Bonds of Denial

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Book: Bonds of Denial by Lynda Aicher Read Free Book Online
Authors: Lynda Aicher
Tags: Fiction, General, Erótica, Gay
might not, but fists can.” He raised his fingers to the long scar that marred his face, only to yank them away the second he felt the hard ridge. He should step away, especially after the reminder of how exposed they were, but his feet didn’t move.
    Carter’s gentle fingers drifted from Rock’s brow to the start of the long path of his scar. Rock jerked away the second they fell on the ridge.
    Carter froze, but he didn’t move his hand. He stared at Rock and waited until a long exhale was pushed from Rock’s lungs before Carter rested his fingertips on the scar once again. It was tentative, uncertain and too intimate for their location. “How’d you get this?”
    Backlit by the glow of the garage lights, Carter’s face was in shadow. He didn’t need to see the man’s face to hear the honest concern in his voice. It was like he knew the story without Rock having to tell it.
    He squeezed his eyes closed and tried to block the instant flash of memory that called up the dark, dirty alley behind the dive bar in some unknown town in Europe. A place he never should’ve been. The scent of spices and rotting garbage filled his head and he swallowed backthe bile that burned in his throat.
    “It wasn’t from the military, was it?” Quiet words stating a fact that no one else had bothered to guess. There’d been a few in his army unit who had known it’d happened off duty, but those men were far away and had never dug into the truth. “Don’t ask, don’t tell” was deeply ingrained.
    Rock gave a single shake of his head. He couldn’t speak as the slow descent of Carter’s fingers tickled along his jawline instead of over the curve of his cheek where they really were. Even after the cut healed, his nerve endings were completely screwed up.
    “Gay bashing.”
    It was a soft observation that stabbed Rock’s chest. He reached out and grabbed the first thing he touched. He clenched onto the solid strength of Carter’s hips, the rough bite of denim morphing to the soft cotton band at the bottom of his jacket. Carter was solid. Here. Strong.
    “Is this why you hide?”
    He couldn’t open his eyes, which only made every other sensation more intense. The repeated slide of fingers over his cheek that came through on his jaw. The warm press of breath that breezed past his face. That intriguing scent of Carter’s cologne that overpowered the lingering smell of filth from the garage.
    After a long moment, he managed a small shrug. “It’s one of many things,” he whispered, his words raspy. The admission seemed to suck away the last of his strength. He tilted forward, that small movement met by a quick step, and the hard frame of Carter was pressed against him.
    Oh…shit. It was too much and nowhere near enough.
    Carter wrapped his arms around Rock’s shoulders, and Rock nearly shook with the feelings that thundered through him. Even with their many layers of clothing, Carter’s heat reached him. It blanketed Rock in a thick veil of compassion and understanding that he’d never had before.
    He tilted his head until his cheek rested against Carter’s. Skin on skin, even that little bit was enough to light a fire within Rock. Why did this man, this practical stranger affect him so strongly?
    “I’m such a pussy,” he croaked, but he didn’t push away.
    The rumble of Carter’s chuckle coursed over Rock’s ear. “That is not the word I’d use for you.”
    “No?”
    Carter shook his head, the smooth brush of his cheek scraping softly against the faint trace of Rock’s beard stubble. The man wasn’t much taller than him, maybe an inch at most, but it was just enough to give Rock the sensation that he was the one being protected right then.
    “What would you use?” he dared to ask.
    Carter eased back just enough to meet Rock’s gaze, his arms still snug around Rock’s shoulders. “There are too many words and not enough time to describe you completely. And there is still a lot I don’t know.”
    But did

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