The Iron Heart Read online

  Bennett sighed. “You couldn’t understand. I wouldn’t expect you to, but there is a reason I do this alone. A reason I do not want to share with you.”

  She put her hand on his shoulder. “You can’t continue to keep secrets from me.”

  Finally, he looked up at her. The shining light from the moon streamed upon her face, her eyes glittered in the dark. He must put his desire for her aside. “Why not?”

  At once her gaze narrowed, lips pursed. “We share something, Bennett, whether you like it or not. We have an attraction and a mutual desire to end this nightmare.”

  But you want him dead. And I can’t allow that.

  The words rang so sharp in his mind he feared he said them out loud. But Ella continued to look at him, blinking in the moonlight.

  Instead he said, “Ella, there are some things I must do alone.”

  She leaned in closer, brushed her fingers across his jaw. His eyes drifted closed again. He heard nothing but the sound of his blood drumming in his veins. He felt nothing but the stroke of her skin against his. He smelled nothing but the delicious aroma of flowers.

  Bennett wasn’t here, sitting in his S2 flyer, ready to take off into the dark corners of Lundun’s alleys. No, he was in his bed, where the room was dark yet his vision saw only the luscious curves of Ella.

  “Bennett…”

  His breathing grew more rapid, his palms itched to caress her mounds.

  It frightened him how easily he could switch from the concern of his brother to his desire for Ella.

  Her fingertip brushed his ear and he could take no more.

  Bennett reached for Ella, pulled her over the open cockpit and onto his lap. Her feet dangled out the side, there was no room for the rest of her in the tiny space.

  She settled onto him, her bottom rubbing his hardening flesh. He gritted his teeth but it was no use. Darts of electrifying hunger raced through his body. Within moments, he was fully erect and throbbing.

  Bennett wasted no time in satisfying his urges. His hands roamed her shoulders, then quickly slid down to her breasts. He cupped them, weighed them, circled them with his fingers.

  Meanwhile, Ella nuzzled against his neck, periodically moaning and whimpering.

  Yearning mingled with frustration. Somehow Ella was responsible for his continued defeat. In his mind, she was the obstacle holding him back from finding Hugh. The distraction she caused led to his failures.

  He must find relief from this overwhelming desire. Only then could he fully concentrate again.

  Bennett used both hands to pull her away from his neck. His fingers curled into her hair, his thumbs splayed across her cheeks.

  Her eyes were wild, no doubt a perfect match to his. Her passions were just as raw. Even if her reasons were not the same.

  “Ella,” he whispered into the cool night air. “I have to absolve myself of this madness.”

  She nodded.

  “You don’t understand. I can’t let you go again…not until I—”

  Her lips covered his. She put her hands around his neck and pressed herself to him. Her mouth was hot and eager.

  A probing tongue teased the seam of his lips, gently sweeping across until he opened himself to her.

  Once their tongues touched, Bennett lost every ounce of control. He delved inside the moist fire of her mouth, dug his fingers into her hair.

  One hand reached across her lap and grabbed a hold of her waist. He pulled her against him as he jerked his hips. Sparkles of lust swirled through his limbs.

  Ella moaned against his mouth. “Oh Lord…Bennett, wait.”

  He struggled to find his voice. “Are you concerned someone might see us?” The thought had occurred to him but he honestly didn’t give a damn.

  “No, I mean, yes, but I’ll take that chance.” She pushed away from him. “I have an idea.”

  Reluctantly he released her.

  She maneuvered herself out of the flyer, but then stepped back in so that she was before him. Then she sat facing him, straddling his legs and hips with her own.

  He didn’t hesitate. At once, his mouth was again crushing onto hers. One hand stroked the sweet curve of her breast, while the other hand reached behind her and gathered up her skirts. Then he slid his palm down the back of her petticoat until he found skin. Soft. Smooth. Warm.

  He pressed his fingers into the supple flesh and was rewarded with the slow grind of her hips. Her bone stroked along his aching erection.

  Now there was truly no holding back. Sensations exploded in his brain with a rapid fire. The taste of her tongue, the weight of her bosom, the touch of her skin, the hard scrape of her body against his.

  It would take nothing for him to part the seam in her drawers, undo the buttons on his trousers, and slide himself home.

  But not here. Not now.

  Instead he continued to pull her against him, grind, lick, kiss, stroke. Every fiber and cell expanded and swelled, desperate for a crashing release.

  Through his haze he heard the sharp intake of her breathing. He broke from the kiss and immediately her lips were at his neck.

  “Oh, Bennett…”

  She thrust against him now without his help. Her fingers clenched the muscles in his arms, her mouth stopped periodically to lick the base of his throat.

  His hands clamped down on her waist. He needed to slow her down so he could savor the liquid rush of ecstasy. But Ella had her own agenda. She pressed her body against his and buried her face deep in the crook of his neck.

  She moved on him faster, rubbed harder. He wanted her more at that moment than he’d ever wanted a woman before. If they weren’t buried in this small cockpit, he’d be ripping off their clothes now and sinking himself inside.

  Her strokes rose in intensity, her gasps grew louder. An electric current slammed through his blood and shook his center. For the briefest moment, it was as if his heart stopped beating.

  Then an explosion rocked him. Fire blasted through his limbs. Burst of light flashed before his eyes. Weeks…months of denied release charged in pulsating gasps.

  Through the fog, he heard the high-pitched moan of Ella. She rocked on him for several more seconds and then finally came to rest.

  Her rapid breathing matched his. They leaned against one another for several more minutes, saying nothing.

  Weakness drained every ounce of power. He could not move if his life depended on it. His hands slid away from her waist and dropped to his sides.

  Ella shifted, put her head on his shoulder. “Oh my!” she murmured. “That was…that was extraordinary.”

  She had no idea. He’d not had an orgasm in almost a month. From the moment he first saw Ella, he knew his hand would not substitute. And he’d not thrust himself inside a woman in three years. Not since Hugh’s accident.

  But now he’d let himself go. He released the lust raging through his blood. Now he could focus. The deep need he felt for Ella would be gone and he’d not drift off during his nightly watches. No longer would thoughts of her disrupt the little amount of sleep he got.

  He was free. An overwhelming sense of lightness overtook him, rejuvenating him with energy.

  Bennett brushed a kiss on Ella’s cheek. “You need to get up now.”

  She sighed. “Must I?”

  Yes, it was time for him to go. Time for him to finally concentrate on what needed to get done.

  “They will be looking for you.” He patted her rump. “And my legs are hurting.”

  Ella giggled. “Now that I’m back to normal, mine are aching too.” She slowly backed up then lifted her leg over the side of the cockpit to the roof.

  At last, he was alone again. Almost.

  She stood beside the flyer. “Are you going to return to the meeting?”

  The moon disappeared behind clouds and a welcome chill raced over his skin. “No. There is nothing more for me.” Nor would he want to be seen in his current state.

  She worked on adjusting her bodice and straightening her hair. “
No? You left them with more questions than you answered.”

  “Not my problem. And now I must go.”

  At once her hopeful gaze was sharp upon him. “Are you going into the city? Will you look for him again?”

  Bennett sighed, rubbed his eyes with his thumb and finger. Things would have been so much easier had he been able to keep that a secret. He’d rather deflect her questioning, or even just pretend he didn’t hear her, rather than be faced with her vicious enthusiasm.

  Yes, in fact, he didn’t need to see Ella at all. Not for a while. He must direct all of his attention on finding Hugh. In so many ways, Ella distracted him. He needed a break. A long one.

  Bennett reached for his safety belt and hooked it across his body.

  “Yes, Ella. I go, as I have every night for months, into Lundun to look for this…madman.”

  Her lips curled into a grateful smile. “Thank you.”

  He reached forward and turned the crank. Gears clicked and chattered until steam blew from the rear of vehicle. The engine was on and Bennett was ready to take off.

  She backed away to a safe distance then waved, her eyes still shining and bright.

  Once again, he had the feeling she expected their contact to continue. She expected them to have a relationship, to court one another.

  Not until he found Hugh. And even then, he doubted she would have him.

  He nodded back at her. “Have a good night.” Then he was in the air and the rooftop of Lady Westerling’s manor vanished under the darkness of a clouded moon.

  Sometime later Bennett lowered into an alley near the border of District Three and District Four. Hugh seemed to prefer this area. His brother must remember that District Four was the one his family governed.

  What else did he remember? Did he remember the human side of himself? It didn’t seem likely if his violence had shifted from breaking furniture to murdering helpless women.

  The only sense he could make of it was the fire at the brothel. Bennett there to take him home. Screams of women. Walls in a blaze. Then the massive beam crashing down onto Hugh.

  In some warped way, Hugh must blame women, streetwalkers, for his madness.

  Bennett switched off his lights and engine, then unhooked his safety belt. He was so bloody tired of coming here every night. So tired of turning his life upside-down because of a good deed he attempted.

  True, the work he did on his brother had been experimental. And even with a surgeon’s help, there was no guarantee of the outcome. But a portion of his brother’s face had been severely burned, his skull had been fractured. Hugh was in a coma, one of which he might not have ever recovered.

  Bennett had been tinkering with humanoid machines for years. The moment he saw his brother’s injuries, he knew just how to fix him.

  And it had worked. Hugh awoke just a week later, but his descent into anger started that very day. One had to wonder if it was true brain damage or the strange combination of man and machine.

  Yes, he was responsible for this monster. His acts of kindness and devotion created the creature who stalked the women of Lundun. And it was up to him to bring him down.

  Bennett replaced his flying goggles with the specialized pair he’d created. He flipped the switch. A connection to Hugh.

  With these goggles he created, he could see everything Hugh saw, but only during the night hours. The hope was that Bennett would be able to discern the location of his brother this way and finally capture him.

  So far it hadn’t worked. The views of stone alleyways gave no distinguishable features. They all looked the same.

  Unfortunately these goggles worked quite well in seeing something else. The attacks.

  Bennett saw all but two.

  He lived each day having witnessed Rosemary’s death. And he could do absolutely nothing at the time to stop it.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Sunlight streamed through the windows and across Ellie’s bed. She threw her arm over her eyes, but it was no use. She was awake now.

  She’d not have this problem in Bennett’s bedchamber. He’d installed such dark curtains that day became night. And now she knew why.

  Ellie rolled over on her stomach and propped her chin on her pillow. From this viewpoint she could see the sky. Puffy, white clouds drifted across a wild and free blue morning.

  She felt wonderful and alive. As if she were in her Lightrider, flying high above the hills. All because she now knew where Bennett went each night.

  It wasn’t until he told her that she realized how much his secret truly bothered her. She could not fathom where he would go other than the arms of another woman.

  The one question he would not answer was why he went each night. Did he feel a particular responsibility since Rosemary was killed in his district? It was the only explanation that made sense.

  She sighed with a smile. He was more honorable and noble than she ever realized.

  Right now she’d give anything to be in his room, wakening him with a kiss on the mouth.

  Instead she was in her old bed at Hilltop Hall. If she stalled long enough, perhaps she could avoid seeing her mother.

  When had she ever been that lucky.

  Ellie resigned herself to her fate and pulled on a robe. When she’d done this a few weeks ago, Bennett had been downstairs returning her earrings. How quickly things had changed between them in such a short time.

  Her mother sat alone in the morning room. The scent of eggs and ham overpowered the room.

  She glanced up. “Oh, do sit, Ella, so we can talk.”

  Ellie sighed. Her mother meant well. Perhaps. After all, the two had so little in common, they hardly spoke. Their difference so far outweighed their commonalities, it was a wonder they were related.

  Only a few more hours and then Ellie would be on her way back to Lundun. With maybe a stop at Barrington Manor along the way.

  She sat at the other end of the table.

  Her mother dabbed her mouth with a napkin. “And how was the Syndicate meeting last night? Anything interesting happen?”

  She should lie and say the meeting was boring and ended quickly, but no doubt Lady Westerling would one day be here and speak the truth.

  “We discussed the murders in Lundun.” She might as well be as straightforward as possible.

  Her mother’s eyes narrowed. “Murders?”

  “Yes, there have been others, like Jenny’s.”

  “And you have never told me of them?”

  A servant stood over Ellie with food but she waved it away. “Why should I? You never wanted to talk about Jenny’s killing. Why would I think you cared about any others?”

  Lady Halswitch set down her fork and inhaled a deep breath. “I care, Ella, because you are my daughter. You live in that dark, filthy city. And you could become the next victim.”

  Ellie should have felt a rush of love sweep through her. She didn’t. Instead she heard another reason why her mother hated the fact she left the Greenlands. The murders only sounded like a reasonable excuse.

  “I won’t become the next victim. I am the one trying to stop him. I know when he hunts, I know how he kills.” She pushed the empty plate aside and leaned forward. “Uncle Joseph and I have created devices to use against him.” Plus, she had the gun, which was always with her.

  Silence.

  “In fact, Mother, had you ever read my newspaper, you would know all about this.”

  Lady Halswitch sniffed. “I think it’s time you came home.”

  “What?” Had her mother heard anything she’d said? Or did it all get brushed under the rug like so many other tragedies?

  “You are at the age to find a husband. I am at the age to be a grandmother. You’ll never find anyone suitable in Lundun.”

  Ellie clenched her jaw to prevent a rant. This wasn’t worth it. Her mother was just looking to get a rise out of her.

  She gulped in a mouthful of air. “I will find a husband when I am ready. And wherever I choose.”

  The
servant came again. Thirsty, Ellie turned to her to ask for juice. But one sight of Sally and she lost the capacity for words.

  Upon closer, calmer inspection, the automation was truly a work of genius. Sally seemed almost human in the way she moved and her capacity for understanding. One could see she was not alive by looking at her copper-plated “skin” which was held together with bolts, rivets, and a few adjustable leather belts. Between the metal was thick mesh. A customary dress covered the rest of her.

  “Juice, please,” Ellie managed to utter.

  Sally nodded and returned to the kitchen.

  Across the table, Lady Halswitch was smiling. “I see you are fascinated by her.”

  Ellie crossed her arms. “I am fascinated by her creation, but not by the future she represents.”

  “And I thought you believed in technological advances. I thought Sally would make you happy.”

  “That just shows how little you really know me, Mother. I do fancy mechanics and advanced ways of thinking.” Ellie accepted the juice from Sally and took a few sips. “As I said, I marvel at her creation. I just wish there were other uses for her than replacing the work of a human.”

  “Well, I see no reason why she, and others like her, can’t do just about anything we can do.”

  Once again, Ellie’s blood steamed. She stood from the table and went to the windows, where she leaned against the pink, silk curtain. The beautiful day called to her. She needed to escape to revel in its wonders. She needed to be free from her mother’s selfish demands. Above all, she must see Bennett again before going back to Lundun.

  She knew just how to end this discussion and be on her way.

  “Do you believe automatons should also replace doctors, Mother?”

  Lady Halswitch joined her at the window. “No, they should be restricted to servants’ work.”

  Oh, but of course! “The work done by the commoners, you mean.”

  Her mother shrugged. “They are the same.”

  “So nobles, including medicinal men are worth keeping as a human?”

  “What is this getting at, Ella?”

  Ellie stared up at her mother’s slender face. At fifty years of age, the woman was still beautiful. Elegant. And yet so very misguided.