by JA Huss
I take out my phone and start with the first name in my professional contacts. It’s Adam. His name’s not Adam, he’s just my number one. I don’t usually call him for easy shit like this, but I know he’ll do it while I’m waiting if he’s available.
If. He’s iffy. And the last time I talked to him over Christmas, he had a huge mess on his hands, so he might be holing up, trying to stay out of sight. Which means he might actually be available. I press the generic avatar used for his name and listen to it ring. One. Two. Three. I’m just about to hang up and call the next guy on the list when he picks up. “Yeah.”
“Can you vet for me while I wait?” I can hear a girl panting on the other end. Fucking Merc.
“Is it absolutely necessary?” Now the girl is grunting, then a slap and a squeal.
“I don’t call unless it’s necessary.”
“Hold on,” he says as I listen to shuffling, the girl protesting in Spanish, and then, “Get off me, I gotta work for a minute. Stay put, though. Don’t move. OK, dickhead, give me the name.” I can hear his keystrokes as he gets online.
“Dee Vasquez, birthday 10-27-62, born in Jacksonville, Florida.”
“One sec, let me pull it up. Why don’t you just do this shit yourself?”
“I’m on vacation and I left the rig at home.”
“OK, coming up.” He snorts a little. “She’s got two traffic tickets for speeding back in the Nineties. Lives in… Vegas. You in Vegas? I’m in Palm Springs. You should stop by.”
“Negative. What else you got?”
“Nothing. This bitch is boring. Who is she? She fuck you over or something?”
“No, babysitter for tonight.”
He laughs. He laughs so hard I have to hold the phone away from my ear. “Baby-fucking-sitter?”
“Nice talking to ya, Merc. I owe you a small.”
He’s still laughing when I hang up. I walk over at Kate and she’s got her eyes open, staring up at me. “Fuck him, huh, Kate. He has no clue.” She smiles at me and I melt a little and pick her up. She flings her little fists around in agreement. I take her back over to the couch and sit down. She’s got her head on my shoulder, just kicking it, so I flip through channels until I get to the news.
We relax together listening to the stock report.
Merc’s laughter comes back to me. If he saw me right now he’d never let me live it down. We met at a recruitment weekend for MIT back in high school. He was from Boston, not the nice parts, so he took me on a memorable one-night bender through numerous back-alley bars. I think they stuck us together to avoid corrupting the normal students. Or maybe they hoped we’d both go to jail together before the weekend was over. That’s a toss-up.
Merc and I both got offers—they couldn’t not give us offers. We’re fucking geniuses and MIT likes to hoard the country’s geniuses, keep us all neatly contained in the socially accepted bubble of serving the nation.
I went to film school—and I’m pretty sure my recruitment adviser from MIT threw up on the other end of the phone when I told her that. And Merc went into the army, but only so they’d train him how to kill. He never wanted to be a SEAL or a Ranger. He just wanted some hard and fast training so he could slip underground and not get himself offed when he completed his more hands-on jobs. He never had a team like I did. He’s a solo guy.
But he’s good at what he does, so if he says Dee Vasquez is clean, then she’s clean.
Pam had one of my suits driven up from LA and the staff delivers it at six. Kate’s asleep now, so I take the suit into the bedroom and get dressed. I don’t mind the jeans, but I love the suits. This one’s black, has a short coat, the sleeves are tailored just right so it shows some of my crisp white shirt at the cuff, and my broad shoulders are accentuated by a taper from the waist of the jacket all the way down the slim-fit trousers. The white pocket square and the black tie sets the whole thing off.
I comb my hair back and leave the one-day stubble on my chin.
Even I know that shit looks sexy.
The sitter arrives at six fifty and takes Kate and the bottles of breast milk across the hall to the second room I reserved that is stocked with everything she’ll need for the evening.
And at exactly seven o’clock Ashleigh walks through the door.
Chapter Thirty-One
I unleash the dimple on her. “I love it.”
“Well.” She blows some hair out of her eyes. It’s piled high on top of her head but she’s got those cute bangs that are too long to stay out of her eyes and too short to put up with the rest of her hair. “You should love it, they tell me you picked it out.”
The dress is very revealing, but only in the back—and that’s because there is no back. But her front is covered from neck to toes as it drapes down in a triangle shape and then fastens at each hip. The top is attached to a delicate red ribbon that circles her neck like a collar and the flowing fabric is snug at her waist, and then falls to the ground like a red waterfall. Her matching red toenails peek out from black strappy heels. “I have no bra on, Ford. If I leak through this dress in public—”
“Relax, Miss Li.” I hold my arm out to her and she smiles.
“It’s nice. Thank you. I haven’t dressed up in forever and I haven’t been on a real date in, God, I have no idea.”
I have a million questions and I want to ask them all this very second. I want to know why he left her. Did she do something? Is Kate not his baby? I admit, that question has popped into my head more than once. Maybe that’s why his parents haven’t seen her. Maybe that’s why he left? I secretly hope that’s the case. In fact, I’m in full-on fantasy mode right now, picturing all the ways in which Ashleigh might’ve fucked up and ruined her chances with this guy. I want to ask so fucking bad. What the hell kind of relationship was she in that he never took her out? But this is her night and the last person we’re gonna spend our time talking about is Tony. “You look spectacular in red. Are you ready?”
She looks around the room, trying to see into the dining room-turned-nursery. “Where’s Kate?”
“Across the hall in the other room.” She opens her mouth to say something, probably about checking on her, but I put up a hand. “Ashleigh, stop. She’s fine. I’ll bring her back at the end of the night, she’ll sleep with us tonight. I had the babysitter checked out, she’s got the milk, she’s perfectly safe.”
“OK, sorry. I’m kinda nervous.”
“Why?” I ask as I touch her elbow and lead through the door and down the hallway to the elevators.
“I don’t know what to expect.” The elevator doors open and I put a hand on her bare back and guide her inside. “What are we doing?”
“We’re having a night out. A slow, quiet night out.”
She looks up at me and her eyes are wide and uncertain. “What about after?”
I think this through for a moment because I’m starting to understand what has her so edgy. She’s scared of me. Of what I might do to her tonight. Of what I might expect of her tomorrow. I pull her in front of me and put my arms around her waist, then lean down into her neck. She’s a few inches taller in her heels so she’s easily accessible. “You can say no anytime you want. Stop. Enough. No more. All these are words you can use if you want to. I would like it if you trusted me to take care of you, but you’re not my prisoner. You can sleep in the room across the hall if you’d like. I won’t be mad.”
“You won’t?” She looks over her shoulder at me and I impulsively bite her earlobe.
“I’ll be disappointed, but not mad. If it’s not fun, there’s no point in doing it.”
“So those ten spankings—”
“Will make you scream my name five times, I promise you.”
She lets out a long breath as the elevator doors open. There’s a crowd of people waiting but she doesn’t move and neither do I. The other guests stare at us as Ashleigh tilts her head up and says so everyone can hear. “So for every two spankings I get an orgasm? It’s a two-to-one ratio?”<
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Snickers from the audience and I guide her forward. “For that outburst, Miss Li, you’ll get an extra swat.”
She laughs and takes my hand. “I can do that, you know. Hold your hand. I requested it and even though you said you don’t take requests, you lied.”
I pull her towards the valet area and chuckle. “You’re working on number twelve now, Ashleigh.” Our car is waiting and I open her door. She slides in and I get in after her.
“So where are we going?”
“Patience.” I put my arm around her and the driver pulls out, but we don’t exit onto the Strip, instead he turns right and we take the hotel access road around the property. “Are you excited?” I ask, leaning down to bite her ear again. I’m having a hard time keeping my mouth off her body right now.
“A bite is a kiss, right?”
“Yes.”
“What if I want a real kiss when the night is over?”
“What if I want a promise when the night is over?”
“What kind of promise?” She looks up at me and her nerves are back. I can feel her heart thrumming inside her chest as she leans into me.
“What kind of kiss do you want? A small peck to say thank you? A romantic one that says I care? Or a passionate one with some bite mixed in that will make you come in the hallway?”
She inhales and swallows. I’m really making her nervous now. “I’m not sure yet.”
“I’m not sure what kind of promise I want either. Something small, maybe—a phone number? A little more serious perhaps—another date tomorrow night at my house in Bel Air? Or maybe you just never leave and we give it a real try?”
The car stops before she can answer, but she takes those few seconds before the driver opens the door to steal a look at me. “I can’t think about tomorrow.”
“Then don’t. Forget about tomorrow. Tonight it’s only you and me and no one else exists until this date is officially over.”
The door opens. I get out and reach for her hand, pulling her gently to her feet. She looks past me into the lobby and smiles. “OK. I’m all yours.”
Damn right, I muse.
I lead her inside to the elevators and we take it up to the top floor where the restaurant is. Our table is waiting when we arrive and the maître d’ guides us to a private semi-circle booth that faces the Strip and has an absolutely stunning view. “I said sushi, but the sushi bars in Vegas are not intimate, so we’ll have to make do with this tonight.”
She hunches her shoulders a little and gets excited as she looks over the menu. “Wow, fuck the sushi—I’m getting lobster.”
I close my eyes and shake my head slowly. Oh, dear lord. She’s going to drive me insane with her antics. “Why must you try me like this?” I ask as I open my eyes.
She laughs. “Ford, you think I’m adorable, you said so. How much fun would I be if I just did everything you said and behaved myself?” She looks up at me and bats her eyelashes. “You’d never have your dirty way with me if I was compliant. And by the way, your package looks so good in that suit.” She looks down and then up and waggles her eyebrows.
“I take it you’ve settled into the date, then? Your nervousness has passed?”
She sighs and nods. “Yes. You’re too wily for me, Ford. You think of everything. Why fight it?”
I slip my hand behind her neck and fist her hair as I whisper in her ear. “I do like the fight, but not tonight. Tonight you’re mine. Tonight I own you. I get to take care of you. I get to make you feel things for the first time. Tonight I promise you perfection. So just give in, Ashleigh. Give yourself to me and let it happen.”
She turns her head, just slightly, just so her lips are against my rough cheek. My free hand involuntarily comes up to her neck and presses against her throat. She moans a little before I loosen my hold. “Ford,” she says seductively into my ear. “I’m going to kiss you right now. In public.” And then I feel the stretch of her neck under my palm and her soft lips touch my earlobe, just skim across the sensitive skin before pulling away.
It actually makes me close my eyes for a second.
“See,” she breathes. “It’s nice. I trust you. But I like soft kisses. So in between the rough stuff you like, be careful with me. Give me something soft, because I really need it.”
I’m speechless. I’m still thinking about her kiss, so I have to play catch up with her words.
This confession from her unlocks something deep inside. Something that makes me want to hold her close and protect her. To wipe away all the things that have her worried and make her world perfect.
I want her. I’d let her sloppy-kiss me right here in front of everyone if she asked right now.
But the waiter arrives and we both turn our attention to food for enough moments that the insane attraction I have to this girl is checked. She gets the lobster and I get the prime rib. But my appetite is gone and my mind is only on one thing right now.
How the fuck do I keep her from leaving me tomorrow?
When we’re done ordering we sit in silence and enjoy our drinks. This place is over-the-top yet subdued at the same time. Our booth has a high back that curves around the plush bench so we can’t see the diners on either side of us. It’s just Ashleigh, me, and the nighttime Vegas skyline.
“Tell me something new, Ford.”
I smile at her request. “That’s what started it, you know. Your confession that you thought I was a hot serial killer.”
“A hot serial killer who would beat back my keen defenses with his unorthodox charm so that I’d beg him to kill me during kinky sex.”
“Hmmm…”
She laughs. “Yeah, seems like your diabolical plan is working. Please don’t make me beg you to kill me tonight.”
“I’ll make you beg for something, but death will be the last thing on your list. More, that’s what you’ll be begging for. More.”
She smiles and shakes her head a little, like I’m such a cocky bastard. “Let’s play a game.”
“You have a game for everything, it seems.” I have my arm around her shoulder and I trace the curve of her small muscles in her upper arm, thinking of her shivering touch on my back last night. “What kind of game?”
She turns her body a little so she can see my face. “It’s called Lie, Lie, Truth. You tell me three things about you, two of them lies, one not. And I have to guess which one is true.”
“What do you get if you guess?”
“A favor. To be claimed at some time in the future.”
“I’ve never heard of this game, I think you make these games up.”
“It was something my friends and I played in school. We had no boys, remember? We had to keep ourselves occupied somehow.”
“Were you a Sandy or a Rizzo when you were in school?” She bursts out laughing and I have to shush her because it’s so loud. “Stop.”
“A Sandy—are you talking about Grease?”
Even I laugh now. “Sorry, I’m a film producer, remember? Now tell me, Sandy or Rizzo?”
“You tell me. Ready?” I nod. “OK.” She stops, to think up her lies presumably, and then turns to me grinning. “In tenth grade I won a contest for selling the most candy bars for our school orchestra. I can play four instruments. I got kicked out of the orchestra in eleventh grade because I stood up and yelled, Play ball after we performed the Star-Spangled Banner for a competition.”
“No contest, number two. You’re a Sandy who thinks she wants to be a Rizzo.”
She squirms and huffs out a small laugh. “Yes, that’s true. I liked being smart as a kid. I was an overachiever. But why do you think that? I mean, how did you know that was the truth?”
“It’s pretty difficult for foreigners to get into a Japanese university. I might not know much about you, but I know you’re exceptional. Selling the most candy bars is not exceptional and I don’t think you’d ever ruin someone else’s special moment just to be a brat. You play four instruments was the only logical answer. So I win a future favor a
nd now it’s my turn. Ready?”
“Yes, I’m ready,” she says, her eyes locked on mine.
“I’ve never had a girlfriend. I’ve never wanted a girlfriend. I wish I’d never met you.” I look down at her and her mouth is open, gaping at me.
“Um…”
“Should I say them again?”
She stares at me. “You’ve never had a girlfriend? How is that possible?”
I shrug a little. “I’ve never had a girlfriend and I’ve never wanted one… until you. I’ve had lots of sex. And I’ve been on dates. But the girls I’m usually with have strict rules and no talking or touching were two of them.”
“What did you do on the dates, if you didn’t talk?”
“I fucked them in the limo on the drive to the restaurant. I bought them dinner and drank some expensive Scotch. I fucked them in the limo on the drive back to their place. I dropped them off.”
She looks away, a little bit stunned, I think. “Why do they let you treat them that way?”
“Because they can’t stop themselves. Because finding a man who will love and cherish them is too much trouble. Because I was offering a physical encounter only. Because I was unavailable except in this very specific way. Because they’re unable to see the benefits of nothing, and instead settle for something.”
“Do you want to treat me like that?”
“Never. And now I owe you a future favor too.”
Before she can say anything else the wait staff delivers our salads. When they leave I change the subject and we talk about ridiculous things like Japanese game shows and the character development of Odd Thomas. But the entire time I’m really dying to ask her what she thinks of me. I need to know, but not yet. She needs to see all of me first. She needs to experience me and I her. We need to experience what us together looks like.
We’ll do that tonight.
