Chapter 36

Lincoln Steele tracked the tail lights of Bella’s car through his windshield as she led him to the motel she was staying at. It was on the other side of town from the Red Dog Saloon, past Cactus Point High School, two blocks off Main Street on Prickly Pear Road. For someone who had claimed to be lost searching for her motel earlier, she never hesitated. Never made a wrong turn. Not once. What was she up to?

Like the other buildings in Cactus Point, the motel needed a fresh coat of paint. The one-level brown stucco building with red tiled roof had rooms lined up on both sides of the small office situated in the middle. One light in the parking lot flickered. Several others were not functioning, leaving patches of blackness. Only two cars were parked on the cracked concrete. One in front of the office and one at the far end. Either the motel had few guests or the guests were still galivanting around town. Steele shook his head with a lopsided grin.

Definitely few guests.

Bella guided her car between two faded white lines in front of an emerald green door with a white numeral eight nailed to it. Steele pulled up alongside her and killed the engine. Bella was already at the door when he climbed out of his car, her large pocketbook swaying from her shoulder as she inserted the key into the lock. After a brief scan of the surroundings, Steele joined her. She opened the door and stepped inside. Steele hesitated until Bella turned the room light on, and then he peeked inside before crossing the threshold. Bella closed the door behind them.

The queen size bed dominated the room. Against the wall at the foot of the bed, a television sat atop a dresser. The TV was secured to the wall with a cable and lock. On both sides of the headboard were small tables. The one on the left had a lamp and telephone on it. A matching lamp was on the other table along with a TV remote. The closet was on the wall to the left. It didn’t have a door. All the hangers were bare and a small, unopened suitcase was on the floor below them. On the opposite side of the room from the closet, to the right, was an open door leading to the bathroom. Green curtains covered the window next to the front door, blocking out any light—and spying eyes—from the outside.

Bella stood with her eyes lowered, once again clutching the pocketbook strap.

“Too bad Cactus Point doesn’t have a nicer motel,” Steele said.

Bella looked up, skimmed the room, and shrugged. “It’s okay. I’ve been in worse.”

Steele glanced at the small suitcase. “Will you be staying long?”

“Not long. I don’t think.”

Steele eyed Bella with his arms crossed. “All right, are you going to tell me why I’m really here?”

Bella’s eyelashes fluttered and then she lowered her gaze. Staring at her toes, she said, “I thought you were lonely and, well...”

Steele closed the gap between them and placed his hands on her upper arms. Bella’s free hand swung between their bodies and grabbed the strap to her pocketbook. Now holding it with both hands, she clutched it to her body.

Steele ignored the sudden movement and stroked her arms. He felt the tension. Placing a finger under her chin, he tilted her head back. They stared into each other’s eyes. Hers looked unsure. Steele leaned down and placed his lips on hers. A gentle touch. Not forcing anything. Her eyes closed.

He covered her cheek with his hand and pushed the tip of his tongue against her lips. Hers parted. Maybe relaxed was more accurate. Her movement wasn’t enthusiastic. More submissive. He slid his tongue between them. Her tongue hesitated a moment before touching his tongue. Steele pressed his lips harder against hers as their tongues tentatively flapped.

Steele pulled away. Their bottom lips stuck together for an instant before breaking free. “Are you sure this is what you want?”

Bella gazed into his eyes. “What do you mean?”

“You just separated from your husband. Your wedding ring hasn’t been off too long.”

Bella grasped her left hand with her right.

“So are you sure?” Steele said. “Will you regret it afterward?”

Bella’s eyes looked away. “Why do you have to be so nice?”

“Look, I’m a guy and you’re a beautiful woman. It’s not easy for me not to make love to you. But I have to be sure that you’re sure.”

Bella reached out and cupped the back of Steele’s neck. She pulled his head down. Their mouths met and her lips parted. Her mouth wide open now. She licked his lips. Steele went after her tongue and followed it into her mouth. Her tongue, more active now, slapped at his, wiggling against it. All over. The top, sides, and bottom. She was like a completely different woman than a few moments earlier.

Steele placed a hand under Bella’s butt. With his other hand pressed to her back, he lifted her straight up. Bella hooked her heels around his calves. Taking tiny steps, Steele carried her to the side of the bed. When he turned her to lay her lengthwise on the mattress, her large pocketbook swung away from her body and hung in the air from her shoulder. He instead sat her on the side of the mattress. Her skirt had ridden halfway up her thighs, but Bella didn’t make a move to lower it.

Steele reached for the pocketbook. Bella grabbed the strap with both hands and yanked it away from him.

“I was just going to put it in the closet,” Steele said. “With your suitcase. To get it out of the way.”

Bella’s eyes showed fear. Panic. “I’ll just leave it here,” she said, lowering it to the floor next to the bed.

Steele chuckled. “What do you have in there? Did you rob a bank?”

“Just some personal things.”

Steele held his hands up with fingers spread, palms facing Bella. “I won’t touch it again.” He used his fingertip to make a cross over his heart. “Scout’s honor.”

Steele dropped to a knee. Bella reached for the pocketbook, but stopped when Steele lifted her left foot and slid the shoe off. He removed the other one and stood up with both her ankles clasped in his large hand. He swung her legs onto the bed. Bella’s upper body fell back onto the mattress and her skirt slid up a little more. But she wasn’t concerned about the skirt. Her head whipped around toward where the pocketbook was. Steele put a knee on the mattress and climbed over Bella to the other side of the bed. It was best to put distance between him and her precious pocketbook.

Steele lay on his side staring at Bella. She stared back. Nothing was said. And then he placed a hand on her bare leg above the knee. He waited. She didn’t move so he slid it under the skirt, high up on her thigh. Bella stiffened.

“Are you sure about this?” Steele said.

Bella stared at him. “Why do you keep asking me that?”

“Because you’re tense. I just want to be sure.”

Bella grabbed Steele’s arm and pulled his hand further under her skirt. She clamped her thighs around it. Steele felt the smooth skin of her inner thighs, the silky material of her nylon panties, and the spongy labia behind the nylon. And the heat.

“I’m sure,” Bella said.

Bella sat up and rolled partway onto her hip with his hand still clamped between her thighs and reached for his crotch. She placed a hand on his groin and pressed down. She rubbed her palm in a circle. His dick stiffened a little, and then more as she continued massaging it.

“This is what I want,” Bella said.

“And your husband?”

“This has nothing to do with him.” Bella curled her fingers around Steele’s now hard dick, like gripping a baton through his trousers. “This is what I want.”

Bella tore at his belt and then the button and zipper of his jeans. She shoved her hand inside his underwear and grabbed his hard-on.

Bella squeezed his dick. “Any more questions?”

“None.”

With his free hand, Steele cupped the back of Bella’s head and pulled her lips to his, sliding his tongue into her mouth with no resistance. Their tongues lashed out at each other’s. Bella, with her fingers still wrapped around his dick, brushed her thumb over the head. Steele squeezed her pussy underneath the skirt. Over the panties.

Bella rolled Steele onto his back with her on top, straddling his leg. Her crotch pinned the back of his hand against his thigh. She ground her pussy on his palm as her tongue flapped wildly, wiggling and licking his inside her mouth. She sucked his tongue.

Her sudden passion surprised Steele. He didn’t know what the woman was after. She had seemed so unsure. And innocent. But she was a fireball now. Maybe he had misjudged her. Maybe she was looking for sex after all.

While Bella lay on top of Steele, humping his hand, he flipped the back of her skirt up with his free hand and thrust that hand inside the back of her panties. He stroked and squeezed her naked buttocks before reaching lower, underneath the cotton lining at her crotch. He wedged the length of his middle finger between her labia. He sawed the finger inside her slit, sinking the fingertip into her hole and popping it back out with each stroke. Each time it came out wetter than the time before as she ground herself on his hand and moaned.

Bella rolled off Steele and onto her side. Her eyes were ablaze. Her breaths quick and deep. Lips parted. The tip of her pink tongue stuck out between them. She licked her lips and opened her mouth. With her fingers still wrapped around his hard-on, she shoved the front of his underwear down, freeing his dick, and stood his hard cock straight up. Swooping down, she fed his cock into her mouth. Her lips clamped around the head and her tongue swirled around the ridge under it. And then her cheeks hollowed as she sucked and bobbed her head.

Had Steele misjudged the woman’s advances? Was she a hooker? She had seemed so innocent, but he couldn’t remember receiving a more energetic, talented blowjob. This woman knew what she was doing. She was experienced. Did she expect to get paid? Steele watched her head bob up and down. Watched her lips stretch as they clung to his shaft while dragging her mouth up the warm flesh and then watched them get pushed inward over her teeth when she went down. Watched her cheeks hollow as she tried to suck his testicles right up through his dick. The vulgar slurping sounds added to the sensation.