Page 92 of Potions and Proposals
His thumb brushed over her wrist, causing her to shiver in his grasp. Her lips parted and he tilted his head, leaning in with a silent question in his eyes.
“We should get out of here,” she said, as their lips brushed. He nodded, following close behind her. With the door secured, a floorboard creaked as they reached the main door to the university library. He pulled her back towards the shelves, and she gasped.
“Shhh,” Benedict whispered, pressing a finger to his lips.
“Don’t shush me,” she snapped.
“The security guard is at the door.” He pointed to the shadow under the door at the end of the room.
“What if they come in?” Lucy mouthed. Even with the door to the relic section secured, they’d be in trouble for entering the library after dark. And if the guard checked the restricted relics section, he might see that the wax seal hadn’t fully solidified.
“Can I kiss you?” Benedict asked, pulling her away from the restricted section into the stacks.
“Now is not the time!” she protested, but did nothing to stop him. Her breath caught as his fingertips brushed the sensitive skin at the nape of her neck.
“We have to distract the guard,” he breathed, brushing the hair from her shoulder. He brought his lips daringly close to her neck but refused to make contact. Her heartbeat quickened, and she clutched his jacket.
“Yes,” she sighed, tipping her head to the side as his hand slipped into her hair.
Benedict backed her up against a bookshelf, their breath mingling as his lips teased her without quite kissing her.
The door opened, and footsteps marched in.
“You two! What do you think you are doing in here at this hour?” Arthur, the security guard, blinded them with his torch. Benedict shielded his eyes.
“Sorry, Arthur, we just wanted to look at the binding cup we’d be drinking from during our ceremony,” he lied as easily as breathing. “Got a bit carried away…”
“Mr Matherson? Is that Lucinda with you?” Arthur’s frown was barely visible in the dark, but his gruff voice made it clear he wasn’t happy with them.
“Guilty,” she said, hiding her shame in Benedict’s chest.
“You’ll see it soon enough.” Arthur sighed, lowering the torch. “Congratulations, by the way.”
“Thank you. Sorry about the intrusion.” Benedict took Lucy’s hand, and she tried not to break his fingers.
“I was young once, but rules are rules. No one’s to be in the library after dark.”
“We’re very sorry,” Lucy said meekly. “We really just wanted to stand before the cup, to get a sense of what it would be like on the day.”
“All right then. Enjoy the rest of your night,” Arthur said, letting them go with a grin he couldn’t quite hide.
Outside, the fresh air settled Lucy’s nerves. She cursed herself for putting them both at risk, again, but a triumphant grin spread across Benedict’s face.
“Piece of cake,” he said, patting his breast pocket.
“Let’s never do that again,” she breathed.
“Kissing?” he asked with a frown.
“Breaking and entering,” she said, swatting his arm playfully to hide her embarrassment.
“Let’s hope that venom was worth the risk,” was all he said as they walked through the archway and back to the festivities. Lucy eyed his breast pocket, where the venom rested, and hoped she wasn’t about to add fuel to the fire with another Hawthorne scheme.
At Matherson Manor, Benedict watched Lucinda remove two paper bags, a panel of vials and a notebook packed with spells and potions from the kitchenette in his quarters.
“How long have you been hiding this stuff in my kitchen?” She’d been coming and going for the last few weeks; she must have done it when he wasn’t paying attention.
“Since my mum ruined the first lot I gathered, and I figured keeping my translation notes here was a safe bet in case she found the research I’d been doing on the Hawthorne grimoire and wanted to stop us from using anything I found in there,” Lucinda explained, slipping off her heels while she arranged the ingredients on the counter. “Not that it matters now, because we’ve got the dragon venom. We can mix the powder with the restoring potion, and it should switch us back in no time.”
