The delicious whiff of coffee roused her the next morning. She ran her mental planner to recall what she had on her schedule, and shook her head when she remembered she was on vacation. She noticed the breakfast tray on the table, the coffee still steaming hot.
Shit! David came in and saw me naked in bed. She blushed, but thought David must be used to it by now. Besides, she’d been seen more than naked on game night… why should she care anymore?
She took a few sips of coffee and made for the shower. The thought of how Adam abandoned her that night still hounded her. She wanted to scrub it all away.
The breakfast hall was already packed with guests when she got there. Iris traipsed to the fruit section and picked an apple to munch on, and decided to hang out on the deck instead. She didn’t have the appetite for heavy breakfast anyway.
She left without checking on any of the guests in the hall. She wasn’t in the mood to see or talk to anyone.
She had the deck all to herself when she got there, only the bartenders who were busy preparing for the day. She laid on a beach bed and tried to recall the dream she just had.
“I knew you’d be here.” A familiar voice broke her reverie. It was Jo.
“Hey, good morning, Jo,” she said.
“You were amazing last night, Iris. Congrats!”
“Thanks. You saw me?” The memory of Adam haunted her. She didn’t even care to check out the chest she’d won. “It was okay, I guess.”
“You don’t look thrilled. Didn’t you enjoy the games? Everyone else had so much fun except for the queen of the night, as I can see… what’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she knew Jo will reprimand her for being so emotional. “I met a guy …”
“Uh-oh, why don’t I like the sound of that?”
“I sat with him at dinner, and he was so nice and handsome and… we kissed…”
“Now fucking way!”
“Yes, fucking way, we did… I wasn’t in the mood to join the games but he insisted I go, so I did… then he left me.”
“And you’re pissed because…”
“Because I wanted to go to bed with him, but he bailed. I felt rejected… I’m so ashamed of myself.”
“Hmmm… that’s why kissing in the mouth must be avoided. You risk getting emotionally attached to your partner. Why kiss when you can just fuck him right there?”
“Yeah, my mistake… won’t happen again.”
“Forget that kiss, okay? I can help you with that if you want…”
“What do you have in mind?”
“Do you play poker?”
“And I’m guessing that’s strip poker, right?”
“Yeah, but a bit different… we are in a different world out here, so strip poker on the Pleasure Cruise can’t be just a game of poker and stripping… wanna try?”
“Anything to take my mind off the kiss. I’m not so good at poker though…”
“Come on, yesterday you told me you were new to these things, but got to be queen of game night on your first day, how about that?”
“Sheer luck, I say… my partner, the king, had superpowers— he could come faster than the speed of light.”
They couldn’t stop laughing all the way to the poker room. Several players were already naked, they probably had a few rounds of losing. Sporadic laughters and howls erupted around the tables.
Iris tried to make out what could have caused the ruckus, but saw nothing unusual, just naked bodies and playing cards. It must be really fun, she thought.
Jo got seats near the center aisle where a dealer waited to open a new game. When they took their seats, three more players joined in. They were all men, still with their clothes on.
“Hello, I’m Jo and this is Iris, we’re happy to be playing with you.” Jo said to the newcomers.
The fat guy with a cowboy hat waved at them. “Hey, same here, I’m Sam.” He stared at Jo like he’d seen a slice of triple chocolate cake he’d like to devour.
“Call me Jesus, or Jeez … or my lord, whatever you like … but I prefer Jeez.” Said the long-haired guy with the beard and mustache.
The guy who looked like a Dolce & Gabbana supermodel, raised his drink as if to make a toast. “Hi all, I’m not a very good poker player, I’m telling you. I just wanna have some fun, so take it easy on me… “ he winked at Iris. “Oh, and it’s Richard, by the way.”
Jo and Iris giggled at the hot guy as the dealer announced the game rules.
“All players play against the bank. Winners get pins or charms, losers strip, and when you got nothing else to take off, you can pick a card on this stack,” he gestured to a stack of cards at the center of the table, “which will give you a task. If you fail the task, you must pick another card until the task is done.”
The dealer dealt the first round of cards. Iris got nervous. Like she did the day before, she had no undergarments and wore only a single piece of clothing— a boho maxi dress, and a pair of sandals. She’d be totally naked on the third round if she lost.
Banker had a full house of twos, and luckily, she got a full house of fives. The rest of the players had to shed a shirt, and Jo her top, exposing her perky breasts. The guys grinned with excitement.
All players lost on the second round, so Iris slipped out of her dress without batting an eye. It was too late when she remembered she still had her sandals on, and should have taken them off first.
The men howled like a pack of wolves, even the players from other tables looked her way. She blushed at her stupidity.
“All hail the queen.” Richard said when the howling subsided, and smiled seductively at Iris. He suddenly had a pair of eyeglasses on which made him look like Clark Kent.
She smiled back. “Thanks, Superman,” and focused back on her cards, grateful for the high table that covered her front.
When she glanced at the table across the room, she noticed Alex getting a blow job from an elder lady. Perhaps a task they picked from the loser’s stack. He turned and looked at her, and gestured at Iris to open her legs.
She laughed and opened her legs for him. He mouthed a “thank you” and gave her a thumbs up from under the table.
Flirting with Alex lost her the round while the other players won. She took a card from the stack that gave her the task of asking the person right across her to stimulate her until she came. When she looked, the only person across her was Alex. She took the card and walked to his table.
Alex laughed when he read the card. “I’d be delighted, Iris. Where shall we do it?”
“Can we go to my table and do it there?”
“Okay.” He held her hand as they walked.
When they got to the table, the other players including Jo cheered her on.
“Hey, wait a sec, Iris,” Richard the supermodel protested. “We’re your co-players here, why ask someone across the room to do the task with you? Let me do it.”
“Relax, hot rod, the task specifically said to pick someone right across her, and we are nowhere in that direction.” Jeez said.
“Fine. But pick me on your next task, will you, Iris?” Richard said, defeated.
“Sure, Richard, I can’t wait.” Iris gave him a cute puppy-eyed look.
“Let’s get on with it, shall we?” Sam said, impatient.
Alex asked her to sit on her chair, lean back and hold her legs up. She did as he asked, and held both legs up in a V. Players from other tables craned their necks to see their task performance. Some stood on their chairs to watch them. Howls echoed across the room.
“Do they really have to watch us?” Iris protested.
“Relax, this is what everyone is waiting for. Who cares for poker anyway?” Jo said.
“Fine.” Iris closed her eyes.
Alex finger-combed her hair away from her face and whispered, “Open your eyes and look at me.”
She looked up at him and sighed. He bent down and licked her to moisten it, then got up and stared back at her with lustful eyes. His finger strummed her in small but rapid strokes like the lead guitar in a rock concert. She felt feverish, her desire for Alex rekindled.
“Open your legs wider,” Alex ordered. “Show off your teats, Iris.”
She opened her legs wider, and puffed up her chest.
“I need a wand. Can somebody get me one from the drawers, please?” Alex asked the guys behind him.
Jeez raced to get one from the nearby drawer. “Here you go.” He handed him a four-inch dildo with ridges around it.
“What’s a wand?” Iris asked Alex.
“It’s a robotic dick.” He said. The audience around him burst in laughter. “You’’ll come faster with it, then you can continue with your game and keep losing, okay?” He teased.
Alex took the gadget and turned it on. It whirred like a fat drill. He slid it back and forth on her, slowly at first then increased the pressure and speed.
Iris’s body undulated with every stroke. “Oh god, Alex…” she murmured.
Alex moved the wand inside her. She squirmed and let out an orgasmic scream.
Everyone in the room applauded and roared. Iris giggled but hid her face behind her palms. She still reeled and longed for more of his touch.
She thanked Alex, pecked his cheek and whispered. “Can you come to my room tonight?”
Alex bowed at her. “At your service, my queen.” He kissed her forehead and whispered back in her ear, “I thought you’d never ask.” Then he walked back to his table.
“Iris,” Jo looked at her with pride and hugged her. “You are incredible, where the hell did that daredeviltry come from?”
“Thanks… hey, I’m quite exhausted, honestly. Can we leave now and get something to eat? I’m starved.”
“Good idea, I could eat a horse myself.”
“Nice playing with you, guys, but we gotta go. See you around.” Iris waved at Sam, Richard, and Jeez. They mouthed disappointed groans, but waved back anyway.
Richard blew her a kiss, and Iris gestured a catch and kissed the air in her hand. He just stared at her unsmiling. She cringed, and thought the guy was cute… but really creepy.