A Steampunk Erotic Romance

I always think of her when the sun sets. We’d been on the beach all day, I’d been watching her play and enjoying the heat of the summer as the tide slowly crept towards us. Eighteen years old and still making sandcastles like a child, it was just one of the endearing things about Olivia. Behind me the beach huts crawled slowly back up the sand towards the pier, backing away from the encroaching waves that could damage their delicate mechanisms. I’d only turned away to look at them for a moment but when I turned back she was gone. That was six months ago and not a day has passed by when I haven’t wondered where she’s gone, who’s taken her and why.

I was sat in my office looking out of the window and wondering where she was right now, was she even alive? Would she remember me if I found her? I tipped the bottle to my lips and drained the last of it. Empty. I didn’t know when I’d be able to afford anymore. I leaned back in my chair and closed my eyes as the gaslights flared to life in the street outside. New Year’s Eve. Three hours until a new year, not that 1892 was likely to bring anything different for me, not unless it brought Olivia back.

“You look like a woman who’ll be glad to see this year end.”

I looked up at the sound of the voice. Silhouetted in the doorway was the shape of a woman. Blinking away the tears that had barely had a chance to form, I watched her walk towards me as she lit a cigarette, the flare of light illuminating her face for just a moment. “Do I know you?” I asked, sitting upright and taking a closer look at her.

She hit the switch on the edge of the desk and the dome of gaslight beside me hissed, spluttered and then died. “You need a new Ronson dome,” she said as she flicked it with her finger.

“I like the dark.”

“Mind if I sit down?” She sat opposite me and leaned forwards, the ember of her cigarette drawing my eyes towards it.

“Can I help you with something?”

“You don’t remember me do you?”

“Should I?”

“Let’s take a walk.”

“Listen, it’s nine o’clock on New Year’s Eve and I’m closed for business.”

“I get the feeling you can’t afford to close and anyway I’m not offering you business, I’m offering you Olivia.”

I sat bolt upright, my hands starting to tremble. “What did you say?”

“Come on Cat, come for a walk with me.”

I stood up. “All right, fine, I’ll play. But if this is some kind of joke you should know I’ve got a fusegun with enough charge to split you in half.”

“No you haven’t. But I’ll let you in on a secret.”

“Oh yeah? What’s that?”

“I’ve got one.” She reached under her cloak and pulled out a brand new Rayon Fuseplus that glowed in the dark as she pointed it at me. “Now let’s go for a walk.”

I followed her out of the office, something irritating me like a dust mote in my eye. I knew her voice but where the hell from? Outside the party was in full swing. As we walked down the stairwell I could hear laughing voices behind every door. On the street there were people in costumes everywhere, the gaslight illuminating the street as if it were high noon. The woman weaved through the crowds, the fusegun already hidden away. I thought about turning back, suspicious of where she was taking me but she’d mentioned Olivia.

She finally stopped as a mechahorse trotted by pulling a black stagecoach. From the window a man in a powdered wig leaned out and reached towards me. “Hey baby,” he slurred. “Looking for a good time?”

The woman grabbed his wrist before he knew what was happening. “You do know sex is illegal don’t you?” she asked, her voice questioning, almost playful.

“What are you, an autocop?” he replied, trying and failing to wrench his arm free.

“No,” she replied, pushing him back into the carriage. “I’m a council member.”

“Oh my…Lady Evelyn, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realise. Please…I have a family. We were served by the autorepros. I wouldn’t dream of…”

“Of course you wouldn’t,” Lady Evelyn replied. “You were just going to show her the sights as the clock counted down to midnight like a respectable citizen. Get out of here before I put you in a peeler cell.”

The horse trotted off down the street, the man gawping out at the two of us as Lady Evelyn turned to me. “You all right?”

“I knew I knew you,” I replied. “Why not just tell me who you are?”

“Where’s the fun in that?” She laughed and started walking again. “Keep up, we haven’t much time.”

We reached the autostairs that led up to the abbey and she stopped again as a mechapigeon landed on her wrist. She took the note from inside the mecha and read it quickly. “Council business,” she said, turning to me as she crammed the note into her pocket. “Now listen, in two minutes a man is going to walk down here and ask for trade. You’re going to go with him and afterwards you’re going to come to this address and tell me what happened.” She passed me a slip of paper sealed with wax.

“Wh…what? Why?”

“There’s illicit encounters taking place on this side of the river and I want them to stop. In order to achieve that I need to know where they are taking place.”

“But why me? Why not an autocop?”

“I need this kept quiet.”

“But…”

A frown crossed her face. “Enough. Do this one thing for me and I will tell you where Olivia is. Do we have an accord?”

I nodded. “We do.”

“Excellent. Farewell Cat.”

She turned away and was gone into the crowd in a moment. I barely had time to think before there was a tap on my shoulder and I turned round to find a man in a tweed suit towering over me. “Are you the girl?” he asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Am I what girl?”

He glanced around him before leaning towards my ear, his top hat slipping forwards. “Are you the girl Sophia sent?”

I nodded. “Yes, that’s me.”

“Excellent, far prettier than her usual supplies. Come with me.”

He stepped onto the autostairs and I followed, turning to watch the lights of the town shrink away beneath me. The stairs rumbled and creaked as we rose to the top of the cliff before I stepped off onto the grass by the churchyard. A steamcrate was ready to go, the pilot nodding to the man beside me. “Let’s go,” he said, pushing me onboard. In seconds we were airborne, passing back over the harbour towards the west cliff.

“Flying a steamcrate with no lights, that’s illegal you know?” I said, turning back to the man beside me.

“So are a lot of things,” he replied, leaning forwards to whisper in the pilot’s ear.

We began to descend, coming to rest inside a walled garden, the mechapigeons stirring in their coop before settling once more. “Off we get,” the man said and the instant I was on the grass, the steamcrate hissed and fell still. The man hopped off and took my hand. “Welcome to my humble home.”

He pulled a brass key from his waistcoat pocket and opened a door in the wall. I followed him into a long hallway, the carpet dark green, the walls deep red and lined with portraits. We walked for what seemed like forever before finally entering an enormous lounge. The man walked over to a small wooden table next to a roaring fire. He picked up a crystal decanter and poured out two glasses before passing one to me.

“Is that…?”

“Ardour? Why yes it is. I thought it might help set the correct tone for the evening.”

“Listen, Mr…?”

“Black. David Black. A pleasure to meet you…?” He held out his hand towards me.

I took it and shook gently, blurting out the first name I could think of. “Petria Moncrieff.”

“Well Petria, to you, to us and to breaking council rules.” He tapped his glass to mine before drinking. I sipped at the fluid slowly, feeling the heat burn down my throat as a warmth spread through my entire body. Ardour was well known in Whitby, smuggled in on the steamships. It was a drink to relax the body and soul, to create a desire in one that could only be abated in the most primal of manners, hence its prohibition. If Mr Black had a bottle, it could only be for one reason, he intended to break the law.

It had been ten years since the council had outlawed all sexual activity. The invention of the reproduction laboratory in Paris had changed everything. The autorepros had given them all the excuse they needed to prohibit the sinful and depraved sexual activities which, according to them, reduced productivity and increased the risk of disease. Even kissing had been banned but there were rumours of bars where ardour was still served and anything went in the curtained booths. The risks were there of course, get caught and you might not see the light of day for a very long time. Repeat offenders simply vanished, supposedly for re-education although nobody seemed to know where as none of them ever came back.

The ban came in before I’d even had chance to fall in love. If it wasn’t for Olivia running away from the workhouse when she was ten I’d probably never have known what being a parent was like. Who’d want a baby with a repressed bisexual like me? Someone who didn’t even know what a kiss felt like. That was what had put me off trying ardour whenever it appeared under the counter at the gluebars, I’d not wanted to risk making a complete fool of myself around my peers.

So I remained sexually frustrated and now as the ardour worked its way through my system, my desire bubbled over until the man stood before me seemed the most handsome in the entire world and all I could think of was tearing his clothes off him. I knew the ardour wasn’t the whole story, it was just helping to release the pent up feelings that I’d locked away in the mental drawer marked ‘Do not open, ever!’

I looked up as Mr Black drained his glass and set it down on the tray, turning his attention to me. “You must thank Sophia for me,” he said. “You really are exquisite.” He brushed a finger down my cheek and I shivered, my heart beginning to beat faster. I took hold of his hand and pulled him towards me until his lips were inches from mine.

This is it, I thought, you’re finally going to know what it feels like. I closed my eyes and raised myself up onto my tiptoes, waiting for him to make the next move. It didn’t happen. I opened my eyes and pouted at him as he smiled back at me. “I want you to strip for me first,” he said, winding his gramophone before sinking into the armchair by the fire.

The sound of a raucous orchestra filled the room. I began to dance to the rhythm, my mind more relaxed than it had ever been. I poured myself another glass of ardour and drained it in one, sighing happily, letting out the tension that had been inside me for years in one long breath.

Setting down the glass I spun to face him, his eyes fixed on me as I began to slowly undress. I slid off my top hat, taking my goggles and placing them over my eyes, immediately dimming the light around me. In the semidarkness of the twin lenses, I was better able to concentrate, not as distracted by the sight of a clear bulge in Mr Black’s trousers.

I pulled one button from the front of my corset, glad I was wearing one of the new fangled front fastening designs. As I tugged each button loose, my cleavage came slowly into view, my body swaying from side to side as I continued to dance for him. I kept my breasts hidden for as long as I could until I finally shrugged out of the corset and pressed my hands over my nipples, spinning around to face away from him.

I undid the cord holding the top of my trousers in place and began to ease them down my legs, bending forwards to expose my lace covered bottom as I did so. I kicked the trousers off over my boots, not an easy task, before turning back wearing only my knickers and shoes. I held one arm over my breasts as I danced round the room, bumping into a sofa with a curse, reluctantly removing my goggles once more. I looked at him and was glad to see him staring back at me with hunger in his eyes.

I moved my arm from my breasts and watched his expression change to pure lust at the sight of my nipples hardening as I teased them with my fingers, cupping my boobs together to create a deep cleavage. I turned away from him again and began sliding my knickers down, feeling his stare burning into my buttocks as I stood back up and spun round, walking slowly towards him.

I pulled him to his feet and shook his jacket from his shoulders before undoing his waistcoat. I took my time undoing his shirt, running my hands down his chest to his belt. Once that was removed his trousers fell to his ankles and I sank to my knees, pulling at his briefs to get a glimpse of his cock. It sprang free, stiff and pointing towards me whilst I tried to resist taking it into my mouth. I only got one of his shoes off him before I could wait no longer, taking hold of his shaft and sucking it in past my lips. I could feel the fleshy heat of him on my tongue as he let out a moan above me, grabbing my hair and drawing me towards his hips until his tool filled my mouth. He used my head to fuck him, sliding me back and forth as I gasped and gagged. I tore myself free when my body began to scream with desire, tipping him back until he fell onto the armchair. I took his shoulders and pulled his head down to my pussy, his tongue leaning out and sliding over the smooth skin to my labia, running along the length of the flesh he found there, lapping at my wetness before poking his way into me. It was my turn to moan as he flicked his tongue over every inch of my core, finding my clit throbbing and engorged and ready for him. He teased me for a minute before sitting back and grabbing my hips, dragging me onto his lap. He held me above him with my legs spread, lowering me slowly, his arms shaking slightly from keeping me above him.

“Wait,” he said. “There is something I wish you to try.”

He was about to enter me when he said those words and I felt like screaming in frustration. He stood me back up and went over to a cabinet by the window, opening a drawer and pulling out a long brass cylinder with a bulbous end, topped with a winding handle.

“What is that?” I asked, my eyes widening at the sight.

“Ronson’s patented malaise cure,” he replied. “Bend over and feel instantly refreshed.”

I leaned over the armchair, tensing up as he slid a hand over my bottom. I felt the cylinder slide up and down between my buttocks, the coldness of the metal setting my nerve endings ablaze. The narrow end nudged towards my bottom and then my entrance began to stretch as it eased into me incredibly slowly. I winced at first but then it began to buzz inside me as he wound the handle and from then on all I felt was sheer bliss. It filled my bottom, vibrating deliciously as he left it there, setting his hands on my hips as his cock slid over my labia, coating his shaft in my wetness.

I felt the head of his shaft by my hole and then with a single thrust he was an inch inside me. I screamed into the armchair as he froze in place, waiting until I’d widened enough for him to ease further into me. “Why did they prohibit this?” I asked in a shaky voice. “It’s so good.”

“That’s why,” he replied, thrusting a little further into me. “They don’t want us enjoying ourselves too much.”

I rocked my hips back against him, eager to be filled as the vibrating shaft continued to buzz away in my bottom. I could feel the heat of his cock as he became buried inside me. “Oh fuck me,” I moaned. “That feels incredible.”

He pulled back until just the tip of him was in me and then waited for a wonderfully teasing second before slamming home again, shoving me against the chair as my legs threatened to give way. He began to fuck me as I cried out in pleasure, his hand moving down between my legs to stroke my clit.

All too soon he pulled out, leaving me aching and empty as he lay back on the floor and pulled me onto him. My pussy found the head of his cock as I pushed my hips down onto him, his tool instantly filling me as he rewound the handle on the cylinder in my bottom. He clawed at my breasts as I leaned down and kissed him, my soul on fire at the sensation. His tongue slid into my mouth and I tasted a hint of my own juices in his mouth as I rode him like a mechahorse engineer testing his latest creation. He stared into my eyes as I ground my clit against his pelvis, using him to tip me over the edge, my whole body tensing up.

I screamed into his mouth as a wave of sheer pleasure ripped through my body, my first ever orgasm taking control of me as I fell still against him, unable to move until it had faded away seconds later. He began to fuck me as I was still recovering, slamming up into me, his tongue still entwined with mine. A second climax hit me just from the sensation of him in me combined with the vibrating deep inside me.

“Don’t stop,” I gasped. “Keep going. I’m nearly there, oh my…” I came for a third time as he grunted loudly, pulling my hips down onto him so he was buried as deep in me as he could go. I felt his cock twitching and then a hot jet of cum spurted up into me, filling my pussy as he slumped back onto the carpet, panting for breath. I collapsed onto him as my orgasm slowly faded, a second shot of spunk spraying the walls of my pussy before he began to slide out of me.

He was asleep in seconds, snoring loudly as I looked down at him with my arms folded. Was that what men did after sex? It seemed rather rude of him, I thought as I slowly eased the cylinder from my bottom. I dressed in silence, wondering if I’d been used or if he had. I made my way back into the walled garden to find the steamcrate waiting for me.

I boarded it and the pilot set off. “Where to?” he asked as we hovered above the garden.

I took the note from my pocket and broke the seal, reading out the address. The pilot nodded and we descended into the valley, coming to rest at the edge of town where the river sliced into the countryside. A large house was set in its own grounds and we landed by a circular pond in the garden. I stepped off the steamcrate and walked over to the back door, surprised to find it opening before I’d even reached it.

Evelyn was standing there waiting for me. “I heard you landing,” she said in explanation. “Now tell me, where did he take you?”

I described the house and she beckoned the steamcrate pilot, handing him a small leather bag that jangled. “There’s another bag like that if you take us back to where you just came from.”

The pilot seemed reluctant but two more bags of money and we were airborne, flying back over the town. “What did he do to you?” she asked, having to raise her voice to make herself heard over the sounds of the engine.

“I cannot say in detail,” I replied. “It is too embarrassing.”

“I must know. Did he enter you?”

I nodded, feeling my cheeks flushing with embarrassment. I was confused. At the time it had felt so right but now beside Evelyn, it seemed sordid, not just illegal but also immoral. I refused to answer anymore of her questions but my silence told her everything she needed to know. We landed in the walled garden and she stormed up to the house, leaving me to trot after her.

Inside David was still asleep on the floor so she kicked him in the side, pulling the fusegun out as she did so. “No!” I cried, lunging for it as she flicked off the safety. David woke up and blinked up at the two of us, realising what was happening in seconds. He reached up and grabbed the barrel of the gun before Evelyn could stop him, yanking it free and twisting it in his hands until it faced the two of us.

“This was your plan all along?” he asked, glancing from me to Evelyn.

“Fuck me then kill me?” He began to squeeze the trigger as Evelyn grabbed my hand.

“Run!” she screamed, yanking me away just as the fusegun fired. The blast hit the ceiling above us, the heat of the ray making my skin crawl as we sprinted along the hallway and back into the walled garden. We were on the steamcrate in seconds, the pilot blinking at us in shock. “Get this thing going!” Evelyn screamed.

“All right, hold your horses. It needs to warm up,” the pilot replied.

“Come on!” I screamed as David appeared naked in the doorway with the fusegun in his hand. He fired it again but his aim was off, a tree behind us bursting into flame as the pilot screamed in terror.

“Oh my life!” he cried, yanking at a lever and sending us skywards. As we lifted into the air, David ran forwards and grabbed the railing, gripping it tightly and scowling up at Evelyn, the fusegun dangling behind him.

“Get him off here,” the pilot said. “She can’t take four. We’ll all go down.”

I kicked at David’s hand as the steamcrate wobbled and shook, sinking like a stone as the pilot fought at the controls. Just as it looked as if we might slam into the ground it rose again, shaking left and right but slowly moving out over the cliff until we were above the harbour. David growled at me as I kicked his hand again, bringing his other arm up until the fusegun was pointing at me. He went to pull the trigger as Evelyn shoved his arm and the shot fired directly into the control panel.

The steamcrate plummeted down in seconds, plunging into the icy cold water of the harbour before any of us had a chance to react. I kicked hard for the surface and burst out above the waves a moment later, gasping for air. “Evelyn!” I cried, spitting out saltwater as I began to swim in circles. She appeared beside me a moment later and the two of us swam for the harbour wall, glancing back to see if David might appear.

His head broke the surface a moment later but he’d lost the fusegun. He screamed with rage at the sight of the two of us and began to swim after us just as the steamcrate pilot floated up beside him. “You broke my bloody crate!” the pilot shouted, diving on David and pulling him back under.

“Get off me!” David cried, trying to fight him off. “You’ll drown us both.”

I looked forwards in time to spot the ladder set into the harbour wall. I reached it a second later and looked back to see a pleasure steamship coming in to land on the water. The pilot saw it first, swimming forwards away from the lowering jet furnaces. David wasn’t looking up, he was looking at something floating near him. I squinted and then I saw it, a glowing object in the dark, the fusegun. He flung his arms forwards and grabbed it, yelling in triumph as he lifted it from the water and pointed it towards us. “Any last words,” he screamed.

“Look up,” I shouted back and he glanced upwards just in time to see the furnace of the steamship swallow him up, the hull of the ship sinking into the water of the harbour as his screams faded away into nothing.

Shivering, I stood upright with Evelyn beside me. The pilot climbed up the ladder and stormed off, not looking back. “Come on,” I said at last, tearing Evelyn’s gaze from the harbour. “Let’s go get dry.”

I took her hand and led her through the empty harbour to the busy streets, weaving our way through the crowds until we reached my house. I brought her inside and closed the door, locking it carefully before lighting a single gaslamp. In the orange glow I could see her shivering, her eyes wild, her teeth chattering.

“Out of those wet things,” I said and she blinked as if noticing me for the first time.

“Huh?”

“You need to get out of those wet things and quick before you freeze to death.”

She didn’t seem to understand so I undressed her, trying my best not to look at the exposed skin that came into view. Once she was naked I whipped off my own clothes and then dragged her to my bedroom, the only room with a fire. It was gas powered and about the only thing in the house that worked properly. A flick of a lever and it flared into life, the room instantly heating up as I pulled back the blankets and motioned for Evelyn to climb in.

She did so as if in a daze and I climbed in beside her, wrapping my arms round her and pulling her body against mine. We soon began to warm up and as we did so I became aware of the feel of her skin against me, my nipples hardening as they brushed over her flesh, my pussy becoming wet as her thigh slid between my legs, her hands lowering to my bottom, cupping my buttocks gently.

I stared into her eyes, our mouths no more than an inch apart. “He’s dead,” she whispered.

“I know,” I replied, stroking her hair and trying not to picture those luscious lips of hers pressing against mine. “Who was he?”

“It’s a long story,” she replied, looking as if she was on the verge of kissing me. Her hands squeezed my bottom as she slid her thigh upwards so it was pressing against my pussy. I shuddered with desire and was about to kiss her when she rolled onto her back. “We should get some sleep,” she said coldly. “I’ll take you to Olivia tomorrow.”

I lay on my back feeling both crushed and rejected. Did she not like me? It was some time before I fell asleep and I found myself staring at her as I did so, my slumber filled with dreams of her sliding those delicate fingers into me.

I awoke the next morning to the sound of hammering on my front door. I wrapped a dressing gown around me and went to answer it as Evelyn stirred in bed. I unlocked the door and opened it to find two autocops holding out a warrant for Evelyn’s arrest. “What’s this about?” I asked, looking down at the paper.

The recorded voice emerged from the autocop’s metallic mouth. “We are arresting Evelyn Warnock for the murder of David Warnock. Please step aside and allow us to do our duty.”

I could only watch in stunned silence as they barged past me and grabbed Evelyn who had barely had time to get dressed. “Where are you taking her?” I asked, grabbing one of them by the arm.

“It’s all right Cat,” she smiled at me. “I’ll sort this out.”

“But what about Olivia? What about you?” They dragged her outside, leaving me standing in the doorway. “What about us?” I cried, unsure whether to chase after them. I decided against it. What good would it do if we were both locked up? I stood there for a moment and then an idea entered my head. I dressed quickly before running through the streets towards the peeler cells. Happy New Year, I thought to myself as I sprinted along the empty litter strewn streets. What a great start to 1892.

I reached the cellhouse and stood outside for a moment to catch my breath before knocking on the door. The hatch slid open and a pair of suspicious eyes appeared. “Yes?”

“I’ve a new year’s gift for you from the council.”

“What is it?”

“Has to be given in person.”

“I can’t just let anyone in here you know? Now what’s the gift?”

“Me.”

The hatch slid shut and then the door opened. I found myself looking at a private peeler, no doubt the only person willing to work the New Year’s Day morning shift. He locked the door behind us before leading me through to the holding room. Through the bars I could see Evelyn laid on the metal bed. She glanced across at me and her mouth opened. I shook my head almost imperceptibly and she immediately realised, lying back as if she’d never moved.

“So you’ve come from Sophia have you?” the peeler grinned.

“Sit down,” I replied. “I’ve a show for you.”

He slouched in his chair as I began to dance as I had done for David. As I slowly stripped I caught sight of Evelyn watching me and I found myself trying to impress her as much as the peeler. As I removed my corset I thrust my breasts towards her, rewarded by a silent smile on her face as she stared back at me. Turning to the peeler I leaned down and took his cuffs from his waistband, clicking one end round his left wrist and the other to the metal bar of the cell behind him.

“What’s this about?” he asked, yanking at his wrist.

“Don’t want you to spoil the show,” I replied, pressing his head between my breasts. He groaned loudly as I reached behind me and grabbed the keys from his desk, tossing them through to Evelyn. I sank to my knees as the peeler grinned at me, his face flushed. I undid his trousers and reached in for his cock, bringing it into view and gripping it in both hands. I began to flick my tongue over the bulbous head as Evelyn quietly unlocked the cell door behind him. The key jangled loudly and the peeler began turning his head so I took him deep into my mouth, drawing his attention back to me. I sucked him to the back of my throat, becoming distracted by the pleasure of his flesh in me and almost forgetting that I was doing this so he wouldn’t notice Evelyn escape. I lifted my mouth off him for a moment. “Close your eyes,” I whispered, sucking him all the way into my mouth until I could hardly breathe.

Within seconds his cock began to spasm and I pulled my lips back to the tip of him just as he came, my throat filled with his hot cum as he groaned above me, his bound wrist yanking at the cuff holding him in place. I caught a glimpse of Evelyn tiptoeing past me as I squeezed the last drops from his prick, loving the taste of him on my tongue. I stood up and planted a kiss on his cheek. “Happy New Year,” I grinned, turning and leaving through the open door to find Evelyn waiting outside.

“How long before he notices I’m gone?” she asked.

A siren began to wail in the cellhouse behind us. “That long,” I replied. “Come on!”

We ran towards the steamcrate depot, finding one unmanned at the edge of the yard. Evelyn leapt on as the sirens continued to wail in the distance behind us. She yanked at the panel under the controls and wrapped wires together, the crate juddering into life as a man in overalls appeared at the other side of the yard. “Oi! What you doing?” he yelled, running over just as the crate rose into the air. He jumped for the railing but missed, falling back to the ground as I sighed with relief.

“Where are we going?” I asked as the town began to shrink into the distance below us.

“You’ll see,” she replied, setting the autopilot to work before turning to me. “Thank you by the way.”

“What for?”

“For rescuing me.”

“You’re welcome.”

We were both silent for a moment and I thought she was going to kiss me but then she turned away and looked down at the land far below. “David was my husband,” she said quietly. “I never loved him though.”

“Oh,” I said, not sure how to react.

“I have a desire that the council don’t approve of,” she sighed, as if struggling to find the right words. “I like women, not men.” My heart soared at those words although I managed to keep quiet, not wanting to interrupt her. “My family made me marry him, they couldn’t bear the shame of a deviant in their midst. He knew as well as I did that my heart wasn’t in it. The prohibition of sex was perfect for me but he just got angrier and angrier. I knew he was looking for it elsewhere and I thought if I caught him I’d be able to get some kind of divorce on the grounds of adultery. Or be sent for re-education. I don’t know, I just…I didn’t want him dead Cat.” She turned to me, taking my hand in hers. “You do believe me don’t you? I never wanted him dead.”

“I know,” I said quietly. “I know. Tell me one thing though.”

“Anything.”

“How did you decide you loved women?” I’d only asked to distract her but it worked, a smile spreading slowly across her lips.

“I was eighteen and so was she. It was just after the prohibition started and we were out swimming. I’d often looked at her with a strange feeling in my mind that I didn’t understand and then we were alone in a deserted bay in our swimsuits and then she stripped off to sunbathe and I couldn’t stop staring at her. She must have known as she smiled at me and turned to pull my swimsuit from me. She kissed me then in the sunshine and I knew I’d never want a man in my entire life. I’d only ever want her. I tasted her that day and she tasted like heaven.”

I felt my body begin to heat up when she said those words, wishing it was me she’d taste. I leaned towards her and she blinked back at me, her lips pursing. I was about to kiss her when the steamcrate pinged loudly, the autopilot switching off.

“We’re here,” Evelyn said, grabbing the controls and bringing us in over the rim of a skyisland. We swept over empty parks and crumbling roads, the whole place looking deserted.

“Where’s here?” I asked, staring around me.

“Gaslight Asylum,” she replied, bringing the steamcrate to rest by a copse of trees. “Look out for private peelers and stick close to me.”

We crept through the trees and then I caught sight of a towering brick wall, the only break in it coming from a wrought iron gate at least ten feet high. The asylum was cloaked in thick cloud that the sun couldn’t hope to penetrate. The light instead came from gaslights set into the walls, shining down on the private peelers who roamed around, fuseguns in hand.

“What is this place?” I whispered as we crouched behind a hawthorn bush. “Why are we here?”

“This is where the council send people who won’t stop having sex.”

“What?”

“Repeat offenders are sent here for re-education. They make them undergo electroshock treatment to cure them of their unhealthy desires. Too much masturbation, up you come. Want to enjoy sex with your partner, too bad. Ever thought about a threesome, into the asylum you go.”

“Oh my goodness.” I was silent for a moment. “But why are we here?”

“We’re going to set them all free.”

“How?”

“With Olivia’s help.”

“What? How?”

“She’s going to…” She lapsed into silence as the gaslights all went out at once, plunging the asylum into darkness. “Come on, we need to move quickly!”

Evelyn ran forwards and I followed, ignoring the panicky yells of the private peelers nearby. The gates had unlocked when the power went down and we were able to squeeze through and across the grounds to the asylum before anyone knew what was happening. Once we were inside, Evelyn lit a lantern and strode quickly along one corridor after another before we reached the incurable lesbian ward. I stopped by the first cell and glanced in through the plate glass window at the shadowy figures within.

Evelyn turned back and glanced through just as we heard moans coming from within. As my eyes adjusted to the dark I could make out the forms of two naked women entwined on the bed inside. The sight of the two of them aroused me beyond belief and I found my hand sliding across Evelyn’s back. She moved towards me and turned to my face, breathing heavily on my neck as I stared at the sight within the cell.

“Come on,” she muttered, as if awakening from a daze. “We haven’t much time.”

Reluctantly I turned away from the cell, following Evelyn through yet more corridors until we reached the warden’s office. “Now what?” I asked as she closed the door behind us.

“Now we wait for the power to come back on.”

As we sat in silence, the lantern began to flicker and die out. As darkness took over, I found myself reaching out for my companion, taking her hand in mine and bringing her towards me. I waited to see how she’d react and to my eternal relief she didn’t pull away, her arms wrapping round my back as her lips brushed over mine.

With a clunk the gaslights flared into life and Evelyn turned away, flicking switches on the panel before her. “What did that do?” I asked, putting a hand on her shoulder.

“Those ones opened the cell doors and this one stops the main gate from locking. We just freed the inmates from Gaslight Asylum.”

We ran from the office, finding the corridors filled with bewildered patients, some naked, some dressed. A steady exodus streamed towards the main doors as the private peelers came running in. For a moment there was a stand off but the peelers were hopelessly outnumbered. Kicking and screaming they were dragged into the cells, the doors slamming shut after them and autolocking into place. We joined the inmates outside as a phalanx of steamcrates landed by the maingate.

“Where did they come from?” I asked, surprised by the lack of pilots.

“We’ve been planning this for a long time,” Evelyn replied. “1892 is going to be the start of a new era.”

We took one of the steamcrates and she took us back through the sky towards Whitby. “What happens now?” I asked, looking around me at the countless crates heading away from the skyisland. “Won’t the council just send them all back?”

“Not if they want the inmates to keep quiet. You should read about things they did to the poor souls up there. The council will be forced to repeal their prohibition or risk the whole world knowing they used Gaslight asylum as a private brothel for their own pleasure. Think how it would look if everyone found out the council couldn’t even obey their own rules.”

“Where does that leave you though?”

“It leave me as the last person about to break the stupidest law that was ever thought up.” She leaned across and kissed me and my heart melted. I blinked back at her as her soft lips brushed over mine, her tongue edging into my mouth as she wrapped her arms round me, the steamcrate bumping onto the ground beside my office. We hardly stopped kissing the entire time we made our way inside, pushing the door closed as my hands fumbled with her clothes.

In under a minute we were both naked, Evelyn pushing me onto my back on the carpet as she began to kiss her way down my body. I sighed happily as she sucked first one and then the other nipple into her mouth, goose bumps forming on my skin when her fingers began to stroke their way down towards my legs. She kissed my thighs as she eased my knees apart before her head plunged between my legs and her tongue reached out to lap at my juices. I moaned deeply when her tongue entered me, her confidence in what she was doing was overwhelming. She brought me to the brink of an orgasm in minutes, teasing me by keeping me on the edge whilst her fingers slid gently into me. She began to fuck me with her hand, not letting me come until I was screaming with frustration. Finally she flicked her tongue over my clit and thrust up into me at once and then an immensely powerful climax hit me, my whole body bucking and thrashing underneath her.

She let me rest for only a moment and as my chest heaved upwards she moved up me, her pussy reaching my face in moments as I breathed in the delicious scent of her. I reached up and kissed her pussy, pulling her hips down onto my face, my hands moving to her breasts, toying with her nipples as I delved into her hole, lapping inside her whilst staring up at her smiling face.

She gripped my hair and rocked against my mouth, using me to reach her own climax as fast as she could. When she came her pussy spasmed around my tongue and I fought to burn every moment of her orgasm into my mind, wanting to remember it forever. As the waves of pleasure subsided she turned and began licking me again, her pussy still by my mouth as I slid my tongue back into her. She fucked me with two fingers, her tongue on my clit as she pressed her body down against mine.

I reached a powerful climax in moments, my whole body on fire with desire as if I was drowning in ardour. I collapsed into the carpet, hardly able to move as she came to lie beside me, kissing me softly on the neck. “I would stay,” she said, getting shakily to her feet. “But I must get home I’m afraid. You should dress too.”

“But why?”

“Trust me,” she smiled, helping me up. Once we were both dressed she gave me a final kiss and squeezed my hands in hers. “I will be at my house if you’d like to see me again but for now there’s someone I think would like to see you.”

She turned and left without another word and I leaned back against my desk, sighing happily. I looked up as someone knocked on the door and I walked over, assuming Evelyn had forgotten something. I turned the handle and there was Olivia standing there in the doorway as if she’d never been away.

“Hi mum,” she said, taking a step towards me. “Can I come in? Only I’ve got quite a story to tell you.”