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Authors: Jenny Schwartz
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Jed.
His thumb caressed her wrist, a discreet intimacy unseen by anyone passing by the open door. He watched her eyes, her mouth.
She wondered if he could feel her pulse thudding. It was as if they were having two conversations, one for public consumption and the other…the other promising everything.
“Inventor’s optimism,” he said. “In his enthusiasm, he overestimated the power of the device. I’ve looked up the latest research on sound waves. Audonics is still a science in its infancy, but nothing I’ve come across in the transmission or amplification of sound waves, or in the use of crystals, suggests the sort of destructive power the notes talk about, unless the emerald needed to power it is the size of a man’s fist—and that would be hard to come by.”
“Would a different sort of crystal work?”
He guided her hand to his shoulder, released it and glanced down at the blueprints and open journals. “Not according to the inventor of Kali’s Scream, nor is there anything elsewhere to suggest the possibility. But it’s one of the things I must test with the prototype.”
She curved her hand around the top of his shoulder, aware of his power, the strength of muscle and bone. Equally powerful was the intensity of his conviction. Kali’s Scream had to be understood if they were to limit its destructive potential. “Time is short.” Three months, when it came to building and testing an invention, was the blink of an eye. Plus, they had to allow time to inform the authorities—and convince them—if the threat of the sonic destroyer proved credible.
“I can do it,” Jed said.
She squeezed his shoulder in a gesture of belief. “But not in that shed you call a workshop. I know it’s convenient, but it’s not secure. You don’t need to open a door to get into it. You could just jimmy off one of the sheets of tin that form the walls.”
“I’ll rent something more secure.”
“No need. Father built a workroom into this house. It couldn’t be safer. It’s an extension of the cellar. I’ll show you.” When he didn’t move from the chair, she tugged at his collar, then smoothed it. “Using it won’t put me in danger. Look at it another way. With Lajli staying here, this way you’d be here to protect us both. Father has a speaking tube connected to the workroom.”
“What on earth for?”
She grinned. “To alert the staff to strange noises and smells. There was an incident with a clockwork ditch-digger malfunctioning. One of the maids quit, wailing about ghosts. Father also uses the speaking tube to request a snack from the kitchen.”
He swiveled his chair so she stood between his knees.
The intimacy tightened her stomach muscles and sent heat through her veins. Through her bloomers, she felt the bump of his knees. If she were to advance half a step, she’d stand between his powerful thighs. “If you’re worried about the proprieties, Uncle Henry will be home any day now, and until then, you can quietly sneak into the cellar.”
“Sneak?” His eyes were level with her breasts, chastely hidden though they were beneath her tweed cycling jacket.
He couldn’t possibly know how they’d swelled, how they ached. It was improper, but she wanted to touch them to ease away the tension.
“Sweetheart,” he whispered, and raised his hand to brush with agonizing lightness over her jacket.
Her eyes shut on a shuddering breath of pleasure. Francis’s voice, raised in the hall, cut through the moment of glory. She took a step back.
Jed sighed and clenched his hand. “I can’t accept your hospitality. There’s something I need to tell you. To confess, really. There isn’t really any excuse for the story I told you this morning. I can only say that you turn my world upside down. I’m not complaining about it. I lo—like you.”
“Is that your confession?” She smiled, still breathless.
“No.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “The truth is, when I read Lajli’s stolen
His thumb caressed her wrist, a discreet intimacy unseen by anyone passing by the open door. He watched her eyes, her mouth.
She wondered if he could feel her pulse thudding. It was as if they were having two conversations, one for public consumption and the other…the other promising everything.
“Inventor’s optimism,” he said. “In his enthusiasm, he overestimated the power of the device. I’ve looked up the latest research on sound waves. Audonics is still a science in its infancy, but nothing I’ve come across in the transmission or amplification of sound waves, or in the use of crystals, suggests the sort of destructive power the notes talk about, unless the emerald needed to power it is the size of a man’s fist—and that would be hard to come by.”
“Would a different sort of crystal work?”
He guided her hand to his shoulder, released it and glanced down at the blueprints and open journals. “Not according to the inventor of Kali’s Scream, nor is there anything elsewhere to suggest the possibility. But it’s one of the things I must test with the prototype.”
She curved her hand around the top of his shoulder, aware of his power, the strength of muscle and bone. Equally powerful was the intensity of his conviction. Kali’s Scream had to be understood if they were to limit its destructive potential. “Time is short.” Three months, when it came to building and testing an invention, was the blink of an eye. Plus, they had to allow time to inform the authorities—and convince them—if the threat of the sonic destroyer proved credible.
“I can do it,” Jed said.
She squeezed his shoulder in a gesture of belief. “But not in that shed you call a workshop. I know it’s convenient, but it’s not secure. You don’t need to open a door to get into it. You could just jimmy off one of the sheets of tin that form the walls.”
“I’ll rent something more secure.”
“No need. Father built a workroom into this house. It couldn’t be safer. It’s an extension of the cellar. I’ll show you.” When he didn’t move from the chair, she tugged at his collar, then smoothed it. “Using it won’t put me in danger. Look at it another way. With Lajli staying here, this way you’d be here to protect us both. Father has a speaking tube connected to the workroom.”
“What on earth for?”
She grinned. “To alert the staff to strange noises and smells. There was an incident with a clockwork ditch-digger malfunctioning. One of the maids quit, wailing about ghosts. Father also uses the speaking tube to request a snack from the kitchen.”
He swiveled his chair so she stood between his knees.
The intimacy tightened her stomach muscles and sent heat through her veins. Through her bloomers, she felt the bump of his knees. If she were to advance half a step, she’d stand between his powerful thighs. “If you’re worried about the proprieties, Uncle Henry will be home any day now, and until then, you can quietly sneak into the cellar.”
“Sneak?” His eyes were level with her breasts, chastely hidden though they were beneath her tweed cycling jacket.
He couldn’t possibly know how they’d swelled, how they ached. It was improper, but she wanted to touch them to ease away the tension.
“Sweetheart,” he whispered, and raised his hand to brush with agonizing lightness over her jacket.
Her eyes shut on a shuddering breath of pleasure. Francis’s voice, raised in the hall, cut through the moment of glory. She took a step back.
Jed sighed and clenched his hand. “I can’t accept your hospitality. There’s something I need to tell you. To confess, really. There isn’t really any excuse for the story I told you this morning. I can only say that you turn my world upside down. I’m not complaining about it. I lo—like you.”
“Is that your confession?” She smiled, still breathless.
“No.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “The truth is, when I read Lajli’s stolen
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