A Tiger Is in the Cards (Patreon)

Alex’s eyes were sparkling as she looked down at the tables in the room. With the stage lights shining on her, it was all but impossible to make out more than silhouettes. The tables were empty anyway, it was just the last rehearsal before the grand opening of the casino. Stage technicians were running around, fine-tuning the lights and speakers while the tigress practiced singing a few notes. It was not the most glamorous gig, but tickets had sold out quickly. The owners of the casino were pleased, and it was another steppingstone for her singing career. 

She closed her eyes and gripped the microphone tightly. Hearing her voice echoing through the room even though she was just humming the melody of her latest song was amazing. For just a moment, she imagined herself on a much bigger stage in a stadium, her adoring fans holding their breaths as they wait to hear her new smash hit. It was an amazing feeling, the wooden boards underneath her seemed to turn into clouds as soft as her paws themselves.

A loud hissing noise, only lasting for a split-second made the tigress wince. Her own voice abruptly faded and was replaced by that belonging to one of the sound technicians. “Miss Marx! It’s okay! We’re done for today! You can go rest your voice and enjoy the evening.” Her little daydream had been all too suddenly cut short and she sighed, her raised tail dropping back down and dragging across the floor that once more felt as hard as the cold polished wood it was.

She took out her earbuds and put them down on the nearby table along with her microphone. Getting used to going in and out of the limelight was a challenge still ahead on her path to world domination. Before she could obsess about the great day ahead of her too much, though, she was pulled back to more pleasant thoughts. She felt a strong chest behind her back, and two equally muscular arms being put around her. Her boyfriend embraced her from behind, standing solid as a rock she could lean against. “Damn, Alex. You’re absolutely nailing the chorus, still getting goosebumps every time, you hit that high note. And this dress is just absolutely stunning. Red suits you so well!” He cheered her on, completely shooing her inner critic away.

The talented singer had not been so happy with the dress the casino had picked for her. They were trying way too hard to give the whole place a generic Asian vibe, and it reflected in the clothes she was wearing. The way they were cut and had white glyphs written on them she wasn’t even sure belonged to any real language. At least she hoped it wouldn’t mean anything offensive or stupid. One side of the dress had a deep cut, giving everyone a glimpse of the striped fur on her legs and showing off the red string of the thong she was wearing underneath.

“Thank you, dear.” She replied. “I think I can still do better, maybe I’ll practice some more in the hotel room later.” Alex nodded, still seeming a little hesitant. “Nahh… as much as I’d love to hear it, you need to preserve your voice. You’re already better than the guests tomorrow deserve, they’ll be drunk on their free champagne refills anyways. I’ll get you a gig where it’s just your voice and no poker chips clicking in the background soon.” He smiled confidently and grabbed her wrists before spinning her around in his arms, so they ended up face to face. Before she could respond again, he put a kiss on her lips, making the blush on her cheeks deepen.

Alex was still searching for the right words, her mouth opening slowly. But her boyfriend cut her off again, a big happy and proud smile on his face. “We should go raid the crew buffet. I’m starving! What do you say?” He suggested before smooching her cheek. The tigress nodded and took a deep breath. “You’ve got a point… it’s been a few long hours since we had lunch. Let’s go for a bite. Do you know where it is?” She asked him, looking around. It was good the tigress had an eye out. Her enamored boyfriend had his all on her and so she was the only one to spot the metal beam swinging towards them, carried by a careless technician. 

“Get down!” She called out and quickly pushed her boyfriend’s head down, getting them both out of harm’s way. “Damn it, Frank! You nearly knocked out our star for tomorrow! Do you want us all to get fired? Look out!” The sound technician yelled through the speakers, making the large bull quicken his steps and disappear in the backstage area. “Miss Marx, please get off the stage, it’s not safe with my buffoon colleagues about, I’m sorry. I’ll double check everything tomorrow before letting you back on.”

The tigress’ boyfriend cleared his throat. “Err… thanks, love. To be honest I have no clue. Let’s just go try a few doors, we’ll have to find it eventually, don’t we? We absolutely deserve it now!” He nodded confidently and grabbed her hand to get her off the stage alongside him. Everything still looked so new, only a few weeks had passed since the construction finished. Soon this place would be bursting from the seams every night with live shows and lots and lots of money gambled away with only the occasional jackpot being won. 

While the singer and manager couple did not bet any money, they still tried their luck on door after door, discovering closets, bathrooms, and dressing rooms. Finally, Alex had enough, and she walked towards some tall double doors. “This has to be the one, it just makes sense. There must be a large room behind this door, and that’s where they set up the buffet!” She explained as she pushed down the handle and opened the door. “Huh… well you were right about one thing…” Her boyfriend countered. “It’s a big room, but I smell no food.”

They both peeked inside. Only a few of the lights were on. The room was filled with gambling table after gambling table, green felt on wood as far as the eye could see. Many of the tables were all set up with cards and poker chips at the ready. “I’m starting to think the buffet is a myth!” Alex complained. “But this is kinda cool, isn’t it? Tomorrow this place will be completely crowded and now it’s a ghost town! Lucky croupiers, they don’t have to come in for a rehearsal.” She cooed as she walked around between the tables. Her boyfriend followed her inside, the door falling shut behind them. 

“Hey come over here!” She finally called out when she was standing behind a Blackjack table. She picked up a box of cards and tore it open. “What are you doing, Alex? Are you sure we should be messing with stuff in here?” Her partner asked her with a worried look on his face, peeking over his shoulder at the door. “Pfsh… they sell these packs of cards for pennies at the gift shop. Let’s play some Blackjack! I’ll be the dealer.” The tigress explained as she began mixing the cards. “And what is the wager? We agreed not to negotiate on the cuts of your gigs I’m taking anymore!” Her boyfriend grinned. “True… how about for this first round… the loser has to pick up the bill at the restaurant later? Obviously, they won’t feed us here!” The singer suggested and winked at him.

She set the deck of cards down on the brand-new table and smiled. Her boyfriend sat down on one of the chairs in front of the table and nodded. “Alright, that is fair. Hit me up!” He tapped on the table and Alex turned around two cards and put them in front of him, five of clubs and nine of hearts. Then she turned around another card, put it in the middle of the table, the king of clubs, and finally put down another card face down next to it. She grinned as she looked at his and her cards but didn’t say a word.

“Darn… doesn’t look good. I’ll take another one, please.” He said and tapped on the table again. The tigress turned around another card for him, four of spades, giving him a card value of eighteen in total. He sighed and peeked at the king in the center of the table. “And another one! I’ve got a bad feeling…” He requested and Alex was happy to oblige. She turned around the card and put it down next to the three her boyfriend already had, a five of hearts. “Twenty-three! You’ve gone bust. You could have just said you want to invite me to dinner, dear.” She teased him, pointing at the text that was written on the table as she picked up the cards. “Dealer must draw to 16 and stand on all 17s”. It would have been a sure win for him.

“Guess I should pick a more interesting wager… How about whoever loses next must do the chores back home for a week, huh?” She asked him, getting ready to tempt luck another time. “I told you I’m normally not a gambling man! But alright, let’s give it another try.” He tapped on the table waiting for his cards. 

He got a four of hearts and a four of clubs. Alex turned around a jack of spades for herself along with the face down mystery card. “I can’t stand on eight… hit me up!” He said and Alex chuckled. “You’re a quick learner and oh… an ace!” She said, putting an ace of hearts next to the cards he had. “And I stand!” He confirmed and grinned. “I knew having to do chores would be a good motivation.” The tigress said as she turned around her card, hoping for a miracle. It was a five of diamonds, fifteen points, she had to take another card. She held her breath as she turned it around and put it down. Nine of diamonds, she, the dealer had gone bust. “Damn it!” She cursed and it was her boyfriend’s turn to chuckle. “Don’t worry, dear, I’ll still make the bed. And I’ll also leave my musky shorts on top of the laundry pile.”

Alex playfully pouted, but her cheeks were flushing. Her boyfriend did know her weaknesses after all. “No fair, you were counting cards! No more cheating now. Final round. Loser gives head to the winner, right here, and there’s no backing out.” The tigress demanded. She collected the cards and mixed the deck before the next game. “I barely know the rules of this game, but I don’t think this is how it works, you need more than one round to count the cards! But fine… your blowjobs are the best. What do I have to lose?” He asked without even expecting an answer.

The tigress had a confident grin on her face as she dealt him his two cards. Six of hearts, five of diamonds. “Eleven.” He confidently displayed his skills in adding single-digit numbers. Alex turned around her dealer card, it was an ace of spades. She playfully rubbed the card that remained face down. “Ohh… I have an ace. It’s on!” She challenged him. “Then give me one more of your precious cards, please…” He returned the challenge and Alex did her duty. She turned the card around and put it down, a ten of clubs. The tigress cursed a “shit” under her breath and her boyfriend smiled. “Now I’m not the best at math… But that makes twenty-one, blackjack, right?” He asked her and then pointed at the table. “BlackJack pays 3 to 2… that means I get a blowy and sex, right?” He kept going, playfully licking his lips after.

“Look who is a rules expert all of a sudden!” The tigress teased. “That’s only if I don’t get to twenty-one as well… How about we settle for sixty-nine, hm?” She winked at him, her tail raised behind her and swishing around excitedly. “Nope! You’ve teased me enough. Now I want to be the first to hit the jackpot in this glorified gambling den. Show me your card!” Her boyfriend insisted. Alex grinned at him before they both stared at the back of the card that could decide their little game. Painfully slowly, she picked it up, bending the paper, and then quickly flipped it around. Queen of hearts. Blackjack for the dealer. Alex laughed and bent down over the table. She blew at the cards in front of her boyfriend, pushing them off the table and onto his lap. 

“Blackjack! And that’s the only blowie you’ll get today….” She teased, before walking around the table to join him on his side. “Damn… what a horrible girlfriend you are, trying to get your man into gambling! You’re lucky my virtues are so strong.” He complained and pouted at her. Alex just hopped on the table in front of him and put her hands on his cheeks. “Nu-uh… save your sweet-talking for our next client. You’re not getting out of this debt.” She looked into his eyes and kissed him on the lips. Then she pushed herself away and laid down on the table in front of him. Her dress was cut so conveniently that moving it out of the way was easy for her. She was presenting her heated crotch to her boyfriend. Her thong had pulled up between her pussy lips, the nectar she had been leaking in anticipation had just made it even more slippery.

She kept smiling at her boyfriend, making herself more and more enticing. Next, she unzipped the top of her dress so she could at least soften the blow of losing his game with even more eye-candy. She also picked up the ace that won her this prize. “Fuck Alex… my pants will explode… you sure these are the rules?” Her boyfriend asked, but only got a confident nod back from Alex. “Absolutely…” She replied. “Now don’t pout. Put your lips to use and get this god-awful thong off me… If you do well, maybe I’ll trade a round in my pussy for let’s say… doing chores for a week.” She grinned at her boyfriend who was slipping off his chair and getting on his knees in front of the table and the dripping wet pussy buffet.

“That sounds like a good deal…” He replied before pulling her panties down with his lips, revealing her wet flower. “Looks like maybe you should go do your own negotiations, hm?” He asked her.

“Shh…. I said, ‘If you do well’.” The tigress replied and put her legs around her boyfriend’s neck and pulled his head against her crotch. “Show me you’re better with your tongue than with cards first.”

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Art by AlenkaVoxis