Free Twelfth Moon by Lori Villarreal

it was obvious there was nothing unusual about Jonah and Cade, they turned their attention back to their game.
    The other table was occupied by a couple of trail-dusty cowboys, probably just passing through after a long cattle drive. They looked harmless enough, but Jonah thought to keep an eye on them, nonetheless.
    The bartender brought the bottle and glasses to their table, set them down, and went back behind his bar.
    Jonah poured a shot in each glass, sliding one in front of Cade. If anyone needed a stiff drink, it was the kid, after everything he’d been through.
    “I don’t want any,” the kid said. “I’d rather have a glass of water.”
    Jonah snorted. “Drink it. It’ll put hair on your chest – and your balls .” He snickered and downed his shot in one swallow.
    Cade’s face became flushed, his lips tightening. “I said I don’t want it.”
    “Drink it.” Jonah speared a look at the kid that made most men quiver in their boots.
    Cade’s eyes flashed fire as he glared at Jonah, but then he grabbed the drink and defiantly tossed it down in one large gulp. Jonah watched with amusement as the kid’s eyes began to water, and then he choked and wheezed. Chuckling, Jonah poured another shot in each glass. His expression sobered. “Drink.”
    Cade obeyed, swallowing the contents with a grimace. He choked again, coughing, his face contorting with distaste. “This tastes awful,” he croaked. “Why do you drink it?”
    “It washes the dust of the trail from your throat, and here’s the best part – it has a pleasant side effect.”
    Cade pushed his glass toward the bottle. “I’ll have another,” he rasped.
    Jonah nodded his approval, pouring a shot, as well as another one for himself. “It goes down better after the first couple, doesn’t it? Now that we’ve passed this hurdle, I should hire a whore to make a real man out of you.”
    Cadence sputtered, having just downed her drink, almost shooting it through her nose. A whore? Good Lord, if he only knew! She was starting to feel warm…her limbs going weak, a sense of languid desire overcoming her. Her vision blurred and she blinked her eyes, bringing Jonah’s face back into focus.
    He was very handsome.
    She wanted to kiss him…to undress him…to undress herself and make love to him. She absently drank from the glass, the liquor sliding down her throat much more easily now. It left a pleasant burning sensation in its path as it made its way to her stomach. She smiled lazily.
    Jonah corked the bottle, grabbing it in one hand and stood. “It’s time for your bath, kid.”

Six
     
     
    CADENCE WATCHED JONAH with a silly grin, her eyelids drooping. He came around the table and lifted her with a hand under her arm. She was pulled reluctantly to her feet, her legs wobbling like a pair of noodles. “But I’m not ready to go. I was comf – com-fer-uh-bull.”
    “I promised you a bath when we got to San Antonio, and that’s what you’re gettin’.”
    A bath? Cadence tried to remember why that might not be a good idea, but her befuddled mind couldn’t think of an answer right now. Jonah practically had to drag her up the stairs, her feet seeming to have grown too large to maneuver.
    And then they were in their room.
    Jonah shut the door and she heard the snick of the lock. For a moment, a feeling of panic shot through her as she recalled another time when she found herself in a room, with a man who’d locked the door behind him.
    Then she focused on his face and realized this was Jonah. He wouldn’t hurt her. Somehow she knew it deep in her soul that he wouldn’t hurt her.
    He set the bottle on an old dresser that stood by the door and stalked toward her. “Take off your clothes, boy, and get into that tub.”
    His deep voice sent shivers up her spine.
    She backed up.
    He continued forward until the backs of her legs met the edge of the tub. She looked up at him, her gaze shifting to his mouth. “You’re sho beautiful,” she