Steampunk Desires: An Erotic Romance (The Complete Collection) by Sophia Wilde

hand’s presence on Clarence’s shoulder. “Breathe, boy!” he said emphatically. “The only preparation you need to do is to lose those clothes.” He raised an eyebrow. “It just ain’t right for you to be a member of the propulsion crew this long and still cling to your clothes so,” he said in half-jest. “Besides, your Lady isn’t going to want to wait for you to strip for her,” he grinned, winking.
     
    Clarence grinned, then began stripping. Finally, Edwin thought. It had taken almost a year to get Clarence to take off his clothes for longer than a minute before the act. The whole crew would fall over in surprise when they saw him walking down the hallway sans his precious clothes.
     
    Clarence’s clothes doffed and folded neatly on his bed, Edwin led him to the bipolar collection room and into the shelter the chalkboards had made. Scarlett was not yet there. “Wait here,” Edwin said as he departed to find her.
     
    Clarence stood awkwardly. He could see nothing but blank chalkboards on three sides and the wall of the room on the fourth; the bed lay to his left. A nightstand sat on the other side with a large leather-bound book open on top with a fountain pen and ink. It was in this book that the occupants of the bed signed to get credit for their contributions to the ship’s energy. Plugs on the floor awaited the connection of a brass sock, the interface that harvested energy from the participants and fed it to the ship. A clock sat on the back of the nightstand so that the participants could record their check-in time.
     
    The room was comfortable, but Clarence shivered. While this was something he had secretly wanted for years, he had been afraid to admit it to anybody. Now the opportunity was here, and he didn’t know how to take it. Would it be like he’d hoped? Would he botch it? Would the woman be pleased? Who was she? One of the chalkboards groaned and moved out of the way, and she appeared. Clarence gulped as she moved the chalkboard behind her, obscuring the view for everyone else. They were, for all intents and purposes, alone.
     
    “Hello, Clarence,” she said seductively. “Or should I say, ‘slave?’“
     
    His heart pounded. He could feel a hint of tumescence in his groin. He nodded, captivated by Scarlett’s body, voice, and demeanor.
     
    “What was that, slave? I didn’t hear you,” Scarlett said, lifting his head with her finger to make eye contact.
     
    “Y–yes,” Clarence stuttered.
     
    “That’s ‘yes, milady,’” she corrected him. “Can you say that?”
     
    “Yes, milady,” Clarence murmured.
     
    “You’ll have to speak up, slave,” Scarlett said, smiling sweetly, but her eyes flashed fiercely.
     
    “Yes, milady!” Clarence said, nearly shouting.
     
    “Such a good slave!” Scarlett praised him. “Now, I understand that you need a firm woman’s touch. Is that right?”
     
    “Yes, milady!” he said eagerly, but he hesitated afterwards; was he being too forward?
     
    “Good. And you’re going to do as you’re told, right, slave?” Her words were reassuring.
     
    “Yes, milady!”
     
    “Wonderful. Very good, slave.” The cord from her brass sock dangled between her legs. “Can you plug me in, slave?” she said, but the tone of her voice told him it wasn’t a question. He hurriedly knelt down to plug the cord from her brass sock into one of the jacks in the floor.
     
    “Such a good boy,” she said. “Now, sign us both in.” As he quickly signed them in, she lay down spread-eagled on the bed. When he had finished, she continued. “A slave’s job is to pleasure his lady,” she told him. “I want you to touch me in a way that you think will bring me pleasure.” She lay back, her head resting on the pillow, eyes closed.
     
    Clarence hesitated. He wasn’t good at this, and he knew it, but he wanted to do as told. He grabbed her breasts and began twisting them, not hard, but not sensuously, either.
     
    Scarlett opened her