Mishaps & Mistletoe by Catherine Stein

Author:Catherine Stein [Stein, Catherine]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: adventure, Fantasy, fantasy romance, gaslamp fantasy, historical fantasy, historical fiction, historical romance, paranormal, paranormal romance, Romance, steampunk, steampunk romance, Victorian romance
Publisher: Catherine Stein, LLC
Published: 2020-11-10T00:00:00+00:00

V - Devotion

“I didn’t have any weapons at hand, but we did have a chamber pot in the tent. So I improvised.”

Mabel giggled. “Eew.”

“Clonked the bastard over the head with it. Turned out, he was a known tomb robber and had been wanted by the local authorities for some time. And that is by far my most exciting Egypt story.”

Mabel snuggled closer to him, using the temperature as an excuse to touch him. “I like all your stories. I wish I could have seen some of those things with my own eyes.”

“I’d be happy to take you along next time.”

Mabel’s heart leapt in her chest, but she quickly tamped the excitement down. That was only the potion talking. Even friendly as they were, he wouldn’t want her tagging along.

“I’m teaching here in England for all of next term, of course, but I had assumed that when I led another dig, I would naturally…”

He halted mid sentence, looking away abruptly.

“Drew?” Was he regretting the words he’d just spoken? It had been mere hours. Had the potion’s effects begun to falter?

“I would be happy to extend the invitation,” he said at last. “To you and any… companions you wished to bring along.”

What companion could be better than you? she wanted to say. Already he’d turned her night from an utter disaster to one of the happiest in recent memory. She plucked the pocket watch from his waistcoat and checked the time again. Four hours, they’d been here now, all of it chatting and laughing, making jokes and sharing stories. In some ways, their time in the attic was exactly as it had been when they were children. And in others…

Mabel twisted the quilt in her fingers. This raging desire to kiss him was eating her alive. She knew he felt it too. She’d seen his fists clenching as he stopped himself reaching for her. The golden centers of his eyes burned when he looked at her. He wanted. But he held himself back, because he knew as well as she did that those feelings were temporary.

A sudden need to escape from it all crashed down on her. It was late. She’d grown weary. Maybe tomorrow with a clear head and no more potion she could see him and not crave so much more.

“Do you think it’s late enough to retire to bed?” she asked.

“To what?” His eyes grew rounder, then narrowed into a smoldering stare, his tongue snaking out to moisten his lips. Then he jerked. “Oh. Are you tired? It is rather late.” He shook off the quilt and rose, backing away as if he could no longer bear her presence.

Mabel’s jaw tightened. Poor Drew. Fighting an unwanted attraction hour after hour to keep her safe and give her a friend to talk to. If circumstances were different, if his desire for her was real, she wouldn’t hesitate to offer all she had. He deserved it and more.

“Yes.” She clambered to her feet, shook out the quilt, and folded it. “I would like to try to go to my room, if possible.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.