City of Light & Steam

by Lexi Ostrow

  His smile was warm, delightful, and against all logic, did something to her stomach that felt akin to making it flutter. He had been very serious while they had toiled on. There had been the occasional bout of conversation, but he had been rather focused on his tasks. A character trait she had not previously known she would find appealing. Yet, in watching him work, she’d grown more attracted him. In truth, she had observed him in hopes of learning the ways of the Electric Guild, anything she could take to her guild in the event they were unsuccessful in finding a use for joining their guilds together once again. However, there were plenty of moments when she was watching with interest of her own.

  Thankfully, she had not been wrong in trusting in her Board. They had forced her hand, but she could not deny they had been correct in every way. In just one day, they had hopefully created a weapon that would efficiently and quickly protect humans, from each other,, and the sick who had long ago been deemed inhuman.

  This means all that is left to do is test your work and begin the paperwork toward binding your guilds together. Raven looked at him, but she hadn’t heard Christopher’s response to her request thanks to dallying in her thoughts.

  Christopher Abbott was a man who could likely be her equal. There was also the matter of how devilishly attractive she found him. Which is the other reason you stared at him so oft this past day.

  “Forgive me,” she allowed a yawn to push past her lips. “I am so enthralled with what we have done, and I didn’t listen to your response.” With a smirk of her own, she depressed the button, and this time watched the tip of the device.

  Within seconds, a tiny blue ball of . . . well, what looked like fuzz . . . appeared at the end of the device.

  “You never cease to intrigue me, Lady Raven. Such a short time in your presence, and already I find myself looking forward to the next moment.”

  She couldn’t let him know how dizzy the idea of more moments with him made her. Finding a romance had not been her task. She had not even had plans on finding a way to ease her longing, though she more than knew Christopher Abbott would tend to that need if she expressed herself at the proper moment. He’d stared at her while she worked as well, she was no longer a babe, and she knew what the heated feel of his gaze meant.

  “Shall we seek one to test it upon?” The question did not hold near as much delight as the concept had a moment prior.

  We’re going to test out a device that could do irreparable harm to a person. Doesn’t that make us monsters?

  “I can see something haunts your eyes. I fear I have the same thoughts. I assure you, accidents with voltage are not unheard of in this guild, we will be prepared.” Christopher nearly reached out and touched her, likely to assure her, but instead walked to the communication device. “Uncle? I’ll need you in Chr – in the chambers I use for council and funding meetings.”

  “Is everyone well?” Martin’s concern nearly leaped out from the call box.

  “For the moment, however, we are dabbling with volts and need to test it on someone.”

  “Very well. Do nothing until I arrive.”

  Hearing the words aloud for the third time struck in her the gut. “Christopher?” He was writing something down and not listening to her. “Christopher?” Clearing her throat, she tried something more formal, wondering if she weren’t lost in her thoughts. “Lord Abbott?”

  He turned to her, smile still in place, and his hand still writing on the parchment. “My proper name?”

  She grinned. “Someone did not respond to his given name. I thought you were lost in thought and hearing your surname might snap you out of it. I know my father had a knack for only paying attention when he thought it was a business matter.”

  “My apologies, fair lady.” He flashed a broader smile and took the item from her hand, not for the first time in such a short span, and she was reminded of what it was like to simply laugh. “What did you wish to garner my attention for?”

  Sucking in a deep breath through her nose she held it in her mouth, hoping it would help to calm her nerves. She grew lightheaded and opened her lips with a gasp. ‘Twas no more foolish than what you will do now.

  “If anyone is to be harmed by this device, would it not be nobler to be one of its inventors?” She took a step closer as alarm flickered onto his face. “Certainly, it cannot be the one who best knows how to work with currents.” She took the weapon back from his hand. “We are certain my portion is correct. I shall test it on myself. You will record the events and make certain it works.”

  “Absolutely not, my dear.” Martin’s rather dulcet voice spoke before Christopher. “I did not save your life so recently to see you endanger it.”

  “Danger is the precise reason it should not be tested on someone unprepared.” She countered, turning her gaze to the polite elder gentleman.

  “‘Tis also the precise reason it should not be executed on one who nearly crossed over to another life within the past fortnight.”

  “If you cease to argue, I can assure you, and this has already been taken care of.” Christopher nodded before walking out of the chamber.

  “Where in the bloody hell is he going, anyway? What are you testing?” Martin dropped his bag on the rug and glowered after his kin.

  “He is of your ilk, should you not know the answer?” Raven wasn’t certain if she was intrigued or perplexed at Christopher’s sudden disappearance, and the way he had seemed to issue a command to her – his equal – a moment before his departure.

  “My nephew is nothing if not . . . surprising.” Martin dropped into a chair slightly pushed back at the large table on the other side of the room, the one she had sat in to watch Christopher work.

  “Very well, I’m told I have to dance with death?”

  A vaguely familiar woman’s voice spoke from the doorway, drawing Raven’s attention there.

  Stella stood, a grin plastered across her face. She wore a dressing gown on and held a pillow under her arm. Christopher entered a moment later, amusement flickering in his eyes.

  “If she doesn’t die, it’s likely she’ll remind her for the rest of our time on earth that she, Stella Abbott, bested electricity.”

  Tossing the pillow onto the table, Stella winked and climbed up after it. “What good is being your little test if I do not gain something from it?”

  “Really, this is whom you seek to do something dangerous too?” Martin stumbled over his words as if he were holding some back.

  “When did you arrange this?” Raven stepped forward as Stella laid herself out, head on the pillow, and crossed her arms over her chest. “Could you live with yourself if we overpowered this?” She shook their invention in his face.

  “Martin is here for safety, and as I’ve mentioned, many of us at this guild are accustomed to such injury.”

  “Eight years old and I touched a live wire, I did.” Stella sounded mighty impressed with herself. “Go on, then, let’s have a little fun, shall we?” A cockney accent seemed to pour out with the words as if she delighted in the danger and equated it to slumming with those beneath her class.

  “Christopher, I beg you to think of your cousin, Benjamin.” Martin had an edge to his words.

  Christopher’s eyes narrowed into slits, a darkness she had not seen before slipping into the strange blue depths them. “I am thinking of him. He would want to secure a partnership with the Steam Guild at all costs. The only way to make both guilds see it is necessary is to bring them a trophy.”

  A shiver raced over her, and Raven wasn’t confident if it was fright or delight in the commanding way Christopher spoke. He was a leader, doing what leaders did.

  “Now, Raven, as mentioned, we here are used to a little jolt. Please pass me the device, and we have no idea if it will send anything back to the user when it makes contact with an object.” Christopher rolled up his badly dirtied sleeve and made a motion for her to pass him the gun.

  “Bloody hell. This family is mad. Lady Raven, I implore you, at the very
least, stand back so that I might save them if this is too much.” Martin’s scrutiny never left his kin, though she could hear the slight exasperation in his tone.

  Nodding, she never let her gaze falter from Christopher’s strange hazel eyes, and she handed him their shocking creation. His fingers grazed hers, and for a moment, she wanted to demand he let her handle it. She had cheated death’s embrace one, and it seemed more likely she would do so again than to allow him to endanger himself.

  “On my count.” Christopher cleared his throat. “One. Two. Three.”

  Stella’s horrible shriek was nearly instant, deafening, and filled the chamber. Bile rose in Raven’s throat, but she forced her eyes to remain on the woman.

  Two spirals of smoke puffed off her singed and blackened arm. When Raven lifted her gaze to the head of the table, she saw wetness in her widened eyes, and the smile had slipped off the other woman’s lips. There had been no vicious jolt of her body, and she was thankfully still conscious.

  “It worked,” she breathed out in a rush, quickly diverting her attention back to Christopher, who was wide-eyed, but unharmed.

  Martin shoved into her. “This is ridiculous. I’m taking her to medical. Stella, are you alright?”

  “I’m fairly certain if this were fully charged and aimed at anyone, living or dead, they would not survive.” A small twitch of her lips showed the fearless woman was in pain, but fine. “Come then, Uncle. Let’s patch me up.”

  Martin leaned down and, with Christopher’s help, slid Stella off the table. She did not so much as wobble when her feet hit the floor. Though Raven worried it meant the device was not powerful enough, she was grateful that with minimal charge, they could use them in training without damaging anyone.

  Without a word, the two slowly moved toward the doors, exiting and leaving her alone with the only man she’d ever created anything with.

  As Christopher looked at her, his eyes began to brighten with merriment. “We did it. Raven Nightingale, we have created something to bring a little more hope into this dark and dangerous world!” He let out a holler as he tugged her against his chest. “And that is all the more reason why I am going to do this.”

  His hand slipped around her neck, and she tilted her head back as if it were the most natural thing in the world. She let her lips meet his as if the intention had been hers, not his. Her eyes closed effortlessly as she gave in to the need she had been craving for days. Consequences be damned.

  A warmness glided over as desire flared to life as their mouths danced together. Adrenaline mixed with pleasure fueled her as she moved her tongue between their lips. She felt his hands tangling in her hair as he sought to pull her closer still as she stroked his tongue with hers.

  The moan that escaped her was utterly improper and was met with a growl from Christopher that made her knees quake. She lost herself in the feel of his body against hers as their mouths teased and explored, unlocking a kiss more perfect than the elation of their small victory. Her head swam with delight as they stood, wrapped together in a manner far less than appropriate.

  His lips left hers, and she nearly laughed at the small tickle as they traced a path down her neck. The laughter vanished as his lips touched one of the ugly stitches. She cringed as he placed another kiss over the scarred stitch work, and she pulled away, her eyes opening as she did, pulling her from the moment.

  “I know what you are thinking, Raven,” Christopher opened his eyes and took her chin in his fingertips, allowing his slender fingers to trace gently over the medical stitches. “They are not ugly. They are a badge of your bravery, of the start of this collaboration and of the reminder that I should not dally if this is something we both desire because the world is an uncertain place and I would be remiss if I did not experience you the way a man was most assuredly meant to.”

  Her heart beat rapidly in her chest as he returned to dropping a kiss along the seam of the injury, his hand trailing gently behind. His words were the single most beautiful thing ever spoken to her, and she knew without a shadow of a doubt, she could lose herself in the man before her.

  “You struck me as an amazing woman in the quarters the moment I looked at you, soaked in dirt and blood.” He kissed her shoulder, right at the nape of her neck. “I’ve thought of nearly nothing save for this.” His fingers slipped open the knot that tied her traveling shirt together, but he did not seek to tug it off her body.

  “You are requesting permission?” the concept was strange, as she’d already indicated both her interest and her sullied status.

  “Always. The world does not need to take everything from us, though I am quite glad it seems to have done away with decorum to ensure this moment was even possible.”

  Her mind was giddy with pleasure, her lips tingled from their kiss, and still, he found a way to draw her into his circle more. She had never been a woman of promiscuity, but her partners previously had never asked.

  Stepping back, she allowed her legs to bump into the table. She was embarrassed at how they shook as she pushed down upon it with her wrists, lifting herself onto it. There might never be a time when she was whole again after what the monster took from her, but Christopher might repair her yet.

  “Christopher Abbott, if you do not do precisely as you have claimed, I might hate you for planting such a wondrous idea in my head and not following through.”

  Something flickered in his eyes, briefly, but it looked like anger. “Do not use my first name, please.”

  The request was odd in nature, but it was not the first time he had expressed disinterest in her calling him anything save for Lord or Sir Abbott. “So long as you touch me as you just were, and do not stop, I would call you anything.”

  His lips curved upward into a grin, and when he stepped forward, she took note of the impressive way his trousers lifted in the groin area. He was well endowed and more than interested in their current state of affairs. In a fluid move, he was against the table, nudging her legs apart with his hands before sitting down on a chair before her.

  Wetness pooled in her knickers, excitement pulsing through her every breath. His eyes were dark now, nearly brown, and laced with hunger. A man had never looked at her in such a fashion, and when his fingers danced across her abdomen, and his thumbs hooked in the loose breech’s she had procured from Levi, her head fell back in pleasure.

  He tugged her bottoms off, knickers and all, before lowering his head between her thighs. His breath was warm against her most sensitive area, and she gasped as his meaning took hold.

  His tongue flicked against her folds, a feather-light touch that nearly knocked the breath from her body. The swirls of pleasure from a moment ago seemed small compared to the bolt that thrust through her like an electrical current. She breathed in deep pants, her eyes squeezing shut in desperate prayer that he might do it once more. An image of him filled her mind, as she had just seen him moments ago, and when he licked at her body again, she saw it as if her eyes were opened.

  “Oh my word,” she breathed, her body going limp and stiff all at the same time.

  Christopher’s pace increased, his lips suckling her swelling nub as his tongue flicked circles over her core but did not slip inside. Over and over he lapped at her, her body slowly coming to life with every torturous motion. She lay back, unable to keep herself upright as the tension of what he did to her took over. Raven was helpless to stop the wanton way her hips began to move, thrusting her arse off the table in an attempt to position her body closer to his. He had a day’s growth on his chin, and it scratched at her, a tantalizing prick to contrast the sheer gentleness of his tongue as it twirled.

  Had her eyes been open, she knew the room would be a dazzling spin of motion. He dared to dip inside her, and the fragile hold snapped like a twig, sending her careening over the edge as her release tore through her.

  She shook, trembling with ecstasy, and then she heard him speak.

  “You seem as if no man has tasted you before me.”

 
; Her words were raspy and so silent as she struggled to open her eyes and force herself to be more than a woman lost in delight. “I assure you, if any had, none would matter now.”

  He chuckled as his hands moved up her stomach, caressing her breast under the man’s frock she still wore despite the way it hung open over her breasts from when he untied it.

  “I needed to know you were ready.”

  Opening her eyes for but a moment, she watched as his hands went to his belt and unfastened it with clumsy fingers before tugging his trousers down.

  Unlike her attire, no knickers held back his manhood, and she bit her lip as she took him in. He was so thick she wondered if her out of practice body could take him, and the mere thought sent twinges of pleasure through her. She’d set out to deal with a man, and she was very nearly sure she was working with a god.

  His hair was tousled from rubbing against her, and his eyes glowed with energy all his own. She’d seen him act the hero, an inventor, and a caregiver. Now she was seeing him as the man he truly was, and she wasn’t certain there would be a way to separate saving the world from saving herself where this man was concerned.

  She did her best to lift herself from the workspace, steadying herself on his chest as she focused her hands on undoing the three buttons that held his blouse in place. She could feel the hard cut of his body under her hand, and she knew he did more than work in a tiny chamber with electricity all day.

  “Raven,” he hissed as she splayed her hands over his pectoral muscles, delighting in the way they looked nearly as much as they felt.

  “Here, you had me believing I was the beautiful one.” She dropped a kiss to his chest, nipping at his nipple as she did.

  His hands were at the hem of the only layer of clothing that remained on her as she did not bother with the confines of a corset. His fingers were warm as they lifted her shirt up her body, the subtle way they grazed over her stomach was tantalizing beyond measure. Every part of her being was on fire with need as he carefully dropped two delicate kisses along the stitches in her neck before yanking the clothing off.