Longarm was standing in his hotel room, completely nude, about to rummage in his small valise and come out with a change of clothes and socks. He had a glass of Maryland whiskey in his hand, which he had been savoring, and he had taken the time to have a short wash-up out of the big washbasin that the hotel had provided. He was considering whether to shave himself or treat himself to a barbershop shave when he heard the sound of a key turning in the lock of his room’s door. He whirled instantly and stepped to the bedside table. He set the whiskey down and put his hand on the butt of his revolver, ready to draw it from the holster.
The door opened and Lily Gail stood there, wearing a very fetching yellow frock dress, cut low in the bodice so that her creamy white skin and the beginning of the swell of her bosom showed. She started as she saw Longarm and was almost, but not quite, able to keep the surprise out of her eyes. She said, stammering, “Why … why … why, Custis. Whatever are you doing here?”
He smiled at her. “I might ask you the same question, Lily Gail, but come in and shut the door behind you. You’re creating a draft.”
She stepped into the room and closed and locked the door behind her. She turned to face Longarm with about ten feet separating them. She said, “I didn’t expect you back …” She stopped. “I didn’t expect you back so soon.”
He smiled even more. “Yeah, I bet you didn’t.”
She said, trying to keep the bewilderment out of her eyes, “Didn’t ya’ll get together?”
“You mean me and the Gallaghers?”
“Why, yes. Isn’t that who you were going to see?”
“Yes, but it just didn’t come off, Lily Gail. We missed connections somewhere along the line. Somebody got the time and place wrong. They never showed up.”
A little of the concern left her face. She said, “Oh, well, that’s too bad, but I’m sure there’ll be another chance.”
He said, with a smile fixed on his face, “Yeah, there’s always another chance.”
She walked slowly toward him. The glint that he liked so much was back in her eyes. She said, “Oh, my. Look at you. Don’t you look perfect?” She came up, stood next to him, and reached down and began to fondle his member and his testicles. She said, “Oh, that’s so nice.”
With fingers that were trembling as they did when he handled the nitroglycerin, he began unbuttoning the convenient front of her dress. Because of the low cut, there weren’t so many buttons. In less than a minute, her dress had fallen to the floor. He backed her to the edge of the bed, and she sat down and leaned forward and took him in her mouth. He put his hands on her head and held on while she wrapped her arms around his waist and pulled him back and forth into her mouth. After a few strokes, it was all he could do to hold himself back. For a second, she pulled her head away and looked up at him, running her plump tongue around her lips, and then took him back into her mouth. He could stand it for only a moment longer, and then he pulled away and pushed her back on the bed. He said, “Turn over and back up to me. Get on your hands and knees.” His voice was husky as his throat began to close and his breathing quickened. The blood was pounding in his ears. She turned slowly, bringing herself to the right height. He moved forward and his member went into her, almost as if it had a mind of its own. She was slick and warm and he leaned over her, reaching under and grasping each of her breasts as he began to pump into her. He could feel himself rising and could feel the thunder inside. He heard a loud gasping and realized it was coming from him before he exploded. He felt like his whole body was being sucked into her. The explosion lasted a long, long, long time.
When it was over, he collapsed on her back. Her arms gave and her legs spread and they lay flat on the bed. They remained that way for a long moment until he regained his breath. He rolled over and lay there staring at the ceiling.
She turned and hovered over him, kissing him on the mouth. She said, “There. Wasn’t that a nice welcome home.”
Still out of breath, he said, “Oh, my, Lily Gail. That really was.”
Then he heaved himself up. She said, “Where are you going?”
He said, “I’ve got to get dressed and you’d better get dressed. We’ve got to go out.”
She asked, “Oh, where are we going?”
He said, “Well, I may be going several different places but you’re going to jail. You’re under arrest.”
Longarm was having trouble getting her out of the room. She was saying, “But you can’t arrest me, Longarm. Not after what we just done, you can’t do it.”
“I am arresting you, Lily Gail. I’m arresting you for complicity in the attempted murder of a federal law officer. That’s officially. That’s a pretty serious charge, Lily Gail, and I don’t think that you’re going to enjoy federal prison, but that’s where you are going. This is the second time that you’ve nearly gotten me killed. The first time it was my fault. This time it was your fault. I’m not going to give you a chance at another try. Next time you might succeed.”
She put her hand to her mouth. She said, with a break in her voice, “But honey, how can you after what you just done to me?”
He said, “What I just did to you was what you tried to do to me, sending me out to meet with the Gallaghers. Only I enjoyed mine. I don’t think you’re going to enjoy yours.”
“How can you say that!”
“By the way, Rufus and Clem have gone to be with Vern and the rest of that sorry family.”
She said, “You don’t mean …”
He nodded. “Yes, Lily Gail. They are blowed-up suckers. Literally and figuratively. You have lost your soft touch.”
As if she hadn’t heard him, she said, trying to melt against him, “You can’t arrest me after what we just did. You love it too much.”
