He brushed past her. She drew in a deep breath. His scent lingered in the air. Male, with a hint of that junet bean skin purifier he loved. It was an aphrodisiac that she needed to avoid.
She closed the door and watched him as he walked around the room.
“So you haven’t heard from Sterling in a year. I haven’t heard from him in six months.” He glanced at her pack. “Going somewhere?”
“Brady, I was raised by Sterling. Do you think I would sleep without my gear ready to go at a moment’s notice?”
His lips quirked. “No. You should’ve been a scout ranger.”
She rolled her eyes and settled in a rickety chair that was probably left over from the turn of the millennium. “To get back to the matter at hand, no, I haven’t seen him since our argument. You know how he is.”
Brady nodded. “Care to tell me who Mr. Doctor Wainwright was?”
His tone was condescending and for once she was happy she could put him in his place. “Anthony Freemont.”
The smile faded from his face. “Anthony Freemont of Freemont Inc.? The company that finances most of these bloody fact-finding missions that strip whole solar systems of resources they need to survive?”
She could tell he was angry, because his Irish accent had slipped into his speech. Brady tried his best to keep people guessing about his background. He took perverse joy in letting people think he was American. Idiot. The only time he lost control of his accent was when he was angry, irritated or really turned on.
Not a good thing to be thinking about, Libby.
“Yes. Hence our problems, along with a few other areas.”
His gaze caught hers and she couldn’t look away. “What other areas?”
“Just some problems we had.”
“You knew who the bastard was when you married him.”
“Yes, I did. But he wasn’t working for the family business five years ago. When he was drawn back in by his father, he…changed.” She swallowed the resentment. Bitter anger would do her no good.
Brady studied her for a moment but the pain he had seen in her eyes came and went before he could register it. There had been a time when he could see everything she was feeling right there in her expression. Now she had walls built up around her and he regretted that. He wasn’t the only reason for the fortress she hid behind but he knew he hadn’t helped.
“So, what was Sterling doing when you talked to him last?” She asked, her voice as cool as before.
“Ever heard of the legend of the Snake King?” Brady thought Libby was about to faint, since all the color left her face in one fast rush. He stepped forward, ready to catch her if she should fall out of the chair.
“The Snake King?” Her voice was a whisper and she closed her eyes. “Jesus. I can’t believe he actually bought into that crap.”
“I agree.” She opened her eyes and stared at him with disbelief. “Hey, I’m not an idiot.”
She snorted. “No comment.”
Irritated with her. Irritated with himself. Dammit, the woman had him in knots and he had been in her company less than five minutes. Just hearing her snort sent a wave of heat through him. He had some sick attraction to her ridicule of his personality. “I turned him down. I was teaching in New York at the time.”
“What did he say? Did he say anything about his plans, where he might go?” With each question, her voice rose, desperation threading her words.
“I’d hoped that I talked him out of it. Even if the damn thing was true, too many men have died trying to find it.”
She sighed and her shoulders slumped. He had to fight down the urge to go to her and pull her close. He didn’t have that right, not anymore. And because that would lead to feeling her curves pressed up against him. And that would lead to kissing and that would lead to…
“Well, I have no idea where to start. I found out he hired Dracon to fly him to Gelwan but that was the last thing I can find.”
“Dracon? I thought they were at odds.”
She smiled, sadly. “You know those two. Sterling and he have been arguing for the last twenty years. At least someone levelheaded was with him. Dracon, from all reports, wasn’t happy about going, but when Sterling threatened to go it alone, he caved.” She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. “I had no idea the Snake King was what they were after.”
“You know all about it, then?”
She opened her eyes. “The legend of an emerald from the Quantanz sector of the Absidian Solar System. A jewel so brilliant that several wars were fought over it. Not for the price but for the magical powers it is said to posses.”
“To rule without fear of being conquered.” He sighed and placed his hands on his hips. “So, why was Sterling upset with your divorce? He isn’t puritanical, is he?”
Her lips twisted into a cynical smile. “It had nothing to do with me, per se. You know him. Why would he not want me to divorce my husband?” When he shook his head, she continued. “Why, to benefit him, of course. Freemont Inc. was supposed to fund his latest adventure.”
“Ah.” His voice was calm but the anger boiling in his gut wasn’t. Damn Sterling for treating his daughter like a commodity. Again. Brady flexed his hands and tried his best not to pick up something and break it. The way the man had raised her had been one of the problems that had broken them up. The other part had to do with Libby not being able to accept things one day at a time. Always had to have a fucking plan for everything and it drove him crazy.
“So there’s nothing really in it for you, as you can see.” She rolled her shoulders, which thrust her breasts against the soft fabric of her shirt. Momentarily his thoughts, and most of his blood, drained from his head. Libby looked to have finally grown into her almost-six-foot height. In more than one way. He licked his lips.
“Excuse me.”
He barely noted her voice as he watched her puckered nipples pressed against her shirt. He knew just the way they felt when he brushed the back of his hand against them. The way they tasted as he swept the flat of his tongue over the tips.
“Brady.”
He glanced up at her face and felt a flush of embarrassment creeping up his neck. Damn, caught. He cleared his throat.
“Sorry. So nothing, no money involved?”
She tsked. “You should know better than that. If someone financed the trip, they’ll get a percentage of what he finds. Which I am sure is nothing. And you know he spent all the credits on the trip. Sterling Wainwright always travels in style.”
Brady heard the love and concern beneath her scorn. He’d known the Wainwrights since he’d been fortunate enough to stow away on Sterling’s hired ship. He’d been fifteen and green. Damn, he’d been lucky he’d picked the ship he did. When Libby found him hiding in the overhead compartment, he’d thought he would be sent back. Sterling took one look at him and saw a comrade. Without hesitation, the older man had taken Brady under his tutelage and treated him like a long lost son. Libby acted as if he’d committed a crime. He took her place. But even with their estrangement, Brady knew she loved her father and worried about him. Truthfully, it usually didn’t take her this long to go looking for Sterling.
“Must have been one helluva fight.”
She sighed. “It was and there were some things both of us said that may not ever go away, but… Well, I have to find him. He has a habit of finding trouble. And since neither one of us knows where he is…”
“Who knows where in hades he is?” He sighed and then a smile tugged at his lips. “Hey, you remember that job on Yentalan, where those Saber Tooths came after us?”
Her eyes widened and her lips parted as if in surprise. She swallowed, visibly. “Of course I remember that.” Her voice had turned a shade colder and she wouldn’t meet his gaze. “We better get going. I take it you have your own ship?”
“Yeah. I figured you might know where to start.”
She stood and started to gather up her things. “Yes, I tracked him to Bulivenia. It wasn’t fun. The last I he
ard after that was they were headed to Dranirick.”
“Good God.” Dranirick was barely surveyed. Several species inhabited the overgrown rain forest. One was a group of humans who thrived on strange sexual practices—or so the rumors claimed.
“Yeah, that’s why I came to find you. I couldn’t trust anyone else.”
He grunted and grabbed her arm as she tried to walk past him. “What the hell is the matter?”
Every muscle in her arm grew rigid and that same damn broom handle stiffened her spine. “Don’t even think about it, Brady.”
“Listen, sweetheart, we’re going to be in each other’s pockets for a few days, if not a few weeks. We should make the most of it.”
She glanced up at him. Instead of the cold look he expected, there was something else, something that struck him as hurt, portrayed there. “I think we’ll both survive. We did last time.”
“Libby—”
She wrenched her arm away. “Listen, Saint, I have no problem with it. It was just the mention of Yentalan. That’s all.”
“What? So I was reliving some of our old times together.”
“Nothing. Listen, I’m going to use the latrine and then we can get out of here before any other admirers come after me.”
Before he could say another word, she left him, locking the door with a definite click. What the hell did he do now? If it wasn’t one thing with Libby, it was another. The woman was harder to please than anyone he’d known. All he’d done was mention Yentalan.
Then it hit him like a right hook to the chin. He shut his eyes as he realized what he’d said. What he’d brought up. Damn his fucking mouth. Sterling always said it was the thing that would get him in trouble. Brady shook his head and opened his eyes, thinking of what an ass he’d made of himself.
They’d been after some Yentalianese artifact that Sterling was sure would make them rich beyond their dreams. Brady was twenty-one to Libby’s nineteen and the two of them had bickered the whole trip. Her damn ethics were always getting in the way.
As the past came roaring back to him, he walked to the porthole and stared blindly out, allowing the memories to wash over him. They’d found that damn treasure. It hadn’t been worth as much as Sterling had suspected but they’d still celebrated. Too much. Sterling had gone off to bargain. Brady and Libby decided to split a bottle of wine. Dressed in camos, dirty from the firefight they’d been through, they’d found a deserted cave—one of the reasons he’d needed to get drunk—and collapsed.
“You know that one of these days both of you are going to get caught doing something illegal and you’ll both end up in jail.”
The flickering light from the campfire washed over her, casting a golden glow to her skin. Brady knew at the moment he’d never seen anything as beautiful as Liberty Wainwright. All that red hair, those slanted golden-brown eyes… even the freckles that danced across the bridge of her nose turned his mind to mush. They had since she was fifteen.
“And you’ll bail us out, as usual.” His words were slurred and even he heard his Irish slipping into his speech. He reached out and brushed the back of his fingers along her jaw. She shivered. “You know, lass, that every time we do something on the border of illegal, you come to the rescue.”
She took a swig of wine and looked away. “Maybe one of these days I won’t.”
“Is that some kind of threat? Come on, sweetheart, you know better than to threaten us. Your da and I both know you aren’t going to leave. You’ve been threatening it for three years.”
“Just don’t count on it.”
“We can always count on you.”
“I was accepted into training at the Freemont Center. They have ethics. I want to learn about real archeology. Not fortune hunting.”
Panic clawed at his gut. He took a deep breath and reminded himself that she’d threatened this before. She’d never followed through.
“Lying again, are you, Libby? You know you won’t leave your da.”
“Really, why?”
“He needs you.”
She laughed without humor. “Do you think he’d actually notice if I disappeared, Brady? I sometimes think it would be better if I left.”
Her voice was so sad, so filled with need. He swallowed the lump in his throat, knowing what she was feeling. He’d been there with his own family too many times to count, but in this case, she had no one else. Damn her father for being a shit. He heard a suspicious sniff and leaned forward, bridging the gap between them. Cupping her chin, he tilted her face up. Just touching her soft skin sent a shock of heat roaring through him. She’d been under his skin, driving him crazy.
Unshed tears shimmered in her eyes and the sight almost broke his heart. “Ah, lass. Don’t let Sterling get to you.”
She tried to pull away but he held her chin firmly. Before he could think twice about it, he leaned down and brushed his mouth over hers. He held her gaze as his tongue darted out and traced the seam of her lips. Her eyes drifted closed and she opened her mouth. Any blood left in his brain traveled south. He closed his eyes and took possession of her mouth. Her arms slid around his neck and his dropped to her lower back. In one move, he pulled her forward and covered her body with his.
The heat between them went from spark to inferno within seconds. All the years they’d been holding back broke free. They tore at each other’s clothes between kisses. When he’d finally stripped her to her waist, he slowed down. The cool air washed over them; her nipples puckered.
“Brady?”
He’d have been a fool not to hear the fear in her voice. “Shhh, lass.”
He bent his head and took the turgid tip into his mouth. Instantly, her fingers speared through his hair as she pressed him closer. Her moan echoed in the cave but he didn’t notice anything but the feel of her flesh against his, the taste of her skin and the feel of her heat against his groin. He pressed his cock against her pussy. Even through the layers of clothing, he could feel her damp core.
“Brady.” He didn’t say anything, just moved to her other breast, pausing to lick the skin between them. “Brady.”
It finally hit him she was pulling on his hair. He looked up and smiled at her. Ever neat and in control, Liberty Wainwright was a mess. Her short hair stood on end. He could already see the razor burn on her neck left from his beard. Passion clouded her eyes.
“What?” His voice was soft, coaxing.
“I’ve never…”
Even in the dark cave, he could see her flush.
“Ahh, Libby.” His mind couldn’t function, not without one drop of blood in it. He’d never slept with a virgin. It had never mattered to him before. Now it frightened the hell out him. It was also damned arousing. “You trust me, don’t you?”
She nodded, and he swooped in for a kiss. By the time he raised his head, both of them were breathless. “I promise it will be fine.”
A husky laugh bubbled out of her. “I know that, Brady. I just wanted you to know.”
She was offering something to him that she’d never given to another. Something trembled around his heart but he pushed it aside. “Well, first off…”
He slid down her body, kissing her stomach and undoing her pants. He pulled them away…
“Brady?”
Her voice jolted him out of the bittersweet memory. He tried to ignore her and move back into his reminiscences but she’d broken the spell. Wiping his forehead, he looked at her and inwardly sighed. It was damn bad luck to want a woman as much as he wanted Libby. His body vibrated with unrelieved passion as if they had been making love just moments earlier.
“Are you ready?” His voice was rough but he couldn’t help it. Whispers of his earlier thoughts still washed through him. She still got to him. From that day forward, she’d held him by the balls. He just hoped to God she never figured it out.
“Sure.”
He followed her to the door, trying to ignore the throbbing in his cock and the sweet sway of her ass. Drawing in a deep breath, he reminded himsel
f why they split up six years ago.
But damned if he could remember one reason that outweighed his feelings for her. He just hoped they found Sterling, quickly.
A knock sounded at the door and both of them froze.
“You expecting company?”
She looked back over her shoulder at him. “Do I look like I was planning on entertaining?”
He braced himself against the wall next to the door. She watched him, and when he nodded, she followed right along.
“Who is it?”
“Robbie Masters. I heard you were looking for help.”
Chapter Three
Liberty watched Brady raise his finger to his lips. The muscle in his jaw twitched as he ground his teeth together. From the narrowed-eyed look he sent her, he wasn’t happy with the situation. She couldn’t say she was either.
Masters was a slimy gunrunner, and all-around gofer when needed. There’d always been rumors about one deal or another he’d been involved in but he seemed to come through it clean. Knowing that, and knowing he was interested in her looking for her father, sent a chill through her. He had to know something beyond the stupid legend for him to want to help. She needed to buy a little time.
“Who did you say you were again?” She tried her best to sound like the scared little woman. Macho mercenaries always fell for it. Glancing at Brady, she noticed his lips twitched. He knew exactly what she was pulling because they had used it on adversaries so many times in the past.
“Robbie Masters. I’m a friend of the Saint’s.”
She arched her eyebrows. Brady bit his lip, probably because he was ready to laugh out loud.
“You don’t say?”
“Yes. He told me you might be interested in hiring someone to help find your father.”
The laughter faded from Brady’s eyes and a different light altogether flashed in them. Ohh boy, she’d seen that look before. Suspicious and predatory.
He moved in behind her, pressing against her back. Instantly, every thought in her brain faded as heat singed along her nerve endings. The scent of him filled her senses. His breath brushed her earlobe and she suppressed a shiver.
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