Life in the Oasis Ch. 06

Author's Note

This is the next chapter in the final series of the Elysium Trilogy. If you haven't yet, I suggest you read Part 1 and Part 2, although you do not need to have read the previous two parts to be able to completely understand the story (or enjoy the sex!), so don't let the size of this series intimidate you. You are welcome to start here and go back later or simply continue from here. If you like what you read here, there's plenty more in the previous two books!

Be aware, this series includes a variety of adult situations, and I do my best to ensure that the tags are correct and comprehensive for each chapter. These stories touch on a variety of sexual subjects, like male and female bisexuality, gay sex, lots of interracial sex, some incest, oodles of group sex, voyeurism and exhibitionism, all set in a near future universe where sex is far more open than in our world. You'll find a lot of the standard tropes turned on their head here, so don't be surprised to have your assumptions challenged!

As always, if you like what you've read, give us a vote, leave a comment, and a follow. I do my best to respond to every comment! Thanks for reading!

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Sunday afternoon, June 6, 2032

The Elysium, Las Vegas

The pleasure I was feeling from doing my good deeds stayed with me as I made my way from the lobby of the Elysium to the bar in the center of the casino.

The Elysium was different from a lot of casinos in Las Vegas in a variety of ways, the most obvious being the focus on sex. Sex was always a theme in Vegas, as it went along with the glitz and glamor of gambling. Money, sexy women, hunky men, and a free-willing attitude were common in town, but nowhere did Vegas take it to the level that we did in the Elysium.

The other notable thing was the absence of slot machines. Sol hated them with a passion. While slots were by far the biggest revenue generators when it came to Vegas gambling, producing almost three quarters of all gambling revenue for the rest of the casinos, they were loud, and they brought in a demographic that Sol wasn't eager to satisfy. The image of blue-haired old ladies on oxygen furiously pressing buttons to get their dopamine hit was not what the Sinclair Group had in mind when it came to their target audience.

The result was a much younger clientele, although there were plenty of older, retired people who enjoyed the benefits the Elysium had to offer, especially if they enjoyed the companionship of younger men and women. It also made the casino floor much quieter, much darker and more intimate, and the result was a relaxed, sensual atmosphere that was conducive to the seduction and sex that was fundamental to the Elysium experience.

This is what people paid thousands of dollars and subjected themselves to interviews and attractiveness ratings to get access to. If you wanted to enjoy mindless button mashing, Zvesda's Starlight was more up your alley. If you wanted to wear a tuxedo and channel your inner James Bond, making a killing at baccarat or bluffing your way into a World Series of Poker bracelet -- and maybe getting a piece of ass at the same time -- the Elysium was designed for you.

That's why the Elysium was not open to the public. It was, technically, one very large, very expensive country club, with strict member requirements and background checks. To get in here alone was a status symbol in Las Vegas, and that's one of the things that many people found so appealing about it.

Without a need for acres of slot machines, the Elysium had lots of space for other things, and one of those things was Noctis.

In the center of the casino floor, surrounded by the various table games that radiated out from it like a pinwheel, was a huge drinking establishment, with seating that could hold hundreds in semi-private glory. There were little seating nooks, tables, and a circular bar that filled the exact center of the floor. Attending it were dozens of bartenders and even more wait staff serving the guests that used the bar to meet friends, take a break from the tables, or enjoy quiet, assignations.

There were a variety of discrete areas inside Noctis, each catering to a different sexual appetite. The servers were dressed appropriately for each area, and the flat screen monitors and décor all catered to those kinks. There was a bondage themed section, where the service staff were dressed as doms and dommes in leather gear and harnesses, and the monitors showed BDSM porn. Another area catered to the interracial kink, and many of the servers there were Black, Asian or Hispanic. There was a gay section, a lesbian section, and even a taboo section where the servers were all dressed like schoolgirls and boys.

The center bar was heterogenous, not catering to any specific kink, and that's where I started looking for Jasmine, Katie's friend.

A few of the bartenders knew me from sight, although I hadn't spent a ton of time here in Noctis. Honestly, I preferred the bar in the sports book, if only because I was an athlete at heart. Eva enjoyed it down here and I knew she spent some time with Avery in the lesbian section, but I couldn't recall the last time I'd visited.

I didn't see Jasmine in the main bar area, so I started to check out the kink areas. I skipped the gay one, although I had been in the mood for some male company lately. It was unlikely she would be there, nor did I check the lesbian area, where I wouldn't have been very welcome.

Some of the Stable of Bulls, our nickname for the coterie of male Black sex workers in the hotel, supplemented their income by working as servers in Noctis, and I ran into one of them I knew.

"Hey, Antoine," I said, stepping over and greeting my friend. He was one of Mom's new favorites and had been a key part of her bachelorette party last week in The Fields spa, upstairs. He was relatively new to the Elysium, so it made sense he was trying to make a little extra money while getting his feet wet in the various parts of the hotel.

"Jack! What brings you down here? Can I get you a drink?" He asked, giving me a bro hug and slapping me on the arm in a friendly way.

"I'm looking for a friend," I told him. "Well, friend may be stretching it a bit. I met her earlier today and she asked me to meet her here."

"What's she look like?" He said, looking around. "It's been relatively quiet for a Sunday night, so maybe I've seen her?"

"She's about your height," I told him. Antoine was far shorter than I was, probably a hand shorter than six foot. "She's got brunette hair, darker skin -- she reminds me of Avery except smaller and not as busty," I told him.

"Word," he said. "You know, I think I do recall seeing someone like that. She was over in the bondage section. I thought it was Avery at first, honestly, but she wasn't ... you know... as stacked. You best watch yourself bro," he said, leaning in and leering at me. "You don't want to get typecast, chasing the same type of woman constantly," he laughed.

I laughed along with him. "Oh, I'm not chasing. She said she had a proposal for me and I'm feeling generous today, so I thought I'd hear her out," I said. I thanked him for his help and worked my way through the various sections of the bar until I was in the BDSM area.

My only experience with this community was my brief time with Maggie Callahan at Georgetown, who moonlighted as a dominatrix. Avery and I had played a bit with her, and looking back now after a lifetime of experiencing just about every sexual kink that's out there, I have to admit I cringe a little. We didn't even set up safewords when we played with her. I would say we were just kids, but I know that's no excuse. So, for you BDSM fans who had to read about our exploits, let me apologize now for being such a damn noob.

The one thing my time with Maggie had demonstrated to me was that this kink wasn't really for me. But I did understand some of the attraction. The gear was pretty hot, if I had to be bluntly honest. As I walked into the area, I saw one of the servers, who was completely kitted out in a leather harness that left nothing to the imagination. Her nipples were pierced, as was her nose and her eyebrow.

"Jack, I think you're in the wrong place," she said. I had no idea who she was -- I don't think we'd ever met before, but most of the Elysium staff knew who I was by this point. I wondered what gave my being out of place here away. Was it the fact that I was openly staring at everyone as I walked in? Or was I overdressed in my ratty hoodie and shorts?

"Oh, on that you can be sure," I said, laughing. "I'm looking for a girl who I was told might be in here. Middle height, long curly black hair, looks a bit like my girlfriend. Have you seen her?"

"I'm right here, Jack!" said a voice from a booth in the corner that was nestled away, just out of my view.

The server smiled at me again, winked, and then turned to head to another table. I realized she had a buttplug in that was attached to a long faux hair tail that fell from her ass to her knees. I just shook my head and wandered over to where Jasmine was sitting.

"I'm sorry," she said, standing up. "I have been trying to work my way through each section of the bar since we got here, and the BDSM area was the last one I hadn't tried yet. I should have told you," she added, looking up at me. She was wearing a pale blue bridesmaids' dress that hugged her curves and accentuated her ass, which I appreciated. Her makeup was well done, and her hair was coifed perfectly, cascading down her back in a mass of gorgeous curls.

On closer inspection, I realized that Jasmine didn't look as much like Avery as I remembered. Besides the height and her smaller breasts, her skin was lighter by at least one tone, and she had green eyes, not Avery's brown. Her face was just a bit softer, a bit rounder, but her hair and the way she held herself were so similar to Avery that I understood why even I had thought there was a significant resemblance.

"It's fine," I told her. "I haven't been in many of the other areas of Noctis either, so this was a fun experience getting to see the various parts. I should spend more time here, honestly. Can I buy you a drink?"

"You can buy me two," she said with a grin. I led her back towards the central bar and we sidled up to it in an area that was relatively empty.

I ordered a Lagavulin, neat, and she ordered two Cosmopolitans. We got our drinks, and the first sip went down very easily. As we tasted our drinks, something hit me. Why was she here? Shouldn't she be at the wedding?

"Uh, I have a stupid question," I said, looking at my watch. It was almost five in the late afternoon. "Shouldn't you be at the wedding?"

Jasmine laughed at the question. "The wedding isn't for another hour, and as the maid of honor, I've been tasked by Katie with a very important mission," she told me. She took a sip from one of her Cosmos. "Important enough to get me down here when I should be upstairs helping her finish getting ready."

"It must really be important," I said with a chuckle, raising my eyebrows at her. Now I was well and truly intrigued.

"Oh, it is. Normally, I don't think Katie would have even dreamed of asking this of anybody, but because we're here in this hotel, and because you are ... well, you ... she felt like this was something she could request that wouldn't be considered too crazy or off the wall," Jasmine began. "And seeing as how you've already done so much to help the soon-to-be-newlyweds, she thought it couldn't hurt to ask."

I'd already given Katie and Tony a hundred grand from my craps winnings early this morning. After that, I wasn't sure what else I could possibly do for them. "Okay, I'm listening," I said, wondering where this was going to go.

"This hotel is magical, you know?"

I laughed. "Yes, I'm well aware," I told Jasmine. "That's part of the charm. You can do things here you can't do anywhere else."

"Exactly!" She said, putting her hand on my arm. I looked down at her hand, then back up into her eyes. I could see a smoldering look of desire there, and I have to admit it was attractive to me. She wasn't Avery, but she was a smokeshow in her own right. "And that's where you come in," she continued.

"What exactly does Katie want from me?" I asked, trying to move the conversation along. While I didn't mind chatting with Jasmine, she was on a tighter schedule than I was, and I knew she had to get back upstairs. It was time for her to land the plane and tell me exactly what this 'indecent proposal' she had mentioned was all about.

"Tony is a sub. Katie is the dominant one in their relationship. You may have noticed this when you were with us upstairs," she began.

I nodded. That would certainly explain the vibe.

"Well, Katie likes to watch. And she hasn't really ever had a chance to do that. And so, she was hoping you'd be willing to help her out. I told her you were into this kind of thing, based on the porn you do."

I smiled. I certainly was. "If Katie wants to watch me fuck you, I'd be happy to make that dream come true, absolutely," I said. Jasmine's hand on my arm felt warm and the thought of banging her while Katie watched had begun to turn me on.

Jasmine laughed out loud. I wasn't exactly sure what was so funny about what I'd said, but it apparently it was absolutely hilarious to Jasmine, who took her hand off my arm to hold her belly while she overflowed with mirth.

"What? What did I say?"

Jasmine finally got ahold of herself and wiped tears of laughter from her eyes. "Oh, Jack, as much as I would love that, that's not what Katie wants."

"You said she wanted to watch, didn't you?" Listen, in my defense, I'd been up since the buttcrack of dawn today and that was after being up til one in the morning having an orgy with my immediate family. You'd have been slow on the uptake, too, you know.

"She does. She wants to watch you fuck Tony," she said, between giggles.

I blinked. "She wants to watch me ... fuck ... her husband? Really?"

"Yes, really. Like I said, Tony is a sub. Katie likes to watch. It's their wedding night and Tony has promised Katie she can do whatever she wants to him. And what she wants is to watch him suck you and then take your big white cock up his Black ass. She's had him under lock and key for months now. He's so horny he's probably shaking right now knowing he'll finally get a chance to get off tonight," Jasmine said. I could tell she found this idea erotic, because her skin was a bit flushed and she had licked her lips when she finished speaking.

I was stunned. Never in a million years did I think this was how today was going to end. Did I want to do this? I had to admit, Tony was my type. And I hadn't been with a guy in quite a while, so far back I couldn't remember the last time, but I assumed it was probably with Ben or Diego. Katie was gorgeous, and even if she didn't participate, the idea of her watching me fuck her husband ... well, here was another new kink I'd never known existed and a part of me really wanted to try it. And as I looked at Jasmine and thought about what she was asking, I felt my cock begin to rise in my pants.

Jasmine noticed I had squirmed in my seat a bit, and she bit her lip and then casually flicked her eyes down to my crotch. My workout shorts were loose, but I could feel the outline of my cock against the fabric, and I knew it had to be visible. She smiled seductively at me.

"Is that a yes?" She said, standing up and moving closer to me.

"Yes," I said huskily. I cleared my throat and took a sip of scotch. "Of course, I'd be happy to help Katie and Tony on their wedding night."

What the hell was I getting myself into?

Avery and Eva were gone, none of my usual fuck buddies were around, and this whole thing had gotten me horny as hell. So ... why not?

"Excellent! I'll let Katie know. You remember what room they were in right?" She asked me, hopping down off her barstool and quickly downing the rest of her drink, before doing the same to the second one. It was an impressive display of drinking.

"I think so. I can always look it up later to confirm. What time does she want me there?"

"The wedding itself begins at six, and the reception is supposed to go until eleven. So how about you be up there around midnight?"

"Sounds like a plan," I told her. I finished my scotch and sat the empty glass back on the bar. "I should probably dress a little nicer than this, shouldn't I?"

"Oh, don't worry about that," Jasmine told me, a half-grin on her face. "You won't be wearing it long. Also, Katie told me that I should give you a bit of an incentive if you said yes."

With that, she squatted in front of me. Her bridesmaids' dress was very flowy below the bodice, and she had no trouble getting down. She reached up and fished my cock out of my shorts, which was made easy by the fact that I had no underwear on, in true Elysium fashion. My cock was already half hard just thinking about fucking Tony while Katie watched, and as Jasmine began to pump my cock, it wasn't long before I was fully engorged.

Now, I know what you may be thinking here. Jasmine and I were in the middle of a bar, in the middle of a casino on a Sunday evening. Were there other people at the bar? Yes. Were there bartenders and wait staff all around? Absolutely. Could everybody in that area of the bar see me getting my cock played with? Yes, they could. Was this a risky move? Absolutely not.

This is the Elysium, people. Public sex was not only acceptable, it was positively encouraged. If I had been paying attention, I would have noticed at least two other couples engaged in sexual activity in the bar while I'd been sitting here talking to Jasmine. I mean, I'd literally watched a gangbang in the sports book just a few hours earlier.

As soon as my cock had reached full hardness, Jasmine slipped it into her mouth. This was one more area where she and Avery had something in common -- Avery had started out as a neophyte in the oral sex department but by now she was a bona fide expert. I don't know where Jasmine got started or how long ago, but she knew what she was doing with a cock.

Her dark brown lips and dusky skin contrasted nicely with the pink of my cock head and shaft, and as she bobbed up and down, her left hand tugged my shaft while her right fondled my balls. I could feel her tongue swirling around my cockhead, and I sighed with pleasure.

"Hi Jack! That looks like a lot of fun!" I heard a voice from behind me say, and I turned my head to see Chloe Taylor flouncing over to the bar with her boyfriend Red tagging behind her.

"Hi Chloe, long time no see!" I said, as Jasmine continued to slurp on my cock.

"I know, right! I feel like it's been way too long! Terry and I thought we'd get a drink before going upstairs and finding some friends to fuck, so fancy meeting you here!" She said.

Chloe was one of my stepsister Nyla's best girlfriends. She was a charter member of the Terrible Trio, the family nickname for Nyla's entourage. Despite being Nyla's tutor and over thirty, Chloe looked perpetually eighteen, and when my first sex tape was leaked -- which showed me fucking all three of the Trio -- her youthful appearance had earned me a variety of nasty accusations until she could prove her age and get me off the hook.

Her boyfriend Terry, whom we all called Red because of his red hair, was one of the male sex workers in the Elysium, and both Red and Chloe were two of Nyla's stars over at Elysium Productions. Their specialty was incest and taboo scenes, given how they both had the same age defying genes.

"Chloe, Red, this if my friend Jasmine," I said, introducing the woman who was on her knees sucking my cock to the two newcomers.

"Whoa!" Red said, his eyes widening. "I totally thought that was Avery down there!"

"Oh my gosh, me too!" Chloe said, laughing. "You look just like Jack's girlfriend, Jasmine, did you know that?"

Jasmine took her mouth off my cock and smiled. "I'll take that as a compliment. Nice to meet you both!" she added, and then she shoved my cock back in her mouth, earning a gasp and a soft moan from me.

"Damn, Jack. That's hot! Mind if we join you?" Chloe said, biting her lip.

"Not at all, go for it," I told her, smiling.

"Okay!" She said, and she knelt in front of Red, unzipped his pants and whipped out his cock. Soon, Chloe was sucking Red's dick for all she was worth, and I could see him start to harden under her ministrations.

Jasmine's eyes got wider as she watched Chloe go to town on Red's penis, and that gave her a second wind. I knew time was ticking by and she needed to get upstairs, so I didn't really care if I got off or not, but I wanted her to have a good time, so I did my best to relax and enjoy the blowie.

There was a half dozen other couples sitting at the bar, and I noticed heads and torsos beginning to turn towards Jasmine, me, Red and Chloe. The sound of one blowjob would probably have been easily covered up by the ambient noise of the casino, but the sound from two was loud enough to cause those who hadn't been looking to turn and see where it was coming from.

And, of course, this being the Elysium, I guess it was inevitable what happened next.

One by one, each of the couples sitting at the bar on either side of us decided they liked what they saw and wanted to get in on the action. Knees hit the floor up and down the line in Noctis. I saw a man begin to suck his boyfriend's cock. I saw a pair of older men with women half their age getting their dicks sucked. I saw a woman who was at least twenty years older than my mother on her knees in front of a guy who couldn't have been much older than me. The sounds of sloppy blowjobs filled the bar, and in almost no time, there were at least a dozen couples engaged in oral sex in the central Noctis bar.

While I was enjoying Jasmine's mouth on my rod, I noticed out of the corner of my eye that it was half past five. Jasmine had her eyes closed, savoring the taste of my precum as she continued to suck my dick, and I had to tap her on the hand to get her attention.

"As much fun as this is, Jasmine, you gotta get upstairs, babe," I told her. She withdrew my cock from her mouth, gave the tip of my dick a quick kiss and then hopped to her feet.

"I want a raincheck on this one, Jack," she said, breathlessly. "I gotta run. Midnight, Katie's room. Be there!" She said, and she hurried off towards the elevator to the ballroom level.

I heard Red grunt loudly, and soon he shot off in Chloe's mouth. I saw her swallow twice, then hop up and give Red a big kiss and an even bigger grin. "That hit the spot! Thanks for the idea, Jack! See ya!" She said to me, grabbing Red's hand and pulling him out of the bar towards the elevators.

I looked around and watched the various other couples finish their trysts. Some of the men finished in mouths, other women chose to let their men cum on their faces. The older woman took a faceful of her younger partner's jizz and decided to keep it there, smiling boldly with cum dripping off her nose, as the pair walked off towards the main part of the casino. Now that's what I call a proud walk of shame, I thought. I remembered when I'd done a similar thing with Nyla six months ago. God, that was hot.

But all good things must come to an end, and almost as soon as it had started, the impromptu blowjob convention in the bar ended. By that time my cock had begun to flag, and I sat down heavily on my barstool. I figured if I had to fuck Katie's husband tonight, a little edging wouldn't hurt. I waved at one of the bartenders and ordered another drink, letting my hormones simmer as I began to count the hours until midnight.

Thursday morning, July 21, 1983

The Oasis, Las Vegas

"I'm ready for the next interview, Jennifer," Winston said, pressing the intercom button on the little box in his office next to the phone.

"Very good, sir. I'll send her in," replied the voice from the tinny speaker.

One of the best parts of Winston's job was hiring. Despite the fact that he was the owner, despite the fact that there was an entire Personnel Department that was designed to handle all the hiring and firing for the Oasis, Winston insisted on a doing personal interviews for a select number of positions.

It was complete coincidence that these positions were for things like showgirl or hostess. There was absolutely no truth to the rumor that Winston had never yet interviewed a man for a job in the Oasis. He had a limited amount of time, after all, and he needed to focus his attention on the most important jobs, the ones that would bring customers in the door. It just so happened that those positions were almost always attractive to women of a certain age and certain look.

The door to his office opened and Jennifer showed the next interviewee in. Winston had been toying with the idea of reviving the Oasis's old Polynesian-style showgirl revue. Shows had been a big part of the Oasis when it opened in the 1960s, but the average casino goer in 1983 was more interested in things like rock concerts and magic shows. The Oasis's concert hall was still one of the more intimate, which made it perfect for shows, and they'd had Sinatra, Tom Jones and Wayne Newton among others over the last few years. Those acts always packed them in. The era of the big showgirl revues seemed like it was over.

Which made Winnie think it was time to try to revive it. Variety was the spice of life, after all, and if nobody else was doing it, he'd be the only game in town. That was sure to draw an audience.

And if it didn't? Well, showgirls could just as easily be waitresses or call girls. There would always be work in Vegas for a sexy woman.

The best part was he got to interview the dancers. It was a nice distraction as he wrestled with what to do about Victor Romano, Jimmy the Chin and the Mob situation in Vegas. The deadline for him to reveal Weissman's source was today, and there was a part of Winston's mind that kept drifting back to that look on The Chin's face as he tapped his gun against the car window last week and issued his ultimatum.

Winston prided himself on being a realist and tamping down his sentimentality. Romano was a nobody, brand new on the scene, and he exuded that youthful arrogance so common to those born into a certain tax bracket. Winston, having been born there himself, knew it well and it was one of the reasons he'd run off to Vegas rather than get shipped to Massachusetts to be surrounded by blue bloods at Harvard. Part of Winston was ready and eager to throw Romano to the wolves.

Better him than me.

But Winston wasn't a monster, and he kept coming around to the thought of the man standing in the maternity ward, proud as Pontius Pilate, pointing out his new daughter. Romano had a young wife and new baby girl, and Winston didn't want to contemplate what would happen to them if their husband and father never came home one night.

It didn't have to be this way. There were plenty of things they could do, from shaking him down, to just beating him, that would send the message that the leaks to the press had to stop. But Winnie knew, deep down, that this kid would never be intimidated by threats or a beating. He'd seen it in his eyes at lunch. This kid had the fervor of a crusader, and that kind of passion would get somebody through even the worst beating.

The thought made his palms sweat. He still hadn't decided what he was going to do.

"Hello there, young lady! I'm Winston Chesterfield, but my friends call me Winnie," he said, standing up and holding out his hand to the young woman Jennifer had admitted to his office.

"Hello, Mister Chesterfield," the woman said, daintily taking his hand and curtseying before him. "I'm Belle. Belle Dix," she said.

Winston smiled at her. She was exactly what he needed to take his mind off the decision about Romano. Dix was a stunning girl, with bright red lips, blue eyes and dark hair that surrounded her head like a lion's mane, in the style that was becoming all the rage in the 80s. Her skin was a light brown, the color of coffee with a little cream in it. Winston loved Black woman, always had, and while she was far lighter than Thumper, far lighter than his daughter, he still felt his loins begin to stir as he looked at her.

She was petite and thin but with curves where they needed to be, and her breasts were just big enough to show cleavage through the v neck of her tight, fuzzy white sweater, but not so large as to be distracting or to give his costume designers the fits. Her black and white striped skirt stopped just above her knees, and her legs were long, brown and lovely.

"Welcome, Belle. So, how did you find out about the Oasis?" Winston asked.

This was his first question. It always fascinated him, the convoluted stories that this question often launched. The first time he asked it, he'd expected something like 'I saw an item in the want ads for dancers' or 'my agent found the gig for me' but that never seemed to be what actually happened.

"Oh, I'm friends with one of your employees. Sheba Sinclair? She works here as a dealer. I babysit for her sometimes -- she's got a newborn and is getting ready to come back to work," she began.

Winston felt a punch in his gut at the mention of Sheba Sinclair. This girl couldn't possibly know that Sheba was his daughter. Hell, Sheba didn't know. His heart had begun to race, but as his mind took over he realized it was just a coincidence, and he began to calm down.

"I think I know who you're talking about. Black girl, middling height, short hair?" He said. He could have described Sheba down to her shoes. But Belle didn't need to know that.

"That's her! Anyway, she told me you guys were hiring for a new showgirl revue, and I did some dancing in high school, and I thought it would be worth applying," she said.

"How old are you?" Winston asked, looking Belle over. She was a tiny thing, and a part of him wondered if she was even old enough to have a work permit.

"I'm nineteen," she said, proudly. "I heard you wanted the best dancers, and I was always one of the best, and so I'm here. I also heard a few other things about you, too..." she said, trailing off and biting her lip.

Now we're getting somewhere... Winston thought. He knew this personal interview thing was bound to work out.

It was an open secret in the hotel, especially amongst the dealers, that Winston enjoyed dalliances with the staff. A pliable female could triple her income by staying in Winston's good graces, and more than a few had taken him up on his offer for a "quick break" during the day. It wasn't surprising that his daughter had heard about them and had steered her friend here.

"Really? What have you heard?" Winston said, leaning back in his chair and casually resting a hand on his crotch.

"Well," Belle said, biting her lip again and looking coyly at him. "I heard you like Black girls," she began. Then she stood up and moved closer to the desk. "And I heard that you're good to the girls who are good to you," she said. She turned around and sat down gently in his lap and put her arms around his neck. "And I really could use this job... Winnie," she said.

She leaned into him and gave him a soft, wet kiss. He could feel the warmth of her body against his, the softness of her sweater and the swish of her skirts on his knee.

His hands slid up her body, cupping her breasts through the wool of the thin sweater. Her lips parted and her tongue slid into his mouth. She had a heady scent to her, some kind of perfume that made him think of spring, and she tasted of something sweet he couldn't identify. He felt his cock begin to stir in his pants, poking up into her leg as she sat on his lap.

"Oh, Winnie, is that for me?" She asked, giggling like a schoolgirl and looking into his eyes.

In that moment, Winnie would have done anything for her. She looked so much like his memories of Thumper that it made his heartbeat speed up. "I want to fuck you," he growled and then smashed his lips into hers.

She kissed him back, just as hard, her hand dropping down into his lap to rub his penis through the soft material of his suit pants. She stood up and began to strip off her clothes. Her skirt went first, and Winston realized she hadn't been wearing any underwear. Clearly, she'd planned all this from the start. Her sweater was next, along with a pretty white bra that both fell into a heap atop the skirt. Soon Belle was standing before Winston completely nude, her tight, nubile teenager's body on display for him. She had a mass of hair between her legs that hid her sex from his eyes, but the rest of her was open and inviting.

Winston unbuckled his pants, undid the waist clasp and the zipper, and let them fall. He tugged down his boxer shorts but left his shirt and tie on. His cock burst free, pointing stiffly towards Belle, who took two tentative steps towards him. They met again, and he leaned down to kiss her, while she took his cock in her hands and began to tug gently. His hands squeezed and kneaded her breasts, as they kissed. He felt her begin to squat, but he wasn't in the mood for a blowjob. He wanted to feel her pussy around his cock, so he stopped her, instead turning her around and bending her over his desk, pushing his chair back so that it was behind him.

His dick was throbbing as he guided it towards her opening. She turned her head to look at him as he slowly, gingerly, slid his penis inside her. The moment it was in, she gave a little moan, shuddered and pushed back gently, helping to bury his cock deep inside her. She reached a hand down to steady herself and touched the base of his shaft, to confirm he was all in, and then she began to rock back and forth, fucking him. Her hand moved up slightly to her clit, and she began to rub it, sending little sparks of lightning through her nether regions as Winston's cock filled her up.

They picked up the pace, and Winston watched with lust in his eyes as Belle's breasts, which were just large enough to dangle from her chest over his desk, began to sway as their bodies moved in time with one another.

Winston moaned softly. "Belle, your pussy is so wet..." he told her. "It feels so good," he sighed.

"Fill me up, Winnie," she urged him. "I want to feel your cum up inside me," she told him. He was surprised to hear her say that -- normally the women he played with wanted him to finish outside or in their mouths, anywhere but inside them and he was normally happy to oblige. But he was feeling reckless, the weight of the decisions still pending in his mind pressing down on him. So, what if he knocked the girl up? Wouldn't be the first time, wouldn't be the last. The thought that he could be breeding this nineteen-year-old Black girl made his balls tighten and his cock felt stiff as a board. He picked up the pace, fucking her fast, grunting with the effort, and enjoying the moans and shrieks of pleasure that he was sure Jennifer could hear in the outer office.

That part always excited him, too. He'd never tried coming on to Jennifer -- valued her work as his secretary far too much to take a chance ruining it with a physical relationship -- but he always wondered what she thought knowing her boss was fucking just the other side of the half inch of glass and wood that separated his office from hers. Did it turn her on? Was she out there, listening, right now, with a hand in her pants rubbing herself off in time to him and Belle?

The thought, coupled with the velvet feel of Belle's pussy, sent him over the edge. He began to cum, his orgasm rocking him and his breath coming in short gasps as he dumped his load into her teenaged pussy. At the same time, he heard her shriek, and he felt the telltale ripple of her pussy muscles clenching on his cock, milking him, that indicated she'd had her own orgasm. The thought was absurdly pleasing to Winston, who prided himself on being a good lover, and who had rarely managed to make a girl cum just through sex alone.

Winston fell back in his chair, completely spent. Belle, for her part, was also breathing heavily, her own orgasm still sending little shocks and shivers through her body.

"So, do I get the job?" She asked, sliding over from the desk, walking forward a few steps, and then leaning over to pick up her clothes, which were still in the pile on the floor where she'd dropped them. As she bent over, Winnie watched as a small streak of cum slid out of her pussy and ran down her leg. It was one of the most erotic things he'd ever seen.

"You're hired," Winston said automatically. "But not for the showgirl job. I need another assistant. Jennifer, my secretary, is up to her tits in work and she needs help. You'll be working directly for me, with a desk in my outer office here. If you still want to do the showgirl thing, I'm sure we can arrange that, too, but you'll make better money here in the office," he added.

"Thank you, Winnie!" Belle said, a bright white smile breaking out on her face. She shimmied back into her clothes, did a little happy dance and then gave him a hug and a peck on the lips. "You won't be disappointed, I promise!"

"If today was anything like I can expect in the future, I'm sure you're right," he said, laughing. He stood up, straightened out his shirt and tie, and zipped up his pants. He grabbed his suit jacket from the coatrack by the door and slipped it on.

He walked Belle out into the outer office and introduced her to Jennifer. Jennifer, for her part, smiled and nodded politely. She knew exactly what had happened and exactly what this new 'assistant' was supposed to be assisting with. This wasn't the first time Winston had hired a cute young woman to 'help' Jennifer with her duties. Most of them didn't last very long. Maybe Belle would be different. Who knew?

Apparently Chesterfield was smitten by this new girl, because not only did he walk her out of his office, he walked her through the casino itself, gave her the grand tour, and then escorted her to the entrance. By the time he came back, almost an hour had passed.

Winston went back into his office and shut the door. This had been a nice break from the life-or-death decision he had been wrestling with, and he whistled to himself as he took off his suit jacket and hung it up. That had been exactly what he needed to take his mind off the Romano thing.

Reality slapped him out of his reverie. There, lying on his desk, was a folded piece of yellow legal pad paper.

"Fuck."

* * *

Monday morning, June 7, 2032

The Elysium, Las Vegas

I don't know why it felt like time was passing so slowly, whether it was the anticipation of this strange tryst that Jasmine had pitched to me, or whether it was because Avery and Eva weren't here. Whatever the reason, I felt like time was crawling as I spent the next few hours waiting for midnight to roll around.

I ended up lounging by the pool for a solid three hours, watching the guests as they enjoyed themselves in a variety of ways. I signed an autograph for a cute couple who were also on their honeymoon, which surprised me again -- I hadn't realized that the Elysium was such an attraction for newlyweds. I guess I should have figured it out -- sex and newlyweds went hand in hand -- but it hadn't occurred to me.

I know what you're going to say, so just go ahead and say it. Yes, my mind started wandering towards marriage. I was in love with Avery and Eva, and I knew they both loved me. We'd been through a lot together. Avery was blossoming sexually like a flower, opening herself up to new experiences and gaining a self-confidence that I didn't think even she knew she had. She had always been tough, no-nonsense and a great reporter, but that was an act she put on for the world because she had to. Underneath, she'd been running from her demons. But together we'd confronted them and overcome them. For the most part.

With Eva, it was less watching her blossom as it was watching her thaw out. She had tolerated the Frost Queen moniker some of the staff at the Empire Luxe had given her, and I knew that some of the more ruthless things she'd done to get ahead had hardened her and could have led to disaster had she continued down that path. Hell, some of it already had. Her connections to the gangs in Las Vegas, her patronage of them and her use of them to gather information was just one of the many questionable activities she'd gotten up to during her obsession with earning her father's blessing. Leaking her brother's relationship with my stepbrother to The Gossiper was another. And fucking Geno Volkov and using him as a means to gain influence was the rancid cherry on top of a shit sundae of bad choices that I knew Eva was guilty of.

But since that evening at the AAFI awards, when all the drama with Volkov had finally reached its peak, Eva was like a new woman. She wasn't the power-craving female Machiavelli she'd been before. Where she'd been scheming and self-centered, now she was kind and thoughtful. Where she'd cared only about becoming her father's heir, now she cared about others and their needs. She had sworn off the quest for her patrimony, had instead spent most of her time learning how to laugh and enjoy life again. I knew it wasn't unprecedented for someone to do an about face after a death-defying experience, but I never thought I'd have a front row seat and get to watch it happen in real time.

Now, she still had a ways to go -- there were times when I saw a bit of the old Eva peeking through, especially whenever we talked business -- but Eva was radically different than she'd been before, and that was a large part of why Avery and I had fallen in love with her.

I wasn't perfect either. I was young, younger than both of them, and it showed sometimes. I knew I was naïve and impulsive, that I often did things without thinking, and my temper could still get me into trouble.

I think that's part of why Avery, Eva and I worked so well together. We were all flawed. We knew we were flawed. And the best part of each of us helped to draw out the best in the others.

That, to me, is what life should be all about. Everything else is good, as it goes, but in the end, life should be about the journey towards becoming a better person. We all have demons, we all have struggles, and life is about overcoming them. Some of us do. Some don't. Some of us never get the chance to. But I knew I had something special with those two lovely women, and I wanted it to last.

So, yeah. I was thinking about marriage. Mom's wedding, all the newlyweds that seemed to be flocking to the Elysium, and now this thing with Katie and Tony.

It would have been so much easier before Eva got into the picture. Avery and I could have gotten married and lived happily ever after. But with Eva, now we were stuck. I couldn't marry Avery and leave Eva as the side piece. That wasn't fair to her, and it wasn't fair to Avery and me.

Things were changing in Vegas, and in the rest of the country. As I've told you all before, laws had changed quite a bit over the recent years, especially picking up pace after COVID. Sex was not as taboo as it once was, and things like public nudity, public sex, sex work and the like had all been decriminalized, and in some cases legalized. You could get Viagra over the counter. There were all kinds of new plastic surgery and weight loss drugs to help people get into better shape more easily. The on-going ballot initiative to get non-reproductive incest legalized in Nevada was well on its way towards passage, with the last polling I'd seen putting "Yes" at nearly 60%. Now, there was a lot of time between now and November, but it felt like things were changing.

Would things change when it came to marriage? Polyamory was becoming more mainstream, and Utah had just repealed its laws against polygamy.

There was a thought... Utah. I'd have to take a look at their marriage laws when I had a minute.

After watching a different pair of newlyweds -- at least, I think they were newlyweds because they were young, fucked twice in the pool in front of everybody and they both had rings on -- I decided to head upstairs, get a shower and get ready for whatever it was Katie and Tony wanted. All I knew was Katie wanted to watch me fuck him. Whatever else she wanted, I would find out at midnight.

I decided to dress better than I had been, so I threw on one of the light gray suits that magically appeared in my closet, along with a white shirt with gold cufflinks and a pair of cordovan leather loafers. I slid my phone in my pocket and put my smartwatch on, ran a brush through my hair and, as an afterthought, popped two Viagra, just in case.

It had been a long day -- I'd been up since five, and I'd already gotten my dick sucked once, although I hadn't finished. I didn't want any performance problems with Katie and Tony, even if I thought the chances of that were unlikely. A little crutch never hurt, after all.

Jasmine texted me a new room number for the newlyweds and confirmed that we were on for midnight. I lounged in my apartments, watching the late ballgames and eating a solitary dinner courtesy of room service. At midnight exactly I left the Penthouse and headed down to Katie and Tony's rooms.

I knocked politely on the door to the room I'd been texted and was surprised to find that Jasmine opened the door.

"Jack! Thanks for coming," she told me, giving me a quick peck on the cheek. "Katie was thrilled when I told her you'd agreed to come," she added, pulling me into the room. "Look at what the hotel gave them!"

I looked around and was impressed. I hadn't been in any of the VIP suites in the hotel -- at least, other than the Penthouse rooms that me, Nyla, Miles and my parents (it still felt weird saying that) lived in. The room was at least double the size of the suite I'd met Katie and Tony in earlier this morning. There were two bedrooms as opposed to just the one, and I saw that one of the bedroom doors was closed, the other open, and there was movement in the open one.

"Not bad," I said, looking around. "I wish I could say this upgrade was on me, but I had no idea," I laughed. "How'd the wedding go?"

"It was perfect. Just lovely. And the reception was just as good. Everybody was pleased, and we all had a great time. Now is where the fun begins," she said, a knowing look in her eye.

"Are you going to be joining us?" I asked, a part of me hoping she'd say yes. She was giving off strong Avery vibes right now and I missed my girlfriend tremendously.

"Oh, no," she said laughing. "This is the Katie show, trust me. I'm just here to get things ready for them."

I nodded at this. "Tell me where I need to be."

Jasmine went to go check on Katie, who was apparently in the room with the open door. She came out a few seconds later with Katie in tow. Katie was wearing one of the white fluffy Elysium robes, her hair still done up like it had been for the wedding.

"Jack! Thank you so much for coming and for everything you've done for us. I can't believe you're actually here! Tony is going to love this, I know."

I was imagining what she had on under the robe when she took it off and threw it onto the couch.

Katie looked like she'd come straight from the BDSM section of Noctis. She was wearing a black leather harness that crisscrossed her body, wrapped her arms and legs in straps of shiny cowhide, but left her breasts, the landing strip of fine blonde hair above her pussy and her ass exposed and framed. Her breasts, as I recalled, were perky and moderately sized, resting high up on her chest. Around her neck she still wore that little gold chain with the key on it.

"I thought brides were supposed to wear white?" I said, teasingly.

Katie smirked at me. "You'll find a lot of things reversed in this relationship, Jack," she told me. "You ready for some fun?"

"I'm as ready as I'll ever be, Mrs. Blakenship," I told her, remembering Tony's last name.

"That's Mrs. Lampton, Jack," she told me, her smile widening. "And you're about to meet Mr. Lampton for the first time. Tony's taking my last name."

I raised my eyebrow at this. This was certainly not what I'd been expecting. Then again, nothing about these two had met any of my expectations. When Jasmine first texted me about the indecent proposal, I had assumed this was going to be some kind of cuck thing, where I'd be fucking Katie as Tony watched. Then Jasmine had told me Katie wanted to watch, so I assumed I'd be fucking Jasmine. But knowing that I was going to be fucking Tony? Well, I guess nothing should have surprised me at that point.

Naïve, remember?

Jasmine said her goodbyes, gave Katie a not-at-all chaste kiss on the mouth and groped one of her exposed tits, and then left us alone. I looked at Katie, who shrugged.

"Very old friend-with-benefits. I told Tony I wasn't giving up any of my old friends when we got married, and he agreed. He always agrees," she said, with a knowing look.

"Let's not keep him waiting too long," I said. "It is his wedding night, after all."

Katie grinned at me and led me towards the closed door of the other bedroom. She opened the door and we both stepped through, and I was surprised all over again.

Tony was standing before the bed, with a white sleep mask over his eyes. It read "GROOM" across it in picked out, cursive letters. It presented a major contrast with his black skin, but so did the rest of what he was wearing.

He had on a normal, plain white t-shirt, like the kind I was wearing myself under my suit. Unlike me, however, he was wearing underwear, although that was me being generous in my definitions.

The 'underwear' he had on was a tiny, white g-string, with a small triangle of lace that barely covered his crotch. It was the kind of underwear I would have expected to see on Katie on their wedding night, honestly, not on a guy Tony's size.

But the shocks didn't end there, as I realized that he was wearing a bright silver chastity cage over his penis. It had a tiny padlock on the side, and I knew instantly that the key that Katie had been wearing around her neck wasn't some kind of teenager's BFF pendant -- I had assumed Jasmine had the other half until that moment -- but instead it unlocked Tony's cage.

"Tony, your surprise has arrived," Katie cooed at him. She walked over and took hold of his penis through the cage and the g-string and tugged on it. "Now, I want you to be a good boy, get on your knees and open your mouth. Understand?"

Tony didn't say a word. He just nodded and did as he was told.

Katie turned to me, stepped over and gave me a deep kiss, her breasts on my chest and her hand resting on my crotch. Without saying another word, she began to undress me. My suit coat, my slacks, my shirt and my undershirt all ended up on the cuck chair in the bedroom, and soon I was standing nude before the pair of them.

Not that Tony noticed. His blindfold was still on, he was still caged, but he was on his knees, his mouth open and waiting.

I began to stroke my cock, my mind still trying to take in the scene before me. I'd been involved in a variety of sexual situations over the last year, but this one was unique. The standard cuck fetish was well known to me -- it was probably playing out in a dozen rooms in the hotel right now. I'd even seen some porn that included women watching their men being fucked by other men, but that was almost always twink white guys and Black bulls. This was a complete reversal of what I was used to, and I had to admit that it turned me on. Between the freshness of this scenario and the double dose of Viagra coursing through my veins, I was rock hard in no time.

"Tony, we've talked a lot about this, love," Katie said, getting down on her knees to caress Tony's face as she spoke to him. She slid a finger into his mouth, which he dutifully began to suck. "You remember when we first met? When we were sharing our deepest, darkest fantasies with each other? It was a long time ago, but I remembered what you told me."

She began to kiss his neck, and I could see he was getting worked up. His breathing became a little labored, and his mouth began to suck more urgently on her fingers. She continued whispering to him. "You wanted a big white cock. It was your naughtiest fantasy. Well, guess what? I never told you this, but it was one of my fantasies, too. I have wanted to watch you take a big white cock for years now. And now, we're both going to get to live out our fantasies."

Katie looked at me and motioned me over. Soon I was hovering over both of them, my cock twitching lewdly before their mouths. Katie reached up and tugged off Tony's blindfold. He blinked rapidly a few times, his eyes adjusting to the light in the room.

When he saw my cock, then saw who it was attached to, his eyes widened in shock, then narrowed in lust, and a moan escaped his lips.

"Happy wedding day, Mr. Lampton," she told him. I pushed my cock towards his mouth. Katie withdrew her fingers, which instantly found their way into her crotch.

Both of Tony's hands came up, one grabbing my penis by the base, the other caressing my balls, and he slowly, gingerly, took me into his mouth. The warm wetness of it was lovely. I'd gone most of the day without sex, despite being titillated by watching Cassidy performing her usual routine in the sports book, then enjoying Jasmine's mouth and getting to watch all the couples in Noctis around us. I was ready to fuck, but I knew part of the fun for Tony would be getting to suck my dick, and for Katie it would be watching her husband service a hung, white porn star.

I've gotten a lot of blowjobs in my day, some better than others. Avery's first one was clumsy, but enthusiastic. I remembered Paul, the random guy I'd hooked up with in the Vespers bathroom right after I'd gotten to the Elysium last year, who was probably one of the worst I'd ever had. Misaki's blowjobs were exquisite, like the rest of her. But of all the blowjobs I'd received over the last year, none of them were as... unique... as the one with Tony and Katie Lampton.

Tony was worshipping my cock. And when I say worshipping, I mean he was in love. He couldn't stop touching it, couldn't stop rubbing it on his face, using his lips, his tongue, and his fingers, to touch it, caress it, taste it. Was it the best blowjob I'd ever received? It was probably in the top five, but his enthusiasm for what he was doing made it different.

Katie sat back on her heels, her fingers stuffed up her sopping wet pussy, a look of pure hedonism on her face. It was clear that this was just as much a fantasy come to life for her as it was for Tony. As Tony's mouth bobbed up and down on my cock, I saw her lean in and begin to kiss Tony's neck, murmuring sweet nothings into his ears that only he could hear. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the feeling of his mouth on my cock.

Soon his moans and groans around my dick began to resemble speech, and I opened my eyes and looked down at him. He was staring up at me, his dark brown eyes full of longing.

"Tell him, babe," Katie was whispering to her husband. "Ask him. Beg him."

"Fuck me," Tony said in a whisper that was so soft I couldn't really make it out.

"Louder," Katie ordered.

"Fuck me," Tony said, in a slightly louder voice, but which still wasn't much louder than library speech.

"I said louder, Tony," Katie commanded. Her hand went down and gripped his caged penis, and she began to pull.

"Fuck me!" He said, this time much louder, in a voice that could have been heard in the other room.

"Beg!" She growled. "Beg Jack to fuck your ass, Tony!"

"Please! Mister Fisher, please! I need your cock in my asshole! I need you to fill me up with your big white cock! Please!" There was a note of pleading in his voice that I could tell Katie liked, as she cooed gently before holding her hand out to me to help pull her to her feet.

I stepped back, and Katie helped get Tony on his feet, and then positioned him on the bed on all fours. I took a few steps over to the nightstand, opened it, and pulled out the ubiquitous tube of lube provided by the Sex Toy Gideons throughout the Elysium. I lubed my cock and then stepped around towards the head of the bed, where Katie was holding Tony's ass cheeks apart.

I watched as he prepared him for me, moistening a finger in her mouth and sliding it into his ass up to the first knuckle, which elicited yet another groan from the young man.

"Jack, this is Tony's first time. He's never had a cock in his ass before," Katie said, looking into my eyes.

I was expecting the usual 'be gentle, it's his first time' talk, but, of course, Katie had different ideas.

"I want you to tear him to pieces," she said, a lewd smile crossing her face. "Fuck him like you've never fucked a man's ass before. I want to hear him scream," she said. "And don't worry. This is what he wants, isn't it, dear?"

There was a murmur from Tony, whose face was planted firmly in a pillow Katie had placed strategically for him.

"I can't hear you, love," she admonished. Her finger slid all the way into his ass, and he yelped.

"Yes! Destroy my asshole, Mister Fisher!" Tony said, his muffled voice now completely audible.

I smiled at Katie, who gave me a wry grin, and then withdrew her finger, placing her hands on both of his cheeks and spreading his ass open for me again. I could see his anus puckering as he clenched and unclenched, waiting to be filled by my cock.

I'm well above average in the endowment department, but I've rarely had an issue with men in the butt sex department. Avery was a slow process, but she loved it once she got used to me, and Eva was still in the experimental phase. But every man I've ever fucked has been wildly enthusiastic when it came to getting fucked, and Tony was no different, despite his virgin hole.

I pressed the head of my well lubed rod at the entrance to his boypussy, and I immediately felt him pushing back on me, trying to help me get deeper inside him. He grunted with the effort, and soon the head of my cock was engulfed. I kept pushing in and he kept pushing back and soon we'd crossed the tightness of his sphincter and I was lodged firmly, all the way into his asshole.

"It's so fucking big," Tony rasped, taking a deep breath and releasing it in a shudder. "Fuck me hard, Mister Fisher! Give it to me!"

I did as the man requested. I withdrew my cock completely, watching as his asshole gaped at me, then I plunged it back in, earning a whimper and another shuddering breath. Katie whooped with joy as I began to furiously fuck her husband's willing ass.

I grabbed the side of his hips and pulled him back to me as I pushed forward my balls slapping into his, as they hung down below his still caged penis. I had no idea how big a cock Tony had, as I could see almost nothing of it beyond the steel of the chastity device he was locked into.

Katie walked around the bed, first to the left, then to the right, taking the entire scene in. I have to admit, looking at Katie with her breasts on display, along with the rest of her, as she paced around the two of us was turning me on even more than the feel of Tony's tight, virginal butthole around my cock.

We soon got into a good rhythm, and I could feel his ass muscles milking my cock. I knew I wasn't going to last too much longer, but I did my best to hold out as long as I could, because I wanted to give him a night he'd never forget. It was his wedding night, after all.

My mind wandered a bit as I fucked him, imagining what my wedding night would be like. Would we go the route Mom and Sol had gone, with the whole family present for an orgy? Or would be keep it simple, just the three of us?

It hit me that I was automatically assuming I'd be marrying both Avery and Eva, and a felt a grin break out on my face.

"I'm glad you're enjoying yourself, Jack," Katie said, seeing my look of pleasure. She had no idea what I was actually thinking about, but it pleased me that she thought I was having fun. Which, to be fair, I was. Her husband was a great fuck. "My turn, though," she said.

And with that, she climbed up on the bed and spread her legs, sliding as close to Tony's face as she could get with the pillow in the way. "Lick my pussy, Tony. Make me cum," she ordered.

Tony lifted his face from the pillow and pulled it out of the way, and then he reached up and pulled Katie's lower body towards him, burying his nose in her wispy blonde pussy hair and eliciting a shriek of pleasure from his wife.

I fucked his ass while Tony ate his wife out for a solid four or five minutes, until I knew I couldn't hold back anymore. "I'm going to cum," I said, the first time I'd spoken during this entire affair.

"Dump your load in his asshole," Katie ordered. "And when you're done, plug him, with this," she said. From somewhere amongst the leather of her harness, she withdrew a jeweled buttplug -- a large one from the look of it -- and reached across Tony to hand it to me.

She was certainly prepared. I held the buttplug in my hand, as my other hand remained on Tony's hip. I could feel my orgasm rising, and I began to thrust harder and faster. Tony began to grunt, and I could tell he was feeling the full brunt of my cock in his ass. I almost felt bad -- he was going to have trouble walking in the morning. But that seems to be what he and Katie wanted, so I pushed away that brief pang of conscience and focused on my climax.

I felt my prostate begin to pump, and the pleasure hit me as the first rope of cum jetted from the tip of my cock, which was still deep in Tony's bowels. He groaned as he felt the first jet, and so did I, but I kept pumping until I'd dumped my entire load into his ass.

I quickly withdrew my cock, which was still hard, and watched as his asshole gaped as I shoved home the buttplug, trapping my cum deep inside him. The diamond jewel twinkled in the low light of the bedroom.

I withdrew a few steps away, and caught my breath, as I watched Tony continue to pleasure his wife. Her breathing grew erratic, and she soon had both hands on the back of his head, pushing his face deep into her crotch. A few more minutes of this, and she threw her head back and began to scream that she was about to cum, her hands pounding on the bed as she ground her pussy into Tony's face. She began to shriek, and I knew she'd gotten off. Tony seemed immensely pleased with himself.

After a few minutes of rest, Katie got up off the bed, crossed over to me and took my hands in hers.

"Thank you, Jack," she said, getting up on her tiptoes to give me a sweet kiss on the cheek. "This was everything we hoped and dreamed it would be. There's one last thing I'd like and then you're free to stay or go, if you want."

"I'm happy I could help be a part of your big day," I said to her.

She reached up, took hold of the gold necklace with the key to Tony's chastity cage from around her neck.

"It's time to free the beast," she said, laughing throatily.

Tony, with an expectant look of joy on his face, pushed himself off the bed. I could tell that his legs were shaky, but he must have been waiting for this, and so he presented himself to his wife.

Katie stepped over, leaned down and unlocked the tiny padlock, removing it from the cage and then pulling the cage apart. Tony's cock flopped out and immediately began to inflate. His cock was nothing special -- a completely average cock in size, but he must have been caged for a while because the look on his face now that he was freed was close to ecstatic.

"Jack, Tony has been in that cage for months now, ever since I asked him to marry me," Katie said. "I wanted him to look forward to this moment as much as I did. So now, for the first time in nine months, he's going to get to fuck me. Thank you for everything you've done for us," she continued, looking at me, as she took Tony's cock in her hand and began to tug on it, while still staring at me. "You're welcome to stay and watch, or you can head out. The choice is up to you. Thank you, so much!"

"Happy to be of service," I told them. I walked over to the cuck chair and collected my clothes.

I dropped them on the floor beside it and took a seat.

Katie grinned at me and pulled her husband over to the bed.

* * *

Thursday afternoon, July 21, 1983

Lorenzi Park, Las Vegas

They met in the same spot, in Lorenzi Park. This time, Winston got there first. He sat on the same bench, staring out over the same lakes. It was just after two in the afternoon, and the park was full of people. The Chin's message had said to meet at three, and Winston was determined to get there first.

He watched the families playing, Moms pushing kids in strollers, older kids running around and playing, enjoying another day of their summer vacation. Winnie missed his children. Carl and Liz were growing up, almost teenagers now, and he only saw them in fits and spurts. He knew Vegas was no place for children, and their mother agreed. So he saw them once a month at best.

Part of him wondered why he'd ever consented to marry Maggie. His parents had forced him into the marriage after it became clear he was 'dissipating himself with loose women' in Vegas, as his mother had termed it. Maggie came from a respectable Virginia family, was happy marrying into another renowned family, and was happy to spend copious amounts of his money without needing to spend copious amounts of time with him.

Theirs was a loveless marriage, but Winnie had never considered himself the marrying type. He preferred the company of women he could pay to go away when he was finished with them. He was married more to the Oasis than he was to any woman of flesh and blood. Maggie was pretty, polite and stiffly cordial with him, but she could never understand his fascination with Las Vegas. She preferred rural Virginia and her occasional trips to Nashville and Atlanta. And so they saw each other once a month and considered themselves lucky.

He wished his children were here with him. And he wished he played a bigger role in Bathsheba's life, beyond that of the 'rich, doting old boss who maintained fond memories of a former employee and her daughter.' That's all he'd ever be to Sheba, and part of him ached for more. He wanted to hold his grandson, see him grow up. He wanted Carl and Liz to be here with him and help dispel some of the loneliness.

No number of trysts with the Tiffanys and the Belles of his world could fill the void he knew lurked inside him. In that, he envied Victor Romano. At twenty, he already had something that Winston never would, and he got to see his child every night. He got to hold her and squeeze her and tuck her in, then go to bed with her mother and sleep the sleep of the just. Romano wasn't plagued by second thoughts or the guilty conscience of a man who has spent most of his adult life complicit in one crime or another, making money for murderers and using his job to seduce women into sleeping with him.

Winston watched the wind blow ripples across the twin lakes across from his perch on the bench. Was he ready to give up on life? Had he lived enough? Did he deserve to keep going, given all the things he'd done? Was he really going to trade the life of a twenty-year-old kid with a wife and a new daughter for his own?

He still hadn't made up his mind what to do. He knew he was being unreasonable -- the chances The Chin would actually kill him if he didn't give up the leak were low, in his estimation. But he also had never seen the Genovese like this before. They seemed to be in shambles. Just last week, they were late picking up the skim from the Oasis counting room. That was unprecedented. It had never happened before, and that, more than anything else, had shaken him. The Feds were serious this time, and their investigation was reverberating throughout the organization, shaking things that had once worked like a well-oiled machine.

If they were willing to let nearly a hundred grand sit waiting to be collected, what other things were they letting slide now? He remembered how The Chin had looked last week, how he seemed on edge, the threats more explicit than they had ever been before. That was not the behavior of someone in control. He recalled that meeting in '69 when The Chin told him Elvis was moving to the International, how poised and matter of fact Jimmy had been. Compared to that meeting, last week The Chin was positively unhinged. Who knew what he was capable of now, with the specter of prison hanging over him?

"You got here early, eh?" The Chin said, taking a seat next to Winnie. "I appreciate punctuality."

"So do I, Jimmy," Winston said. "I was surprised last week." Winston looked straight ahead, watching the kids playing by the lakes.

Jimmy said nothing. The silence dragged on, and finally Winston spoke again.

"Twenty-two years I've been working with you all, and nobody ever missed a pick-up."

The silence was deafening. The Chin wasn't taking the bait. He was here for one reason, and one reason only and it wasn't to discuss the organization's failings.

Winston sighed. "If I tell you who the leak is, you're going to finish him."

The Chin grunted. It was the only sound he'd made since sitting down.

"I need your word, Jimmy."

"You need my word for what, Winnie?" The Chin said, finally speaking. He pulled out a cigarette from a pack in his sports coat and lit up. That earned him some dirty looks from a few of the moms, who moved their kids away from the two men.

"That if I tell you who the leak was you won't get rid of him." Winston knew he was on thin ice, that he was in no position to demand anything or request anything, but he didn't want this kid's life on his conscience. He had enough on it already.

"You care more about whoever this is than you do yourself? Because if you don't tell me, then I'm going to tell our friends back east it was you. They don't take kindly to disloyalty, Winnie. You know that." The threat was so blatant it made Winston see red.

"You aren't going to kill me. And you know why. So let us dispense with the bullshit, Jimmy. I will tell you who the leak is, but you gotta promise me not to whack him. Scare him, rough him up, send him threats and bully him all you want. But let the man live. Weissman is the guy you want."

"We can't touch Weissman."

"So he's allowed to print what he wants with no repercussions, but you want to off a guy who talked to him? How the fuck does that make any sense?" Winston snarled.

The Chin said nothing.

The Genovese were never the most logical of criminal organizations, Winston clearly understood the family was in disarray. It was actually worse than he suspected. Ever since Vito Genovese had gone to jail and then died in prison, the family had been run ostensibly by a 'front boss' who was designed to fool the feds into wasting resources, while the family itself was run by a troika of capos that represented different parts of the family's geographical control. The feds had arrested Funzi Tieri in 1981, the front boss at the time. Fat Tony Salerno became the new front boss, and Benny Squint Lombardo was the de facto power. He had just retired, and there was a power struggle underway for control.

And it didn't help that there was a new United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York who had a hard-on for organized crime. Rudolph Guiliani had burst onto the scene wanting to make a name for himself, after serving as Associate Attorney General in DC. He'd already made it clear he was gunning for the Genovese. That, coupled with the Vegas embezzlement investigation, had rocked the family to its core.

As The Chin sat there, his control and influence was at its lowest ebb since his father had gone to jail in 1970. He was about to be indicted himself, and was looking at an even longer stint than his father. The family was under siege, and the result was anarchy. They didn't know who or what to trust.

And that's why this whole situation had been manufactured. It was never about the leak. It was about whether Chesterfield could be trusted. The Chin already knew who the leak was. Lester Hemingway had fingered Romano from the beginning. This whole thing had always been about whether Chesterfield was reliable. The comments in the meeting, the things Weissman had printed, had made some folks back east question whether Winnie was still the man they'd brought up back in '61.

Had Winston known any of this, it would have changed his calculus. He didn't. So he pushed ahead.

"You can't touch Weissman, and you can't touch me. So there's no reason for me to give you the leak's name. I should just get up and walk away and let you go fuck yourself, thinking you can push me around," Winston said. "You've been pushing me around for years, and all I've done is earn and earn for you people."

Winston sighed.

"But I'm not disloyal. I know I wouldn't be where I am if it weren't for you. And so that's why I'm going to give you the name. All I am asking -- after decades of making you money -- is that you don't kill the man. Is that too much to ask? I've never asked you for anything, not once, in twenty-two years, Jimmy. We've grown up together. You owe me this," Winston finished.

Oddly enough, Winston wasn't scared. His heart wasn't beating fast. His palms weren't sweaty. He was as calm as he'd ever been. He finally felt like he was in control of something, and he had leverage. And this was, after all, the least risky move he could make. Give them Romano, demand they not kill the man, and everybody walked away happy. His family would be safe, he'd cement his loyal status with the guys back east, and Romano would learn an important lesson about Las Vegas. Might even do the kid some good.

It was a fatal miscalculation, even if he wasn't solely to blame for what happened next.

"We owe you, huh?" The Chin said, grunting out a sardonic laugh. "It wasn't enough to set you up here, get you your first job in Vegas, then when you learned the ropes to help you buy a casino to play with? Wasn't enough to let you make millions? Restore the family fortune? We still owe you?" The Chin shifted in his seat, stubbed out the cigarette, which had burned down to the filter, and lit another one.

"Okay, Winnie," The Chin said. "Okay. I promise. We won't axe the leaker. Is that good enough?"

Winston looked at him sideways. Could he trust Jimmy? Was Jimmy just saying that to placate him, or was it sincere? Winston wrestled with the questions and flipped a coin in his head.

"Yeah, Jimmy. I'll take your word for it," Chesterfield said, pausing. He looked up at the sky, then over at the moms and the kids playing. He heard laughter and shouting, the wind blowing through the trees. It was a beautiful day. Winston would remember it for the rest of his life.

"Romano."

* * *

Sunday night, June 6, 2032

The Empire Luxe Hotel, Las Vegas

The Empire Luxe Hotel was, by far, the largest hotel and casino in Las Vegas. It had been built on a grand scale back in the late 1980s and was expanded multiple times over the years. Boasting more than eight thousand rooms in its twin towers, the hotel was a labyrinth of gaming areas, restaurants, a full-sized retail area that rivaled most big malls around the country, the largest convention space in Las Vegas and the worldwide headquarters of Empire Luxe Holdings.

"I still can't get over that not only do you live here, you also own the joint," Avery said, dipping her tiny plastic spoon into a cup of gelato and bringing it to her mouth. "This place is so big, I'm surprised it doesn't have its own weather."

"It certainly takes getting used to," Eva said, laughing. She took a sip of her cappuccino, and savored the heat and the creaminess of the frothy drink. Avery had a sweet tooth, but Eva had never cared for cold treats. They had settled on an Italian style restaurant and bar, where each could get what they preferred. Her father had made sure there were good Italian and Greek eateries in the hotel, openly displaying his heritage.

"I don't know about you, but I'm beat. Should we go home or go upstairs?" Eva said, taking another sip. "What are you in the mood for?"

Avery grinned at her girlfriend and used her tongue to lasciviously lick the last traces of gelato from the spoon. "If I know Jack, he's already gotten himself into some kind of trouble back home. Let him have his fun. We can have some of our own..." she said, giving Eva one of her famous mischievous grins.

"That's all you had to say," Eva told her, laughing. "Check please!"

The ladies made their way upstairs to the residence level, where the Romano family had their various apartments. Miles and Mikey had a room up here, as did Eva, although both pairs spent most of their time at the Elysium. The bulk of the residence, which spanned an entire floor in the north tower of the Empire Luxe, was taken up by Vex and Ilsa's home, more than ten thousand square feet of apartments that rivaled anything anywhere in the city.

Eva's rooms were far smaller, but still lavishly appointed, with antique furniture, gold filigree, plush velvets and deep blue carpets their feet sank into. Her father would have been at home in a rococo palace in Italy, and the Empire Luxe mirrored his tastes.

As Eva and Avery entered, they saw that the staff had already brought up their purchases, which were stacked neatly on the large round table that sat in the lobby of her suite.

"Damn, Eva," Avery said, looking at the stack of packages. "I didn't realize we bought that much stuff. And I've got to give the Empire Luxe staff credit. I don't feel like we were at the restaurant that long!"

"My father is a stickler for service," Eva said. "He expects everything to be just the way he wants it, and he assumes everybody else does, too. The staff learned a long time ago how to get on his good side."

"And how do they get on your good side?" Avery asked, looking at her girlfriend with a raised eyebrow, a coy look on her face. It was pretty tame as far as flirting goes, but Eva could tell right away that Avery was in the mood. That, alone, was enough to get Eva's juices flowing.

"I like good service, too," Eva said, taking a step closer to Avery and sliding her hands around Avery's waist. "Care to service me?"

"I was hoping you'd ask that," Avery purred, lowering her lips towards Eva's.

The two women were soon locked in a passionate kiss, their breasts mashing together, their tongues twirling. Eva could smell Avery's perfume, which smelled like honey and leather, and she could taste a hint of vanilla on her lips, the ghost of her gelato from the restaurant downstairs.

As their kiss lingered, Avery's hands drifted down Eva's torso and grabbed her ass cheeks. She pulled Eva tight, as Eva's hands caressed Avery's arms, enjoying the feel of her soft, supple skin.

Eva pulled back from the kiss, smiled at her girlfriend and then nipped gently at her nose, as her hands came up and cupped Avery's large breasts, then moved up to slide her sun dress off her shoulders. Soon Avery's bra was exposed, and Eva reached around behind to undo the five clasps that held up the modern marvel of cloth and wire that could contain Avery's amazing boobs.

With a snap, the final clasp came loose, and Eva placed her fingers just under and inside the cups, savoring the look and feel of Avery's breasts in the lacy contraption, before removing it and freeing them.

"Gentle..." Avery said to Eva. "They're a little sore," she added. Eva lifted up the cups of the bra and felt Avery's breasts descend just slightly, still amazingly firm and perky despite their size. Eva kissed down Avery's neck, along her collarbone, until she took Avery's left nipple in her mouth and sucked gently.

Avery sighed and reached up to tweak the right nipple with her hands, looking down to watch as Eva suckled at her tit, staring up into her eyes with a look of lust and longing that Avery couldn't wait to satisfy. Eva shifted from Avery's left breast to her right, where she repeated the operation, and soon Avery felt her crotch flood with moisture. She threw her head back and closed her eyes, enjoying the sensation.

"Mmm... turn around," Eva said, and she spun Avery around, tugging her sun dress down the rest of the way. Avery bent over the table, her breasts pendulously swaying, brushing up against the stack of their shopping boxes. Eva slid down, brushed aside Avery's long, curly black hair and kissed her way from the middle of Avery's back to her ass. As she reached her ass, Eva slapped Avery's ass cheek, earning her a squeal of delight, and then dipped her tongue into Avery's anus. She rimmed her girlfriend for a few seconds, causing Avery to fidget underneath her before her mouth found Avery's pussy. Eva breathed deep, the inviting smell of Avery's arousal filling her nostrils as she licked along Avery's vaginal opening, earning her another moan and a coo of delight.

After a few seconds of this, Avery straightened up, pulled Eva to her feet, and began to unbutton Eva's white blouse, stripping her of both it and her bra, and then unzipping the royal blue pleated skirt Eva had been wearing. Eva kicked off her Hermes flats, then stepped out of her clothes, and turned to walk farther into the apartment.

Eva's rooms were laid out in a similar way to Jack's apartments in the Elysium. Directly across from the entrance was a row of wall to ceiling glass windows that looked out onto the Strip. To the right was a large living room, filled with couches, chairs, bookcases and a large television mounted on the wall. To the left was the kitchen, with every modern gadget, a massive Sub-Zero fridge and other high-end appliances. Between the kitchen and the living room was a large marble-topped island, with a row of bar chairs that faced the away from the living room.

Eva glided over to the nearest bar chair, and sat down, resting her left leg on the rest built into the chair, and placing her right leg up on the marble of the island, spreading her legs to show off her cleanly shaved pussy.

"My turn," she said huskily, crooking a finger at Avery and then pointing down towards her crotch. Avery grinned and crossed the room, bending over and taking Eva's clit into her mouth. She began to suck gently, as Eva grabbed two handfuls of her own breasts and threw her head back to enjoy Avery's mouth. Soon Eva began to caress Avery's head with her hand, and Avery pulled her mouth from Eva's clit, licked her fingers, and then began to rub Eva's pussy.

Eva threw her head back again and closed her eyes, with one hand on Avery's head urging her to continue, while the other grabbed her own left nipple and began to pinch and squeeze it, sending little shocks through her body.

"That's it, Ree-Ree," Eva said, using her recently coined pet name for Avery, biting her lip and gasping. "Work that clit, love, I'm so close. Use your tongue and your fingers! I'm so wet! Ohhh... fuck!"

Avery looked up at Eva and smiled. "Don't cum yet. You're not allowed to cum yet. We've barely gotten started!"

"You love to tease me, Ree-Ree! Give it to me, girl," she cooed, as Avery lowered her head back down and began to lick Eva's love button, her fingers probing into Eva's sopping pussy. Soon she began to finger Eva deeply, first two and then three fingers, while her tongue was latched onto Eva's clit.

"Hold that thought, babe. Let me make this a little easier for you," Eva said, standing up and climbing onto the island, and spreading her legs. Avery took the seat Eva had vacated. She leaned over, which let her sit while still reaching Eva's pussy, and began to lick and stroke her again, one hand back in Eva's pussy and the other caressing her thigh up and down and reaching up as far as her abdomen before tracing her way back down to Eva's calf.

It was a slow, languid, love making, the kind between two women who know each other's bodies well, and have plenty of time to enjoy a soft, sensual session together. Eva looked down, her pretty breasts heaving slightly as she watched the top of Avery's head move up and down in time to the rhythm her tongue and fingers were making inside. Eva began to moan. "Oh Ree, you are so sexy..." she purred, and she began to move her hips in time, trying to grind her clit into Avery's mouth as she kept licking. Avery giggled a little, and then dove back in, doing her best to prolong the pleasure and ease Eva into a climax.

"Can I cum now? Are you going to let me this time?" Eva asked, as she felt the unmistakable fluttering in her stomach that signaled an impending massive orgasm.

"Cum for me, Evie!" Avery urged, her voice muffled as she kept her mouth where it needed to be if she was going to give Eva the orgasm they were both craving. She kept her pace steady, her tongue and fingers working in tandem to keep the feeling in Eva building towards the explosion she knew was just a few moments away.

"Oh God, please, keep going! I need this, need this..." Eva said, her moans growing louder and more insistent. Soon she felt the wave of pleasure cresting and it hit her like a tsunami, breaking over her and making her legs shake. She screamed with pleasure, holding herself up by her abs as both hands gripped Avery's head and pushed her face down onto Eva's clit. Soon she couldn't take any more touch, her pussy now too sensitive for touch, and she let go of Avery's head and pulled herself back, closing her legs with a squeal.

Avery grinned at Eva, and slid her breasts up Eva's body, until their mouths were close together. She whispered, "I hope you found my service acceptable, dear."

Eva grinned at her, nipped at Avery's lips with her teeth and then reached around her to pull her into a big hug and a kiss. Avery came up out of the bar chair, and Eva wrapped her legs around Avery's waist and threw her hands around her neck, the pair kissing.

Avery lifted Eva off the island, earning a happy shriek of delight, and carried Eva into the bedroom, where she walked backwards until the pair fell on the bed together, Eva on top and Avery underneath.

"My turn," Avery said, smiling as Eva slid down her girlfriend's body, spread Avery's legs and dove down to her waiting pussy.

Avery was even wetter than Eva had been, their prolonged make out session and Eva's first orgasm on the kitchen island driving Avery crazy with lust. She wanted to feel every bit of Eva, wanted to squeeze her tits, slap her ass, shove her tongue down Eva's throat, while holding on to her and riding her all the way to as big an orgasm as the one she'd just given. But she wasn't in control now, Eva was, and Eva wanted to tease and taunt her girlfriend, bringing her to the edge of ecstasy and then pulling back.

Three, four, five times she did this, until Avery was a quivering mess of limbs and hair. Every nerve ending was on fire, and she desperately needed to come. She began to beg.

"Eva, stop teasing! I need it! I need to cum, Eva, let me cum, please... please..." she moaned, thrashing her head from side to side. Eva looked up at her, her mouth still clamped down onto Avery's opening, her tongue tracing Avery's lips and just brushing her clit, never touching it directly, the hint of it being enough to drive Avery mad with desire.

Finally, Eva ended the teasing, and her tongue found Avery's clit. The moment her tongue began to lick, the feeling hit Avery like a bolt of lightning, and it triggered one of the biggest orgasms Avery had ever had. She pounded her left hand on the bed, while she bit her right hand to keep from screaming.

"Go ahead and scream babe," Eva said. "No one will hear it, and if they do, it's nothing they haven't heard before," she said, laughing throatily. "Scream for me, Avery!"

And with that, Eva doubled down, licking even harder and faster. Avery couldn't hold it in, and she let loose a wild scream of pleasure, throwing her hair to the side and mauling her tits with her hands, savagely squeezing her nipples and tugging on them. It was at that moment she most regretted never following Emily Fisher's footsteps and getting her nipples pierced, because she knew that would have heightened her pleasure. She resolved to remedy that situation as soon as she could when they got back to the Elysium.

That was the last conscious thought she had before her orgasm exploded. She saw stars, the feeling rising up until it coursed through her body, from the balls of her feet to the hairs on her head. Her eyes rolled back, and she squeezed her legs together, until Eva began to slap at Avery's legs, trying to get her to relax her legs and let go, as Eva's head was still down between her thighs.

"Don't suffocate me! Damn, woman!" Eva said, laughing. Avery laughed too, feeling a bit embarrassed that she'd lost control of herself, before falling back onto the bed exhausted and sated. After a few moments, Eva crawled up beside Avery and the two cuddled together, each shivering a little as the feeling of their orgasms began to fade.

"Mmmm, that was nice," Eva said, laying her head on Avery's shoulder and absentmindedly running her fingers up and down the curves of Avery's breasts. "I needed that," she said, a feeling of contentment flowing through her.

"Me too, babygirl," Avery said, kissing the top of Eva's head and running her fingers through Eva's long, platinum blonde hair. "What do you want to do now?"

"It's getting late, just turn the TV on for some background noise and let's go to bed, okay?" Eva said, rolling over and grabbing the remote from her nightstand and dropping it into Avery's waiting hand.

Avery turned on the TV and tuned it to Fox 5's eleven PM news broadcast. She put it low and laid back on the bed, resting her head on the pillow, as Eva snuggled into her.

"Wait, what the fuck?" Avery said, sitting up suddenly.

"Hey!" Eva said, as her head was unceremoniously dumped onto the bed as Avery sat up.

Avery fumbled for the remote to raise the volume.

"What is it?" Eva asked, as the volume on the TV rose steadily.

The pair stared at the news broadcast, as John Huck, the Fox 5 at 11 anchor, read from the teleprompter the breaking political news of the evening.

"In what is already being termed the biggest political comeback in Nevada history if it happens, disgraced former Speaker of the Nevada House Ursula Best has announced she will be running to fill the Las Vegas Congressional seat recently vacated by Vivian Bentley. Bentley, who held the seat for more than decade, left the House after she was appointed by Governor Prescott to fill the vacant Senate seat formerly held by Vice President Douglas Stone. Best resigned in 2031 after a sordid sex scandal involving her and a family pet. Today, she announced before a crowd of more than a hundred supporters that she believes it's time for Nevada voters to forgive and forget," Huck said.

The camera cut to a shot of a crowd of people holding up "She's the Best!" signs, as a mousey woman with black sunglasses and a Karen hairdo stood at the podium and waved at the crowd.

"Nevadans don't care about what goes on in the privacy of someone's home! They care about results! And when I was House Speaker, we cut taxes for all Nevadans, improved the quality of life for people around the state, and helped foster in a new era of prosperity here in Las Vegas. And that's why I'm running for Congress -- because I'm the 'Best' woman for the job!"

"What the absolute fuck," Avery said, fuming. "I can't believe this!"

"I don't even know who that is," Eva said, staring at the screen. "And why are you so upset? It's just another random idiot running for Congress. Happens every day."

"Eva!" Avery said, looking at her girlfriend with shock in her eyes. "You don't know who that is? What she did?"

"No?" Eva said, shrugging. "I've never had much use for politics, except where it came to the business," she told Avery.

Avery looked at Eva, her mouth flopping open and shut, looking all together like a stunned carp. Then she realized that nobody could possibly have been more invested in the Best investigation than she was, and there was no reason why Eva should remember or care about it as much as she did. Avery took a deep breath, counted to five, and began to explain.

"I was responsible for that woman's resignation. She was fucking her dog and putting it on the internet, Eva! I spent a year on that investigation, and the Trib was nominated for a Pulitzer prize for our reporting. We would have won, too, if the subject matter wasn't so ... disgusting. And that's not all I found, but nobody cared about the fraud and the graft after the videos came out," Avery continued to fume. "I can't believe she'd run for Congress! We can't have somebody like that in Washington representing us. We'd be a laughingstock!"

Eva didn't think she'd ever seen Avery this upset. She gave Avery a quick hug, hoping it would calm her down. Avery got up and began pacing in the bedroom. She was still naked from their earlier tryst, and while Avery may not have noticed, Eva certainly did, and she enjoyed looking at Avery as she paced nude, her breasts bouncing jauntily as she went back and forth.

The news continued with the piece on the race.

"Best is the clear frontrunner in the race now, with so many candidates throwing their hats into the ring. The special election, which will be held in September, is expected to be a very low turnout affair, which has given many candidates hope that they will be able to win with a plurality and go to Washington. Next up, tomorrow's weather here in Las Vegas!"

"Arghhhhh!" Avery shouted. She paused, took a deep breath, and held her hands to the side of her head, as if she was trying to keep her brain from exploding out of her ears.

"Avery, you gotta relax, girl. I know the average person in Vegas has looser morals than the rest of the country, and God knows we benefit from that personally, but I still think your average voter is going to draw the line at zoo... zoo, whatever that word is. There's no way she's going to win," Eva said, in as soothing a voice as she could.

"Yes, there is," Avery said, rounding on Eva. "There are already four other people in the race on her side, and another six on the other. With that many people running, anybody with name ID like hers, even for something bad, has an advantage. There's a strong chance she wins."

A preternatural calm had descended on Avery. She stood up straight, squaring herself towards Eva, her massive breasts and long hair looking so good that Eva felt her pussy begin to tingle again as she waited for another outburst. It never came. In as calm a voice as Eva had heard from Avery, she spoke.

"I'm going to stop her."

Eva looked at Avery quizzically. "What? How? You're not a reporter anymore, babe. We start our new jobs in a week!"

Avery looked at Eva with steel in her eyes.

"I have to run against her," she said.

Sunday afternoon, July 24, 1983

I-40, between Nevada and Arizona

"Thank you for doing this, Victor," Elizabeth said, smiling broadly as she, her husband and her daughter flew down Interstate 40, towards Arizona. "I've always wanted to see the Grand Canyon," she gushed.

"It's your birthday, darling," Victor said, returning the smile. "Anything you want, you get today."

There were a few ways to get from Vegas to the Grand Canyon, and the drive could take anywhere from three to five hours, factoring in traffic and your willingness to tolerate the risk of being pulled over. Victor was a conservative man, so he'd assumed the trip would take about five hours, given the need to stop to take care of the baby.

It was a pleasant drive through the desert. Romano's '80 Ford Pinto station wagon was eating up the miles. The sun was shining, and the weather was fine. It was hot, but not oppressively so, which was good because the Pinto didn't have air conditioning. Victor thought they'd have enough time for a few hours at the Canyon before heading back home. While Victor worked in Las Vegas, the company had set them up in temporary housing in Henderson, just outside the city.

The highway was full of traffic, but even if it hadn't been, Victor Romano was no spy. He'd never been trained in surveillance or countersurveillance techniques. He had no reason to believe anyone was watching him, so he never noticed the silver K car that had been following him since he'd left the house in Henderson.

The drive to the south rim was otherwise uneventful. Vex and his family spent a few hours around the visitors' center and Mather Point.

"This is amazing," Elizabeth said, pushing Sally in her stroller as they took in the views. "I can't believe anything like this exists," she said, staring over the rim into the glory of the canyon. "There's nothing like it on the east coast."

"I have to admit it's impressive," Victor said. "I didn't think I was going to enjoy being out west, but I have to admit its growing on me. We should go see Hoover Dam next," he added.

"I'd love that!" Elizabeth said. She took Victor by the hand, and the pair strolled slowly along the walkway. She rested her head on his shoulder. It had been the perfect birthday. The sun was beginning to drop low in the sky, and she asked Victor if they could stay to see the sunset over the Canyon.

Back in the visitors' center parking lot, the silver K car pulled into the spot next to the Romano's wagon. Two men emerged from the non-descript Plymouth, the twin of more than a half dozen cars in the parking lot. One lounged by the hood, lighting up a cigarette. The other went back to the trunk, pushed aside the Plymouth logo that hid the lock, inserted the key, twisted it to pop the trunk open, and took out a small parcel.

It had to look like an accident. Or, at least, as much like an accident as they could make it. The Chin had no desire to "send a message" or otherwise scare anyone with this hit. This was purely a strategic move, to remove an irritation. In the overall scheme of things, at least in Vegas, this kid was a nobody. Sure, he worked for a big company, but he had barely gotten his feet wet. Nobody was going to miss him -- nobody really even knew him yet.

But the kid had a big mouth, and he was talking to the papers, and both Hemingway and Chesterfield had fingered him as the leak. That was good enough for Catena and the Genovese, and so Romano was getting whacked. His family would be collateral damage. It wasn't how they usually played this game, but when you're running scared like they were, you don't always have time to use the nice cutlery, china and cloth napkins. Chesterfield had begged The Chin not to kill Romano, and while The Chin had promised not to do it, he'd never intended that promise to be binding. Chesterfield would be furious, but he'd get over it. Winnie had proved his loyalty, and Romano wasn't in the family, so he didn't matter.

Romano driving a Pinto was the perfect cover. Everybody knew about the Pinto's gas tank problem, and the idea that the Pinto was an explosion waiting to happen had taken hold in the public's mind. It was one of the reasons why Ford stopped making them after the 1980 model year. Granted, the explosions only happened when the car was rear ended, but that was close enough for the Mob. A plausible explanation and a couple grand would turn even the sloppiest murder into a tragedy.

When the authorities found the burnt-out wreck somewhere in the desert, it would be easy to convince some backwater Arizona sheriff to classify the deaths as accidental, if the bumpkins didn't do that in the first place.

It took about five minutes for the pair of men to affix the bomb to the gas tank on Romano's Pinto. They set the timer for three hours. That should put the Romanos somewhere in the middle of the desert at night on the way back to Vegas when their 'accident' happened.

Fifteen minutes later, the pair was back in the Plymouth headed in the opposite direction, towards Phoenix, where they'd ditch the car and board a flight to New Jersey.

Romano stopped his wife for a photograph. He had brought the family's Polaroid Sun600 instant camera and had been snapping shots of Elizabeth, Sally and the Canyon all day. This would be their last one, and he asked one of the other tourists if they'd take a photo of the three of them.

Victor shook the picture, waiting for the image to appear. He showed it to Elizabeth, who smiled. It was a beautiful shot of the three of them, baby Sally asleep in her mother's arms, the Canyon visible just behind them in the fading twilight. Victor took the photo and placed it in the pocket inside his sports coat, right next to his heart.

"That's where you both belong," he said. Elizabeth gave him a quick kiss and then took him again by the hand, as they walked slowly back to their car, her head on his shoulder, his arm wrapped around her while she pushed the stroller.

Victor loaded the car, tucked Sally into her car seat and they began the trip back to Henderson. It got dark quickly in the desert, and Elizabeth was fading fast, the soft music on the radio and the purr of the road as they put a hundred miles behind them lulling her to sleep.

A few hours later, Sally, who had also been asleep, woke hungry and cranky from a long nap that began before they left the Canyon.

"She may need a diaper change," Elizabeth said, startled out of sleep, as she turned around to look at her daughter. "And probably a bottle. I have one here ready to go," she said, rummaging around in her bag. "Can we stop somewhere?"

Victor looked around. They were in the middle of the desert. The only thing out there was scrub brush, cacti and dust. "Nowhere really to stop, but we can just pull over. It won't take long to get her back to sleep," he said.

Victor put on his hazard lights and pulled over slowly, getting far enough off the road so as to not be a nuisance to the drivers barreling down I-40 in the dark. He opened the door to the car, turning on the overhead light and checked on Sally.

"Diaper is dry," Victor said to Elizabeth. "I guess she's just hungry." Elizabeth started to unbuckle her seat belt, but Victor waved her off. "Just give me the bottle, dear. It's your birthday. I'll take care of Sal," he said.

"You're so sweet, darling," Elizabeth said, reaching across to the driver door and handing Victor the bottle. "I'm beat! Who knew walking around and taking a few photos could be so tiring?"

Victor walked around to the other side of the car and took Sally from her car seat. Sally wasn't having any of it, and began to wail loudly, right into Victor's ear.

"Sshhhh, shhhh, baby, Father is here," he said, trying to calm her down. It didn't work. "I'm going to walk her a bit to calm her down, Elizabeth," Victor called out.

There was a full moon out that night, and the sky was bright with stars. He'd turned off the hazards and the headlights, and the only light, besides the moon, was coming from a few lone cars on the road heading west, like they were.

Victor didn't want to wander into the brush and end up stepping on a rattlesnake or something worse, so he stuck by the road, walking thirty or so yards away, trying to calm Sally down. Eventually she took the bottle and began to suck. He walked a few more paces east along the highway, enjoying the night breeze and the quiet time with his two-week-old daughter.

Behind him, the Ford Pinto exploded.

The concussion pushed Romano like he'd been shoved in the back, but he was far enough away that the blast didn't knock him off his feet. At first, his brain didn't understand what had happened, and he wheeled about to see the source of the explosion.

The Ford Pinto station wagon he'd been given as a temporary company vehicle was a flaming pyre. Nothing could have survived there. Victor's stomach tightened into a hard knot. A piece of debris from the car slashed his forehead leaving a streak of blood that dripped down into his eyes.

"Elizabeth!" He screamed and ran towards the flames. Sally began to wail. Victor stopped as the heat from the flames got to be too much and he backed off, holding up a hand in front of his face, wiping the blood from his eyes, while gripping Sally tightly in the other. "No! Oh God, please no! ELIZABETH!"

The fire lit up the night, thick black clouds of smoke rising from the wreck of the Pinto and disappearing into the darkness.

Victor collapsed to the ground, sobbing uncontrollably, hugging his daughter tight and rocking back and forth, in shock.

He never noticed the 18-wheeler that passed the flaming wreckage and radioed to the local police on his Citizens Band radio about the fire. He hardly noticed when the Yavapai County Deputy Sheriff arrived, took in the scene before him and called the local fire department and an ambulance.

He barely noticed when he and Sally were taken to Yavapai Community Hospital in Prescott. They were checked out by emergency medical staff and kept overnight for observation. He didn't feel the stitches in his forehead, or the salve applied to the light burns on his hand and face. He fell asleep sitting up in a chair in the hospital room by Sally's crib. Outside, a Sheriff's deputy kept guard, waiting to ask him a whole list of questions in the morning.

Victor Romano's wife, Elizabeth Logan Romano, died at the scene.

It was her 25th birthday.

Monday night, June 7, 2032

Woodlawn Cemetery, Las Vegas

If you follow Las Vegas Boulevard north past the Strip far enough, you end up in one of the older parts of the city. Go west, and you're in West Las Vegas. Go east, and you'll run into Rancho High School, home of the Rams.

Before you hit Rancho, however, you'll find nestled between Owens Avenue and Foremaster Lane forty acres of consecrated ground that is the final resting place of more than twenty thousand souls.

Woodlawn Cemetery opened in 1914. Among those interred here, you'll find politicians and pioneers, musicians and mobsters galore, a champion jockey, and Elizabeth Romano.

Sally Hemingway climbed from the back of her SUV as dusk fell over Woodlawn, as she had almost every Monday night since she'd returned to Vegas as a young woman. She came here to think, to talk, and to be closer to the mother she never knew.

Since she was a little girl, her father had done his best to never let the memory of Elizabeth Romano die. Sally was regaled with stories, photos, clothing, toys -- all the little things her mother had left behind. Because of that, she felt closer to this woman she had no memory of than even her closest friends, if she'd had any.

Over the years, the desire to strike back at those who had deprived her of a relationship with her mother grew as she did, like a childhood friend.

Sally tucked a strand of hair the wind blew free behind her ear. Woodlawn was flat, with a handful of trees dotted here and there amongst the headstones, none of which did anything to block the wind coming off the desert. The walk from her SUV was short, but with the wind blowing, and with the weather easing gently into summer for a change, there was still a bit of a chill in the air.

In her hands were a bouquet of daisies, her mother's favorite flower. They came from the gardens outside Finca Vigía, her favorite of the properties she owned, and her father had been touched when she'd shown him the garden. Despite all outward appearances, Vex Romano was a sentimental man, and while he had done his best to hide all knowledge of his first wife and daughter from the outside world -- no biographies of him mentioned them, and almost no one remembered they had existed -- he with the perfect memory would never and could never forget her mother. Anything connected with her could spark a memory, and Sally knew her father struggled with those demons even to this day.

The grass was green and lush as she walked the familiar path to the gravesite. The sun had just dipped below the horizon, and it would soon be dark. This was her favorite time to visit, just as the cemetery was closing and most other visitors would be gone. She'd chosen Mondays to visit because it was the quietest day in the cemetery, and the chances of randomly being recognized were at their nadir. Being spotted would cause too many questions. That never stopped her from visiting, however.

Vex had never forgiven himself for what had happened. Sally had told him over and over that it wasn't his fault, that he couldn't have foreseen it, but her father adamantly refused her absolution. He told her just as often that Winston Chesterfield had warned him the Mob didn't always play by their own rules, but he had brushed off the warnings with the arrogant assurance of a twenty-year-old prodigy, for whom life had served up a steady diet of easy victories.

For her part, she held both Winston and the Hemingway family in contempt. Obsession was too weak a word for her quest for vengeance, and she had traced almost every lead back to every person who could have possibly been involved in her mother's death. She knew her father-in-law had been the one to finger her father, and she'd paid the Hemingway family back in spades over the years for that betrayal. But she reserved the bulk of her ire for Chesterfield. She knew that it was Chesterfield's actions which had started the dominos falling. Yet nothing she could say could convince her father it was so. He had a soft spot in his heart for the old man, for whatever reason.

She felt deeply in her bones that her crusade was almost over. She had just a few more loose ends to tie up and then she could close this chapter of her life and hopefully move on. Part of her would be relieved when it was over. Another part was terrified. She'd lived with this pain for so long, had spent her entire life focused on it, had done nothing but move heaven and earth to mete out the justice her mother deserved, and once that was done, what would she have left? She was proud of Key West Ventures. It was a powerhouse that she'd built on the back of her dead husband's name and failing business. She was also proud of how she'd been able to help achieve her father's dream of making Las Vegas reputable, but was that enough of a legacy, especially when he'd gotten the credit for it, not her? She had no children, nothing to leave behind. The thought of living in a world untethered to the past frightened her, but it did not deter her.

Soon, she arrived in front of the marker. It was a peaceful, bucolic scene -- a little slice of calm in the otherwise frenetic world of Las Vegas that she lived in and helped create. She placed the bouquet of daisies on the ground below the weathered headstone. It was a bleak, almost bare marker, of strong dark gray granite. Lifted out of the stark gray stone was the name ROMANO in all capital letters.

Below and to the left, read the name "Elizabeth Logan" and below it, "July 24, 1958 -- July 24, 1983. Aged 25 years."

Below and to the right, read the name "Sally Marie" and below it, "July 10, 1983 -- July 24, 1983. Aged 2 weeks."

It always struck Sally as odd to see this gravestone with her name on it, marking the spot where a small casket had been buried beside her mother's large one. She used to think it morbid, but now she was simply grateful. This pantomime, this fake tomb, had kept her alive all those years growing up, protected her and let her become the woman she was today. Instead of actually ending up here, buried beside her mother, she'd lived and grown and thrived and carried on.

"Hi Mom," she said, kneeling down to touch the grass. "We're making progress. Father is doing well, even if his other children are ... well, they're not me. He sends his love. I saw him just the other day, and we had a nice chat. He's proud of me, you know. Proud of what I've managed to do," she said. "It's not enough, but we're getting there."

She stood up and paced before the grave.

"Father still doesn't believe me. About Chesterfield. He thinks the things I've been doing to Sinclair is because of business. Father is amazingly intelligent, but there are times when I am amazed at the things he just can't see. Or doesn't want to see. He's blinded himself to the obvious, just because Winston went through pain like he did. I know better. And I'm getting close to finally putting the old goat out of his misery," she said. "We've hurt him and hurt him good. He's run back to Virginia with his tail between his legs, and eventually I'm finally going to put him in the ground where he belongs. At least, unless old age finally catches up to him."

Sally laughed, a brittle, harsh cackle. "It won't. Only the good die young. Like you. The bad? They always seem to live forever. He'll survive until its time."

She turned her back and looked around, the last rays of the suns light beginning to fade. Her SUV and her security team were the only signs of life, besides a handful of headlights and taillights in the distance driving up and down Las Vegas Boulevard.

"I wish I could have known you. I wonder what you'd think of the things Father and I have built. I wonder what you'd think of the things I've done. I hope you'd think I'd done right by you. That's all I've ever wanted to do. I miss you, Mom. I miss the idea of you. I wish ..."

She could feel a tear forming in her eye for a woman she never knew. She fought to hold it back. She took in a deep, ragged breath, and pushed those feelings down, far down, back into the tight box in her heart where she kept them.

"Love you, Mom. See you next week."

Sally turned and headed to the car.

There was work to do.