The Bellhops.

Jonah shielded his eyes from the flashing lights of slot machines, holographic advertisements, and the occasional strobe light as he made his way through the main pleasure deck of the Wonderland.

“Blast,” he cursed under his breath as he passed another sign for Turic Vodka that looked uncomfortably similar to the last one he passed. Now that he thought about it, it probably was the last one he passed. It was hovering over a slot machine with an illustration of a green-skinned woman flicking a long orange tongue between her slender fingers and was manned by a frustrated humanoid frog, who also looked uncomfortably familiar. Jonah had read somewhere that casinos were notoriously built like mazes to ensure their guest lost track of time, a cheeky way to squeeze just a bit more money out of a patron’s pocket, and apparently, a good way for new hires to get lost.

“First day on the job, and you’re already lost,” he grumbled. In his defense, the Wonderland is a big ship, and it is easy for anyone to get lost. However, he wasn’t sure if his boss was going to take that as an excuse. He pulled back his red dress coat sleeve and looked at his watch. He had been wandering around in circles for almost an hour. “Lily is going to skin me alive.”

With any luck, no one would miss him. Wonderland was so large that it required a large staff to maintain it. He was far from the only bellhop on board.

“Wait, didn’t I just pass that table?” he muttered as he passed another holographic poker table. Again, the markings and the advertisements looked familiar, as did the card shark, who quite literally looked like a shark. Now he knew he had passed that table before. He was about to double back to see if he could retrace his steps when his thoughts were interrupted by a soft, seductive, refined voice.

“Excuse me,” the voice purred into Jonah’s twitching ears. When he turned, the slender bellhop found himself face to face, or more accurately face to bust, with a tall gray-skinned woman with long tentacles slithering around her neck slowly and suggestively. She had large almond-shaped eyes that were the color of amber, a broad yet curved body, full pouty lips with blue lipstick, and quite possibly the largest breasts the young altide had ever seen.

“My, aren’t you a handsome boy,” the woman purred as she towered over him. Jonah was around six feet tall, the typical height for an altide, so it was rare for him to come across anyone taller than him, least of all a female. The last thing he expected to happen to him today was to run into a woman so tall that he was at eye level with her breasts, which were twice the size of his head. To say that he was a little intimidated by the sight of a massive woman staring down at him, sliding her long pink tongue over her full blue lips as if he were a piece of prime rib, would have been an understatement.

The young altide’s long pointed ears drooped until the black tips brushed over his toned shoulders, his ocean blue eyes were as wide as dinner plates, and the lower half of his rounded bovine muzzle was agape. This wasn’t the first time an attractive woman made a pass at him, he may have been young, but he wasn’t a virgin. However, none of the women he had dated in the past were quite as “ripe” as this one.

It took a moment for Jonah to regain his senses and realize that his face was drawing closer to her cleavage. He shook his head, his full golden locks fluttering around his brow as he did so, then took a step back.

“Yes, Miss,” he said, clearing his throat, “Is there something I could help you with?”

The woman smiled, showing her perfect white teeth, which sent a pleasant shiver down Jonah’s spine and out the base of his long brush-tip tail. His heart was pounding under his toned chest like a race engine, he could feel his cheeks growing warm under his short white fur, and his manhood was growing tight in his trousers.

“As a matter of fact, you can,” she cued before turning to a pair of cases sitting next to her. “Could you help me with my winnings?”

The cases looked moderately heavy, not so much that the woman couldn’t carry them herself, but the duty of a bellhop was to do as the customer asked, so Jonah gave a light bow and stepped forward.

“Of course,” he said, taking a handle in each hand. He then gave them a swift lift, expecting a little weight, only to feel a sharp sting in his shoulders as the cases defiantly pulled him back down.

“Christ, how much did she win?!” he thought through gritted teeth as the cases strained his arms. He looked up at the lovely woman who was eyeing him intently. He a nervous smile, trying his best to hide his discomfort, then hefted the cases up to his hips. He could feel them biting down on his arms, enough to restrict his movements but not so much to where he was in danger of dropping them.

“So strong,” she mewed as her eyes explored his body. As the woman nipped her lips, Jonah began to wonder if she was making him carry her suitcases to see how his muscles rippled under his suit because he could certainly feel them rippling. “Come, my room is this way.”