Page 54 of A Light in the Dark
“I do.”
“Not nights?”
His brow raised. “Days.”
“Well, there goes stripper as a possibility,” I muttered.
He snorted, covered his mouth, and lost the battle, laughing his ass off. “Thank you, but I’m not a stripper.”
“You’re in business, because only someone in business would be on a hunt for shifter silk for suits; that’s a pure status symbol.”
“It’s a comfortable symbol. I love the feel of silk. I’m also spoiled.”
“Shifter Two and Shifter Three are your parents, and you buy them out to make sure they get the cut,” I guessed.
“Can you stop busting me for a few minutes? The only secret I have left at this point is my last name, and you’re going to learn it because it’s on the mailbox.”
“You make the poor post person come all the way out here?”
“It’s decorative. They go to town to get the mail. The courier gives my parents a call and asks if they want to come get it or if he needs to make a drive. They like going to town, so they almost never make the poor courier come out. But they like having our last name on the mailbox. I’m busted the instant we get near their house.”
“I could engage in some additional extortion to keep your last name a secret,” I offered.
“I could give you another percent of silk to keep those banshees down the hill from learning it.”
“Deal. I will continue to pay into the pool as normal and act like I care, and I will keep your last name a secret.”
“You do not need any schooling in the art of extortion, and I hope that you begin and end your extortion career with me.”
I picked up my project holder and showed it to him. “Do you see this beautiful thing? This absolutely gorgeous, beautiful thing?”
“I do.”
“This was made with love and the best silk in town. Your silk supply will just save me a significant amount of money so I can continue to stalk Shifter Five’s silk at my leisure. And give me enough yarn to make blankets without spending thousands of dollars. I spent thousands of dollars on yarn, Joel.”
“You really did. It’s okay, I don’t mind you extorting me for my silk, but you’re going to have to deal with me visiting your roses.”
“I’ll even carry you home when you get so high on roses you can’t fly straight.”
“I appreciate that, thank you. I’ll even give you a key so you can sneak me home if I get that stoned. It takes a lot of exposure to roses while a moth for that to happen, though.”
“And as a human?”
“I wish, but no. Roses just smell wonderful and make me happy.”
“If you cannot drive because you, as a human, impaired yourself from stopping and smelling the roses, I’ll even drive you home. I do have a license. I just don’t drive often.”
“Good to know. Alas, I do not have quite that reaction while human. But some days? I wish.”
“You’re going to model for me,” I informed him. “I own a camera, and I need a luna moth to model for me.”
“You don’t even need to extort me to do that for you. Just point me at the nearest rose.”
Excellent. “Then we’re agreed. I’ll extort you for silk, and you’ll be paid with access to my garden, which I will maintain for your luna moth pleasures.”
“I had no idea you were this bold, Valerie. You’re going to fit in here just fine. If you need help with your dyeing efforts, just tell my cousin you’re extorting me for my silk. She’ll love it.”
I could believe that. “I will do that. Will you give me her number?”
