Read Online After the Music by Diana Palmer - Free Book Online
Authors: Diana Palmer
Tags: Fiction, General, Romance, Contemporary, Large Type Books, Friendship, Impostors and Imposture, Millionaires
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I always get my own way. Always." He sighed angrily. "Except with you. If you'd been the experienced little tart I thought you were, I could have seduced you and told Al, and that would have been the end of it."
Her eyes were lost in his. "You'd go that far?" she asked quietly.
He nodded. "He's my brother. I love him, in my way." His gaze silenced her. "He's the only thing I do love, so look out.
You chose to ignore the warning I gave you. You took a bribe and welched on it."
"Did I?" she murmured, staring up at him. "Why don't you tell Al?
"Not just yet," he replied, his eyes promising dark delights. "I'm going to bide my time. Maybe it will be worth the twenty thousand to have you off the place."
His eyes were the coldest she'd ever seen. If he was vulnerable in any way, it didn't show, but she could almost picture him as a child. She'd have bet that he was a loner from the beginning, a quiet, confident child who wouldn't be pushed by anyone. He'd probably done his share of fighting because of his mother.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked, his tone jarring.
"I'm sorry we're enemies," she said with her irrepressible honesty. "I'd have liked you for a friend."
His face got even sterner. "I don't have friends. Men or women."
"Did it ever occur to you that not everybody in the world is after you for what they can get?"
He burst out with laughter that was cynical and mocking. "You're just the person to tell me about that, aren't you, honey? You, with your eyes like dollar signs!"
"Sabina?" Al called.
She turned and quickly fled from the den without looking at Thorn. "Here I am," she called. "I'll freshen up and meet you back down here, okay?" she told him, as she ran up the staircase. Al followed, frowning thoughtfully.
Remembering what Thorn had said to her made her knees go weak. The threats she understood; he was trying to protect his brother. Ironically, so was she. But in spite of it all, how had he known she was a virgin, when all his imagined evidence pointed in the opposite direction? She turned away from the mirror, forcing herself not to ask impossible questions. All she had to remember was that Thorn was the enemy. If she forgot, he could destroy any hope of Al's marriage to -Jessica. She had to keep that in mind. If only it wasn't so difficult to hate him. He was a rich man, like those she'd known in her childhood, like the last one in her mother's tragic life....She shuddered a little at the black memory, but even that couldn't get the oil baron out of her mind. Somehow, she felt a kinship with him. She understood him. She wore a mask, too, and shunned emotional involvement. What a pity they were in opposite camps.
Chapter Four
Sabina hadn't ridden a horse in a long time, but she sat on the little mare Thorn gave her with grace. It had been a long time, but she remembered very well how to ride. Her grandfather had taken care of her for a year or two, until he died, and he'd been a good rider himself. It had been the happiest period of her life. She'd loved her grandfather dearly, and mourned terribly when she lost him.
The country around the ranch was fascinating. Not too many miles away was the Big Thicket, a fascinating junglelike area where orchids grew wild. Early in the 1800s it had been a trapping outpost. Nearby were the ruins of a French trading post. After that came lumber and rice plantations. And in the early 1900s, oil was discovered in the Spindletop Oil field. Beaumont became the birthplace of three major oil companies. Four, if Thorn Oil was included. The Sabine River, which led into Orange, east of Beaumont, was the origin of Sabina's name. Her father, she understood, had lived on its banks as a boy.
As they were coming back from a look at some land where men were setting up a drilling rig, Thorn had explained it to Sabina with unexpected patience. She had been openly fascinated by it. Al had grinned, watching them, because he'd never seen Thorn so approachable. Al
Her eyes were lost in his. "You'd go that far?" she asked quietly.
He nodded. "He's my brother. I love him, in my way." His gaze silenced her. "He's the only thing I do love, so look out.
You chose to ignore the warning I gave you. You took a bribe and welched on it."
"Did I?" she murmured, staring up at him. "Why don't you tell Al?
"Not just yet," he replied, his eyes promising dark delights. "I'm going to bide my time. Maybe it will be worth the twenty thousand to have you off the place."
His eyes were the coldest she'd ever seen. If he was vulnerable in any way, it didn't show, but she could almost picture him as a child. She'd have bet that he was a loner from the beginning, a quiet, confident child who wouldn't be pushed by anyone. He'd probably done his share of fighting because of his mother.
"Why are you looking at me like that?" he asked, his tone jarring.
"I'm sorry we're enemies," she said with her irrepressible honesty. "I'd have liked you for a friend."
His face got even sterner. "I don't have friends. Men or women."
"Did it ever occur to you that not everybody in the world is after you for what they can get?"
He burst out with laughter that was cynical and mocking. "You're just the person to tell me about that, aren't you, honey? You, with your eyes like dollar signs!"
"Sabina?" Al called.
She turned and quickly fled from the den without looking at Thorn. "Here I am," she called. "I'll freshen up and meet you back down here, okay?" she told him, as she ran up the staircase. Al followed, frowning thoughtfully.
Remembering what Thorn had said to her made her knees go weak. The threats she understood; he was trying to protect his brother. Ironically, so was she. But in spite of it all, how had he known she was a virgin, when all his imagined evidence pointed in the opposite direction? She turned away from the mirror, forcing herself not to ask impossible questions. All she had to remember was that Thorn was the enemy. If she forgot, he could destroy any hope of Al's marriage to -Jessica. She had to keep that in mind. If only it wasn't so difficult to hate him. He was a rich man, like those she'd known in her childhood, like the last one in her mother's tragic life....She shuddered a little at the black memory, but even that couldn't get the oil baron out of her mind. Somehow, she felt a kinship with him. She understood him. She wore a mask, too, and shunned emotional involvement. What a pity they were in opposite camps.
Chapter Four
Sabina hadn't ridden a horse in a long time, but she sat on the little mare Thorn gave her with grace. It had been a long time, but she remembered very well how to ride. Her grandfather had taken care of her for a year or two, until he died, and he'd been a good rider himself. It had been the happiest period of her life. She'd loved her grandfather dearly, and mourned terribly when she lost him.
The country around the ranch was fascinating. Not too many miles away was the Big Thicket, a fascinating junglelike area where orchids grew wild. Early in the 1800s it had been a trapping outpost. Nearby were the ruins of a French trading post. After that came lumber and rice plantations. And in the early 1900s, oil was discovered in the Spindletop Oil field. Beaumont became the birthplace of three major oil companies. Four, if Thorn Oil was included. The Sabine River, which led into Orange, east of Beaumont, was the origin of Sabina's name. Her father, she understood, had lived on its banks as a boy.
As they were coming back from a look at some land where men were setting up a drilling rig, Thorn had explained it to Sabina with unexpected patience. She had been openly fascinated by it. Al had grinned, watching them, because he'd never seen Thorn so approachable. Al
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