Before Delia, Part 2: The Partnership (Ockham Steam-Works Laboratory Chronicles 5)

An academic and a libertine forge an unlikely—and steamy—partnership.

Professor Edward Ockham is simply wretched. Five years after the Third-Wave Industrial Revolution, he still grieves friends lost in the uprising. Students have abandoned his apprenticeships for more lucrative opportunities. He’s got automatons to build, but funds are tight. He’s desperate for a partner with business acumen.

After being chucked out of university, Sebastian Broadchurch figured he’d try his luck in the thriving Third-Wave metropolis of Newcastle. The pubs and back alleys, at least, prove perfect for his libertine tendencies. He’s certain there’s a demand for his bawdy inventions, but requires the workshop space—and the privacy—to create the unusual devices.

Sebastian’s energetic creativity is exactly what Edward needs to elevate his own enterprise. However, Edward’s attraction to the wickedly talented and deliciously debauched young man is entirely unexpected. When their association is threatened, they must decide: Will theirs be a business partnership, a sensual partnership, or, perhaps, both?

Before Delia, Part 2: The Partnership is a male-male romance of physical and emotional discovery which resolves the Before Delia prequel duology. The 13,000-word novelette is the fifth story in The Ockham Steam-Works Laboratory Chronicles, a queer, polyamorous, Steampunk erotic romance series of nine short stories set in an alternate Victorian world meant to be read in order.

The Ockham Steam-Works Laboratory Chronicles
In an imagined Newcastle, England, circa 1878, Professor Edward Ockham toils in obscurity at the Ockham Steam-Works Laboratory, creating unusual machines with his partner Special Assistant Sebastian Broadchurch. Until Miss Delia Bennett joins the Lab, sparking unfamiliar desires and inspiring steamy inventions.
One Cheek Or Two? (Ockham Steam-Works Laboratory Chronicles 1)
Delia’s Heartthrob (Ockham Steam-Works Laboratory Chronicles 2)
Swing Follies (Ockham Steam-Works Laboratory Chronicles 3)
Before Delia, Part 1: The Revolution (Ockham Steam-Works Laboratory Chronicles 4)
Before Delia, Part 2: The Partnership (Ockham Steam-Works Laboratory Chronicles 5)
A Thrilling Combination (Ockham Steam-Works Laboratory Chronicles 6)
That Perfect Fit (Ockham Steam-Works Laboratory Chronicles 7)
[To Be Determined] (Ockham Steam-Works Laboratory Chronicles 8)
[To Be Determined] (Ockham Steam-Works Laboratory Chronicles 9)