20. Chapter 20
“Are you excited to come back?” Emilio asked.
He grabbed my hand and led me into The Underground Vault. The secret gambling ring was something special, and I couldn’t deny there was excitement.
“Of course,” I responded.
The bouncer let us pass through the side entrance and down the stairs, and the hustle and bustle of people betting on the main floor soon greeted us.
“Here,” Emilio said, reaching into his coat pocket. He passed me an envelope that was full of something.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“Cash.”
I gave him a devious smile, remembering what I had placed on the line the last time we were here.
“If you bet your wedding ring again, I’ll have to sew it to your finger,” he said.
“This should be enough,” I said jokingly.
It was certainly more than enough. When I placed it in my purse, I could feel the immediate weight difference.
“Where do you want to go?” Emilio asked.
“Not sure yet,” I replied, a glimmer of mischief shimmering in my eyes.
Separated from the world above by a ceiling of age-worn brick and bathed in the seductive dimmed lights, The Underground Vault was like a hidden treasure chest, overfilled with promises of excitement and danger. The air was thick with the raw energy of high stakes, desperate hopes, and reckless thrill seeking. I took a slow breath, savoring the smoky aroma that was a unique blend of fine cigars, old whiskey and lingering perfume.
“Sir?” One of Emilio’s men had walked up to him. “If we could get your assistance for a moment.”
Emilio didn’t bother hiding the pissed off look on his face. “Why did I hire you if you can’t figure things out?”
The man flinched, and I didn’t blame him. Emilio could be scary when he wanted to be.
“I’ll be right back.” he tucked a strand of hair behind my ear.
“Ok,” I responded.
I felt a slight disappointment that we wouldn’t be together, but it was okay. This was Emilio’s lifestyle, and I knew what it was going to be like when I married him.
I perused the tables, looking for something to play, when I saw a very familiar face.
“John!” I said, and walked towards him. He was at a poker table with another gentleman.
“Mrs. Luciana,” he said, smiling at me. “Good to see you.”
“Good to see you, too! What are we playing?” I asked.
The sound of the other gentleman’s scoff was like a loud, mocking laugh, echoing in the room and cutting through the chatter of the other players. It was a sound of superiority and ridicule, sending anger coursing through my veins.
His face was like a stone wall, his eyes cold and judging as if he had decided long ago that women were only meant for domesticity and not the thrill of high-stakes gambling.
“Don’t underestimate Mrs. Luciana, Fabio. She won my Rolex last time we were here.” He extended his arm, showing off the one of three that existed in the world.
Fabio raised his eyebrows. He was still skeptical of my worth as an opponent, but he motioned for me to join them.
The two men placed their ante in the middle of the table. Fabio placed a ten-ounce bar of gold, and John placed two straps of ten thousand. I mirrored John, reaching into my envelope and tossing twenty thousand dollars on the table.
The dealer—a middle-aged woman with piercing green eyes and a no-nonsense demeanor—glanced at me and my companions. With an experienced hand, she began dealing our cards with the precision of a seasoned artist.
The game consumed me, its hold on my attention unbreakable. With each round, we raised the stakes, daring each other to push further. As the last hand was dealt, I eagerly reached into my envelope, only to discover that I had exhausted all of my cash. The thin piece of paper could only hold so much money, and it seemed I had reached its limit.
“God damn it,” I said.
“Oh no,” John said. “Maybe bet the ring again?”
“I’ll sew it to her finger before she does that,” Emilio’s voice came from behind me.
He reached over me and dropped one hundred thousand on the table.
“Sorry I’m late, Jaws,” he said as he wrapped his arms around me from behind.
“S’ok,” I responded.
John flipped his cards over to reveal a three of a kind. Fabio threw his cards on the table, not bothering to contain his smugness as he revealed his straight flush.
A small, satisfied smile tugged at the corner of my lips as I carefully placed my cards down on the table. My hand was a royal flush, the highest winning hand in the game.
“What the fuck?” Fabio seethed, slamming his fists down on the table. “There’s no way.”
“Restrain yourself, sir, or I’ll have you kicked out of the establishment. C’mon,” Emilio gently tapped my shoulder. “Let’s get out of here.”
I opened the top flap of my purse, hastily shoving my winnings inside.
“Wonderful job, as always, Mrs. Luciana,” John said.
“Thank you, John!” I finished shoving the final few straps of money inside. “It’s always a pleasure to play with you.”
“I’ll see you both next time!” he called after us as we walked away.
Emilio took hold of my hand, his grip strong and reassuring. As we moved through the building, he didn’t lead us toward the exit as I had expected.
“Where are we going?” I asked, as he pushed us into a hallway with no patrons around.
“A special area.”
Doors were on our left and right as we walked down the hallway. The green or red light next to the handle of each door signaled its occupancy. But by what?
Emilio pulled a keycard out and scanned us into a green room.
“Where are we?” I asked again.
“Private rooms,” he responded. “For the extremely high stakes players.”
Before I could ask anymore questions, he took me by surprise and crashed his lips against mine. My mind spun with questions, but they were silenced by the kiss. It was electric, like sparks were igniting between us. His kiss was urgent and filled with longing, and there was no doubt or hesitation as he pulled me into him, wanting to get as close as possible.
He abruptly pulled away, seemingly breathless with how heavy his chest was rising and falling. “That was so hot. Didn’t know you were that good at gambling, Jaws.”
I tried to say that I didn’t do it often; it just sort of came naturally, but his lips were back on mine in an instant. Emilio picked me up, and I wrapped my legs around him. I pressed myself against him, feeling his hardness against me. His breath hitched as he moaned into my lips.
He lifted me up and brought me to the back of the room, setting me down at the edge of a poker table. Cards from a previous game were still on top, and they scattered everywhere as he pressed his body back into mine, the force so strong it caused the table to move a few inches.
He pulled back from our kiss and lowered himself on his knees. “Legs on my shoulders.”
With nervous anticipation, I followed his instructions. My stomach fluttered with a swarm of butterflies, their wings beating against my insides. This was it - the moment I had been longing for, the elusive orgasm that had been withheld from me for so long. Wetness had pooled in my underwear, and I could not hide that I so desperately needed relief.
Emilio wasted no time in pushing up my skirt, revealing the lacy black panties I was wearing underneath. His nose brushed against my core as he breathed in deeply, taking in the scent of my arousal.
“Fuck,” he moaned into my center.
In one swift movement, he yanked my panties off and they unceremoniously dropped on the floor. He used his thumb and gently traced the outside of my folds. The movement was delicate, but his blown pupils made me feel like he could eat me alive.
“Beautiful,” he murmured.
Without warning, Emilio dove into my slit and ran his tongue along the length of it. A wave of pure pleasure bloomed in my lower body, pulsing and growing with such intensity that I swore it was crawling up my spine.
Emilio drew circles around my clit, each flit of his tongue igniting every nerve ending in my body. I whined for him, begging for the release I so desperately craved. My hands instinctively tangled themselves in his hair, holding on tightly as if it were the only thing anchoring me to the earth.
I thought I couldn’t feel any more euphoric, but then he slipped two fingers inside me. His touch sent a jolt of pleasure through me as his fingers explored deeper, discovering a spot inside me that had never been touched before. He pressed upwards, and the string inside of me snapped. My walls fluttered against his fingers, my essence coated his digits. I gripped his hair even harder as I came, chanting Emilio’s name as if it was the only word I knew.
He leaned back and looked at me with a look I had never seen on his face. Hunger.
He rose from the floor and hovered over me, placing his hands on either side of my head.
“You taste,” he stopped, and pressed a few frantic kisses on my lips. “So good.”
My flavor still lingered on his lips; sweet yet tangy. I felt a bit more gush out of me at his compliment.
My ankles were still around his shoulders as he pulled back. Emilio’s hands fumbled with the buckle of his belt, his movements quick and urgent. He was about to unzip his pants when there was a knock at the door that interrupted him. Before he could say anything, a janitor burst into the room, earbuds in and careless of his surroundings.
I immediately crossed my legs and pulled down my dress, horrified that a stranger might have accidentally seen me exposed.
“Leave.” Emilio’s eyes narrowed, his jaw clenched, and his fists tightened. His chest heaved with rage as he glared at the man in front of him, daring him to spend another second in his presence.
“V-very sorry, sir,” the Janitor left the room, moving at a speed I didn’t know was possible for mere mortals.
Emilio and I stared at each other, but didn’t continue. Despite our lingering gazes, it was clear that the moment had slipped away, and our encounter would end here for the night.
“I’ll have to fire him,” Emilio muttered.
“Don’t do that! It was just an accident.”
“Well, yes, but…” Emilio didn’t finish his sentence, and instead looked at my debauched face and slickness that had stained the poker table.
I couldn’t help but notice he was still rock hard through his pants. What would it have been like having it inside me, instead?
“Let’s go home, Jaws.”