He made his way back to the highway, bouyed by the thought that in an hour he would be back with Holly. Then they could be on their way to a new life for him.
At that moment, however, someone else knocked at the door of Holly's room. Expecting Malcolm, she opened it to a surprise.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Malcolm quickened his steps as he approached the motel. The same cars that had been there before still stood in the parking spaces. The oriental woman dozed in the office. Holly Lang's Volkswagen waited outside her room.
He stopped. There was a prickling of his skin as when someone draws a fingernail down a blackboard. Everything looked the same, yet something was different. He could sense it. Something unknown was waiting for him behind the drawn curtains of the motel room.
He approached slowly, looking in all directions, listening, sniffing the air. Nothing moved in the night. There was no sound. He could detect no foreign scent. And yet, he had this feeling…
He knocked lightly at the door, his muscles tense, nerves jumping.
The door opened.
The woman who stood in the doorway was not Holly Lang. She was two or three inches shorter than Holly. Her compact body was beautifully rounded and displayed to good advantage in a tight skirt and top of black leather. The woman's hair was black as midnight, her mouth wide and inviting. She smiled. Her eyes were wide set and playful. They were green. Deep, deep green.
'Hello, Malcolm,' she said.
The impact of the woman in the doorway kept him from speaking for a moment. He felt very young and clumsy.
'Are you going to stand out there staring all night?'
'Who are you?' he managed finally.
'I am Lupe. I've been waiting for you. Come in.' She stepped aside and watched him with amusement.
Malcolm entered the room hesitantly. No one else was there. He saw Holly's suitcase lying open on the floor, her things packed neatly inside.
'Where is Holly?'
'We have her now.'
'We?'
'Oh, come Malcolm, you know me. We can always recognize each other.'
'What do you mean you have Holly?' A blade of fear stabbed into him.
'Oh, not that way,' Lupe said. 'She's still all right, as far as I know.'
'You're one of Derak's people?'
'Yes, of course. Derak has your friend.'
'Where has he taken her?'
'To the hills. I can show you.'
'Well, come on', He started toward the door.
'What's your hurry?' The dark woman's voice was husky and insinuating. 'He won't do anything to her. Not until you get there, anyway.'
'What do you mean?'
'I think you'd better hear the rest from Derak. We'll go after them in a little while.'
'Why not now?'
'There are other things we can do now.' She reached up and undid the top button of the leather blouse. 'How old are you, Malcolm?'
'Almost sixteen.'
Another button.
'Have you been with a woman?'
'Yes.'
The third button.
'Many?'
'No.'
'I'll bet you have never been with a woman like me.'
She undid the last button and dropped her arms. A shrug and the leather top was on the floor. She wore nothing underneath. Her breasts were large and firm and proud. Malcolm could not pull his eyes away.
Lupe reached for the fastening at the side of her skirt. 'Have you?'
'What?' Malcolm's mouth was dry.
'Have you been with a woman like me?'
'No.'
'I didn't think so.'
A soft snap, a zip, and the leather skirt joined the top on the floor. Lupe stood straight before him. She touched the dark triangle of pubic hair, slid her hand up over the rounded belly and cupped one heavy breast. Her finger played with the nipple until it stood erect.
'Do you like me?' she said.
'I–I have to find Holly.'
'I told you I'll help you. But first, wouldn't you like to get to know me better?'
She came toward him, stopping inches away. He could feel the heat of her naked body. There was an ache between his legs.
'I can make you feel really good,' Lupe said. 'Would you like that?'
She reached down and touched him. His erection grew under her fingers.
'Well, what do we have here?' she teased. 'And only sixteen years old. You are going to be quite a man, Malcolm.'
He began to perspire. He could feel his shirt going damp at the armpits. Conflicting emotions ripped him. He wanted to take the hand of the taunting woman away, and he never wanted her to move it.
She undid his trousers and slipped her hand inside. The sensation was unbearable pleasure.
He tried to speak, but all that came out was a long 'Aaahhh!'
'Take those things off,' Lupe told him. 'Come into bed with me.'
She peeled back the spread, blanket, and top sheet, then lay down, spreading her midnight hair over a pillow. She cocked one knee and massaged the velvety inside of her thigh with gentle strokes of her fingertips.
'Hurry,' she said in a husky whisper.
With his eyes never leaving the woman in the bed, Malcolm stripped off. He pulled off shoes and socks and lay down on the bed beside her.
Instantly Lupe was on him. She kissed his mouth, her tongue probing deep. Her hungry lips nibbled at his chin, his throat, and down across his chest to his belly. The green eyes looked up at him teasingly.
'Feel good?'
'Y-yes.'
'Want me to stop?'
'No.'
'I told you so.'
She took him inside her mouth then. Her tongue and lips worked on him, her white little teeth giving him gentle love bites. Her cheeks hollowed as she sucked. Malcolm felt as though he were being pulled inside out.
Just when he thought he could not last a second longer, she drew her head back, her mouth making a little popping sound as he slid out. She rubbed the length of her body up along his, the flesh lubricated by their mingled sweat. She raised her head and looked down on him. Her hair was a shiny black curtain framing her face. She
