Tuesday, September 12, 2023

Down in the engine room ... #MFRWsteam #VictorianErotica #Steampunk #Feminist

Toymakers Guild Collection banner

Welcome to the September MFRW Steam Hop! Today’s the day when authors whose stories include erotic elements (like yours truly) get the opportunity to showcase their work.

I have an excerpt from my latest boxed set release, The Toymakers Guild: The Complete Series. The collection, which is available exclusively on Amazon and which is free for Kindle Unlimited subscribers, seems to be doing quite well. Last time I looked, it was ranked #190 in all Victorian erotica, and under 200,000 on Amazon as a whole.

Finding an erotic bit from this series isn’t difficult; indeed, the real problem occurs when I need a PG excerpt! But for the Steam Hop I want to share an excerpt that’s new, not part of my media kit or previous posts. Here’s one the fits the bill, the first erotic encounter between my heroine Gillian and Jeremiah Manley, a Jamaican young man who’s the ship’s engineer on a Dover to Calais steamer. Later in the story, Jeremiah joins the Toymakers and becomes on of Gillian’s most devoted lovers.

Let me know what you think!

Blurb

At Randerley Hall, lust is a lubricant to creativity. Nothing is impossible. Nothing is forbidden.

Defying the repressive morality of the Victorian era, the Toymakers Guild uses advanced technology to fabricate bespoke sexual devices for the discrete pleasure of select clients. Its members are not only brilliant engineers but also sexual renegades seeking freedom from the prudish society that surrounds them.

Nineteen-year-old prodigy Gillian Smith arrives at Randerley to apply for an apprenticeship in the Guild. With her technical abilities and her lascivious temperament, she is eminently suited to join the Master Toymaker’s close-knit band of uninhibited erotic artisans. Gillian flourishes among the Toymakers, designing and implementing ever-more-outrageous carnal contraptions. Each voluptuous commission she completes, each sensual adventure she enjoys, binds her more tightly to the Guild and to the perverse, tortured genius who is its founder.

If you like brilliant, wanton women and kinky steam punk sex toys, dive into the alternate universe of the The Toymakers Guild.

Excerpt

The ship was eerily silent as they abandoned their hiding place, slipped onto the deck, and ducked into a companionway to descend two levels. Somewhat to her surprise, the engine room was not by the propeller as she’d assumed, but near the middle of the vessel in the vicinity of the funnels. Upon consideration, she realised this made sense. It was simpler to transmit kinetic energy via gears and shafts than to send smoke and hot vapour over a long distance. There were likely considerations of weight as well; locating tons of water in the rear of the boat would tend to raise the bow.

Their footsteps echoed in the dim steel-clad corridor. Occasional electric light fixtures on the low ceiling allowed them to find their way. “She has generators to provide power when the engines are shut down,” Jeremiah commented, apparently noticing Gillian’s curious upward glances. “Otherwise we’d have to do repairs and maintenance by lantern light – difficult and inconvenient.” He stopped outside a rivet-studded metal door outlined by a rubber gasket and inserted his key.

There was significant resistance as he pushed the door open.

I gather it’s important to keep the engine room sealed,” said Gillian.

Her companion nodded. “If the hull were to be breached, water would fill this passageway. We need to protect the fires that heat the boilers.”

Down here in the belly of the ship, the quiet was not absolute. She heard occasional clanging, as well as intermittent rumbling which she assumed must be coal sliding into the hold. A little spike of fear quickened her breathing. What if someone discovered them here, in Invicta’s heart?

Jeremiah stepped over the raised threshold then held out his hand to help her across. “Do come in, Jill.”

She’d expected a cramped, dirty space. Instead, she found herself in a metal-walled compartment that soared at least one storey over her head, possibly two. An iron ladder affixed to the far wall climbed into the shadows above them. To the right were the boilers, three tall vessels of polished brass, while a shiny array of gauges, levers, dials and valves covered the surface to her left. A huge steel pipe, easily a foot in diameter, traversed the chamber diagonally a few feet above the floor, emerging from the closest boiler to exit through a rubber-lined aperture at the back.

Oh, how wonderful!” she cried. Tiptoeing closer, she peered at the controls. “It’s possible to separately monitor and adjust the pressure in each of the expansion chambers. Also in the feeder pipes and the different regions of the main steam duct that leads to the screw’s gear box, if I am not mistaken.”

You’re exactly right, Jill.” He’d come up behind her and spoke close to her ear, his voice soft and seductive as velvet. “So tell me, how is it that you know so much about machines?” He slipped an arm around her waist, then leaned closer to flick his tongue over her earlobe.

Pleasure sizzled down her spine at that intimate gesture. All at once she noticed how hot it was in the engine room, a phenomenon that was hardly surprising considering the quantities of boiling water and steam that surrounded them. Sweat beaded on her forehead and her clothing suddenly felt unbearably heavy and tight.

As though reading her mind, Jeremiah snaked his other hand up to her throat and began undoing the buttons of her bodice to provide her with relief.

His nimble fingers had unfastened at least half of them before she roused herself to object. She twisted out of his grasp and whirled around to face him, knowing her shift was clearly visible through the gap he’d created. “Wait—don’t—I mean...” Her heart slammed against her ribs. Perspiration drenched her armpits. The dampness between her thighs, on the other hand, was more than mere sweat.

Jeremiah’s dark eyes snagged hers, blazing with lustful challenge. “Who are you?” His pearly, slightly predatory grin sent her pulse climbing. “No, wait, you needn’t answer. I can tell you’re an engineer, and I’ll wager you’re brilliant at what you do. But for whom do you work? What sort of enterprise would hire a remarkable young woman like you?”

She shouldn’t tell him. The Guild required her discretion. But oh, what if he refused to take her if she didn’t confess? She wanted him so badly. Could she seduce him, in order to distract him from his interrogation?

She met his stare boldly. “Why do you care?” she asked, her fingers busy with the rest of her buttons. Shrugging off the loosened garment, she draped it over the big steam pipe. Her nipples made distinct peaks under the linen of her chemise. Jeremiah would notice, she had no doubt. When it came to women and sex, he was obviously no novice.

Because I need a new job,” he countered. With casual grace, he peeled off his jacket and laid it next to her discarded bodice. “And I have a hunch that your employer might give me one.”

He took a step forward, reached for her, and pulled her into his arms, squeezing her tender breasts against his lean body. The delicious pressure woke sparks, bright bursts of sensation that skittered down to her core. He bent to nuzzle her throat, alternating licks and nips, then inserted his thigh into the gap between her own and applied exquisite friction to her hidden clit.

Gillian couldn’t help herself. She writhed in his embrace, grinding herself against his leg. “Oh, by Ptolemy’s epicycles! Jeremiah!”

Is there something you want, Miss?” The man’s voice was husky with desire, but edged with laughter too. He drew back, so that their eyes met. At the same time, he pinched one of her shamelessly protruding nipples.

She gasped at the intricate mingling of pain and delight. “Oh, please!” Heedless of propriety, she reached down to cup the prominent bulk of his erection, stroking the lusciously hard shaft through the cloth. “This – this is what I want.” She settled her buttocks against the steam duct and raised her skirts to her waist to show him the plump folds of her cunny, peeking through the slit in her drawers. “Take me – take me quickly! I beg you!”

And you’ll tell me what I want to know?” He didn’t seem inclined to wait for her answer, though. In fact, the former ship’s officer was already unfastening his trousers and setting his cock free. It rose like an ebony tower from his loins, crowned by a taut dome of lighter brown. He swept his palm along his substantial length once or twice, then stepped into the vee of her spread thighs.

Buy Links

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0CGQMD3S6/

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0CGQMD3S6/

https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B0CGQMD3S6/

https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B0CGQMD3S6

Free on Kindle Unlimited!

Add on Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/198043949-the-toymakers-guild

Add on BookBub -

https://www.bookbub.com/books/the-toymakers-guild-the-complete-series-by-lisabet-sarai

Be sure to visit the other authors participating in today’s Steam Hop!



2 comments:

Adriana said...

Love this excerpt. And this: “So tell me, how is it that you know so much about machines?” made me chuckle. Best. Pickup. Line. Ever. (even though he's clearly already picked her up...)

Ornery Owl of Naughty Netherworld Press and Readers Roost said...

Fabulous description of the engine room as well as a lusty scene. Tweeted.

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