Free An Airship Named Desire (Take to the Skies Book 1) by Katherine McIntyre

the large engine pumping out billows of steam. Airships swarmed the sky mere decades after they began harvesting aether, and these batteries converted to the steam that fueled the Desire. The mist outlined him from where he stood by the engine, but once he walked over, his flushed face contrasted the murky room.
    “Beatrice, how have you been?”
    His expression rarely faltered from serious, but when the crew got silly he’d bestow us with one of his small smirks. Seth stood a foot shorter than me, but his extra muscle gave him a burly profile. Oil stains covered his dark blue jumper and patches of sweat drenched his wife-beater. Tools lined his pockets, which he could’ve kept in the toolboxes lining the room, but Seth preferred to be prepared. Steam made his ruddy skin glisten with droplets of fresh moisture.
    “Peachy.” My arms swung along my sides. “Just an average day robbing British merchants, running through a storm, and dodging fire from an enemy ship.” 
    “Dodging, you say?” He lifted an eyebrow. “From the damage to the hull and how much the ricochet offset her pressure sensitizers, I’d say you did a pretty poor job at dodging.”
    “So we may have a received a couple of nicks along the way, but that’s why you’re here!” I slung an arm around his shoulders.
    “You’re telling me we’re heading to a port soon, right? That enemy ship knocked more than a couple screws loose. The hull breach caused enough of an issue that once we dock I’ll need a crew to repair the siding and take care of the bent metal of the exhaust case unless we want to be inhaling toxic fumes.”
    “No worries, we’ll be sailing into port within the day.” I played with one of the leather straps along my bodice. “We’re following the polar jet stream right now, so at least the smooth current will take some of the stress from her. We’re celebrating the escape tonight if you’d like to join us, Seth.” I pursed my lips.
    He gave me a look, because both of us knew his reply. “I have a handle of rum down here, I’ll take a swig.”
    “You’d take a swig regardless.” I slapped him on the back and headed towards the door. “Don’t come crying to me when you’re lonely down here.”
    “How could I get lonely?”  He patted the giant boiler of an engine with a gloved hand. “She’s always talking, never shuts up.” The side of his mouth quirked into a half smile. Seth saw a couple wars years back, so he didn’t associate drinking with merriment—for him the swill took the edge off bitter memories. He and the captain fought in the Great European War together, but Captain took his mind off his past by barking orders instead of drinking in the engine room. Even still, a smile from Seth warranted the trip down to ask. I waggled my fingers before jogging up the steps. The voices grew louder the closer I approached the infirmary, so I threw the door open.
    “What, a party and I wasn’t invited?” I called in. Isabella, Jensen, and Edwin huddled around a table in the back, but Isabella turned her head at the sound of my voice. I sauntered over to the table. A pile of cards and some loose coin lay scattered across it. “Playing Faro, eh? You lot missed a bunch of fun. Our friends visited, you know, the ones Jensen and I made on our trip.”
    “I heard them.”  Jensen pressed his palms against the table. “They were begging me to come out and play. Loudly.”
    “Neither of you should leave the infirmary until you’re well. Running amok atop deck will land you back in here and worse off than before,” Edwin piped up in his reedy tone. He presented himself as authoritative without even trying. Pointed eyebrows and dark eyes transformed his long face and beak of a nose into a disapproving look. Bony elbows protruded from his oversized ash suit jacket, and the long pants hovered above the ankles of his lanky legs. If he popped on a pair of glasses and a lab coat, the man would be the perfect illustration