Free Dirty South Drug Wars by Jae Hood

selfish goddess,” I whispered, staring at Scorpius shining above. “If she’d kept her feelings hidden, Orion wouldn’t have died. Why would you call me that? I’m nothing like her. I’d never risk someone’s life that way.”
    “Why do I call you that? Because you’re beautiful just like a moon goddess.”
    My breath caught in my throat as his warm hand cupped my cheek, his thumb brushing across my lips.
    “How do I know you’re not just trying to seduce me with your pretty words? Maybe that’s how you seduce all the girls.”
    “I’ve never tried to seduce anyone,” he said, no hint of falsity in his soft voice. “It’s normally them trying to seduce me .”
    “Well, I’m not like most girls, Cash.” My cheeks burned hot as I gave away his secret name.
    “Cash? Did you just call me Cash?”
    Cash’s hand abandoned my face, dancing down the column of my neck. His fingertips sent chills down my spine, igniting my already burning body into an unwavering blaze. My heart thumped erratically as his fingers lingered near the top of my shirt. He quirked an eyebrow, waiting for a response.
    “The Man in Black … Johnny Cash,” I whispered. “Besides, you haven’t told me your name either.”
    “I asked first.” Cash paused, staring at my lips. “Mind if I kiss you, Moon Goddess?”
    The thought of kissing him made my heart flutter. “Most guys don’t ask first.”
    “I’m not like most guys.”
    I didn’t have to answer him. He knew my answer from the way my body responded to his touch. He studied my face with a furrowed brow, as though I could deny him. Leaning in, he captured my mouth with his own. His warm tongue slid into my mouth and met mine slowly, carefully, as though he savored the taste and cherished the feeling. I reached up and pulled him closer, deepening the kiss. Fisting his hair between my fingers, my bones turned to jelly with each swipe of his tongue against mine. Liquid heat bubbled in the pit of my belly, popping and sizzling and sending my pulse askew. Our kiss broke apart, my regretful heart plummeting into my stomach and seeming to melt.
    “You taste like candy and smell like birthday cake ,” he whispered, brushing his lips against mine, breathing life back inside. “Why is that?”
    “I had a few Jell-O shots earlier, and the cake smell is icing. I work in a bakery. Actually, it’s a cake shop. But we sell other sweets and party decor as well,” I told him in an apologetic voice, rambling, embarrassed.
    “I love it. I love the way you taste, the way you smell. Tell me your name.”
    I bit my lip and shut my eyes, relishing how his fingers drifted over my sensitive skin and the way he looked at me. I nearly cried when his fingers left my flesh to grasp my chin. His grip and the abandonment of his innocent exploration caused my eyes to open in surprise.
    “I have ways to make you talk.”
    I gulped as he released my chin and ghosted his fingers down my body. When he reached my pants, he tugged at the waistband. The tremble of my heart sped into overdrive with the knowledge of what was about to take place. For the first time, this night, this guy’s actions, they meant something to me, something to cherish, to cling to. This wasn’t a moment full of teenage reckless abandon. I felt it in my bones, and it stirred in the sultry night air, stiff and billowing off the river.
    Cash felt it too. A stranger to me, but somehow not, I could read it in every stroke of my skin, in each brush of his lips against mine, and especially in the resolution in his eyes. He was so beautiful hovering above me, like an intangible angel surrounded by nothing but the black sky, the twinkling stars, and the full moon.
    “Oh God,” I whispered once he tugged down on my pants slightly. His breath hitched and his fingers froze against my flesh.
    “What’s that?” he asked in an odd tone, staring down at my ink.
    My tattoo traveled from my right hip down to my lower abdomen. Aunt Maggie had