Clockwork Captive Read Online Free PDF Page A

continued. “I’ll climb out, and since the buildings are linked, it’s easy to get onto the roof here. I’ll set the device my friend gave me, which should stop the clocks in the house, and then you can climb out the trapdoor here .We’ll be in my rented room in under five minutes.”
    “Are you sure you can stop the clockwork?” She didn’t care about the climbing since she’d never feared heights.
    “Not everyone has an inventor for a friend. First Mrs. Teagarden and now me. It took an inventor to create this mess, and now an inventor has found a way out.”
    His breath tickled her ear. “I can’t stay on the street. They’ll find me and bring me back.”
    “We have to get you to Camden Town immediately so my friend can cut the medallion off you. I haven’t quite figured that part out yet. I think we’ll have to rent a carriage and leave the magnet, otherwise your alarm will go off.”
    “Is that a problem?”
    “The magnet smells terrible, for one thing. Someone might find it. But we’ll manage somehow.” He stroked his hand down to her waist. “Yes, I’ll have the carriage waiting tomorrow night. Mrs. Teagarden promised me your first appointment of the night so you should be free of this monstrosity by midnight tomorrow.”
    And then she’d only have to figure out the rest of her life. How much would Brace do to help her? Would he be reminded of what she was? She blinked and willed away all these thoughts. Decisions could come tomorrow. Tomorrow would be overwhelming enough.
    She smiled in her practiced way at Brace. “I cannot thank you enough.” Slowly, she slid to her knees in front of him.
    He watched her fingers slide up his legs. She set her cheek at the hem of his coat and nosed the fabric away at his waist.
    “You don’t have to do this,” he said, unclasping her hands from his thighs and warming them in his own large palms. “I didn’t come here for that reason.”
    “But I want to,” she said, knowing this was true, now that she knew he really meant to help her.
    “I want it too, but I have something else in mind.”
    “You do?” Wondering what he meant, she allowed him to pull her to her feet and walk her to the bed.
    “I can’t keep my hands off you,” he confessed. “And I’d love to have your mouth on my cock, but you know how much I like to taste you.”
    “I noticed that last time.”
    “Let’s share the experience.”
    She almost smiled at the eager tone. Life hadn’t jaded her Brace yet. “No one has ever wanted to do that before.”
    “Good. I haven’t either. It will be a first for both of us. That’s good, right?”
    Her smile was genuine this time. “Perfect, Brace. Just perfect.”
    Her clockwork medallion chimed, reminding them that their first ten minutes were gone. A bubble of nausea popped in her belly at the sound, but Brace laughed. “By tomorrow night that sound will be gone from your life.”
    He pulled up her gown while she undid buttons and fastenings. When his boots were gone he tripped over the trousers and underdrawers still tangled on his legs and fell onto the cot, pulling her down on top of him.
    She lifted her chin and kissed him. Then, realizing what she’d done, she levered herself up on her arms and took stock of him, his face a scant inch from hers. Kissing wasn’t a whore’s tool, but a courtesan’s or even a wife’s. What kind of relationship did their future hold?
    Before her she saw a man still young. In the gaslight she saw traces of the freckles he’d sported as a child still dotting his nose, though she imagined his days of running through fields and climbing trees were long gone. His hair was thick and sandy, a shade or two darker than his childhood hue and she realized his fingers were covered in traces of ink. Not a schoolboy anymore, but a clerk.
    However, his adventurous, daring spirit was still evident in his rescue plan, as well as his penchant for unusual friends. He had been the only boy she knew who