Seducing the Saint

by Melissa Schroeder

  As they walked into the village, there was little activity except a few stray children playing. Of course, they stopped and stared at two strangers being led through their isolated community. The Funkai usually kept to themselves, unless you trespassed on their land. And he’d avoided the area on his other visits to the planet. They just didn’t have time to waste.

  They walked up the steps of the largest structure in the center of the village. Large Roman columns lined the front of the building, which gave it a look of being a city hall in any US city. Once inside, they were led down a hallway that was lined with offices. As several people passed them, he noticed they were dressed as if they’d just walked out of an office anywhere on Earth. Business suits, dresses…they looked normal.

  They reached a set of double doors. Walter leaned over to whisper in Libby’s ear, and she nodded. He slipped through the doors. She turned and walked toward Brady.

  “This is rather odd, isn’t it?” When she noticed his guards were paying attention, she flashed them a smile. Brady would be amazed if they didn’t drool. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to sound rude. But everything I’ve read about your civilization is that it’s primitive. It’s odd to be captured by men in loincloths and then be led into a modern village.”

  “You have read what we want the world to think.”

  She started and turned. Brady looked over her shoulder. Their newcomer was a man in his forties, dressed in a tailored suit. Unlike their friends, he wore his hair short, and if Brady had seen him anywhere else, he’d think he was just a normal businessman. He was tall and his dark hair had threads of gray. His bearing told Brady this was someone important.

  The newcomer studied Libby, then moved toward Brady and his guards. The smile he shot Libby was filled with sexual interest.

  Brady stepped forward to stand beside her. He half expected their captors to grab him but they didn’t do anything.

  “You must be Liberty Wainwright. Walter was right. You are beautiful.” Brady glanced at Libby and noticed the blush. Was every freaking man here going to be after her?

  “Yes, I am.” She extended her hand. The man took it and kissed her hand before releasing it. Her face turned a brighter shade of pink.

  “A pleasure. My name is Jason Funkai. I’d say I was sorry that you have been put in any discomfort but that would be a lie. It is not that often we get such pleasant company.”

  The man’s tone was filled with lazy sensuality. He didn’t even bother to hide his interest.

  Libby, God bless her, ignored it. “This is my associate, Brady St. James.”

  The man’s gray gaze showed a flicker of acknowledgement of his name but he kept his attention focused on Libby.

  “I’ve heard of you, Saint. But the impression that Walter gave me was that you were together.”

  “We are.” Libby sounded confused by this line of questioning. Hell, Brady wasn’t sure what was going on either.

  “No matter right now. I understand you’re looking for your father. There isn’t much I can tell you about him. He was here for a night and left the next day. Pleasant man.”

  Sterling had been here? Brady shot her a look but she wasn’t paying attention. All her attention was for Jason Funkai. She showed no surprise, leading him to think she might’ve known about her father being here. Why hadn’t she told him?

  “Now, why don’t we go in and meet the council. With these developments, there might be a longer discussion on the outcome.”

  “Outcome?” Brady asked.

  “Yes. Walter gave me the impression that you two were together, but since you are just working together…well, there will be some discussion about Ms. Wainwright’s future with the Funkai.”

  Jason smiled at Libby and Brady knew that he’d meant that he wanted to keep Libby for himself.

  Well, crap.

  * * * * *

  Libby shifted on her chair and sighed again. She glanced over at Brady, who was still pouting about her slip-up earlier. The mistake wasn’t going to be easy to untangle, but if he would talk to her, they’d have a plan. Instead, he’d told her she was an idiot and refused to say anything else since they’d been led into a waiting room.

  Even though she silently berated herself for the mistake, she thought Brady was being completely unsympathetic. The news that her father had been here, and been with her ex-husband, had thrown her for a loop. She’d wanted to get Brady alone to tell him but now he was sulking like a little boy. And, really, what was she supposed to say when they asked her? She had no freaking idea what Brady was. Other than a pain in the ass.

  “You know, you could have let me speak.”

  She looked over at him. His arms were crossed over his chest, his gaze straight ahead, and he was frowning.

  “So, you’re speaking to me again?”

  He shot her a derisive look. “I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking that you should be in charge. Well, in this area, you are dead wrong, lass.”

  He was really angry. He hadn’t raised his voice but his Irish lilt had slipped into it. That only happened when he was aroused or angry. Very angry.

  “Oh, and you were doing such a good job of it.”

  “These people are different. They expect the man to wear the pants.”

  Anger lit through her. “So I was supposed to let you fuck it up.”

  “Fuck it up? Fuck it up? What do you call this?”

  “A minor setback. We’ll be on our way tomorrow.”

  He shook his head. “No, lass. They mean to keep you.”

  She’d suspected that but she knew she could get them out of it. It would require Brady to not act like an oversized Sumerian Primate. She glanced at him. They could be in some trouble.

  Before she could say anything, Walter came through the door. She blinked. The loincloth was replaced by a conservative suit, his hair bound at the base of his neck.

  “Ms. Wainwright.” He glanced at Brady. “Saint. Mr. Funkai and the rest of the board are ready to see you now.”

  Libby and Brady stood to follow Walter through the door. Brady placed his hand on the small of her back to usher her through the door. The room they entered was round; a large horseshoe table sat in the middle and was occupied by ten gentlemen. Jason Funkai sat in the center. There wasn’t much light in the rest of the room but the table seemed to be under some kind of spotlight.

  “Ms. Wainwright. Saint. Please come forward.”

  As they walked forward, Brady took her hand and pulled her closer to his side. He leaned down. “Go along with me on this one, Libby.”

  She nodded because she knew that he would have to take charge. The Funkai seemed to have built the illusion they wanted the world to see, but there was one thing that wasn’t a lie—this was a male-dominated society. Years in the field had taught her to respect their hosts, unless it was a matter of life or death.

  Jason took charge of the meeting. “We’ve been discussing the issue of Ms. Wainwright.” His gaze dropped to their joined hands, and she could feel the tension spike another notch. He didn’t like what he saw. “There are several interested parties who would like to court her.”

  “Court her?” Brady’s tone was derisive. “You call capturing women and keeping them against their will courting?”

  Several of the board members shifted restlessly, unhappy with Brady and his comments.

  “This is not our way. Yes, we have been known to bring women here but they are never forced to do anything they don’t want. But we do give our men a chance to convince them to stay. We’ve been known to return women, but we like to keep up the idea that we are barbarians, to keep others out.”

  They were hiding something. The only reason to keep people from coming into their community would be to hide something. But what, if not their strange sexual practices?

  “Really? I hear you’re sexual deviants.”

  This produced some grumbling from the board.

  Jason held up his hand and it stopped. “Yes, we do pr
actice some bondage. That is it. But we are not here to discuss that. What we are here to discuss is Ms. Wainwright’s immediate future.”

  “She’s with me.”

  “She said she was your associate.”

  Brady’s lips stretched into a humorless smile. “You know women; they like to think they’re in charge.”

  Jason smiled. “Well, be that as it may, since she is without a partner, we feel she should stay and get to know a few of our men.”

  She inched closer to Brady, not liking this conversation at all. The modern, educated, independent woman in her wanted to scream that she could take care of herself. But there was another voice that just wanted Brady to take care of it all and get them the hell out of there.

  “She’s mine.”

  “I understand your conviction, Saint. But the truth is, we have had people do this before and later we find that it was merely a ploy to get the woman away.” The older man studied him. He glanced at her as if coming to some decision. “I think we can let you go.”

  Giddy relief poured through Libby. They were going to be free. Each minute that ticked away was another minute that her father could be in danger.

  “You think?”

  “You say that she is yours.” Brady nodded curtly. “And all we ask is that you prove it.”

  Chapter Nine

  Brady sat drinking some sort of wine that tasted like yaanerberry and studied his host. Once Jason had an agreement from the board, Libby had been whisked off to prepare and he’d been treated like an honored guest. More and more, these people confused him. Or it could have been the wine. Since his second glass, he’d lost count of how many he’d had and his head was floating five feet above his body. There was also a hint of sexual tension humming through him.

  “Your Ms. Wainwright was not happy when she left.” Humor laced Jason’s words.

  Brady grunted. “Libby likes to run the show.”

  “Yes. She is a managing woman.”

  There was no derision in his voice, as Brady would have expected from a man who lived in this society. He studied the man, taking more note of his appearance. He’d been right about his age, somewhere in his mid-to-late forties. He ruled the clan here with an iron will that Brady had to admire. Even if the dickhead had been after his woman.

  “I would think that would be a drawback.”

  Funkai’s lips curled. “There is something to be said about a spirited woman.” Good God, was there ever. “And you’re gullible if you believe all the stories.”

  “You admitted to practicing bondage.”

  His smile deepened. “Among other things. Besides, there is also something to be said for having a woman who likes to be tied up and spanked.” The image of doing just that to Libby sent a roll of lust rushing through him. He set down his wine. “But we perpetuate that image to keep people out.”

  The wine had clouded his thoughts, and the thoughts of spanking Libby weren’t helping, but he started to piece things together bit by bit. “You’re hiding something valuable.”

  “A way of life.”

  “No. Something that makes you rich.”

  Jason laughed. “I’d heard you were a smart one. Yes, Saint, you are talking to one of the wealthiest men this side of the zone. And all of us here share the money. My grandfather had been an important man on Earth—rich, powerful. But when they started to restrict sexual practices, trying to legislate personal lives, he knew he had to leave.”

  He leaned back in his chair and took a sip of wine while his gaze became unfocused. “When he happened on this area, he found a metal that was so precious, he knew people would pay a fortune for it.”

  “Naper steel? You’re the people behind Naper steel?” The metal was one of the strongest ever mined but no one seemed to know from where. There were agents who handled the sales but where it originated had been a secret since it hit the market.

  “Yes.” His gaze focused on Brady again. “We take from this planet but we do not destroy. If people found out, if this leaked, they would destroy this planet. They would tear down the forests, killing God knows how many species just to make their money.”

  Brady nodded, thinking of the destruction of the rainforests on Earth in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. They were still trying to battle the effects of their greed today.

  “So you let people think you’re a different species, that you’ll steal their women and kill them if they trespass.”

  Jason’s smile returned. “Yes. And it helps that if someone becomes a member of the community, they have to agree to cut off all ties.”

  “How do you keep it secret if you tell everyone who comes through?”

  “We don’t. I tell you because I’ve heard of your integrity. I was hoping I could convince you not to tell people you were here.” He took a sip of wine. “The board had other discussions after you were dismissed earlier.”

  The abrupt change in subject, not to mention in his tone, caught Brady’s attention. He said nothing but waited. Jason pursed his lips, then said, “The board has insisted you share.”

  For a second the comment did not register in his mind. When it did, anger whipped through him.

  “That was not part of the bargain.”

  A faint smile curved his lips. “It was the only way I could get them to agree to let her go.”

  “I don’t share.”

  “Is it a question of don’t or won’t…or can’t?”

  Irritated with the conversation, especially since for some reason the idea was pushing his arousal into overdrive, he asked, “What the bloody hell does that mean?”

  He pursed his lips and studied Saint for a moment, as if gauging his reaction. “Although we are not guilty of many of the allegations leveled on our heads, we do believe in male dominance. Even with the most alpha of women, if she is truly yours, you can get her to do what you want.” He shrugged. “They were ready to cast you out. I offered this in return. Walter wanted to be the one but I nixed that. He is still young.”

  “Meaning?”

  “He still has time to find his mate.”

  Brady did not like this one bit. He wasn’t into sharing his women. It wasn’t as if he’d never had a ménage but he had never thought to have one with Libby. He’d kept her all to himself for a reason.

  “And if I refuse?”

  Jason sighed. “There is a good chance the council will kick your ass out. Granted, she will probably follow, because I don’t think she would even consider one of my men over you. But I am sure some of them would try their best to convince her.”

  Brady took another sip of wine, his body already humming. It didn’t help because he knew this was a particular fantasy for Libby. She’d talked about it before—after consuming a bit too much wine. It had shocked him so much he hadn’t responded to her comment right away. Before he’d been able to say anything, she’d changed the subject.

  He looked over at his host. Jason had been more than gracious in his duties but there was another feel to it. As if he were preparing Brady for something. Then it hit him.

  “You’re planning on being the one.”

  He nodded, once, then took another sip of wine before explaining. “We mate for life. All the men considered are still looking for that mate. They would try to use this as an opportunity to take her from you. I know you and you would never let it happen. There’s a good chance someone would get hurt. There’s a good chance it wouldn’t be you.”

  “And just how do you know that?”

  He didn’t answer right away. Instead, he looked off in the distance, his eyes unfocused. “Because I did have a mate and loved her as much as you love Libby.” He released a slow breath. “I would’ve done anything to have kept her.”

  “What happened?”

  “She died about ten years ago.”

  Before Brady could respond, they were interrupted.

  “Mr. Funkai.” Walter approached them. The frown he’d been wearing since the order of the board was
still in place. Too damn bad, dickhead. The woman is mine. “I’ve been alerted that Ms. Wainwright is ready.”

  “Thank you, Walter. I will take Saint there myself.”

  Although surprise lightened Walter’s eyes, he showed no emotion on his face. Apparently he hadn’t let everyone know his decision.

  Jason stood. “Shall we?”

  Brady nodded and followed the older gentlemen out of the room, trying hard not to smirk as he passed the very disapproving Walter.

  They walked side by side down a series of hallways. “I envy you, Saint. Ms. Wainwright is an extraordinary woman. You’ve known her long?”

  “Since we were kids. Her father trained both of us.”

  “Ahh. I won’t say I contemplated overriding the decision of the board and kicking you out, but I had a feeling there was history there. I thought the woman would protest.”

  “The lady would have your balls for breakfast.”

  Jason laughed as he walked up a flight of stairs and stopped when they reached the end of another long hallway. “I think it might be best if you go in first. You might want to explain to her what is going to happen. Also, to ensure the order is to be carried out, there are recording devices—visual but no sound. That would be intrusive.”

  “And watching us have sex isn’t—not to mention demanding I share her with you?”

  He just smiled and shook his head. “Go on.”

  Nodding at the guard stationed at the end of the hallway, Jason pulled out a key card. He slid it into the lock and then, with a smile, stepped back to allow Brady to walk past him. The door slid open. Brady stepped in and stopped dead in his tracks.

  Jesus. It looked like something out of a harem fantasy. Pretty much everything was draped in red. Red Aswarian silk hung from the walls; red sheets coved the king-sized bed. The bed looked like black wrought iron and he didn’t doubt there were some extra-special toys to go with it. The only thing that seemed to stand out was the wood-like floor.

  “Don’t just stand there with your mouth open.”