Chapter 10

I pass the next twenty-four hours in a haze.

Work, exercise, sleep, food. I run through my routine.

But all I can think about is her.

When it’s time to go, Vanessa drives. Because the bus and the train rides take so long, I forget how close Santa Monica really is to East L.A.—my two worlds are just a few miles apart.

In the dark car, I reach over and rest my hand on her knee. Tension is like a thick chain pulled tight between us. We don’t move. We don’t talk. Minutes pass. If she reaches over to touch me back, I think I might burst into flames.

Vanessa exits the freeway and I direct her to a parking space in an alley. After we park the car, she follows me to an unmarked door. She’s wearing a hoodie, a Dodgers baseball cap, and workout pants that show off her amazing ass. I still haven’t told her what we’re doing.

I unlock the heavy metal door and lead her into the dark. I flip some switches and light fills the empty hallway. The keypad for the alarm is beeping, so I punch in the code to disarm it. I lock the door behind us.

“Where are we?” Her eyes are wide. She’s nervous.

“You’ll see.” I walk down the long hallway past the office and storage rooms. I hang my backpack up on a hook. At last she spots an old sandwich board propped up against the wall, showing the logo of the business, Serenity Day Spa.

“You brought me to your work?” she asks.

“Yup. Come on.”

I open the frosted glass door to the main spa and turn on all the lights. It’s an enormous, cave-like room, with high ceilings and walls tiled in blues and greens. I flip another switch and start the waterfall that drops from the ceiling to the pool below. Vanessa follows me from room to room as I turn on all the Jacuzzis and the steam room. I watch her as she follows me, impressed but jumpy, afraid we’re about to get caught. Afraid we don’t belong.

“How did you find this place?” she asks.

“The owner of the gym where I work. He referred me.”

“How long have you been working here?”

“Just a little over six months.”

“You clean this whole place by yourself?”

“There’s a daytime crew. But I do the big stuff at night.”

“We’re going to get in trouble, Sal,” she says. “I don’t want you to lose your job.”

“This place is mine just like anyone else’s.”

“But—”

“The owners wouldn’t care that I brought you here. I do good work. I’m cheap. They love me.”

“I don’t know—”

“Vanessa, will you just relax? We’ll be fine. Here.” I lead her to the reception desk, where I turn on the sound system. It’s programmed to a kind of meditation music that puts me to sleep, which I guess is the point. I flip through the stations and find one just for us.

“Look. Lowrider oldies.”

She slowly shakes her head at me. “You’re crazy.”

“What? You’re all high-strung. This music—it’ll relax you. You’ll see.”

“Forever Mine” by the O’Jays starts playing and I turn it up. Vanessa still looks skeptical so I take her in my arms. As we slow-dance, I rest my head on the top of her baseball cap, the cloth button right under my chin. Absentmindedly, I wonder if Vanessa and I, like the people in the song, could be made for each other.

When the song ends, I kiss her. “Give me two hours,” I whisper against her lips. “Enjoy yourself. Showers, steam room, Jacuzzis, sauna, hot and cold pools. There are robes and towels in the locker room. Shampoo, lotion—whatever you want. There are magazines and a TV in the lounge. Read. Take a nap. Relax.”

She glances down at the information brochures on the receptionist’s desk. The prices are listed there. “I could never afford to visit this place,” she says.

“Not ‘never.’ Just ‘not yet.’ ” Wow, where did that come from? I almost sound optimistic.

Her dark eyes search my face. “You’re full of surprises. Secrets.”

“Not secrets. Secrets are bad,” I say. “I just have things I don’t tell everyone. Only people who deserve to know. That’s not keeping secrets. That’s just me being me.”

“Ghost.” She touches my lips. “Now I know why they call you that.”

She doesn’t know the truth about how I got my name. A dark feeling touches my heart but I drive it away—no, not now. Not here. That feeling doesn’t belong anywhere near us tonight.

“Are you sure this is okay?” she asks.

“Yes. I’m sure.”

Wealthy women use this place as a sanctuary, a place where they can forget the outside world and the things that worry them. Vanessa has plenty to worry about. I am fully aware of my limitations—I can’t solve her problems for her. But I can help lift the weight of them for a little while. I can help her get strong enough to handle her problems on her own.

I kiss her again. “Go play, baby.”

With a smile, she disappears into the locker room.

Just like the night Barry busted his head open on a chair, I do eight hours of work in two. I work like a goddamn machine, not thinking, not stopping, just go, go, go.

I skim all the pools. I scrub and hose down the showers. I clean the bathrooms. I mop up all the floors. I restock the toiletries and pile the shelves with clean towels. I change a lightbulb that’s gone all blinky. I dust the lounge, straighten the magazines, and water all the potted plants.

As if she can predict what I’m going to do next, Vanessa moves one step ahead of me, teasing me with her presence in the maze of rooms. As soon as I go into the shower room, she moves into the steam room. When it’s time for me to go to the steam room, she moves to the sauna. Always one step ahead.

I’m vacuuming when she passes me in the hallway. She slaps my ass and winks at me. Her hair is tied up in a towel and her little body is wrapped up in one of those big robes. I see the soles of her bare feet as she walks away from me. I would follow those feet anywhere because those are the feet that led her to me. I thank them silently. Thank you, feet, for bringing Vanessa to me.

And just like that, I’m dazed again.

I shake it off.

Concentrate, Sal.

I finish up by spraying the whole spa with the expensive room freshener the owner had custom made. Panting and sweating like I’ve just run a marathon, I put away the cleaning supplies and take out all the trash.

When I’m finally done, I can’t see Vanessa anywhere. Shaking with anticipation, I strip and hop into one of the showers. I run the water as hot as it will go and scrub everything away. As the water swirls down the drain, three things hit me, all at once.

First, I’m about to make love to a woman I want like my next breath.

Next, we have this place to ourselves.

Third, no one will find us here.

I dry off, brush my teeth, and shave. I put on a robe, reach into my backpack, and slip a few important accessories into my pocket. Then I take one last look in the mirror.

Not bad, I guess. I run my hand through my hair. Water makes it even curlier and darker, almost blue-black. Without any stubble, my face is lean, sharp—I’m in good shape right now. But I have no illusions. As far as looks go, I’m way down on the Rosas family totem pole. My father was a legendary player. My younger brother is the handsome one, followed by my youngest brother, who’s growing up to be a pretty boy. Me? I look a little like a brick, all hard edges and right angles. Luckily for me, some women like bricks.

Make this good for her, fucker.

I walk down the hall to the big Jacuzzi. The room is filled with the sound of falling water. Steamy heat rises up and fogs the tiles on the walls. Vanessa is here, sitting at the far end of the pool. She’s resting her head on a folded-up towel and the water bubbles up to her neck. Her eyes are closed and her face is relaxed and I realize I’ve never seen her sleep. There’s something intimate about it, like someone letting down their guard completely in front of someone else. An expression of trust.

I take off the robe and step down into the hot water. When I hiss from the heat, she opens her eyes. Her face is still, but her eyes follow me as I move toward her.

Men love to look at women.

Is the opposite true?

I splash my chest with hot water. She stares, taking in my muscles, my tats. Her eyes linger on the rose tattoo over my heart—my brother and I got them to match our father’s. Up and down my arms and torso are dozens of tattoos. Names of long-buried friends. Ghosts, spiderwebs, skulls—the marks of death in life, to show I’m not afraid. And across my chest, a big placa—EASTSIDE. Where I’m from. Who I am.

Close to her now, I rub my hands over my abs, the abs I worked so hard to get. The water comes up to my waist, so she can’t see how hard I am, but when her lips curve into a small smile, I know she knows. Of course she knows. I’m so keyed up I think I could make this water boil with my body heat alone.

I’m standing right in front of her. At last she lifts her head and sits up. Her smooth shoulders rise out of the water. Lights on the bottom of the pool illuminate her beautiful brown skin. I still can’t see her breasts, but if I squint I can see the suggestions of her nipples through the bubbles on the surface of the water.

I can’t help myself. I reach down into the water and wrap my hand around my cock. I give it a single pump, then rub my aching balls. She keeps her eyes locked on mine, but I see a muscle in her throat tighten as she swallows.

Over the sound of falling water, I say, “Only if you want this, Vanessa. We can still turn back.”

She doesn’t say a thing. Instead, she stands up. Water runs off her skin and for the first time, I see her naked body. Her softly muscled arms. Her sharp collarbones. Her full, round breasts with dark nipples that shrink and tighten as soon as they hit the cool air. I watch, hypnotized, as she fills her cupped hands with water and drizzles the water over her chest. Droplets race down her breasts and drip off the tips of her nipples.

My mind goes completely blank.

When I grab her and pull her close, her skin sizzles against my chest. I cover her hot lips with mine and kiss her like I’ll die if I don’t. I swallow her surprised gasp, then use my lips to slowly explore that smooth, firm flesh of hers. We kiss and kiss and kiss. Her fingers dig into my biceps and when she opens her mouth, I press the tip of my tongue against hers. When she moves her sweet little tongue against mine, my knees almost buckle under the water.

I wrap one arm around her waist and press my hand flat between her shoulder blades. When I hold her tighter, her moan vibrates through my whole body. Her eyes close and her head rolls back. I kiss her chin, her jaw, her throat. I drop kisses along the side of her neck and when I find her pulse, I lick it, meeting the quick little flicker with the tip of my tongue.

“Sal,” she gasps. “Oh God.”

Finding my balance, I bend my knees and lift her a little higher. Her smooth inner thighs rest across the tops of my quads. If I shifted my weight just a little, I could slide her right onto my throbbing dick. Just the thought makes my dick throb even harder—but I catch myself. I tell myself to take it slower—to make it good for her.

“Are you okay?” I whisper.

She rests her hands lightly on my shoulders. Her eyes are glassy and her cheeks are red. Water clings to her eyelashes and she’s panting. She’s breathing so hard, I’m convinced that if I just reached down and touched her, I could make her come in a heartbeat.

But no—slower.

Slower, I remind myself. Make it good.

I tip her back, just until her gorgeous tits are level with my face. I want to squeeze them, but my hands are full holding her. So I do the next best thing. I kiss them. Against my lips, her skin breaks out into goosebumps. When I reach her left nipple, I suck it into my mouth and circle the tender tip with my tongue. She closes her eyes tighter. Her legs clamp around me, and her nails dig softly into my shoulders. That beautiful nipple turns hard between my lips. I release it with a loud, filthy smack and do the same to her right nipple. I alternate, one and then the other, back and forth, until they’re so stiff, the pink tips could cut glass.

I drop her down low and kiss her lips again. She drags her hands through my hair, and I shiver at the sensation of her nails against my scalp. We’ve just started, and from the way she touches me, the way she holds me, I know the truth.

This is going to be a mind-blowing night.

I whisper in her ear, “You want me to tell you what to do, baby?”

Fire blazes in her eyes. We both know she’s a tough woman. What I want to tell her—what I hope she knows—is nothing turns me on more than a tough woman who submits to me in bed. A woman who rules her own world, but lets me rule her in bed? Fuck, there is nothing hotter than that.

She cups my face in her hands and kisses me, deep and hungry. She rubs her body against mine in a slow rhythm, squeezing her thighs and rubbing her breasts against my chest. Then she breaks the kiss, looks me in the eyes, and says, “Yes.”

Quietly but firmly, I tell her to get out of the pool, dry off, and put on the bathrobe I just took off. I watch her climb the steps out of the Jacuzzi, my eyes feasting on her. I watch the water tumble off her, first her back, then her waist, then her breathtaking ass. It’s round and tight and I can’t help it—my hand goes down to my dick again and I begin to jack myself off slowly under water.

She dries herself off, then turns around to face me. Now I see all of her, all at once: gorgeous tits, little waist, big luscious hips. There’s a neat patch of dark hair between her legs. Before I can really get an eyeful, she reaches down, slips the bathrobe over her shoulders, and ties the belt.

I squeeze the shaft of my cock and run the tip of my thumb over the head.

“Sit on the edge. Put your feet in the water.”

She hikes up the robe and does what I say. I move through the water to her. My dick is still in my hand. I let go, reach down, and run my thumbs along the arches of her pretty feet. She smiles. I run my hands up her calves and rest my palms on her hot, smooth inner thighs. She’s staring at me, eyes half-closed, as I pull her thighs apart. The robe gapes open, but I can’t see past the shadow of the cloth.

“How long?” I ask. “How long since you let a man touch you?”

“Five years.” Her voice is deep and ragged.

“Why now? Why me?”

“Because you feel right.”

Music to my ears. “Why me?” I ask again, wanting her to say it again. Instead, she says something even better.

“Because I trust you.”

I lower myself into the pool and hot water washes over my back. I spread her legs wider.

“Lean back,” I say.

She’s breathing hard. She leans back on the tiles, resting on her elbows and looking down at me between her legs.

“Perfect,” I tell her. My heart is beating itself to death against my rib cage as I open the robe, exposing her at last.

I’m no stranger to pussy. When you’re a gangster, it flies at you from all directions. But when I look down at Vanessa’s pussy, my dick falls in love at first sight. Framed by her short, neatly trimmed hair, her lips are plump and perfect, the color of sweet, dark plums. Hands shaking, I run the tips of my thumbs up and down her lips, grazing her tender flesh as I watch her face. She inhales sharply, as if I’ve burned her, but lets out a shaky breath when I repeat the movement, this time slower.

“It’s beautiful,” I say. “You’re beautiful.”

A minute passes, then two. I keep stroking her with the lightest touch I can. Up close, I watch her pussy transform. The lips swell and grow slick. The folds shift and soon I can see the tiny tip of her pretty clitoris, hardening. My mouth waters for it but still I hold back. More strokes, as light as a feather. Her pussy opens for me, flaring out like a flower, and soon I can see her beautiful pink opening. I’ve barely touched her. I haven’t done anything except pet her lips, and already she’s trembling for me, hot and wet.

I slide my hands under her round ass and pull her closer to the edge of the Jacuzzi. Now her pussy is level with my mouth. Again I run my thumbs up and down the slippery lips. When I spread her open at last, she moans. She’s so wet, I watch her pretty pink pussy drool onto the tiles.

At last, I lean forward and kiss her. She tastes like heaven—sweet and salty—and I lap at her, drinking her in. When I push the tip of my tongue into her, she jerks forward. Her eyes are shut tight. For the first time, I realize she’s opened the robe completely. Her hands wander lazily over her tits, rubbing them, playing with her nipples. She’s high on sex, doped up. I watch her face when my tongue finally finds her clit. She gasps and thrusts her hips forward, pushing herself greedily against my face.

That’s it, I tell myself. Now slowly, take her home.

I lick her hard little clit from the root to the tip, my tongue slipping through her folds. She’s dripping onto my chin so it’s not hard for me to reach up, stroke her opening with the tip of my finger, and slide it in up to the first joint. Her walls are slick and tight—tighter than any pussy I’ve ever seen. As I lick her clit up and down and she bears down on my finger, I realize I’ve got to be careful with this girl—she hasn’t done this in five years, and she’s tight as a fist.

Gently, I press my finger deeper and deeper until it’s inside her all the way. The surface of her skin is feverish, but inside, she’s like an oven. Under the water, my dick twitches, impatient. I pull my finger out halfway, then thrust it back in. She flinches, but I soothe the ache by sucking gently on her lips.

I close my eyes. Her flavor and scent fill me. Her clit swells and sweetens like a hard candy against my tongue. This is the finest pussy I’ve ever tasted. I feast on her, holding back and surging forward, teasing her orgasm. Slowly, secretly, I slide in a second finger alongside the first. Her muscles squeeze me, cracking my knuckles. I’m drowning in her wetness.

She’s breathing hard. When her thighs clench and she pinches her nipples hard, I begin to fuck her with my fingers, dragging them out before pressing them deeper and deeper. I zero in on the tenderest spot of her clit and tongue her with a steady, savage rhythm. She’s trembling. Her climax is playing with her, coming to the surface before diving back down.

At last, Vanessa takes one deep breath and holds it. She squeezes her eyes shut and her mouth freezes open. Her pussy seizes my fingers. I grind my tongue against her angry little clit and she comes so hard, I can feel the vibrations down my arm. I keep licking. I don’t stop. A long, rolling orgasm seizes her, and in my mouth I taste her release, sweeter than any candy.