Morgaine slapped her hands over her face and eyes. She could feel her cheeks burning up. She must be blushing furiously. “Oh. My. Goddess.”
Sly sounded like he was stifling a laugh. The two of them sat stone still, listening while Gwyneth continued the phone call.
She was panting furiously. “Oh, yeah, baby. That’s it. Oh, y’all feel so good way up inside me like that. Oh, oh! Are ya’ll close? Uh-huh. I’m comin’ too, sugar. Right now. Aaaahhh, AAAAHHHHH, AAAAAAGGHHHHHHHHH!”
Sly and Morgaine collapsed in hysterical giggles.
“Oh, yeah…that was good, darlin’. Y’all call back soon, hear?” As soon as she hung up, she jammed her hands on her hips. “Did y’all have to laugh like that? I sure hope he didn’t hear the cacklin’. That ain’t good for business.”
Sly straightened up and apologized, but Morgaine held her sides, doubled over and laughed louder.
“What are y’all laughin’ so hard about? I didn’t have to take that call. I thought I was helpin’ you out. Maybe I shoulda let him go unsatisfied and lose us another customer?”
Morgaine waved away the giggles and calmed down enough to speak. “No, that’s okay. I’m not sorry if Sly isn’t.”
“Me? Sorry? Hell no. That was quite entertaining.”
Thank the Goddess he’s so easy going.Morgaine cleared her throat and composed herself. “Well, now that that’s over, can I make anyone tea?”
“I’d love a cup of sweet tea,” Gwyneth said.
Morgaine had hoped her cousin would say no and go back to her own apartment. She was, after all, just being polite by offering to brew three cups when all she wanted was tea for two.
“If you’re making some anyway, I’ll have a cup,” Sly said.
“Sure thing,” Morgaine laid a hand on his knee and proceeded to the kitchen where she filled the kettle and found the tea. Vampires warmed up from the inside out—that much she knew. You could tell when one had fed recently.
If that was the case, could a cup of tea warm his lips? His bottom lip was full and inviting. The rest of him was pretty appealing too. Dark eyes and hair on the longish side. A fit body that would never change…She wondered what kissing him would be like.
As she was waiting for the water to boil, she overheard the conversation in the next room.
“I hear y’all need a job, Sly. I know they say crime don’t pay, but I guess being a crime-fighter don’t pay much, neither.”
“Hell, no. It doesn’t pay at all. If I could handle daylight, I could enroll in police training, but I might as well think about flying to the moon.”
“Now don’t give up, sugar. The sun don’t shine on the same dog’s tail all the time.”
“Huh?”
“Means we all have some good luck, eventually. Where I’m from, people have to make their own way outa nothin’ all the time. My momma sells her quilts once a year at the big Apple festival.”
“Only once a year? And she makes enough money to live on?”
“Well, not entirely. My daddy has a business too, but it requires a couple of ingredients they have to buy. Momma’s quilt money buys enough ingredients to keep daddy in business for the whole year.”
“So every year people know your mother will be there and show up to buy her quilts?”
“All the folks come down from the mountains with their wares, and rich city people show up and buy them. Beats the pants off of me as to why, but they do.”
“It sounds like a good arrangement. I don’t quilt, I’m afraid.”
“No, and you’re already livin’ in the city, but there’s somethin’ else you could make and sell to folks here. The thing my daddy makes.”
“Which is?”
“Moonshine!”
Morgaine heard the smile in Gwyneth’s voice. She had to be kidding, right? Was her cousin actually suggesting Sly set up a still?
