The House Always Wins – Part 2: Fold

She collected slowly. She dealt him a hand of cards and made him play it silently, while she watched from the other side of the baize with one gloved finger resting on her lip. She made him kneel on the carpet beside the roulette table and recite the house rules, and corrected each stumble with a single tap of a chip on the wood. She stood behind him and told him, in a low even voice, exactly what he owed. It was strict, polished and utterly controlled, and she never once raised her voice. At each correction, a cool finger under his chin; at each success, a nod so slight he wondered afterwards whether he had imagined it.

Every half hour: "Does Mr Reyes wish to continue?" "Yes, Madame." "Say it clearly." "I do. Thank you."

"The House does not require thanks." But she let a small smile show.

The long night wound on. He lost every hand, by design, and each loss felt like a gift. At three she dealt him one last hand, and when he turned it over, it was a straight flush. She looked at it for a long moment.

"You win," said Valentina, and her voice cracked, very slightly, with laughter. "The House always wins, and the House has decided."

She folded her cards on the baize.

"Fold," she said softly.

It was her word, and she used it for them both. The gloves came off, one finger at a time. The coat slid from her shoulders to the floor. She sat on the edge of the table, in her silk blouse and stockinged feet, and held out her arms.

"How are you?"

"Cleaned out," said Gabriel, crossing the carpet, laughing, wiping his eyes. "Beautifully."

"You were superb." She kissed his forehead. "I mean it."

"I think I've never lost so well."

"There is a bottle on ice behind the bar." She slid off the table. "Come. We'll drink it on the roulette wheel."

They sat on the baize with the cold bottle between them, in the dim amber glow, sharing a single glass.

"May I play again?" said Gabriel.

"The House is open every Friday," said Valentina. "The stakes are rather high."

More consensual femdom stories: Velvet Contract · Silk and Steel · Gentle Hands, Gentle Femdom