Page 15 (1/2)

43

Pellegrino and Butler had done their work They had earned their overtione Main Street was silent and completely deserted The moon was out and the air was soft Deveraux was taller in her heels We walked side by side, close enough for me to hear the whisper of silk on skin, and to catch the scent of her perfuot to the hotel and went up the worn steps and crossed the porch I held the door for her The old guy orking behind the counter We nodded goodnight to him and headed for the stairs At the top Deveraux paused and said, "Well, goodnight, Mr Reacher, and thanks again for your company at dinner"

Loud and clear

I just stood there

She crossed the corridor

She took out her key

She put it in room seventeen&039;s lock

She opened the door

Then she closed it again loudly and tiptoed back to me and stretched up and put her hand on my shoulder She put her lips close to my ear and whispered, "That was for the old man downstairs I have to think about my reputation Mustn&039;t shock the voters"

I breathed out

I took her hand and we headed for rown up Not teenagers We didn&039;t rush We didn&039;t fumble We took our time, and what a time it was Maybe the best ever

We kissed as soon as my door was closed Her lips were cool and wet Her teeth were sreat kiss I had one hand in her hair, and one on the s Her eyes were open So werefor whole minutes Five of them, or ood at it I think we both understood that the first time happens only once We both wanted to savor it

Eventually we came up for air I took my shirt off I didn&039;t want McKinney blood between us I have a big shrapnel scar lon onup out of ly white stitches Usually a conversation starter Deveraux saw it and ignored it SheShe was a Marine She had seen worse Her hand went to her top button

I said, "No, let ? You like undressing wo in the world," I said "And I&039;ve been staring at that particular button since a quarter past nine"

"Since ten past nine," she said "I paid attention to the time line I&039;ot her to hold it out, palm up She kept it there, patiently I undid her cuff button I did the saht hand The silk fell back over slim wrists She put her hands on ain, five whole reat kiss Better than the first

We caain and I moved on to the button on the front of her shirt Like all the others it was sot the job done The button popped open, helped on its way by the swell of her breasts I moved down to the fourth button Then the fifth I eased the silk out of the waistband of her skirt, all the way around, little by little, slowly and carefully She was looking atthe whole ti a bra A tiny black thing, with lace, and delicate straps It barely covered her nipples Her breasts were fantastic

I eased the shirt back off her shoulders and it sighed and parachuted to the floor behind her Her scent ca and hard I kissed the curve where her neck met her shoulder She had a cleft down her back Her bra strap spanned it like a little bridge She put her head back and her hair spilled everywhere I kissed her throat

"Now your shoes," she said, and her throat buzzed against my lips

She turned e of the bed She knelt in front of ht shoe, and then my left She eased them off She hooked her thumbs in my socks and peeled them down

"PX for sure," she said

"Less than a dollar," I said "Couldn&039;t resist"

We stood up again and kissed again By that point in irls, but I was ready to admit Deveraux was the finest of them all She was spectacular She entle Passionate, but not aggressive Hungry, but not de The clock in my head took a break We had all the ti to use every last ers behind the front of er, one thu She found my zipper tab and eased it down, slowly, slowly, ser She put her hands flat on my shoulder blades and slid them side to side, warm, dry, soft, and then she ain She slid the tips of her fingers under my loosened waistband and tented the fabric She went deeper She pushed back and down and

We caain She pulled my pants off and dumped them on top of her shirt She left me on the bed and stepped back a pace and held her arms out wide and said, "Tell et to pick?"

She nodded "Your choice"

I sured she could keep her shoes on For a spell, anyway Maybe all night long

I said, "Skirt"

She obliged There was a button and a zipper at the side She popped the button and slid the zipper down, slowly, an inch, two inches, three, four I heard its sound quite clearly in the silence The skirt fell to the ground She stepped out of it, one foot, then the other Her legs were long and s tiny black panties Not much to them Just a wisp of dark fabric

Bra, panties, shoes I was still sitting on the bed She climbed into my lap I lifted her hair away and kissed her ear I traced its shape with ainst mine I could feel the smile I kissed herevery contour above our necks

Then we moved lower

I unsnapped her bra It fell away, insubstantial I duckedher breasts toward me They were firm and round and smooth Her nipples were sensitive She moaned a little So did I She moved and kissed my chest I lifted her off my lap and rolled her on her back on the bed Then she rolledto know each other above the waist

Then we moved lower

I was on my back She knelt overed places Her panties came down over her hips, and then she lifted her knees to let hs She et and sweet She moved, uninhibited She rolled her head from side to side and squirmed her shoulders and pressed herself down on the h my hair

Then it was ti and slow Deep and easy She flushed and gasped So did I Long and slow, long and slow

Then faster and harder

Then ere panting

Faster, harder, faster, harder

Panting

"Wait," she said

"What?"

"Wait, wait," she said "Not now Not yet Slon"

Long and slow, long and slow

Breathing hard

Panting

Long and slow

"OK," she said "OK No!"

Faster and harder

Faster, harder, faster, harder

The rooan to shake

Just very faintly at first, like a e of a far distant earthquake The French door ticked in its fralass rattled on the bathroom shelf The floor quivered The hall door creaked and stuttered My shoes hopped and ainst the wall The floor shook hard The walls boomed Coins in my abandoned pocket tinkled The bed shook and bounced and walked tiny fractions across the one, and so e

44

Aftere lay side by side, naked, breathing hard, sweat pooling, holding hands I stared up at the ceiling Deveraux said, "I&039;ve wanted to do that for thole years That daht as well make use of it"

I said, "If I ever buy a house it&039;s going to be next to a railroad track That&039;s for daled next to me I put my arm around her We lay quiet, and spent, and satisfied I heard Blind Blake in my head I had once listened to a cassette tape of all his songs, transferred from beat-up old 78s, the absurd roar and scratch of ancient shellac surface noise aluitar, as it picked out the rhythms of the railroad A blind man Blind from birth He had never seen a train But he had heard plenty That was clear

Deveraux askedabout, and I told her I said, "That&039;s the guy my brother&039;s note was about"

"Are you still mad about it?"

"I&039;m sad about it," I said

"Why?"

"This mission was a mistake," I said "They shouldn&039;t have putIt&039;sme think of them as them Not us anymore"

Later we had a languid conversation about whether she should go back to her own roouy had coood look inside the rooain I could delay a second and she could hide in the bathroom She said they rarely knocked on her door And if by so and there was no reply, they would assume she was out on a case Which would be entirely plausible She wasn&039;t short of work to do, after all

Then she said, "Maybe Janice Chapravel scratches, I mean With her boyfriend, whoever he was Out in her back yard, at ht Under the stars The railroad track is pretty close by Must be a out of doors"

"It ht last night It&039;s like the end of the world"

"Would the ti work? With the scabs?"

"If she had sex atWhat ti That&039;s eighteen hours I guess there would have been some decomposition by then"

"Probably But bled-out bodies can look pretty weird It would have been fairly hard to tell And your department doctor isn&039;t exactly Sherlock Holmes"

"So it&039;s possible?"