Free Heart of Steam & Rust (Empires of Steam and Rust) by Stephen D. Sullivan

her—while she did nothing magical—just to satisfy his curiosity. Even a brief glimpse could tip him off and ruin her masquerade. Better he was out of the suite entirely.
    “All right,” he said, then added: “We should wait a respectable time before I go to the lobby.”
    She frowned. “Why?”
    “We don’t want them to think that I’m neglecting you on our honeymoon.”
    She chuckled. “Or underperforming, either.”
    “Nor that.”
    “All right. For the sake of your manly pride, we’ll wait. How long?”
    He took her in his arms and kissed her. “I think I know a way to determine the right amount of time.”
    She kissed back. Despite her anxiety, despite her impatience, despite her desire to be rid of this place forever, she wanted this. She knew it would feel oh so good....
    But she backed away, breaking the embrace.
    “No,” she said. “I need to … conserve my energies.” She wanted him, but she didn’t need any distractions potentially foiling the dangerous game she was about to play.
    His disappointment washed over her like a wave.
    “Later, though,” she promised. “After our work is done.”
    That brightened his mood. “After, then. So … What shall we do to pass the time?” He checked his watch. “We could play cards.”
    As if that would be fair! He was so sweet, she couldn’t do that to him. “I need to focus, figure out the proper ritual and sequence. I’m afraid I can only do that on my own. I’m sorry.”
    He sighed. “I’ll take a bath, then.”
    “I’ll set things up in the anteroom,” she said, not trusting herself to even scrub his back.
     
     
    NINE
     
    Three quarters of an hour later, Pyotr entered the anteroom, nude, drying his hair with a towel. “I think that should be enough time to preserve my dignity.”
    Lina sat on the floor, naked, the candles and other items from the “magic kit” arrayed around her in a rough circle. “Good,” she said, standing. “I’m nearly ready to start.”
    He looked her up and down, trying to suppress his lust, though his manly reflexes were harder to hide. “You perform this ritual in the nude?” he asked.
    “And some others as well,” she replied. She leaned up and kissed him briefly on the lips, giving his manhood a playful squeeze. Then she turned away.
    “I’m sorry I can’t help,” he said with a sigh.
    “Later,” she replied, pleased that her state of undress had distracted him; he’d been watching her rather than the set-up of her fake ritual. That would make the deception much easier. “Get dressed.”
    He went into the bedroom and emerged, fully clothed, just a few minutes later. By then, she’d begun to scribe a chalk circle on the floor. She made sure to give him a good view of her backside as she knelt and drew.
    “How long should I wait?” he asked, subconsciously licking his lips.
    “An hour-and-a-half should be plenty of time.” She didn’t want to make it too quick, not knowing how long such a ritual should actually take. Later, if the ruse worked this time, she could shorten the time due to “growing expertise.” Perhaps, eventually, she could abandon the pretense entirely.
    No , she reminded herself. You won’t be here that long. You’re going home.
    She stood, carefully stepping around the chalk marks, and gave him another quick kiss. “Have fun.”
    He looked at her body longingly. “Later,” he said. “For now, maybe I’ll just have a drink.”
    She laughed fondly, pushing him gently toward the door. He gave her one last look before exiting.
    Her gaze followed him out, wishing ... No . That was stupid. She needed to concentrate on the task at hand. She locked the door and then lit the candles arrayed around her partially completed chalk circle; she’d need evidence for the ritual, and there was no sense waiting until the last minute.
    As the candles burned, she finished laying out the circle, then a pentagram within it, and then wrote some squiggly arcane-looking “symbols”