Pistons and Pistols (20 page)

Atom held her gaze with his as he considered her words. “Is everyone aboard the Widow your family?”

“Yes.” She paused to lay her hand against his cold, metal fingers. “Including you.”

He smirked. “Then I am like a brother to you now?”

“No. Not a brother.”

“An uncle?”

“No.” She raised his metal hand to her face, nuzzling against the cool feel of his fingers. “Not an uncle.”

His hand jerked against her skin, as if he were nervous to touch her in such an intimate manner. “A father?”

She shook her head.

“Then what does that leave?” he asked.

“If I am neither your sister, nor your aunt, nor your mother, what kind of family title is left for me to take?”

Atom’s hand trembled against her face as he whispered, “A wife?”

She lowered her eyes, trying her best to act shy, despite the fact that she had set him up for just such a question. “Mr. Loquacious. What are you implying?”

His voice was another weak whisper. “Could there possibly be a chance?”

Gabriella almost didn’t hear him over the pounding of her heart. “A chance of what?” She raised her gaze to find him sporting a look of utter bewilderment.

Atom shook off the expression of puzzlement, removing his hand from her cheek and clearing his throat as he took on a more formal tone. “Miss Upstairs. We’ve only known each other for the shortest of times, but I feel I have known you much longer than is possible. I feel I have known you for centuries, for eons. It’s as if we have always known each other.” He stopped a moment, furrowing his brow at her. “Does that sound crazy? Am I making any kind of sense?”

“You’re making perfect sense. I couldn’t agree more.”

“Delightful. Yes. Based on such information I think it might be in our best interest to…that is I suppose when people feel they know each other so well they should…” He paused, looking to the ground as he whispered, “Oh dear, this isn’t as easy as it seems.”

“Atom,” she said, laying her palm on his chest. “Just speak what’s in your heart.”

“My heart?” He lifted his face again, his eyes swimming with worry. “You know I’m not right for you. I’m all wrong. You deserve someone better.”

“You’re just right for me. In fact, you’re what I’ve always wanted.”

His smile brought an indescribable joy to her soul. “Am I?”

“A handsome man who is honest and true and cares for me completely? What more could a young girl want?”

“I don’t just care for you. I…that is to say…I…” He stopped to close his eyes, his lips moving in silence as if he were practicing what he had to tell her, gathering his courage before he looked to her again and declared, “I love you, Gabriella Upstairs. Completely.”

It was just what she wanted to hear. She almost pinched herself to be sure she wasn’t dreaming again. Her answer was from the heart, just as honest, just as true. “I love you too, Atom Loquacious.”

He stared at her without moving, without speaking, not the reaction for which she had hoped while declaring her love for him. For a moment, Gabriella was worried he hadn’t heard her. She touched him on the shoulder, shook him, yet he continued to stare at her, wide-eyed, doing nothing else.

“Atom?” she asked.

His smile returned as he whispered, “Did you just say you loved me?”

“Yes. I love you too. Are you well?”

“Am I well?” he asked. “Am I well? How can I be just well after hearing such wonderful words spoken from such beautiful lips? To know you love me in return, I will never be merely well again. I shall be magnificent. I shall be superb. I shall be excellence itself with the muse of your love to command me!” His voice grew louder with each passing phrase until he was shouting his affection for her to the very heavens.

Before she knew what was happening, Atom scooped her off of her feet, lifting her from the ground into his strong arms and whirling her about in excitement. He continued to shout his love for her over and over, drawing the crew from the house and the miners from the very earth to see what the ruckus was about. Gabriella squealed and wriggled, delighting in his powerful embrace while marveling at his strange nature. A nature she could, and would, call her own, for in her heart of hearts she knew he belonged to her, as she belonged to him.

In that brief moment, all seemed right with the world.

Tonia Brown

Tonia doesn’t live on a fantastic airship, nor does she have a mechanical lover. She does, however, have steam driven dreams of such things, and scrambles on awakening to translate them into cohesive tales so you can enjoy them with her. As an anglophile she’s enchanted by the idea of Victorian England, but as a down home Southern girl she finds it easier to write Steampunk with an American slant. When she isn’t fantasizing about handsome men made of clockworks, she enjoys writing paranormal erotica, as well as the occasional good old-fashioned romance.

Tonia’s Website:

www.thebackseatwriter.com

Reader eMail:

[email protected]

Also by Tonia Brown

Clockworks and Corsets

Lyrical Press books are published by

Kensington Publishing Corp. 119 West 40th Street New York, NY 10018

Copyright © 2011 Tonia Brown

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.

Lyrical Press and the L logo are trademarks of Kensington Publishing Corp.

First Electronic Edition: February 2011

ISBN-13: 978-1-61650-237-9