
gleefully as Deke Vito made her drink several small glasses of the 
thick amber liquid.

Laura kept choking, trying to push his hand away, but he forced her 
again and again to drink the strangely sweet liquor. Then, with a 
contemptuous snarl, he pushed her to her knees on the cushions and she 
fell back as he turned and spoke to the others.

She could hear his words in the distance but couldn't really focus her 
thoughts. Her head still spun from the force of his blows and all of 
the drug he had given her had rendered her almost unconscious.

The men in the audience also barely heard Deke Vito, but for another 
reason. The distraction caused by the girl lying naked and defenseless 
on the floor before them, her startling loveliness, made it virtually 
impossible for them to concentrate on his words. She lay there 
unresisting with her legs slightly parted and her full, voluptuous 
breasts heaving as though in an erotic trance. The reddened lips of her 
vagina were tantalizingly visible beneath the soft silken mound of 
pubic hair, and the slightly darker stockings on her trembling legs 
somehow made it more exciting than if she had been completely naked.

Laura could hear him outlining the rules for the gambling and her mind 
screamed at the thought that she would be turned over to the winner 
whoever he might be.

She lay there in blinding terror with her eyes tightly shut, and tried 
to block out any realization of what was happening to her. But it was 
impossible as she listened to the shouts and laughter coming from the 
blackjack tables. The young girl struggled on the cushions and tried to 
get up but Vito returned and looked contemptuously down at her.

"Laura Baby, don't make me mad. I just might decide to have someone pay 
a call on that stupid husband of yours and shut him up for good." He 
leaned down and pinched her brutally on the thigh. "Why don't you just 
lay back and enjoy it?"

The tears streamed down her face as she watched the gambler leave her 
again. My God! Why? Why does he do this to me. I can't stand it ... I 
can't stand it! Her mind whirled in a vortex of tumbling tortured 
thoughts--she wanted to scream, and then she felt the heat bet to rise 
again in her straining body ...

The vast amount of the strange liquor that Deke Vito had imported from 
Istanbul was beginning to spread a wild, abandoned fire through her. In 
the beginning, along with the warmth that she felt, she could feel the 
agony and guilt slowly becoming dulled until she seemed to be floating 
without any thoughts at all. But now the calm emptiness was replaced 
with quivering desire that made her itch over every inch of her body. 
Her skin seemed to be crawling with tiny, dancing butterflies and each 
time she scratched herself to eleviate the torture it became worse.

She moaned and writhed on the floor trying to stop the punishing 
sensations that were driving her wild.

Laura didn't know hour long she lay there amid the loud laughter and 
cheers from the gambling tables, she only knew there was a great fire 
building wildly in her loins and she wanted someone there to touch her, 
to wipe away the burning heat.

She clung to the pillows, burying her fingers deep in the soft velvet 
and moaned softly in the near darkness.

Then the talking and laughter became louder and as she started to raise 
her head to look around, someone grabbed her ankles and turned her over 
onto her back. She opened her eyes to several hovering figures, 
unrecognizable except for the lighted our lines of the lamps behind 
them.

There seemed to be people all around her, and a myriad of hands seemed 
to be running across her body.

"Ohhhhhhh ... yes! Touch me! ... somebody, please hold me ..."

Her cries were drowned by the hum of loud voices and the winner was 
aided out of his clothes as he prepared to join the arching girl on the 
floor.

"Hey, Joe, you got it made ... she's cryin' for it."

"Come on, boy ... hurry up, I'm next!"

Then she heard a voice by her ear, "No, leave the stockings on, leave 
'em on."

Laura felt the weight of a man's body crushing against her side, and 
then the violent electric shocks bolting through her flesh as her naked 
skin touched someone else's.

"Oh, please ... someone help me ... I'm so hot! Scratch me! God! It's 
so hot!"

She cried out again and again. And hands seemed to be everywhere, 
stroking and caressing her and making her tremble in maddened lust. She 
felt fingers running slowly up the sensitive inner-sides of her thighs, 
and she felt the hot moistness between her legs as her tortured vagina 
began to flower open and lubricate with the boiling liquids of desire.

"OhhhOhhhyes! ... yes ... yes ... please put it in me. Give it to me 
... Now! ... Now! ..."

The man at her side began to frantically scramble up on top of her, 
hurrying madly with the desire caused by her pleading words. She felt 
him probing between her thighs, his hands groping for the hot wetness 
of her open vagina.

Almost blind with lust, she reached for him and grabbed his hand, 
guiding him. She felt the swollen thickness of his cock as it throbbed 
and jerked in her trembling fingers.

Then she felt the shocks move down between her legs as the smooth, 
rubbery head of it brushed into

158 the soft mound of her pubic hair ... teasing her as it touched the 
wet, pink lips of her eager pussy ...

"God, yes! Put it in ... I want you buried in me ... PLEASE FUCK ME! 
... NOW! ... NOW!

She strained for him, arching her hips and throwing her legs out in the 
air to make it easier for him to penetrate her, her hands slipping from 
his back to the soft red of the pillows beneath her.

Then he began to force himself into her ... grinding against her with 
his hips. Pushing and probing further into her waiting body until he 
was buried to the hilt, his hard, thick shaft wrapped tightly in the 
wet, warmness between her legs.

She began to gyrate frantically beneath him and he tried to hold her 
back, but it was no use. Faster and faster her hips ground below him 
bringing him to a climax almost immediately.

She felt him beginning to tremble, she knew he was cumming and she 
wasn't ready. She wasn't ready!

"No! ... No! not yet. Please, not yet!" she screamed in a wild animal-
like anger.

But, there was no stopping him--and suddenly, like jets of fire, she 
felt the great spurting jets pulsing deep into her belly. She kept 
trying to hold him back, to make him wait for her ... she could feel 
the beginnings of her own climax deep inside her and she knew it would 
be only moments ... moments ... please ... please ...

And then he collapsed on top of her and with the dying trembling of his 
body her climax died almost immediately--or rather than dying, just 
stopped. She could feel it waiting back there like a great body of 
turbulent water that needed just one more level to make it come 
bursting through the dam of her senses. "You bastard ... why didn't you 
wait? Why didn't you wait, I was so close! So close!" she screamed up 
at him her face contorted in hate and disgust at his weakness.

The man rolled away from her amid the laughing and jeers of the crowd 
and another man pulled him up and knelt by the side of the crying girl. 
He had already taken off his clothes, and now as he began to run his 
hands across her quivering hips he knew that she was ready for him and 
there was no need for further play.

Laura felt the new body at her side and reached for him, grasping 
desperately for the swelling hardness of his cock. When her hands 
encircled him and she felt his readiness she turned half towards him, 
trying to bring him tighter against her, throwing her legs wide for him 
to enter her.

"Yes, again ... put it in me ... I was so close ... so close! Oh God, 
fuck me like a man!"

The man slithered down, grabbing her ankles, and raised her legs high, 
bending her double until her knees were just above her face. Then, as 
she lay completely exposed before him, in one violent thrust he plunged 
his throbbing cock completely into the wet, burning pussy throbbing 
hungrily between her widespread thighs.

"ARGhbhhhhhh ... Oh God! ... Yes ... hard ... Hard! ... It's so hot, 
you're burning me ... fuck faster ... FASTER!"

He plunged again and again into her, rotating his hips in rapid, 
vicious circles as he rammed in and out of her clasping cunt. He felt 
the tickling beginning back somewhere inside him just as she cried out 
that she was coming.

"Now! ... NOW! ... cuming ... I'm cuuummmminng! ..."

She began to buckle violently beneath him, arching and rearing like an 
untamed bitch in heat, her wild movements driving him to back-breaking 
speed. Then it came to him, the blinding explosions that shook his body 
as he strained against her, grinding his pelvis down into her churning 
crotch with ever increasing brutal and merciless force. His arms were 
completely stiff and quivering and then his whole body began to tremble 
and shake in great ecstatic spasms as she undulated her upturned 
buttocks salaciously beneath him.

Laura, writhing beneath him, again had one last whirling vision of 
Johnny, her husband, flickering guiltily through her mind.

"Oh Johnny ... darling ... forgive me ... Oh, Oh, Oh, Oh, forgive me, 
my dearest," she mumbled helplessly through passion clenched teeth and 
then the vision exploded into a thousand tiny fragments of bright 
flaring red as she felt the plunging cock sunk deep in her belly 
gushing forth wetly into the contracted channel of her cunt. The hot, 
spurting sperm set off another wild, uncontrolled series of explosions 
far down in her own belly.

"Oh, Oh, Oh, God ... God, I'm cummming ... Ooooooooh, I ... I'm 
cummmmming ... Asaaaaaaaaaggghhhhh!" And with one last burst of 
remaining strength she kicked her quivering legs far out in the air on 
either side of the plunging buttocks of the man fucking her and then 
collapsed, totally satiated, beneath him.

The room quieted except for their heavy gasps for breath and everyone 
stood motionless and awe-struck as they watched their obscenely 
entwined limbs slowly relaxing and falling almost lifelessly to the 
cushions below.

It was over.

Laura lay there after the man had exhaustedly pulled himself from 
between her legs and tried to regain her senses but the drug and the 
violence of the lovemaking had destroyed all conscious thought. She 
tried to rise, to open her eyes, but she had no strength. She just 
wanted to lie there forever, to revel in the delicious calmness that 
had settled over her.

And then, through the dim mist of half consciousness, she felt another 
man reaching for her!

She was pulled bodily over on top of him and felt the hard shaft of his 
ready penis pressing against her belly. He grabbed her shoulders and 
pulled her up until the thick pulsing tip of his prick nestled right at 
the opening of her sperm-bathed vagina-- and then he plunged it up into 
her--gripping her hips and pulling her down until he was buried in her 
completely.

Then, he held her hips and slowly pushed her up and down, rising to 
meet her each lime. It began to hurt her. The excitement of the other 
two men had almost drained her and the man below her began to scrape 
against her as he jammed her down onto him

"Arghhhh ... Ahhhh ... No . . I can't stand anymore ... please! I can't 
stand it!"

But he wouldn't stop. He kept pounding into her, raising himself with 
cruel driving thrusts ... again and again he bored into her and she 
thought she was going to faint from the pain ...

Then, slowly, as though it had never existed, the pain began to subside 
again and was replaced with a fiery lustful desire and the began to 
move with him. She rose and fell to the rhythm of his thrusting hips 
and felt the white-hot heat of his swollen penis deep inside her.

There was noise all around her and she could feel what seemed to be 
hundreds of hands running across her back and they drove her to an even 
wilder frenzy. When as she was pushed forward until her breasts were 
squashed tight into the man's chest, she felt someone's fingers parting 
her buttocks and probing at the sensitive raised circle of her anus. 
The touch, at first, aroused unleashed passion in her straining body, 
but then the insistent probing began to hurt slightly.

She struggled against it, afraid to move away because she might lose 
the wonderful felling of the man inside her, but hurt by the thrusting 
finger as it wormed its way deeper and deeper into the soft rubbery 
depths of her rectum.

"Ahhhhh ... no NO! ... please," she whimpered out behind her, "please 
don't, you're hurting me!"

But the hand wouldn't stop and she felt thumbs on her buttocks 
spreading them. Then another finger joined the first inside her ...

The hands kept spreading her, easing the cheeks of her soft, resilient 
buttocks further and further apart until it seemed she would split open 
back there.

And then, as suddenly as they had entered, the fingers were removed and 
she felt the soothing wash of cool air across her buttocks. But, only 
for a moment, and then a larger, smooth rubbery object pressed against 
her ... a man's penis!

She squirmed violently, trying to get away from the intruding pressure 
without losing the filling warmth of the man beneath her. But the man, 
whoever he was behind her, kept pushing against her until she felt the 
tight elastic ring of her ass pop slightly and encircle the head of his 
throbbing penis ... and then felt it begin worm its way relentlessly 
inside.

As the man at her back ventured further she could feel the thickness of 
his prick begin to rub against the man's beneath her--separated only 
slightly by the thin, fleshy membrane between her vagina and rectum.

"Ahhhhhhh ... oh, yes! ... yes ... I can feel both of you ... I can 
feel both of you inside me! ..."

She cried out to them, urging them to move faster. The thought of 
having two men making love to her at the same time was driving her 
towards a volcano of fiery lust ... and she wanted to scream, to cry 
out to the heavens the wild masochistic pleasure they were bringing 
her.

It seemed to go on and on forever, the hands gripping her as the was 
completely impaled from below and above. Everything seemed to be 
spinning, revolving in a great whirlpool of burning sensations and she 
thought she was going to pass out from exhaustion.

Then her tiredness began to disappear as once again she felt herself 
nearing an explosive climax.

"Ahhhhh ... ahh ... please, together, cum together ... cum together! I 
can feel it cuming ... hurry ... HURRY! ... Oooooooh, God! God!"

The room was filled with the sounds of her desperate screams and the 
other men and women were caught up in the madness of her shouting lust. 
Everyone had stripped completely and couples were making love in every 
corner of the room in the wildest possible ways.

To Laura, it never seemed to stop ... she came ... the men left her ... 
and others took their place ... and she came again ... and others took 
their place ... on and on ... on, and on ...



Chapter 7


She felt someone shaking her. She didn't know if she was dreaming or 
not and tried to push the insistent hand away. Her head throbbed with a 
pounding headache and her eyelids felt as if they had been coated on 
the inside with sand.

Then, with her eyes still closed, she tried to remember where she was. 
What had happened to her. She stirred beneath the covers, and the 
movement made her hurt all over ... there was a searing pain between 
her thighs, and she felt as if she was covered with bruises. What had 
happened to her? Why did she hurt so badly?

And then the memories slowly sifted through her thoughts, cutting her 
like razor-edged knives. As the young girl began to regain her 
consciousness, the events of the night before slowly began to fall into 
place.

"No ... no ... not again ... not again! ..." Her scream shattered the 
soft sunlight and stillness in the room and caused the man at her side 
to jerk his arm and knock off the glass at the side of the bed.

The clatter of the glass and sound of her own scream opened her eyes, 
and Laura saw the man's face only inches from her own.

"No ... No! ... get away ... please ... Noooooooo! ..."

"Shhhhhh ... Laura, don't be frightened. I won't hurt you." The mans 
voice was soft and gentle, and somehow the girl could sense the 
sincerity.

"Laura, this is Cassis Mornay. I won't hurt you." He took her by the 
shoulders and held her tenderly, her wracking sobs muffled against his 
arm.

"Oh, it was so horrible ... they raped me ... Over and over ..." her 
voice trailed away against him. It was several moments before he felt 
the girl's shuddering begin to die out.

"Harry, bring Laura some of that coffee. And some brandy."

The other man, the kindly bartender from the bar below, finished 
pulling the cords of the draperies and walked into the kitchen.

Almost an hour later, the three of them sat in the sunlit room. Laura 
lay propped up against a pillow in bed, and the two men sat at the 
coffee table by the divan in the bedroom

Laura had regained her composure and now she listened to the tall 
distinguished-looking man on the couch

"Laura, you don't have to talk if you don't want to. Harry has 
explained a lot of things to me, and I can probably guess the rest."

He got up and came over and took her by the hand. "I'm sorry that I 
didn't know last night. I swear I thought you had come up here because 
you wanted to." He paused. "I thought you were just another of the 
girls we sometimes use."

He refilled her coffee cup, and laced it lightly with a little more 
cognac. She accepted it gratefully and looked back at him, trying to 
comprehend what was happening.

A few moments after he'd awakened her she'd realized that she was still 
upstairs in his suite, but the rooms were empty of all the people who 
had been at the party. Then she'd seen the sunlight pouring through the 
open window and had known the party had ended hours earlier.

She sat there in bed, looking around at the ruinous aftermath of the 
orgy and then back into the kind face of the man at her side.

"Mr. Mornay, I didn't want to do anything ... it was Deke Vito who made 
me do it." The grey-haired man felt the shudder pass through her as she 
mentioned the gambler's name.

"I didn't want to ... he forced me ... and then ... Johnny? ... where's 
Johnny? ..."

"Shhhhh ... Laura, don't worry about anything. I've taken care of it 
all. Both Johnny and Deke Vito. Here, drink your coffee and get 
dressed. I left a bathrobe in that bathroom for you." He handed her the 
cup and got up.

"Mrs. Dutton, don't you worry about a thing," Harry said from the other 
side of the room.

"Thank you ... thank ... Harry." But her voice was interrupted again by 
her tears.

"Go ahead, get it all out of your system. We'll be in the living room," 
said Mr. Mornay.

They left her, shutting the door quietly behind them. And she lay there 
for a few moments until the last tear had fallen. Then she rose and 
went into the bedroom.

Minutes later, under the stinging spray of the shower, she rubbed away 
the shame and the degradation and she felt as well as she could under 
the circumstances.

She wondered what Mr. Mornay had meant about Johnny and Deke Vito. 
She'd only seen Mr. Mornay once before, but when he'd come over to 
speak to her before the party began she had sensed the air of gentility 
about him, and she had been attracted by his tall handsome appearance.

It's so wonderful of him to do ... to worry about me, the thought. I 
wonder how he found out what was happening. It must have been Harry ...

She came into the living room, wrapped warmly in the robe he'd given 
her, and both men stood as she entered.

"Here, Laura, I've ordered Eggs Benedict for all of us and it should be 
up in a minute." He motioned for her to sit across from him and turned 
to accept a cigarette from Harry.

"Laura, I'd better tell you exactly what's happened. Most of it's due 
to Harry here. You can thank him, because I wouldn't have known 
otherwise."

"Well, Mr. Mornay, I just thought it was time someone told you what was 
happening in your clubs ... and when that greasy bastard made his play 
for Mrs. Dutton, I couldn't stand it any longer."

"Harry, I don't how you knew ... and I wish there was some way I could 
thank you. Please call me Laura, won't you?"

"Yes, Mrs. Dutton ... I mean ..."

"Laura, I'll start from the beginning ..." But the tall man was 
interrupted by the sound of the chimes at the door.

"Just a second, Laura, that must be our breakfast. He rose and pushed a 
button by the bar and the front door opened.

They spoke very little as the waiter served the breakfast, and it 
wasn't until later, with the coffee, that he continued;

"It's something that most people don't know about, and shouldn't, but 
most of us who run casinos as large as this have to deal with some 
pretty unsavory characters. The only difference is that these 
characters have a considerable amount of money. I've always thought 
before that if I didn't follow the practices of the other casino owners 
that I'd lose too much money. What the hell, I figured if I didn't 
provide these guys with what they wanted they'd just go to another 
club.

Just one of the things they demanded were women. Beautiful girls that 
the house paid for and private little parties where they could have 
their fun to take away the sting of their losses."

He paused to refill the coffee and pour a little more brandy. "I've 
never had anything against prostitutes. There's certainly enough demand 
for them, I just didn't know where to find them. This is all long 
before you time, Laura, but bear with me because it'll explain a lot of 
what happened."

She nodded, intent on his words, and waited for him to continue. He had 
such a beautiful voice and as he spoke she realized that he wasn't as 
old as she had thought. At a first glance, he appeared older, but now 
she realized that it was his silver-grey hair. He spoke again, and she 
lifted her eyes from her coffee cup to watch him.

"As I said, I didn't know where to find the right girls, and then a 
friend of mine down in Las Vegas recommended Vito. I brought him up 
here and he seemed to be working out alright. He wasn't exactly my type 
of person, but I had to admit that he was able to supply what I 
needed." He laughed. "What the hell, I didn't really expect to get a 
Stanford Man to supply me with a bunch of whores.

"At any rate, because it was a business that I didn't particularly want 
to get mixed up in, or even know much about for that matter, I gave him 
full rein."

She watched him turn and pat Harry on the shoulder. It's strange, she 
thought, Harry's so much older but Mr. Mornay treats him like a son.

"If it hadn't have been for Harry, it might have gone on that way 
forever. I'm here so rarely, as you know--though that'll be changed--
and I never suspected that Vito was doing more or less than I told him. 
It seems that he'd taken this whole disagreeable business of 
prostitution and made a sucker out of me.

"When I'd get back from a trip I'd ask for the cost figures on the 
parties, etc. and pay it without question."

He turned to Harry.

"As a matter of fact, Harry, I ought to be mad that you didn't tell me 
earlier, it sure had cost me a bundle." Then he laughed.

"I'm only kidding. I did some checking with the other club owners this 
morning and I found out the risk you took by telling me even now."

"Mr. Mornay ... I ..."

"Harry, why don't you and Laura start right now by calling me Cass? I 
know it's a silly name, but it's better than Cassis." He laughed again, 
and Laura thought how much different his laugh was than the others 
she'd heard in the past few days. Vito's, Goldman's ...

"Mr... uh, Cass, I wasn't really afraid of Deke Vito, I just didn't 
know how you'd take it. I mean I thought that maybe you already ..."

His voice dropped in confusion.

"You mean you thought that I already knew," he chuckled, "that I was 
part of the whole deal."

He turned to Laura, "Harry's done us all a tremendous favor, and I 
think he'll find that I'm able to show my appreciation. Well, let me 
continue, I'll try to make the whole thing a little shorter. It seems 
that over and above what I was paying him, Deke was raking money off 
the top of the figures he'd given me and giving the girls less. And, 
now that I've looked into it, I've found that was just one of the 
rackets he was running. Another was blackmailing girls like yourself, 
and even bigger, the squeeze he was putting on the entertainers he's 
booked here."

He paused to light another cigarette, and as he did Laura wanted to ask 
him about Johnny. The mention of entertainers had jolted her back into 
the memory of her husband. Poor Johnny, he's probably worried to death. 
Wait until he finds out all the wonderful news!

"Laura, the gist of all this is that no one in one of my clubs, or any 
of the other owners for that matter, will ever have to worry about Deke 
Vito or any of his henchmen again. I've seen to that!"

He seemed to be thinking intently for a moment before he continued, 
"I'm afraid I had to use a few gangster tactics myself. I didn't want 
to, but it was nothing I could turn over to the police, and violence 
seemed to be the only thing Deke Vito knew."

Cassis Mornay put his hand on her shoulder. "Laura, you've found the 
friend you have in Harry, but there's someone else who thinks you're 
awfully special." He shook his head. "This morning after talking to 
Harry I called Black Jack."

Both Harry's and Laura's heads lifted in surprise at the giant Negro's 
name.

"I asked him about what I'd been told and he confirmed it. Then he 
asked me what I planned to do with Vito and when I said I hadn't 
decided, he mentioned your name."

She looked at him, puzzled, wondering how much Black Jack would have 
told him.

"He asked me if I knew what Deke Vito had done to you and when I told 
him I wasn't sure I knew everything--for a moment he really did look 
like a great wild animal--then he told me Vito had been terrible to you 
and would I mind if he personally escorted him out of town."

He stopped for a moment. Then he got up and walked over to the bar.

He mixed them all a drink, and came back. "Deke Vito won't be doing any 
fancy gambling or playing with women again after Black Jack finished 
with him not with those hands and that face." He paused, raising his 
glass. "Well, enough of that. I think we should drink a toast, a two-
fold toast! First, because we're rid of Deke Vito and all the troubles 
he caused, and secondly ..." He tapped Harry on the shoulder ... "to 
our new casino manager!"

Harry sputtered in his drink, and Laura clapped her hands in delight,

"Oh, Harry! That's wonderful!" she cried, and kissed him on the cheek.

"Mr. Mornay ... you didn't have to ... I mean, well, hell ..." His 
voice was lost in the rim of his glass, and they could both see the 
dampness in the corners of his eyes.

"Harry, goddamn it! My executives call me Cass, is that understood?" 
Mornay said menacingly, with a twinkle in his eyes.

"Yessir, Mr... ."

"Harry, I want you to go home and relax. I've got some big plans I want 
to go over with you tomorrow." He laughed, and shook the shorter man's 
hand as they both rose.

Moments later, he came to Laura's side.

"Cass, that's wonderful, no one could have deserved it more than 
Harry." Then she sobered momentarily, "Cass, where's the phone? I have 
to call Johnny. He'll be so delighted with the news, and he must be 
terribly worried about me."

She saw a strange look cross his face, and then he gently pushed her 
back against the couch.

"Laura, I have to talk to you about Johnny ..." He stopped when he saw 
the fear in her eyes. "No, don't worry, he's alright."

The sudden tenseness went out of her shoulders. "What is it, Cass. What 
do you mean about ... Johnny?"

"Laura, Black Jack told me a few things about Jonnny and Vito, about 
the contract and some other things. It wasn't very pleasant, but I 
realized Black Jack would have no reason to lie." He paused, but 
continued before the young girl was able to pose the question he saw in 
her eyes.

"Laura, I had to test Johnny. I talked to him this morning. Naturally, 
he denied having anything to do with offering you to ... well, anyway, 
I asked him if he still wanted that contract in San Francisco. I told 
him he had a choice."

"Cass, what do you mean? Offering me to ... to Deke?" She saw the brief 
nod of agreement in the man's gray eyes. "Cass," she said, as soon as 
she was able to continue, "what choice? ... what did you offer him?"

"Laura, I told him he had his choice between you and the contract. I 
told him he could either stay here as long as he wanted, with you and a 
raise, or go to San Francisco without you."

He took both her hands in his, and looked at her before he softly 
added: "Laura, he left on this mornings plane." He paused, "I'm sorry."

He held the sobbing girl in his arms for several minutes until she 
stopped crying. He wanted to comfort her, but there were no words, and 
he just sat helplessly and watched her stare out the huge picture 
windows.

When she turned back to him, her eyes were dry and determined. She 
picked up her drink, downed it, and handed the glass to him for 
another.

He stood at the bar, waiting, and then she finally spoke. "Cass, I 
should have known all along. There've been so many signs, but like a 
foolish schoolgirl I ignored them ..." Then the tears came again. "I 
don't know what to do! Everything's been so rotten, I feel so used! I 
just can't go home to my family and listen to all their, I told you 
so's. I just can't face them."

"Laura, you're not going home. You're staying here. And, nothing's 
happened to you that a little clear thinking won't erase. None of it 
was your fault. You gave everything you had for a man you thought loved 
you. You were wrong. But, it's not a mistake you can't get over."

She looked up at him as he walked over to her. There seemed to be so 
much strength in him, she thought.

He handed her the drink, and took her hand. He lifted her to her feet 
and the two of them walked over to the window. It was quiet for a 
moment and then he turned her face to his.

"Laura, you'll be able to forget it. I swear to God I won't let you 
remember it!" He tried to laugh off the obvious seriousness in his 
voice. "I mean it's pretty much my fault that it happened in the first 
place. I feel like I'm the one to blame."

She turned and put her head on his shoulder. The tears were gone, and 
she felt a certain serenity in his arms ...

* * *

Black Jack picked her up at the beauty salon, standing by the rear door 
of the Rolls until she was inside. She leaned forward to tell him to 
drop her off at the casino when she felt a sudden shudder. It wasn't 
cold, though it was down to about thirty-five degrees outside. Then she 
realized that the movement of sliding the glass window aside to speak 
to him had reminded her of another night almost five months earlier ... 
a long trip down from the home of Harry Goldman; another Rolls Royce 
...

At least, she thought as she leaned back into the warming softness of 
the seat, I'll never have to go through that again.

She walked into the casino and decided she'd rather have a drink 
downstairs at the bar instead of having to make her own upstairs. She 
walked over to the curved cocktail lounge and took a seat at one of the 
stools.

The bartender was a young man, Freddy--and he nodded cheerfully to her 
and rushed over to serve her. As he set the napkin in front of her she 
noticed the undisguised admiration in his eyes and she smiled inwardly. 
Then she thought she felt another reaction, a reaction she was becoming 
very used to. Mostly with younger men. When they saw her with Cassis, 
there was always first the approval of her looks-but then she could 
almost see them wondering what she was doing with a man twenty years 
older than herself. She could even see some of them preening their 
feathers as they convinced themselves that they could take her away 
from the older man if they really tried.

She wanted to shout to them that they were fools, that they weren't fit 
to shine Cass' shoes, but her anger was soon dissipated by the pleasure 
she could see in the grey-haired man. He never noticed the second 
reaction, only the first--and she knew how proud it made him feel.

She rarely thought of anything that had occurred before she met Cass. 
He had been right. Time did erase a lot of bad memories, especially 
ones that her mind fought so hard to keep out.

In a club, even one as large as this casino, it was impossible to keep 
secrets and it had seemed that everyone had known that she was going to 
move in with Cass Mornay a few days after that party-- they had known 
even before she did!

It had been a wonderful five months. Everything she had ever wanted, 
especially the total affection and absorption of the man she lived 
with. He had remained true to his word; Harry became manager of the 
entire casino and it was rumored that soon he would be in charge of the 
others Cassis owned, and the practice of providing whores for the big 
spenders had been completely discontinued with very little adverse 
effect.

The click of ice in an empty glass broke her train of thought and she 
called Freddy over and told him to make her another. As she sipped her 
drink, she slipped back into her reverie.

He's been so good to me, she thought, in every way. He treats me 
wonderfully and our love life, if not being as wildly erotic as what 
I'd experienced, is all I've ever wanted.

As she picked up her drink again she felt a slight twinge as she 
noticed the absence of a ring.

I wonder if someday he'll ask me. It's not as if I'm ashamed of living 
with him ... it's not that. I know he loves me. I know I could make him 
happy whether we're married or not.

I love him so much, so very much. After Johnny, it's so wonderful to be 
with someone I know I can trust. To never have to worry again. But I 
won't rush him, she thought, I know he doesn't want anyone else ...

The mention of Johnny in her mind turned her thoughts to the stories 
she'd read lately. The divorce had been accomplished very quickly and 
quietly by Cassis, and through it all there had never been any 
correspondence between her and the singer she'd married.

About three months ago his name had started appearing in columns and in 
Variety. Just as everyone had prophesied, he was becoming very big. 
She'd even heard that he'd begun filming a movie--and everywhere she 
turned there were more of the scandal sheets linking his name with some 
starlet or heiress.

It's strange, she thought, when he walked out of my life that day it 
was like he'd never existed. The mention of his name or one of his new 
recordings no longer meant anything to her.

I'm growing up, just like Hollywood, she thought. Soon I'll be able to 
invite him to one of my parties and call him 'dahling.'

She sipped her third martini and asked Freddy for the time. It was 
still early, too early for Cassis to be home. He'd said something about 
a meeting in the morning and had told her that he thought he'd be in 
late.

Later, as she wandered through the casino she decided to see if Harry 
was still there, but no one answered in his office. I miss him at the 
bar, she reminisced, I never have a chance to talk to him anymore.

Laura stopped at one of the roulette tables and played for about an 
hour.

She'd never gambled before until she'd met Deke Vito, and still never 
played anything except roulette. There was some perverse desire deep 
inside her that made her want to finally beat the wheel that had 
wreaked such vengeance on her. It didn't happen very often that she did 
win, but when she did the proportion of satisfaction made all of her 
playing worthwhile.

Tiring of the wheel, it wasn't one of her winning nights she thought 
ruefully--she called the show room and told them she'd like a table for 
the dinner show.

That's one thing at least, I'll never have to wait in line for a show 
in Reno. Not with Cassis Mornay, as my guardian and especially after 
we're married.

She sat at a small, but choice, table and listened to one of the big 
new groups to hit the country--The Gold Coast Trio. When she finished 
her steak and a small bottle of imported Pommard French wine, she 
decided that she'd wait upstairs for Cassis. She knew how delighted he 
was when she was there waiting for him instead of the center of 
attraction at one of the tables downstairs.

Maybe I can talk him into going away. We can get out of this cold 
weather for a while. To the islands or something. I'd like to have him 
alone and completely to myself for a while. Who known.

She waited for the small plush elevator to take her up to the top 
floor, to the suite she'd come to love.

As she inserted the key in the door, she thought she heard music 
inside. Oh damn! he's home already and I wasn't here to meet him. She 
stepped into the softly lighted living room and looked for him.

"Cassis. Cass, I'm home." Then she heard the shower and decided to fix 
them both a drink while he was in the bathroom. She iced the glasses 
while she made the martinis and then took them into the bedroom.

She put the glasses and the shaker into the ice bucket by the bed and 
then smiled at an inspiration that came to her. She went into the other 
bathroom and checked her makeup. When she touched it up to her 
satisfaction she smiled at her reflection in the mirror. Hell! I can 
always take it off in the morning. Tonight's too important to worry 
about a little makeup.

Laura hummed softly to herself as she undressed and put on the black 
lace negligee that looked like a sensuous Roman Toga. It was Cass' 
favorite.

Then, she moved the ice bucket closer to the bed and poured herself a 
martini. She heard the shower stop and knew that he'd be out any minute 
and hurriedly jumped under the covers. Then she had to get up again 
because she didn't like the lighting.

She had barely gotten under the silken sheets again when he heard the 
bathroom door opening. She felt the laughter in her heart as she turned 
and held the glass out to him ...

"Hi, Darling ... look, I made you a ...WHO ARE YOU?" She screamed and 
grabbed at the fallen sheet as she realized that the man in the 
bathroom doorway wasn't Cassis Mornay!

"I'm sorry, Laura," the man chuckled softly. "I didn't mean to frighten 
you. I didn't know you were home yet."

"WHO ARE YOU? What are you doing in my bedroom? ... Cass! ... Cassis!"

She cried out, screaming and hoping that Cass would come in.

"I'm sorry, Laura. Cass won't be home for a while. I took him to the 
airport this afternoon. He has to go to Paris for a few months and gave 
me the key." He smiled in obvious anticipation as he looked down at her 
voluptuous form under the thin sheet." He told me to take care of you," 
he said as he dropped his robe to the floor.

"Oh, by the way," he added as he put his hand possessively on her 
shoulder, and slid into bed beside her. "I'm one of Cass's better 
customers! And he said you'd know how to amuse me until he got back!"


The End