Free Clockworks and Corsets by Regina Riley Page A

absolutely mad one of these days.” The captain sighed again, running her hands through her thick hair. “Suit yourself, Mr. Loquacious. I’ll never have it said that I turned down a fare. You have an hour to gather your things. The rest of you fall in and prepare to return to the ship. We need to get back before Dot thinks the jungle swallowed us all.”

Chapter 7
    Lovers, Liars and Lessons in Linguistics
    In which we are waylaid by unexpected events, and Atom shows his true nature.
    By the time they made for their return, night had fallen, hard. The jungle canopy left the route back to the ship black as pitch. The crew had sense enough to bring a number of lanterns, but the jaws of the jungle devoured the light the moment it left the lamp. They traveled in a few tight circles, painstakingly slow.
    Atom traveled light. Too light for Rose’s tastes. He packed his entire life into a single rucksack, the contents of which seemed to weigh nothing with the way he carted it with ease. He also eyed Gabriella in a worrisome way. Rose didn’t mind the idea of the young girl falling in love with the stranger, but Atom’s smoldering looks made even Rose’s blood boil with desire. She could only imagine what it did to the virgin in Gabriella.
    Rose smiled when she thought of the workout Click was going to get when they got back to the Widow.
    “You want him,” Click whispered.
    “What?” Rose whispered with a start. “Don’t be silly.”
    “Of course you do, my captain.” He shot a quick glance backward. “I can’t blame you. He has a certain charisma. A certain charm. And he’s not half bad looking. Not as handsome as me, but then again, who is?”
    Rose shoved an elbow into Click’s side. He reacted with a comical gasp and fake stagger.
    “You two okay?” Magpie called out. She traveled with Jayne at the back of the line. Jax traveled ahead—alone.
    “Good,” Rose said, then laughed. “We’re good.”
    “Yes, we are,” Click said, wrapping his arm around her waist.
    She shrugged him off, and then glanced over her shoulder to the puddle of light that glowed around Atom and Gabriella who were just behind her. The couple walked closely, whispering what were sure to be sweet nothings, but the pair never touched more than hands. Rose smiled again, charmed by Gabriella’s chasteness. She remembered her first date with Daniel. How he planted a single, nervous kiss on the back of her hand before she closed the door on him. Rose hoped that Atom wouldn’t push the girl too far, or too fast.
    “What’s on your mind?” Click asked.
    “I was just thinking about us,” Rose said in a low voice. “How quickly you got me between the sheets. I must’ve seemed like such a wanton slut.”
    “You? Never. Why, it took almost a whole bleeding month.”
    Rose missed a step out of surprise. “What? Have you forgotten so quickly, you rogue? As I recall, I fell into your arms in two days. Three tops.”
    “My arms, yes,” Click said. His grin spread wide. “But it was nearly a month before I had you on a proper bed, my captain.”
    Rose laughed aloud before she could muffle the sound with her hands.
    “I had you on the beach at first,” he continued in a teasing whisper. “Then the ship’s deck.
    Of course the ship’s railing. And there’s always your desk, my personal favorite, by the way.”
    Rose chuckled while Click quietly recounted their experiences.
    “Then there was the engine room. I think Jayne still suspects we had a tryst on her cogs and clockworks. Then there was the time I made a meal of you on the mess hall table. Then what...about...the...” Click’s voice trailed off. His steps slowed.
    “Click?” Rose asked.
    “Someone is watching us,” he whispered. He returned to his previously brisk pace. “Keep smiling and laughing.”
    Rose had learned long ago to trust Click’s natural instinct for trouble. Aside from the fabulous sex, it was one of the main reasons she kept him around. She forced