“I hear it’s also good for bee stings.”
“Now I know that’s a tall tale. I was hoping you’d forgotten about that.”
“Who could forget the whirling dervish in her skivvies running full tilt until she splashed into the pond?”
Lovey grimaced. “I’m so embarrassed.”
“You shouldn’t be. Even Ned noticed what nice legs you have.”
Lovey swatted at Royal’s arm playfully.
Royal eased closer and shyly kissed Lovey.
Lovey felt her stomach flip and drop. She shifted into Royal, placing her hand on Royal’s face. She felt Royal’s hand at the small of her back pulling them closer. She couldn’t silence the moan that escaped as their kiss deepened and their bodies pressed more fully against each other.
Royal began to place soft kisses down Lovey’s neck and shoulder. The tension on the shoulder strap of her nightgown lessened and the satin strap drooped off to one side. Royal tentatively slid it further down her arm. The upper curve of her breast now revealed, Royal traced her finger across the sensitive skin as she moved back up to capture Lovey’s mouth in another long kiss.
Lovey covered Royal’s hand with hers, pressing it into her breast. She wanted to be touched. She arched into Royal’s palm, and as they moved against each other the fabric fell further until skin touched skin. Lovey shuddered involuntarily.
“Royal,” she whispered.
“Do you want me to stop?”
Lovey didn’t speak right away. Her mind wrestled between what she thought she should do and what she wanted to do.
Obviously reading into Lovey’s silence, Royal didn’t stop. She kissed Lovey’s neck and moved down, lightly trailing kisses across the pale skin above her breast. She filled her fingers with the hair at the back of Royal’s neck, pulling her mouth more firmly down against her chest. After a few moments of exquisite torture, Lovey finally spoke in a breathy whisper. “Royal, I think we have to stop.”
Royal rose up to look Lovey in the face. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing’s wrong. Everything’s wrong. I just…we shouldn’t do this with my father in the house.” She caressed Royal’s cheek with her fingers. “I’m worried he’ll hear us.” Royal nodded. It seemed that she understood, although the look on her face was full of desire and her cheeks were hot against Lovey’s fingers.
Truthfully, Lovey wasn’t sure what she wanted, and part of her was afraid that her father would burst into the room at any moment. But she was also acutely aware that her brain and her body were warring against each other at the moment. She felt equally aroused and confused. But now was not the time to puzzle this out.
“I’ll walk you to the door.” They got quietly to their feet and began to tiptoe down the hallway toward the kitchen, which led to the front door. Royal was carrying her shoes so as not to make noise.
But as they were just about to walk past the kitchen table, the floor creaked and Lovey jumped at the sound of a door opening behind them. With lightning fast reflexes, she shoved Royal into the pantry just as her father hit the light switch for the kitchen. Lovey turned, blinking against the glowing single bulb.
“Lovey, I thought I heard voices.” He was in his nightshirt, with a dressing gown over it. His thinning hair was rumpled on top of his head. He adjusted his wire-rimmed glasses to focus on her.
“I’m sorry if I woke you. I had a bad dream and I needed a glass of water.” Lovey moved to the sink and went through the motions of filling a glass. She realized that part about being thirsty wasn’t a lie.
“Well, do you want me to make you some hot tea?”
“No, I’m fine, really. No need for you to stay up. I’ll just finish my drink and go back to bed.”
Inside the pantry, Royal was trying to shrink as small as possible so that she was lost in shadows at the back corner. They’d acted so quickly that the pantry door was ajar, and light from the fixture in the kitchen fell through the opening in a long, rectangular shape that almost exposed her feet. She held her breath, listening to the muffled voices in the kitchen.
Royal’s heart was racing for a whole different reason than it had been a few minutes ago. Running moonshine didn’t carry near the threat of being found out by Abraham Edwards. She must have been out of her mind to sneak into Lovey’s room in the middle of the night. First thing tomorrow she needed to have her head examined.
After a few more moments, she heard Reverend Edwards return to his room. The door shut and the kitchen light clicked off. Royal lingered at the back of the pantry afraid to move until Lovey came to fetch her.
Lovey held her finger to her mouth, a silent signal that they shouldn’t talk. She walked Royal to the door and whispered in her ear.
“What time will I see you tomorrow?”
Tomorrow was Saturday. Lovey had already agreed to go out with her. Royal leaned close to whisper, “I’ll pick you up at four o’clock. Wear shoes comfortable for walking.”
“Okay, see you then.” Lovey kissed her on the cheek and ushered her silently out the front door. The brush of Lovey’s lips against the outside edge of her ear sent chills down both arms. As she crossed the yard in her sock feet, she felt the heavy dew seeping through.
After a minute, Royal was settled back in the driver’s seat of her dark sedan. She leaned back against the seat and sighed, composing lines of poetry in her head.
The flame of desire burns my skin
I welcome the relief only your lips can bring
My body holds a space for you.
Chapter Nine
Royal stretched and rolled over to see the sun streaming through her bedroom window. On the nightstand was a rumpled pile of paper scraps that she pulled into bed with her. She propped
