Page 54 of Potions and Proposals
He concealed his reaction with his iced tea. Lucy wanted the bowels of Hell to open beneath her feet and swallow her whole.
“Thank you for making our guest uncomfortable,” she hissed, though part of her wondered how a member of the Order could be so bashful.
“Don’t be so sensitive,” Mum said, claiming her order from the bundled-up barista who’d called out the three-shot latte. Her caffeine addiction was probably how she’d kept going all this time. “You don’t drink coffee?” she asked Emerson.
“I find caffeine affects my concentration. I’ve always been more of a tea drinker,” he responded, adding extra slices of candied lemon to his drink.
Lucy winced.
“So is Lucy!” Wilhelmina enthused, sure enough. “Both love tea and academia. You two have—”
“Mum, we’ve got to get to work, but I need your permission to let him into the archives,” Lucy put in, distracting her from her matchmaking.
“Consider it granted.” Mum waved a colourfully gloved hand as though it were nothing.Give him a chance,she mouthed as Emerson paid for their drinks.
“Stop meddling. You’ve got me into enough trouble already,” Lucy whispered, taking her mum aside.
“Trouble? Has something happened?” Mum’s eyes narrowed.
Lucy cursed herself silently. “I meant the binding. I don’t need to mess it up right now.”
“I’m sorry for pushing; I won’t say another word.” Mum pretended to zip her lips. Emerson smiled over at them, talking to the barista. “But he does have a dashing smile.”
One moment, she was listening to her mum; the next, Lucy’s blood sizzled beneath her skin. She tried to get a handle on her breathing, which was coming too fast. Mum reached out, but Lucy flinched away, afraid she’d burn her.Was she having an anxiety attack or losing control of Benedict’s element?
“I’ve got to go. I think I forgot something at Stoker’s.” She clutched the crystal at her neck, but it didn’t seem to be helping. “Take Emerson to lunch, and I’ll see him back at the library.”
The tea in her hands was only making everything worse. She dropped it in the bin and practically ran away.
“Lucy!” Mum called, but thankfully she didn’t follow.
In the alley, Lucy stared at her hands and tried to spark a flame to let the fire breathe. It didn’t work; her skin continued to simmer. No element liked to be contained for long. The fire was far more dangerous and temperamental than her water element.
She gripped the crystal around her neck again, but it wasn’t doing enough. Starting a bonfire in the middle of town wasn’t an option, and there were only so many candles to light. Putting a hand on her chest, Lucy closed her eyes as the world started slipping away around her.
A second later, the sound of running water made her heart leap.My element! Maybe the potion worked after all!
Lucy opened her eyes.
She was in a bathroom.
Black tiles surrounded her, and two gold-plated sinks with ornate mirrors reflected her blotchy cheeks. Worse, she wasn’t alone. Only a few feet away from her, Benedict Matherson lay in a large bathtub, covered in bubbles, eyes closed and dark hair slicked back away from his face. There was a pile of muddy clothes at Lucy’s feet, but she was too distracted by the sight of his naked shoulders to wonder what he’d been up to.
As though he sensed her presence, his eyes snapped open.
“How the hell did you get in here?” he shrieked in a rather unmanly manner.
Water and bubbles sloshed over the edge of the tub. Lucy lifted her feet out of the way.
“I don’t know!” She panicked, unsure of where to look. “I didn’t come here on purpose. I had this awful feeling, like I was burning alive. Then I was here… in your bathroom.” She stared at him, unsure if he was real. “I’m sorry. I don’t want to be here as much as you don’t want me seeing—” She cut herself off.
Scrubbing his hands over his face, Benedict sat up, revealing smooth, wet skin. Droplets trickled down his abs. Clearly all that running worked well for him.Lucy tried not to look at what was lurking below the diminishing bubbles. Suddenly there wasn’t enough air for both of them. Her heart hammered as he grabbed a towel from the rack beside her.
“Can you please leave, or at least turn around?” he asked, raising a sharp eyebrow. Her eyes were immediately drawn to the tension in his hands and forearms as he started to pull himself up, and her heart did a weird flip. Promising herself it was just the heat of the room and not anything to do with Benedict, Lucy hurried out the door before he caught her lingering gaze.
She hovered at the end of his bed, chewing on her nail. She wanted to apologise again for invading his privacy, but she stilldidn’t understand how she had ended up in his bathroom in the first place.
The door swung open, and she turned to give him some privacy. She heard him walking around the room, but he didn’t say anything.When she peeked through her fingers, her gaze trailed down his toned back, one side covered with a long spiralling tattoo of ivy that dipped below the black towel. She chewed her lip to stop herself from smiling. Of course his towels were black.
