sweet and thick with desire as molasses, she whispered, “After we have
eaten, I would love to take your manhood and lick it slowly from one end to
the other before I take it into my mouth and-“
“The Red Top Cafe across the street is a good place for supper,” Longarm broke in harshly, knowing that he couldn’t listen to much more of what Sonia was saying without beginning to show some evidence of his arousal. Under the circumstances, having the front of his trousers poking out didn’t much appeal to him. He moved back a little so that the delicious, intoxicating scent of her wouldn’t fill his nostrils quite so much, and then he went on. “I’m afraid the hotel dining room is closed for the time being.”
He saw a flash of anger in her eyes, but it lasted only a moment. Clearly, she wasn’t accustomed to having her offers turned down. However, the fact that Longarm was able to do so must have amused her, because she chuckled. “As you wish, Senor Long,” she said. “But sooner or later ... you will do as I wish. It is as inevitable as the rising of the sun.” She glanced down at his groin. “Among other things.”
“Yes, ma’am,” said Longarm.
She turned and started to walk away, her hips swaying provocatively, then paused and looked back at him over her shoulder. “Will you watch me to make certain I reach the cafe safely?”
“I reckon I can do that,” replied Longarm with a nod. He figured he wouldn’t be the only man watching her as she crossed the street. Every male eye in Del Rio within seeing distance would be fastened on her.
And he was afraid she was right. He was only human, and sooner or later he would succumb to her charms if she kept offering them that freely. Doing his job well was the most important thing in life to him.
But damn it, that didn’t mean he was made of stone.
He watched her until she had crossed the street and entered the Red Top, then took his hat off and sleeved sweat from his forehead. Turning, he saw that the desk clerk was watching him. The fella had a sheen of sweat on his forehead too, and Longarm figured it wasn’t from the border heat.
Longarm hoped Franklin Barton and Don Alfredo could settle things soon. He was afraid that if he had to stay in Del Rio for very long, Sonia Guiterrez would wind up killing him.
One way or another.
Chapter 7
The meeting in the hotel dining room went on until after dark. Longarm’s belly began to growl, and he was glad when Coffin wandered out of the kitchen and offered to trade places with him for a while. Since Sonia Guiterrez had already come back to the hotel—giving Longarm a teasing, maddening smile as she walked up the stairs—Longarm figured it would be safe enough to leave Coffin on duty in the lobby. He wouldn’t have if there had been any chance that Coffin might wind up alone with Sonia.
Of course, he was being a little hypocritical, he thought as he went back to the kitchen. He couldn’t blame Coffin for wanting to take Sonia to bed when that was exactly what he intended to do himself as soon as he got the chance. Provided he could be discreet about it, naturally.
The cook was an elderly Italian man who jabbered incessantly at Longarm as the lawman ate. The man’s words were a mixture of drawled English and rapid-fire Italian, and after a while the chatter made Longarm’s head hurt a little. He finished up the steak and potatoes and beans and drank the last of the coffee in his cup. “Much obliged,” he said as he got to his feet. The cook said something in Italian, so Longarm just smiled and nodded and went out.
Coffin looked up from the chair where he was slouched and said, “Don’t send me back in there with that little Eye-talian fella, Long. I ain’t a man to beg, but he like to drove me to distraction with all that jawin’.”
Longarm took out a cheroot. Before he could say anything, the doors of the dining room opened, and Barton and Don Alfredo emerged, smiling and laughing. It looked as if the meeting had gone well.
“We’re finished for the day, Mr. Long,” Barton told Longarm, “and we’re going up to our suites. Can you have some dinner sent up for us?”
Longarm nodded. “I’ll see to it,” he said. That would mean dealing with the talkative little Italian, but he figured he could manage that much.
“You boys get everythin’ straightened out?” Coffin asked hopefully.
“We made a good start, senor,” replied Guiterrez. “But there is much yet to discuss before a final agreement is reached.”
Coffin did a poor job of suppressing a groan. Longarm felt the same way. But it was too much to hope that a few hours of talking could settle anything between two countries. Even if things had been that simple, no diplomat worth his salt would ever admit such a thing.
Barton and Guiterrez led the way upstairs, followed by their associates. Longarm told Coffin to station himself on the second-floor landing so that he could keep an eye on the corridor, then went back to the kitchen to see about getting some food for the diplomatic parties.
An hour later, when everyone had eaten, Longarm and Coffin found themselves standing alone on the landing. “Reckon they’re down for the night,” said Coffin. “Let’s you and me go over to Kilroy’s and get us a drink, Long.”
Longarm shook his head. “One of us has to stay here all night. We’ll trade off shifts, just like we were standing watch on the trail.”
Coffin glowered at him and demanded, “You mean we got to ride night herd on these rannies too?”
Longarm shrugged and nodded. Coffin sighed heavily. “You go ahead,” he told Longarm. “I reckon I can wait.”
“I’ll relieve you at midnight.”
“Don’t you forget,” Coffin warned.
