Read Online Redemption FinalWPF6 7 by L. E. Harner - Free Book Online
Authors: L. E. Harner
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the canyon
waiting for him. Not to Diane.
“Pete cried…fucking cried. Said he didn’t want to do this,
but our father was making him. He couldn’t get out of the deal and that the
marriage was the only thing saving him. He said he really did love Joe and that
they had all the clues to find this treasure left in the canyon nearly a
hundred years ago. Anyway…it was a long, ugly fight. I told him he had to come
clean with everyone. Tell Diane the truth, come with me to the Park Service to
tell them what was happening with the trumped up lawsuit. He said he was tired
of the lies.”
“Did you believe him?”
“Yes—no. I don’t know. Not about the treasure, but I knew it
was true about our father. He would never tolerate anything but straight from
one of his sons. Pete had always been the golden boy, but if Dad found out he
was gay?” Uriah blew out a breath, shook his head. “About the other…the being
in love part and coming clean? I wanted to…but… Anyway, that was a Friday,”
Uriah said quietly. “We were supposed to meet my father on Sunday, to give him
a chance to drop the lawsuit before we exposed him. We never got that chance
because by Sunday morning, Pete was dead.”
Gabe turned to face him and the hazel gaze trapped him,
hypnotized, paralyzed. He couldn’t breathe. Feelings he had no name for chased
through him. They sat next to each other, leg against leg, and the wiry hair of
Gabe’s shorts-clad thigh scritched against his own smooth skin. He burned where
they touched.
“Uriah, you can’t hold yourself responsible for your
brother’s choice in this. He had a lot of pressures, your father, the lover,
the lawsuit. You can’t claim responsibility for his action; you just have to
learn to live with it. I think it’s probably time for you to acknowledge the
real source of the guilt you feel is that you’re in love with your brother’s
wife,” Gabe said.
A statement, not a question. It was a truth Uriah had denied
for years, would still deny.
“No.” His voice sounded funny. Strangled, as if he would
choke on the lie. He cleared his throat and repeated his answer. “No.”
“Don’t lie to me, Uriah. I can see it in the way you watch
her, in the way you made love with her, in the way you say her name. You love
Diane, and you don’t know what to do with those feelings. And now, you want me.
Given everything with your father and brother, that leaves you in a real mess.”
Uriah’s breath was coming fast. He wanted to look away, to
move, to shout that every word was a lie. But he was frozen in place as Gabe
moved closer. He licked his suddenly dry lips.
“Yes,” Uriah whispered.
Gabe’s gaze dropped to Uriah’s mouth, and he growled low in
his chest. Before Uriah could speak, Gabe closed the distance between them.
This kiss was nothing like the gentle press of lips earlier.
It was like nothing he’d ever experienced. Firmer, rougher…scratchier. That
thought almost drew a laugh, but then Gabe slipped his tongue inside Uriah’s
mouth, and all ability for rational thought slipped away. Gabe’s hand slid up
to cup the back of Uriah’s head, fingers threading into his hair, pulling him
close.
There was a dangerous edge of possessiveness to Gabe’s
demand. Then Gabe’s other hand touched Uriah’s face. Gentle, tender,
unexpected. This isn’t how men touch. Is it?
Chapter Seven
Diane woke with a start, shifting from sleep to awake with a
jerk of tired muscles and pounding heart. Momentarily at a loss to explain her
surroundings, she lay still. Memories flooded back as she heard Uriah speaking
to Gabe. She rolled to her side to let them know she was awake, but the words
caught in her throat when she caught sight of the two men. She had a perfect
view of them as they leaned against the cave wall. She was tucked into the shadows,
invisible to them. Not that they were looking at her.
Uriah licked his lips and Gabe’s eyes narrowed and shifted
focus for a second, locked on
waiting for him. Not to Diane.
“Pete cried…fucking cried. Said he didn’t want to do this,
but our father was making him. He couldn’t get out of the deal and that the
marriage was the only thing saving him. He said he really did love Joe and that
they had all the clues to find this treasure left in the canyon nearly a
hundred years ago. Anyway…it was a long, ugly fight. I told him he had to come
clean with everyone. Tell Diane the truth, come with me to the Park Service to
tell them what was happening with the trumped up lawsuit. He said he was tired
of the lies.”
“Did you believe him?”
“Yes—no. I don’t know. Not about the treasure, but I knew it
was true about our father. He would never tolerate anything but straight from
one of his sons. Pete had always been the golden boy, but if Dad found out he
was gay?” Uriah blew out a breath, shook his head. “About the other…the being
in love part and coming clean? I wanted to…but… Anyway, that was a Friday,”
Uriah said quietly. “We were supposed to meet my father on Sunday, to give him
a chance to drop the lawsuit before we exposed him. We never got that chance
because by Sunday morning, Pete was dead.”
Gabe turned to face him and the hazel gaze trapped him,
hypnotized, paralyzed. He couldn’t breathe. Feelings he had no name for chased
through him. They sat next to each other, leg against leg, and the wiry hair of
Gabe’s shorts-clad thigh scritched against his own smooth skin. He burned where
they touched.
“Uriah, you can’t hold yourself responsible for your
brother’s choice in this. He had a lot of pressures, your father, the lover,
the lawsuit. You can’t claim responsibility for his action; you just have to
learn to live with it. I think it’s probably time for you to acknowledge the
real source of the guilt you feel is that you’re in love with your brother’s
wife,” Gabe said.
A statement, not a question. It was a truth Uriah had denied
for years, would still deny.
“No.” His voice sounded funny. Strangled, as if he would
choke on the lie. He cleared his throat and repeated his answer. “No.”
“Don’t lie to me, Uriah. I can see it in the way you watch
her, in the way you made love with her, in the way you say her name. You love
Diane, and you don’t know what to do with those feelings. And now, you want me.
Given everything with your father and brother, that leaves you in a real mess.”
Uriah’s breath was coming fast. He wanted to look away, to
move, to shout that every word was a lie. But he was frozen in place as Gabe
moved closer. He licked his suddenly dry lips.
“Yes,” Uriah whispered.
Gabe’s gaze dropped to Uriah’s mouth, and he growled low in
his chest. Before Uriah could speak, Gabe closed the distance between them.
This kiss was nothing like the gentle press of lips earlier.
It was like nothing he’d ever experienced. Firmer, rougher…scratchier. That
thought almost drew a laugh, but then Gabe slipped his tongue inside Uriah’s
mouth, and all ability for rational thought slipped away. Gabe’s hand slid up
to cup the back of Uriah’s head, fingers threading into his hair, pulling him
close.
There was a dangerous edge of possessiveness to Gabe’s
demand. Then Gabe’s other hand touched Uriah’s face. Gentle, tender,
unexpected. This isn’t how men touch. Is it?
Chapter Seven
Diane woke with a start, shifting from sleep to awake with a
jerk of tired muscles and pounding heart. Momentarily at a loss to explain her
surroundings, she lay still. Memories flooded back as she heard Uriah speaking
to Gabe. She rolled to her side to let them know she was awake, but the words
caught in her throat when she caught sight of the two men. She had a perfect
view of them as they leaned against the cave wall. She was tucked into the shadows,
invisible to them. Not that they were looking at her.
Uriah licked his lips and Gabe’s eyes narrowed and shifted
focus for a second, locked on
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