Page 68 of Her Creation

The slick sound of her wet fingers matched his thrusts until both of their moans filled the laboratory. She tried to hold off from her pleasure peaking, but every time she thought he would orgasm, his face would pinch together painfully and he would force himself to slow his thrusts. When she could wait no more, her eyes closed as pure ecstasy washed over her, tightening every nerve and muscle in her body before suddenly releasing it in a wave of euphoria. She heard his grunts and glanced up to see he had finished with her—he had been waiting for her to finish first.

“Come here.” His voice was soft. A plea.

Snapping out of her daze, Victoria glanced around the laboratory in a panic, her eyes falling on the wall her father’s body sat behind. Unable to get to the top of the stairs quick enough, she slammed the door behind her, panting as she pressed her back against the cold iron, her fingers still slick with her want.

That could never happen again. Never.

She needed more distance between them.

Chapter 18

March 1803 Log entry

Recounting events 1773–1795 Location: Unknown

You may remove the chains,” Victoria mumbled. She set the plate of food she held on her father’s desk and looked back at where Innominatus reclined in the chair as he read some dusty book that had been tucked away on her father’s shelf for ages. Her cheeks heated from the memory of the night prior, of them touching themselves feverishly while the other watched, but she refused to acknowledge the mistake.

He watched her over the edge of the book seductively. “Come closer and remove my chains, Victoria.” A mischievous smile licked at one side of his face when she glared at him. “Though, I think you should be grateful I was restrained and unable to reach you last night. Did you enjoy the show?”

She shot him a venomous look. “I don’t know what you speak of. I slept through the night. And you are obviously capable of removing them yourself.”

He grinned, flashing his white teeth, and Victoria dropped one of the glasses she held to the floor, sending it shattering. His smile, the way his eyes lit and his entire face suffused with joy, was the single most beautiful thing she had ever witnessed. She whipped her body away from him and cleaned up the shattered glass. When she stood, she felt his heavy presence at her back, tickling the base of her neck.

“Let me do it, please; I don’t want you to cut yourself.” His voice rumbled over her skin, leaving hungry goose bumps across her body.

“I don’t need your help,” she snapped, flustered. “How did you remove your chains so silently? I’ve heard them every night for the last week.”

He smiled again, but only with the side of his mouth, and she wanted to throw something at him. “I can be quiet when I want to be.”

She hurried around the other side of the desk, straightening books and tools.

“Maybe I wanted you to hear.” Even without looking, she could hear his amusement. He knew how unnerved she was by his presence despite her efforts. “Maybe I wanted you to know how affected I am by you, how I long to worship at the altar of your body.” He paused and tilted his head as he took her in. “I had thought that since I had broken free from the chains, you would deem them ineffective. But if you need the illusion that I cannot escape them, then I will return to them and that is where I will stay. You need only command it.” He sat on the edge of her father’s desk, giving her space, despite his stare practically piercing her skull from the intensity of it as he took in her every movement.

“Innominatus, eat your stew. I will return tonight to retrieve the plate.”

“You are leaving me again?” he asked with a hurt look.

“No, someone—a friend of mine—is coming here for dinner,” she said, struggling to remain strong when his words affected her so deeply. God, she wanted nothing more than to give in to her stupid heart and throw herself into his embrace.

“What would you like me to wear?” he asked.

“Inno—you can’t…” Her voice fell when she looked at his face.

“Inno,” he said thoughtfully at her abbreviation. “I like when you call me Inno. Innominatus Creatura sounds like some sort of Roman god or something.”

“And you don’t like that?” Her head tilted inquisitively. “Most men would love a name that evoked a god.”

He shrugged. “Inno sounds like a pant of pleasure from your lips, something private.”

Victoria stiffened as she glanced at the stairwell, longing to escape. “Yes, well, remember that you must remain in the laboratory…though you don’t have to remain in your chains,” she grumbled. “It’s not as though they are doing any good anyway. Just please remember what we talked about and how important it is that you remain in the lab…contained.”

“Of course,” he added in quiet understanding. “Which friend is coming over tonight?”

Victoria watched for a moment as if deciding how much information she wanted to disclose. Every time she was near him, she struggled to keep any amount of distance between the two of them. “Helena, my dearest friend. She means more to me than anyone…still alive. She must not know about the—abhorrent thing I created. I command you to stay hidden and quiet tonight.”

“More than anyone?” He flinched. “Abhorrent thing? That’s quite harsh, do you not think? May I leave this darkness just for a moment? To come up to meet this friend and then I shall return? It’s unbearably lonely just sitting in this hole all day and all night with no company. It could drive a man mad.”

“No, no one must know about you!” Victoria had begun to pace. “And you are already mad.”