A Bestiary of Unnatural Women Read Free Page B

over her
head. The other two men had undoubtedly already reached exactly the
same conclusion because they both nodded eagerly.
    “Okay, guys, let's get down to business,”
Stan said. “How are we going to decide who spends the night with
the maiden and who goes home frustrated as hell?”
    “Draw lots,” Roy said.
    “Nah,” Stan replied quickly. “I don't want to
leave it up to pure chance.”
    “Me neither,” Timothy replied.
    Roy knew what they were thinking. Stan didn't
like the one-in-three odds. He wanted a sure thing. Timothy wanted
to lobby for some kind of physical game so that he would have the
edge.
    “Then what?” Roy asked.
    Predictably, Timothy said, “Let's arm wrestle
for her. That's what real men would do.”
    Roy and Stan replied, simultaneously,
“No!”
    Timothy laughed. “Wimps.” He turned to the
woman hanging in the corner. “You really want to spend the night
with one of these chickenshits?”
    She smiled but said nothing. It was clear
that she was a spectator now. She had finished her part in the game
and intended to spend the next hour just watching the fun.
    Stan gestured toward the couch and easy
chairs. “Let's sit down and discuss this in comfort.”
    The three men sat but none of them felt
comfortable.
    “So how about a game of poker. Winner take
all.” He gestured toward the half naked women. “She's All .”
    The three men looked at the beautiful siren,
each feeling more lust than they had ever before felt in their
entire lives. The woman was practically in their hands. In one of
their hands.
    The object of their lust looked back at the
men impassively, apparently content just to wait and see which one
would claim her in the end. Roy had the impression that she had
specifically chosen men who were equally attractive to her so that
she would have no preference for one over the other.
    “I don't know how to play poker,” Timothy
said, keeping his eyes on Felicity's lovely breasts.
    “Wimp,” Stan replied, turning back to look at
the other men and laughing. “It's easy. We'll keep it simple. Five
card draw. I can teach you in a couple of minutes.”
    Roy shook his head. “We have only about a
half an hour left to decide. If we only play a couple of hands,
winning will come down to luck. We'd be no better off than drawing
lots. If we try to play a proper game, we won't be finished until
ten at the earliest. I've got nothing against playing a game for
her, but it'll have to be a game that doesn't take longer than half
an hour.”
    “Rock, paper, scissors?” Timothy
suggested.
    “Same as drawing lots,” Stan replied. “Pure
luck.”
    “I don't want to play games,” Timothy said.
“Not gambling games. Maybe find a court somewhere and shoot hoops
for her.”
    “No time for that, either,” Roy said.
    “I know,” Timothy replied, sadly.
    The men were silent for another couple of
minutes. It was clear that they would never agree on a game of
chance or skill because each of them would want a game in which
they had an advantage.
    A clock on the mantle ticked loudly.
    Finally, Stan said, “Okay. Tell you what.
I'll pay each of you three hundred dollars to get lost. Cash, right
now. You can call her back and set up another date some other time
and use the money to take her out for a first-rate dinner and a
concert or whatever she wants. We can all have her eventually.”
    Timothy looked tempted. Roy glanced at the
woman to see how she felt about being bought like a side of beef
but she continued to look impassive. He looked at her more closely
and thought that he detected dry amusement under her poker face.
“I'd rather have the woman than the money,” he said. “I'll pay
you.”
    “I don't need your money,” Stan replied,
contemptuously. “How about you, tiger?” He asked Timothy. “You want
a quick five hundred in cash, tax free, to walk out that door and
not come back?”
    He licked his lips. Timothy would not be a
good poker player. But he wasn't a complete