“Abi if you don’t stop I’ll beg you,” she said.

He raised up and twisted his finger inside her, deeper. “What?”

“I’ll beg you to do it to me.”

“You don’t have to beg me.”

He picked her up and carried her down the hall to his bed. They’d tossed around here many times but never so exposed to each other. He could still stop. Save it all for their wedding night. Save it all for…For what?

His phone rang again. Absalom knew he was playing with fire, leaving his soldiers up on Roman’s Hill to dally with Lorrie. If the men knew what their leader was doing, to say it would depreciate their confidence would be an understatement. And yet, staring at Lorrie all laid out on the bed with her curls puffy and rippling, her breasts bare and inviting more play, her soft stomach shivering with anticipation of what was to come…

After all, he was only a man.

“Wait here,” he told Lorrie, and went to get the phone. It was Shadrac, the man he’d left in charge on Roman’s Hill.

“Yeah?” Absalom grunted, checking to make sure his dog was alright before heading back to the bedroom where Lorrie waited patiently, propped up on an elbow, wearing nothing but the sinful pink thong. His throat went dry as he stared at her incredible body, each heavy curve and its corresponding valley a work of art.

His cousin Shadrac demanded, “Where are you, Abi?”

“Checking on something,” said Absalom, pulling Lorrie on top of him so he could suck her tits. “Hang up,” she whispered. He slapped her ass, growling in her ear, “Hush.”

To Shadrac he said, “I’m headed back up in half an hour.”

“What happened with the truck?”

“Sorted.”

“You think it was Roman?”

“Maybe. You had eyes on Saverin Bailey as he came up the hill?”

“Yes, boss. Junkie was watching him the whole way up and down.”

“Like y’all had eyes on Roman yesterday?” Absalom asked dryly.

“Hand to God, Abi, nobody came near your truck. It was parked right next to the house, for Chrissake.”

Last night, then. Whoever it was planted it last night. When I was at the Greasy Hog? With Lorrie at the cabin? Or maybe not last night…maybe at her uncle’s house?

“What are the Snatch Hills on right now?” He asked Shadrac out loud. If Hiram and his thugs were about to ride out on Black Florin he’d have to cut this short with Lorrie no matter what. But if they were just getting tossed in the house that could bide a minute longer. Or a few minutes.Why not hours…

Amusing herself while he talked war, Lorrie gripped him through his open fly and started stroking. He kissed up and down her breasts, always returning to her dark-cherry nipples.

“We have them contained, I suppose,” Shadrac answered. “They’re busy quaffing all the fuckin’ wine and whiskey from the cellar, though.”

That woke him up. “They’rewhat?” Absalom barked.

“I know. And all the fuckin’ hooch we bought— guess what? They ain’t touching it. You need to get up here or they’ll drain every drop we found.”

Through his teeth Absalom said, “That’s money they’re guzzling. Roman’s vintage stock. We’re talking thousands of fuckin’ dollars. I got a buyer down in Goldsville that would take the whole lot.”

“Yeah,” said Shadrac. “Smells good, I can’t lie.”

“Can you stop them?” Absalom asked pointlessly. One man keeping twenty good ol’ boys away from a legendary stock ofvintage whiskey was as likely as stopping a tsunami with a cheesecloth.

“Get back here on the double, Absalom,” Shadrac advised.

“I will. Tell our boys don’t take a drop of the stuff before we get it tested, we clear?” Absalom ordered, struggling to focus as Lorrie began returning his kisses, wriggling out of his grip to trace her cool lips over his neck, his chest, his stomach, lower…