Clockwork Captive by Anh Leod Read Free Book Online Page B

gaze.
    “Should I come back?” said his friend. “I have a room in the house warming for you, though you seem to have found your own heat.”
    “We couldn’t resist the vibrating table,” Celeste said, muffled by Brace’s shoulder.
    “I’m glad you appreciate it,” Jonathan said. “I think it needs a larger motor though. I can last twice as long as it can.”
    Brace wondered if his friend was criticizing his own performance, but then he had climbed London roofs during a storm and been up all night.
    Celeste grinned at him, as if she knew the path of his thoughts. “You were divine,” she whispered.
    “If you want me to last longer, hold off on the spanking,” he said in a low voice.
    “I did wonder why your arse was reddened,” Jonathan said loudly, making it clear he wasn’t going to give them any privacy. “I like a good spanking myself.”
    Brace pulled up his clothing as best he could, attempting to prevent commentary on his dripping cock. He reached down and grabbed Celeste’s gown and tugged it over her head, then felt something hit him on the back.
    “A robe for your lady,” Jonathan said. “When you’re ready, come inside.”
    The door shut and they were alone again. Brace jumped off the table and helped Celeste dress, tying the sash of the thin wool robe himself.
    “I do apologize,” he said. “I should have known we wouldn’t be done before he came back.”
    “I don’t mind,” Celeste said. “I have done it all, after all.”
    “But that isn’t your life anymore.”
    She pressed her lips together. “I know nothing about making a home for you. I hardly even know how to cook. Are you sure you want me?”
    “I’ll always want you,” he promised, pulling her against him.
    Her head rested along his shoulder. She felt soft and dainty in his arms, a perfect handful of woman. “I loved you as a child loved a playmate once. I’ll never be so innocent again.”
    “You’re still that young girl, but your experiences have made you the brave woman you are today. That strength of character will see you through. I don’t want some soft girl who cannot manage life. After what you’ve survived I know nothing can break you, dearest.”
    She lifted her face to his. A tear streaked down her cheek. “I always knew you could be this man. How lucky I am to have found you.”
    He smiled and caught the tear with his index finger. “I’m the lucky one. You’re no longer ruled by clockwork. Our life can run on love alone.”
    She nodded. “I never want to see a clock again, so I hope you have a good instinct for time.”
    He laughed and picked her up so her legs dangled down from his arm. “The fire is dying and it’s getting cold in here. Let’s go into the house and cuddle in a big, warm bed for the first time.”
    “Away from prying eyes,” she agreed.
    He left the inventor’s shed in his wake as he dashed to the house, his lady in his arms. She laughed as he splashed through a puddle and stumbled. He heard a horn and stilled, remembering the alarms on the clockwork medallion, but soon realized it was only a train whistle. Progress kept coming, but sometimes technology was misused. He vowed to keep Celeste, and any family they might have, free of dastardly inventions in the future. But also, to take advantage of the good ones, like the sensual devices he’d found in the shed.
    He pulled his booted feet from the muck and plunged forward, toward the house, the warm bed, and an eternity of love.
    ~*~

 
     
     
    ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
     
     
    Thank you to Shoshanna Evers, Moriah McCormick, Mae Pen and Katie Hiestand for editing this story. Thank you to Jacquie Rogers for facilitation. Thank you to David Hiestand for the scientific research. All errors and steampunk fantasy are my own.

 
     
     
     
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
     
     
    Anh Leod is the author of many novels, novellas and short stories. She is an Amazon Romance Anthology Bestseller. She lives in Washington with her husband and son. She