Frankenstein's Fair Lady

by Anitra Lynn McLeod

  But then, once he got him out, what would he do with him?

  “Adelaide…”

  “Yes, my dear?”

  “I need your help. I’ve never needed your help as much as I do now.”

  “Why, of course. What can I do?”

  “I must retrieve—” he feared telling her too much only to find out his creature had escaped. Frankenstein closed his eyes, wondering if he could feel Loren, but the connection, if still there, was too weak. It must operate only when the distance between them wasn’t too great. Adelaide’s country estate was too far from the city for the connection to work. Or so he thought.

  “Frankie?”

  He laughed lightly. “You are the only one who can call me that and get away with it.”

  “Does it bother you?”

  “No, my dear.” Frankenstein bussed her cheek. “Not at all. You are so very good to me.”

  “I am.”

  “And I hate to impose on your good graces but I need a place to stay until this dreadful situation is resolved.”

  “Of course, my dear. I would love to have you as a house guest.”

  “Truly?” He pressed. “I would not want to put you out.”

  “You wouldn’t.” She snaked her arm with his. “If anything, you’d be saving me from tedious boredom.”

  Frankenstein laughed at that. He’d been so boring just a few days before but now his life felt like one moment of crazy after another. He couldn’t wait to go back to tedious boredom. “Why do you come to the country if it bores you so?”

  “It is what one does, my dear. How can I fight hundreds of years of tradition?”

  “Yes, I see.”

  “And, well, I should have started with this.”

  “With what?”

  “You are welcome to stay but it would be a great boon to me if you would accompany me to some of the parties. Not all, for I know how you feel about such things, but some.”

  “One.”

  “Frankie, don’t be mean.”

  “Fine. I will. But I may ask another favor of you?”

  “What?”

  “Let me see what I find at my home first then I shall ask if need be.”

  Adelaide was kind enough to lend him her fastest carriage. He sat forward in his seat the entire way as if his straining would propel the conveyance faster.

  Once in the city, he left the carriage well away from his home and walked over, thankful for the rain. The pounding deluge kept people off the streets, giving him more privacy than he could have hoped for.

  Near home, he discovered the police kept watch over his place, but they congregated on the porch, only going around the building every five to ten minutes or so. After watching one walk away from the lower door, he raced over and let himself inside.

  Since the laboratory had no windows, he didn’t worry about lighting a lamp. He saw at once that the bottle of whisky and the tray of sandwiches were gone. He took it as a good sign until he realized the police might have helped themselves. From a quick perusal, it seemed most of his equipment was intact. They hadn’t ransacked the place but they had thoroughly inspected it.

  “Oh, dear.” The books he’d left out were gone and every single one from the shelves. Sick to his stomach, he opened the lower compartment and breathed a sigh of relief to find the most damning books were still here. He reached for them but then decided they were safer hidden and closed the compartment back up. Still, with the books they had confiscated, they might very well be able to determine what he’d been up to. And yet, conjecture wasn’t proof. They couldn’t prove anything if they didn’t have his creature.

  Determined to get Loren and get out, he hurried to the room beneath the stairs.

  “Loren?” He tapped lightly then pulled the door open.

  “You bleeding bastard!” Loren hissed. “Where the hell have you been?”

  “They struck me in the head and hauled me away.” Frankenstein pointed to the knot as if to prove his point. “Come. We must hurry.”

  “You took a blow to protect me?”

  “Yes. Of course.” If it would work to get him to follow, Frankenstein figured lying in this instance wasn’t the worst thing in the world. “Come. We have to sneak past them.”

  “Who?”

  “The police. They’re watching the house.”

  “How did they find out I was here?”

  “I don’t know. We can figure that out later.” Frankenstein extinguished the lamp then opened the back door. He closed his eyes and listened intently. When he heard footsteps, he retreated back into the house, pressing against Loren.

  Oh, dear. He closed his eyes and tried to calm himself but he felt as if he’d never be calm again. Loren felt small against him, making Frankenstein feel big, strong, and protective, three things he’d never felt in his life. He’d always relied on his brains over his brawn. However, at the moment, he felt he could take on the entire world if he needed to, just to keep Loren safe. Convinced he’d felt this bizarre chain of emotions for no reason other than all his sense were on heightened alert, he tried to step away but found he couldn’t. If anything, he wanted to press closer.

  “Careful.” Loren breathed the one word into Frankenstein’s ear, causing a new and far more distressing cavalcade of reactions. He shivered hard enough to tighten his nipples and wash goosebumps over his arms, yet the cold didn’t extend to his groin. Rather, heat went there, hardening his cock and sparking him to sweat. Power gathered in his hands, but this felt different than what had happened earlier in the parlor with the police. This made him feel as if he could give Loren the most unimaginable pleasure with the simplest touch.

  Breathing shallowly, he stood there, counting off the seconds, determined to wait until a full minute had passed. Under different circumstances, it might have seemed like the longest time in the world, but the feel of Loren’s body at his back made time fly by. Given a choice, Frankenstein would have stayed there for hours, exploring the curious feelings and trying to find a way to see if his creature felt them too, but he couldn’t do that. If he wanted to keep his creature safe, he had to get him far from here.

  When he felt the police had returned to the porch, he exited with Loren on his heels and then locked the door behind him.

  He reached out to grab Loren’s hand but stopped himself at the last second. He dare not find out what his touch would do, not here and now. Instead, he motioned with his hand and arm, begging Loren to silently follow him toward the carriage.

  Loren followed with his hand on his wound.

  They didn’t speak until they’d thrown themselves inside and Frankenstein had ordered the driver to go back to Adelaide’s.

  Of course, now that he had him, Frankenstein had to think of what lie to tell her.

  “Whew! That was an adventure.”

  “I’d rather never have to do that again.” Frankenstein’s gaze dropped to Loren’s belly. “Does it hurt?”

  “Itches.”

  “I’ll examine it once we have better light.” Frankenstein looked back toward the city. “And we get away.”

  “If they found me once…”

  “Will you now tell me what it is you’re running from?”

  “Luck.”

  “Pardon?”

  “My luck has made me a target.”

  “I don’t understand. You mean gambling?”

  “You could say that.”

  “I don’t want to say it. I want to hear you say it, but only if it’s the truth.”

  “You won’t believe me.”

  “This again.” Frankenstein found not thinking about those curious feelings earlier much easier when his creature irritated him. “Let me be the judge of whether or not I believe it, shall we?”

  “Fine.” Loren crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t know when it happened, exactly, but suddenly, when I gambled, I never lost.”

  “Never?” One of the subjects Frankenstein had excelled at was math. “The odds on that are unlikely
.”

  “See? Just like I said. You don’t believe me.”

  “I’m simply suggesting—never mind. Please continue.”

  Defiant, Loren sat, arms crossed, looking right through Frankenstein but only for a moment. “I started out playing hazard and queek, winning all the time, building up a good bit of money and then, well…” Loren trailed off.

  “Well?”

  “You see, this is the part that…well, you won’t like this so much.”

  “Why?”

  “Because I figured I could make more at one of them fancy gentlemen’s clubs.”

  “Why would I care about that?”

  “Well, you being a fancy gentleman and all.”

  “I don’t gamble and most certainly don’t frequent gentlemen’s clubs for any reason.”

  “That so?” Up went a brow much darker than his blond hair. “Man like you, living alone. Seems unlikely.”

  “I don’t live alone.”

  “Servants don’t count.”

  “Yes, they—” he cut himself off when he realized he’d not once asked about Clerval, cook, or any of the others. He’d been too worried about himself and his creature. “What does me living alone have to do with anything?”

  “You don’t go to the clubs for…companionship?”

  The time delay and the spin he put on that word spelled everything out. Against his best efforts to control himself, Frankenstein blushed. He’d never had any interest in that type of interaction but knew admitting it would cast him in a strange light.

  “Well, maybe you’ve got another place you go for that.” Loren grinned.

  “Is that what you did? You made your money providing companionship?”

  “Hardly.” Loren laughed. “I went in to gamble and I came out with a fortune.”

  “Legally?”

  “Well, now, that depends on who you be asking.”

  “Did you cheat?”

  “Didn’t need to.”

  “Right. Because you can’t lose.”

  “Yep. And that made some fancy gentlemen downright rough.”

  “They came after you themselves?”

  “Course not! They sent their goons after me to get their money back. Got so I couldn’t even walk down the street without fending off a fight or two.”

  “Well, if you’re so lucky, you would have outwitted them.”

  Loren frowned. “Yeah. I’ve been wondering over that.”

  “Or are you only lucky in cards?”

  “Cards, dice, chess, checkers—whatever. Seemed my fortunes turned over in the blink of an eye, but then…I don’t know what happened. It caught up with me, I suppose.”

  “How did you get into a gentleman’s club dressed like that?” No golden hall would have let him in. Probably not even the back way.

  “I had other clothing.”

  “Had?”

  “It’s gone.”

  “More bad luck.”

  “I suppose.”

  “So you won fortunes and made enemies.” Frankenstein wondered if bringing him back to life had ruined his luck then he remembered he didn’t believe in luck any more than he believed in fate.

  “Where are you taking me?”

  “Somewhere safe.” Where I can study you and determine if you’re really human or something else. Again, Frankenstein had to sit and ponder what he would do with his creature once he had his answer, but he pushed that away to focus on studying him first. He couldn’t do anything without information.

  “Somewhere…where, exactly?”

  “A country estate.”

  “You are quite the fancy gentleman, aren’t you?”

  “It’s not my country estate.” Frankenstein couldn’t wait to get his hands on Loren. His wound gave him a perfect opportunity to check his reflexes and other relevant bits. But then, his thoughts turned to irrelevant bits. Physical reactions that had nothing to do with his fitness as a human and everything do with his reactions as a lover. Shocked by the way the thoughts so casually invaded his normally orderly brain, he chalked it up to a long, exhausting day and turned his attention to the window.

  “I know what you’re thinking.” Loren’s voice managed to compress the small space until the intimacy almost crushed the breath from Frankenstein’s form.

  “I doubt that.” The pointed end of a blade couldn’t wring the truth of his wayward thoughts from him.

  “You’re wondering what to do with me.”

  Frankenstein controlled his outward reactions but his heart hammered and sweat dampened his palms.

  “You’re wondering if maybe it might be best to cut your losses on one such as me.”

  “I assure you, I am not thinking that.”

  Loren drew a deep breath and leaned back, draping his arms over the back of the seat. There wasn’t much light due to the storm and their increasing distance from the city, but there managed to be enough to see Loren’s body through his rough work clothes. How would he look all dressed up and ready to enter a golden hall?

  Startled by the thought, Frankenstein sat up.

  “What’s wrong?” Loren asked, sitting up too.

  “Hiding you.”

  “Out in the country, no one—”

  “Where do you think the fancy gentlemen from the halls go when they’re not gambling?” Too late, Frankenstein realized he’d saved his creation from one danger only to expose him to another.

  Chapter Six

  Throughout the rest of the ride to Adelaide’s estate, Frankenstein tried to think of a convincing story to tell her. He failed. Every tale he came up with, he effortlessly poked holes in it until he turned it into a sieve.

  Could he tell her the truth? She would rather die than betray him, of that, he had no doubt, but he feared dragging her down with him. Bad enough to take sanctuary in her home but to pull her deeper into the quicksand seemed unduly cruel.

  “Never seen anyone think so hard.” Loren’s voice managed to steal the space and wrap around him at the same time. “Your face tells such a story.”

  “Of what?”

  “You’re scared.”

  “I don’t wish for you to be harmed.”

  “That’s not what frightens you.” Loren leaned forward, dropping his elbows to his knees. “You don’t know me well enough to be worried about me. You’re worried about you.”

  “Of course I am. How can I protect you if I can’t protect myself?”

  “Yeah?” Loren’s brows rose and dropped. “What do you care about me?”

  “I told you—”

  “No. You didn’t. You care and I don’t know why. I think now it’s your turn to tell me the truth.”

  That was the last thing Frankenstein could or would do. Instead of thinking his response through, he blurted the first thing that came to mind. “You remind me of someone.”

  “Oh, aye?”

  Frankenstein nodded and looked away.

  “Tell me about him.”

  “A classmate. From school.” Frankenstein ticked over his memories, searching among those boys for a suitable one. “Turner Ford.”

  “Who?”

  “Turner Ford. That’s who you remind me of.” Not just in appearance, what with the same blond and blue, but the same attitude. “He had a real knack for trouble.”

  “And that’s why you’re helping me?”

  “Partly.”

  “What’s the other part?” Loren leaned back and spread his body out on the seat. Against his will, Frankenstein found his gaze examining him. When he realized his thoughts were anything but scientific, he yanked his gaze back to the window.

  “Well?” Loren asked.

  “You’re a fellow human being in need. I find that you’ve aroused my humanity.” And other things, but Frankenstein swore to keep that part to himself even should he die from doing so.

  “Huh.” Loren nodded as if satisfied but his eyes betrayed the truth. He didn’t believe Frankenstein for a moment, but he would wait to find out the truth. Perhaps he
even enjoyed the game of trying to uncover the reason.

  “Stop staring at me like that.” Frankenstein straightened his clothing even though his dash to and from the house could have hardly made him more unkempt than he already was.

  “Like what?”

  “Like I’m a funhouse curiosity.”

  “That’s the way you look at me.”

  “Then I shall endeavor to stop.” Frankenstein vowed he would not look at him again until he had to, yet right after swearing to control himself, he found his gaze drifting over to the man’s shoes.

  “See?”

  “I am just thinking we have to change your clothing so that you’ll fit in.”

  “I clean up quite nicely.” Loren paused and smiled. “Or so I’ve been told.”

  “Good. That will make things easier.”

  “I don’t think I’ll be able to get into your trousers, though.”

  “Pardon?” Frankenstein sputtered.

  “You’re too big for me to wear your clothing.” Loren’s smile widened. “What did you think I meant?”

  Unwilling to answer, Frankenstein wished for whisky to make his silence easier then realized he’d become quite the lush in a matter of days. Mostly, he wished he had a plate of those tasty little sandwiches, a good book, and a nap before a blazing fire. What he wanted was to go back to a time when he had not a care in the world. Ah, yes. That would be a wonderful boon but unlikely.

  “Do you gamble?” Loren stretched his legs out, his hobnailed boot brushing against Frankenstein’s pant leg. He shouldn’t have noticed such small contact but somehow the rustle of fabric reached right up to his groin.

  “I told you, I do not frequent golden halls.”

  “Doesn’t mean you don’t gamble.”

  Only with my very life, apparently.

  “You’re doing it again.”

  “What?”

  “Frowning as if you have the weight of the world on your shoulders. Your very broad and strong shoulders.”

  Frankenstein narrowed his gaze. “What game are you playing at?”

  “Nothing.” Loren moved his foot away. “Just making conversation.”

  “I think it best if we not talk.”

  “Suit yourself.” Loren slumped down, crossed his arms over his chest, and closed his eyes.