Damnation: Reckless Desires (Blue Moon Saloon Book 1) Read Online Free PDF

retort, but she couldn’t quite bring herself to. Not when his gaze turned to her and glowed just a little bit. The way it used to, all those years ago, before things went wrong.
    Did he still care? Did he still feel?
    A cloud came over his face, and he went straight back to that impassive prison-guard look he’d had all night.
    “Come back soon.” Janna ushered the last customers out the door.
    Jessica leaned against a table, suddenly wiped out.
    “You. You.” Soren pointed at her, then Janna. “Good job. Go to bed.”
    “Not before we count the tips,” Janna shot back. Jessica had always been the no-nonsense, ballsy one, but for once, their roles were reversed. “Ten percent for the bar, five for the house, right?”
    Simon shook his head and even Soren looked surprised when he said, “Tips are all yours tonight.”
    Janna let out a whoop and jiggled her full pockets. “Awesome!”
    Soren nodded his agreement. “Now get going.”
    “But the cleanup…” Jess protested, despite the throbbing in her feet.
    “We’ll get it tonight.” He nodded at Simon. “You can do tomorrow.”
    She looked around the unwiped tables, the dirty dishes that needed clearing. Didn’t want to even think about the toilets, which wouldn’t get any cleaner on their own. “But…”
    “Tomorrow,” Soren ordered. “Go to bed.”
    She should have protested a little more, but her knees were buckling by then and a glance in the mirror showed a ghost of her usual self. Or rather, a ghost of the ghost she’d become these last few months. God, when had she become so thin, so worn?
    “Thanks,” she managed and wobbled toward the back.
    “Goodnight!” Janna called, walking along Jessica’s left side, blocking her from Simon.
    And God, she’d never appreciated her sister as much as she did tonight.
    “Goodnight,” Soren answered.
    “Goodnight,” Jess murmured as they went past the bar.
    She couldn’t see Simon, and she swore she didn’t hear him speak, but she could feel the bass of his voice rumble in her bones when he growled his reply.
    “Goodnight.”



Chapter Five

    “What do you think?” Soren asked once they heard the women’s weary footsteps creak overhead.
    Simon looked around the saloon, then poured himself half a glass of whiskey and downed it in one gulp. Spent a long time sucking on the aftertaste, reeling from the hit. Or maybe just reeling from his night.
    What did he think?
    It was heaven. It was hell. Having Jessica close — impossibly close. Watching her quick stride, her easy smile. Even if it was aimed at other people, it still put him in knots. The way her hair flowed over her shoulders, the way her brow would scrunch briefly when she added up a tab, then loosened when she saw her tip. He’d watch and let himself pretend that nothing had ever happened. That she was his again.
    His bear vacillated all night between the calming, happy glow that always fell over him when she was near and craving her so badly he wanted to pull her out back and kiss her senseless — for starters. Exactly the way they’d done once, ages ago. They’d gone out together and danced a few numbers — well, she danced, he concentrated on not stomping on her feet. And when he couldn’t take it any more, he’d dragged his giggling mate out the back door and consumed her in kisses that he couldn’t, wouldn’t stop. They’d ended up doing it on an empty beer pallet right in a parking lot, with Jess seated on the edge with her legs wrapped around him while he drove into her again and again. His bear had howled the whole time,
Mate! Mate!
    Damn bear had gone on and on that way, even when they were long spent and driving home. Filled his mind with all kinds of crazy thoughts, like a cabin at the edge of the woods filled with her laughter, his joy, and a couple of cubs.
    Damn bear had made him convince his grandfather that a wolf might even make a suitable mate for a bear. And it all looked so good, until everything came