Cravings by Liz Everly Page B

like a major problem. Some of these kids are quite young and sometimes being exposed to harsh conditions. “
    â€œAnd on the other hand?” Jennifer said.
    â€œOn the other hand,” Sasha said, “the income is helping extremely poor families.”
    Jennifer sat back in her seat. “Hmmm,” she said.
    â€œSasha, since you know so much about cacao, what do you know about pesticides?” Sanj asked.
    â€œIt’s a huge problem,” Sasha said. “I read recently about a farm on the Ivory Coast busted for DDT.”
    â€œDDT?” Sanj said. “I thought that was illegal.”
    â€œTwo problems with that statement. It’s not necessarily illegal everywhere. And you assume that all cacao growers know or care if it’s illegal. Some of them are getting away with it, so they continue to do it,” Sasha said.
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    â€œThis notebook is full of some great stuff,” Jennifer said after a few moments. “Like, did you know only nobility were allowed to have chocolate at one point?” She looked at Sanj with a sideways glance.
    He shrugged.
    â€œAnd the Aztec Emperor Montezuma drank fifty or more portions daily, served guests this royal drink in ceremonial golden goblets, and treated it like a nectar for the gods,” she read.
    â€œI like that. It is nectar for the gods,” Sasha said.
    â€œCheck this out,” Jennifer said. “Maeve writes that Cacao beans were currency throughout the Mesoamerican world. An ancient Mayan myth says cacao beans were given to men by the gods. The Mayans celebrated the new year with the Possum God carrying on its back the Rain God with an offering of cacao beans.
    â€œShe has a note here that she wants to go to Mexico next, and she has a little heart drawn next to it. Here’s an interesting story . . .”

    Quetzalcóatl visits the earth.
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    Once upon a time Quetzalcóatl descended through the rays of a morning star, leaving all the Toltecs surprised by his coming down to earth. They built a temple in his honor.
    It was located in a central square around which the city of Tollan (now Tula) was built. Tollan was a very important city in the eleventh and twelfth centuries. The main gods of the city were Quetzalcóatl-Tlahuizcalpantecuhtli and the god Tláloc (“the lord that comes from the earth”), the giver of rain and life and the owner of souls estranged from their bodies. The city also had a goddess, Xochiquétzal (“plumed flower”), goddess of happiness and love. She was the wife of Tláloc and the giver of pulque (an alcoholic drink)....

    But Sasha blissed out on her chocolate and didn’t really want to listen to stories. She couldn’t believe she sat in a plane next to Sanj heading for Saint Lucia, a place growing the finest cacao in the world.
    They’d left Ecuador in a hurry, which suited her fine. If Snake still hunted her, she’d just escaped him again. So she felt a little more relaxed, but the fact that Maeve was being held against her will gnawed at her. Though she knew Maeve had excessive sexual appetites, she could not see her leaving Jackson to go traipsing around the world with a man she’d just met.
    She closed her eyes, suddenly feeling sleepy, and drifted into the space between sleep and wake. Sinking. Was she in a bath? She felt warm water circle her and smelled the luscious bubbles surrounding her. And a man was with her. She wrapped her arms around him and slid him into her. He entered her with a blast.
    â€œDon’t hurt me,” he pleaded.
    But she knew what he wanted.
    She shoved his head under the soapy water and held it under as he squirmed beneath her—the length of him still in her. She watched the clock—and let him come back for air.
    â€œPlease!”
    But she recognized the passion in his eyes. He wanted to come as he felt no breath left in him.
    â€œPlease!” he said again, his jaws quivering in passion as