Read Online Heart of Steel by Elizabeth Einspanier - Free Book Online
Authors: Elizabeth Einspanier
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from Julia. He’ll only upset her again.>
Arthur pointed out.
Mechanus scowled.
Mechanus pursed his lips thoughtfully, looking at his bruised arm. It hurt like the dickens, but nothing was broken. If she’d hit his metal arm, no doubt the cane would be broken now.
he said.
he returned, He grimaced; that last statement was perfectly accurate as far as he
could tell, but in his own ears it sounded unnecessarily harsh.
Arthur offered.
Mechanus frowned, realizing he hadn’t even checked on his plans for world domination since Julia arrived.
Blast and damnation! He shouldn’t have let her distract him so much. He would have to steel himself better in the future.
he said, but as Arthur filled him in, his mind drifted to Julia’s beautiful golden hair.
He was a genius, wasn’t he? If he could build an army that would ensure success in his bid for world conquest, why shouldn’t he be able to win the heart of one woman?
He held up his hand, and Arthur paused in his catalog of resources.
Mechanus said.
He wanted to make Julia smile. No—he needed to make Julia smile. Need was as foreign to him as the burst of anger that had come with her rejection of the refurbished Jim, that flare that had worried him a little and, to his dismay, frightened Julia so badly. He’d wanted to conquer the world for some time now, among a great many other wants , but had never needed a thing until now. The need was deep enough to hurt, to make his more global plans seem insignificant.
He would find a way to fill that need.
Chapter
FIVE
Julia didn’t stop shaking for over an hour. Her knee still hurt, but the pain was receding, leaving her hopeful that it was merely a strain and not a torn tendon or something. If it had been too serious, she knew that she was going to need help in repairing it, and the only help that seemed to be available was a mad surgeon. It was clear enough to her that Mechanus was insane by any standard she could apply, and that Jim was going to be no help to her.
At the thought of Jim’s current state, her stomach churned, and she had to rush to the opulent bathroom to throw up. She leaned on the toilet for several more minutes after she was sure her breakfast was gone before getting unsteadily to her feet and looking in the mirror.
She looked like the sole survivor of a car crash, the sort who had gotten away with only a scratch and
then been informed that all her friends had died on the scene. She’d seen the shell -shocked face that now
looked at her from the mirror a hundred times in the ER—traumatized, disoriented, uncomprehending.
Get it together, Jules, the sensible voice said.
“How?” she answered it aloud. “He’s... he...” Her voice broke, and she fell silent.
Jim is out of the picture, yes, but you’re not stuck yet. You just need to be smart. You need to take control of the situation, just like you do in the ER. Let’s look at your options.
Julia took a deep breath. “Options,” she whispered. The tremor in her voice was lessened but not entirely gone. “What are my options?”
First, you need to get yourself patched up. That cat monster
Mechanus scowled.
Mechanus pursed his lips thoughtfully, looking at his bruised arm. It hurt like the dickens, but nothing was broken. If she’d hit his metal arm, no doubt the cane would be broken now.
could tell, but in his own ears it sounded unnecessarily harsh.
Mechanus frowned, realizing he hadn’t even checked on his plans for world domination since Julia arrived.
Blast and damnation! He shouldn’t have let her distract him so much. He would have to steel himself better in the future.
He was a genius, wasn’t he? If he could build an army that would ensure success in his bid for world conquest, why shouldn’t he be able to win the heart of one woman?
He held up his hand, and Arthur paused in his catalog of resources.
He wanted to make Julia smile. No—he needed to make Julia smile. Need was as foreign to him as the burst of anger that had come with her rejection of the refurbished Jim, that flare that had worried him a little and, to his dismay, frightened Julia so badly. He’d wanted to conquer the world for some time now, among a great many other wants , but had never needed a thing until now. The need was deep enough to hurt, to make his more global plans seem insignificant.
He would find a way to fill that need.
Chapter
FIVE
Julia didn’t stop shaking for over an hour. Her knee still hurt, but the pain was receding, leaving her hopeful that it was merely a strain and not a torn tendon or something. If it had been too serious, she knew that she was going to need help in repairing it, and the only help that seemed to be available was a mad surgeon. It was clear enough to her that Mechanus was insane by any standard she could apply, and that Jim was going to be no help to her.
At the thought of Jim’s current state, her stomach churned, and she had to rush to the opulent bathroom to throw up. She leaned on the toilet for several more minutes after she was sure her breakfast was gone before getting unsteadily to her feet and looking in the mirror.
She looked like the sole survivor of a car crash, the sort who had gotten away with only a scratch and
then been informed that all her friends had died on the scene. She’d seen the shell -shocked face that now
looked at her from the mirror a hundred times in the ER—traumatized, disoriented, uncomprehending.
Get it together, Jules, the sensible voice said.
“How?” she answered it aloud. “He’s... he...” Her voice broke, and she fell silent.
Jim is out of the picture, yes, but you’re not stuck yet. You just need to be smart. You need to take control of the situation, just like you do in the ER. Let’s look at your options.
Julia took a deep breath. “Options,” she whispered. The tremor in her voice was lessened but not entirely gone. “What are my options?”
First, you need to get yourself patched up. That cat monster
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