Page 108 of Potions & Prejudice
“Looks like your sister has made a friend.” Elspeth threaded her arm through mine as I scowled at Georgie and the boy. Elspeth laughed. “I thought you wanted her to make friends.”
“Yes, friends. Notboyfriends.”
Grimm put his hand on Georgie’s arm.
“I’m going to hex him,” I said, and Elspeth grabbed me and pulled me into one of the many aisles of the store.
“You’ll do no such thing, Mr. Darkstone.” She pressed me against a shelf, and all thoughts of Grimm disappeared.
“Why? Are you going to distract me?”
She trailed a finger down my chest, and I shivered under her touch, reveling in it. “Maybe. Why? Is this distracting?” She stood on her tiptoes and pressed a kiss to my mouth while her hand slid up my inner thigh.
“Elspeth, don’t start something you’re not ready to finish,” I warned.
She stood back, laughter dancing in her eyes.
“You’re going to pay for that later.”
“I look forward to it.”
I swung an arm around her shoulders. “What else are you looking forward to?”
Her brows pinched together. “What do you mean?”
“About your future?”
“That’s easy.” She turned to me. “I’m looking forward to having a place to call home. To watching my sisters thrive. To seeing you every day. And, hopefully, one day getting my magic back.”
She didn’t realize it, but if I had my way, she’d be getting it back sooner than later. I’d marry Elspeth tomorrow if I could, but I didn’t want to pressure her. Still, I wouldn’t be able to wait too long. Georgieand I were working on a proposal plan, and I’d ask her soon—once I got permission from her mother and sisters.
“And what about once you do have your magic? Do you still think you want to be a healer?” I asked.
“Yes,” she said, her face breaking out into a smile that melted my heart. “I want to apprentice for the village healer. Learn everything I can from him and then... open my own shop, maybe?”
“It sounds perfect.” I wrapped her in my arms.
She snuggled in. “I know.”
“You’re very arrogant, Ms. Moonflower.”
“I’m not arrogant. I just know that I’m right. I’m always right.”
“And what else have you been right about?”
She drew back, her smile rueful. “I was right about you.”
I gave her a look of disbelief. “You thought I was an arrogant prick when we first met.”
“No.” She shook her head. “I thought you were different from anyone I’d ever met. I was scared because you had this way of disarming me, making me drop the walls I built around myself. I thought that if I spent too much time with you, you’d break them down completely.”
She’d never told me that before.
“And I was right,” she said. “You changed my life, Draven. You changed me.”
“We changed each other,” I said. “In all the best ways.”
Epilogue
