Wild Rides

Chapter 15 - Stripped

Drago escorted me over to a table where Louie was seated with an assortment of yummies. Wait. No. No yummies. Targets. Yes, they were the-

Why was his breath on my skin making me feel so hot? Oh, that's right. My partner drugged me. I couldn't be angry though, the feeling of this drin was amazing.

Drago's chuckling broke me from my thoughts. I realized I had closed my eyes, enjoying the feeling of his hands on my body under the table after he pulled me to sit on his lap.

"Do you understand the rules?" the Troinek asked, smirking at my slowed reactions.

"No. Can you explain them again?" I asked, my voice coming out breathy and raspier than I intended. I caught Louie eyeing me from across the table, and I couldn't miss the smirk on her face.

The game was called Strip Xelub. I had seen others playing a variation of this game on Olnarus, so I roughly understood the premise of the game. Each player had a piece on the board, and were dealt six cards.

The card faces fell under six different houses: monarch, fief, thief, bards, travelers, and rogues. Monarch cards were rare because once played, they could direct the movements of all players on the board to the card player's advantage.

Thiefs could steal one key position per game, or, as most did, use it to steal a card from another player during a turn. Bards were used to sweet talk another player into alliances, but were not seen as very effective cards during most games. Travelers and Fiefs were in between, for value.

Playing a traveler would allow the player to advance their position, whereas a fief could block the advancement of others players past their held position on the board. Rogues were the wild cards in the game. The player could advance, block, swoon or swindle any other player on the board.

"When does the stripping come into play?" I asked, leaning back against the purring muscles behind me. I realized my voice was but a whisper again, but the men at the table didn't seem to mind my many questions.

"If you want to advance, you have to pay," the Troinek stated simply.

"Mmmmm. So if I play a monarch, you all have to give me an article of clothing?" I asked softly.

"Eh-hmm," one of the men cleared his throat, as he adjusted his pants.

I couldn't help but smirk. He was quite well-endowed, sporting what looked like it could have been a third arm running the length of one pant leg. I looked up and realized he caught me staring. I licked my lips and giggled.

"I feel quite parched, Drago. Could I get another one of those delicious juice mixes?" I asked sweetly.

Louie chuckled and leaned toward the one named Ruben. "She'll have a house special," she said, winking.

Ruben nodded in understanding and quickly fetched another purple drink for me. As I raised the glass to my lips, I looked over at my partner in crime. She nodded subtly and raised her glass toward me in toast.

"Drink up, precious. It may not be Chonchon, but we have new friends to play with and keep us company."

I couldn't stop the giggle that bubbled out of me, as my eyes feasted on the muscles around the table. "Yes. I do like making so many new friends," I agreed.

The Troinek seated to my right leaned over to take a deep whiff of my neck. As he leaned in, his braid fell forward and caressed the skin on my arm. I couldn't stop the moan that escaped my lips, reveling in the sensations the contact elicited.

I thought that Drago would become territorial but my reaction only made him chuckle as the effects of the second dosing of bliss made its way through my body.