Longarm 242: Red-light Read Free

would you be smoking, sir?”
    â€œSorry if it offends you, ma’am,” said Longarm with a shrug. He glanced around the car. “Other folks are smoking in here, so I didn’t figure you’d mind.” In truth, he hadn’t actually given the matter a thought before he lit up.
    â€œThose other folks, as you call them, are not sitting directly across from me so that the noxious smoke from their pipes and cigars wafts directly into my face.”
    Wafts? thought Longarm. He spent a couple of seconds trying to remember when he had last heard someone actually use that word, then gave it up as a bad job. He said, “I reckon if it would make you feel better, ma’am, I could step out on the platform to finish this.”
    â€œI wish you would,” the young woman said. She sniffed and folded her arms across her chest, then looked away from him again.
    Longarm stuck the cheroot back in his mouth, clamped his teeth on it, shook his head, and stood up. He knew his three-for-a-nickel cheroots weren’t the best-smelling things in the world, but he wasn’t accustomed to being booted out of a railroad car because of them, either.
    But, he told himself, anything to please a lady. He stepped out into the aisle and turned toward the door at the rear of the car.
    To his surprise, the young woman stood up as well and followed him. When he glanced back at her with a frown, she said, “I intend to see to it that you actually take that thing outside. You might attempt to deceive me by staying there in the rear of the car, where I’m certain the foul odor would still be detectable.”
    Of all the prissy little bitches ... ! Longarm controlled his temper with an effort and said, “I told you I’d step out onto the platform, ma’am. I assure you I’m a man of my word.”
    â€œI’ll determine that for myself, thank you.”
    Longarm rolled his eyes and walked to the rear of the car, not bothering to look back and see if the woman was still following him. When he reached the door, he jerked it open and stepped out onto the platform. Sure enough, the woman was right behind him.
    But instead of closing the door between them, she moved out onto the platform, too, and then shut the door. When Longarm turned and saw her standing there with him, his frown deepened and he took the cheroot out of his mouth to say, “What the hell?”
    â€œThrow that cigar away,” the young woman snapped.
    Longarm finally gave in to his temper. “I’ll be damned if I will!” he said. “I came out here the way you wanted, lady, and if that’s not good enough for you—”
    â€œOh, hush,” the woman said, and she stepped forward and came up on her toes to put her arms around his neck and press her mouth to his.
    Longarm dropped the cheroot on the platform and put it out blindly with his boot heel as he slid his arms around the woman and returned the kiss. Her lips parted and her tongue darted out brazenly to spear into his mouth. Her breasts flattened under the somber dress as she pressed them against his broad, hard-muscled chest.
    When she finally pulled away slightly with a self-satisfied smile on her lovely face, Longarm said, “I was under the impression that you didn’t much like me, ma’am. Or maybe it was just my cheroot. If I’d known how grateful you’d be, I’d have put it out a lot sooner.”
    â€œOh, I don’t care about that silly thing one way or the other,” she said. “I just wanted to get you out here where we could have some privacy so I could do that. I’ve been wanting to kiss you ever since I got on the train.”
    â€œYou did a pretty good job of making sure nobody knew you felt like that,” commented Longarm, remembering her chilly demeanor during the trip.
    She laughed lightly. “I was just waiting for the right moment.” She looked around and added, “Isn’t