Page 11 of Magic & Matchmaking (Moonflower Witches)

Chapter Ten

EMMA

T he last couple left for the night, holding hands as they strolled out the door, already making plans to come back for tea the following day. It had been a successful event, and I saw several matches come out of it.

I frowned as I watched Althea leading Layla across the street. I felt a protectiveness over Layla. She was young and impressionable, while Althea was older, could easily manipulate Layla. Rags wiped down tables, and a broom swept the floor.

“Well, that was a success.” I turned to see Riven standing there, lute still strapped over his shoulder.

“I know,” I picked up the rag that finished wiping the last table. “I can’t believe I didn’t realize how important these matchmaking events were.”

They were the entire reason Steeped in Love had gained such a big reputation. Other than the tea, obviously. I’d been foolish to cancel the first one.

“Why did you cancel the first event?” Riven asked, dropping down into a chair. The broom swept behind him .

“I just wanted to get my footing before hosting a big event,” I said.

“With the shop acting up and constantly trying to impale me, I wanted to get things sorted out before I dove into something else.” I sat down across from him and realized there was a tea set sitting between us that hadn’t gotten used.

He raised an eyebrow, and I laughed, shaking my head. “The event is over,” I reminded him.

“Maybe we’re having an after-hours event.” He leaned forward.

I looked out the window at Herman flying across the street. He decided to visit his brother and sisters tonight and sleep at Arcane Creatures Emporium. He’d be back in the morning.

Dim candles still lit the shop, flickering from each table, and the fire under the cauldron popped and crackled. This was silly. I really should check in on my father. Although he was probably already asleep.

“Oh, come on. Have a little tea with me,” Riven said, nudging his head toward the shelves with a meaningful expression.

I knew what he was getting at. It would be good to put on a show for the shop. We hadn’t done much other than a few little touches and hand holding. An actual romantic date like this would be convincing.

I reached down and fished my wand from my apron, then touched it to the kettle, which began glowing. Bubbles surfaced as the water simmered. Riven placed the tins into the cups, and I poured the hot liquid over it.

He raised his cup. “Cheers.”

We clinked our glasses and each took a sip, the tea fragrant and rich with hints of chocolate and cherry.

“Okay, now that’s good tea.” He took another sip, then set the cup down. “I don’t get tea like this on the road.”

“Then what do you mainly drink?” I asked.

“Ale. A lot of ale.”

I leaned forward. “Well, since you mostly play in taverns, I guess that’s not surprising.”

“Do you go to The Brewhouse often? Ever see Draven?” he asked.

I hadn’t been in a long time, admittedly. “No,” I said quietly, looking down at my hands. “I don’t get out much. I definitely don’t live as glamorous a life as you do.”

“Well, let’s change that,” Riven said, and I looked up .

“What do you mean?”

“Let’s get out on the town. Do stuff. Have fun.”

That didn’t sound so bad. I wanted to go out, to do things, but I didn’t have anyone to do them with.

And besides, after long days working at the shop, I was so tired, I usually went home, made dinner for me and my father, maybe got a little reading or piano in, then fell asleep. It wasn’t like I was bored.

“Okay.” I took a sip of my tea, feeling more open, more flirtatious, than I had in a long time. “So what does a typical date with Riven Shiu look like? What are your moves?”

A wicked smile came to his face, dimples and all. “I can’t go giving away all my secrets.”

“Yes you can. I’m already your girlfriend, remember? I just want to know what to expect on some of these outings you’re planning.”

“Oh, I’m the one planning them?” He pressed a hand to his chest.

I nodded. “I think it’s only fair with you being gone all the time, leaving me so lonely and sad. You owe me a few nice dates.” I took another sip of tea as his smile grew. “Let me guess: a nice dinner somewhere, a drink after, maybe a personal concert back in your room at the inn?”

So maybe I’d heard a few very intimate details about Riven and the women he hosted.

“For a casual date, someone I don’t know. Sure. But not for my girlfriend.” He stared at me with such intensity I couldn’t get a proper breath out.

“So what would you do?” My voice came out breathy and husky. “For your girlfriend?”

He shot me a charming smile and stood, gesturing for me to do the same. My legs felt weak as I came to a stand in front of him.

He lifted a finger and tucked a stray curl behind my ear.

“I’d do something much more intimate,” he said and wrapped an arm around my waist, tugging me closer until our bodies were almost flush. He lifted his hand and I did the same, our palms touching. He leaned down, his breath grazing my cheek, my neck, my ear. “I’d start the night with a dance.”

“A dance?” I asked as he twirled me around.

We spun, our feet moving in the same rhythm as he maneuvered us in between tables and around chairs. He lifted my hand above our heads and twirled me in a circle.

I laughed. “I didn’t realize you were such a good dancer.”

“I’m good at many things, Ms. Thorne.” He pulled my body back into him and dipped me.

“I’m starting to see that,” I said, his nose nearly touching mine. He held me like that, my back arched, his arm wrapped tight around it, hand curling tight over my waist. I stared into his eyes, a beautiful rich brown that had always reminded me of the oak trees populating Thistlegrove Forest.

He slowly brought us back up and stepped away, taking all the warmth of his touch with him.

“And next,” he said, like he hadn’t just literally swept me off my feet, “I’d cook for her.”

I crossed my arms and laughed. “Now I know you’re lying.

You’ve proven you can dance, but you forget that I know you, Riven Shiu.

And I also know that you can’t cook.” I’d learned that when we’d attended the Coven Institute.

We lived in separate dormitories, and he came to mine almost nightly for dinner.

“Remember when you started getting mysterious hives every time you visited, and we came to find out my roommate hexed you, hoping it would deter you from coming over?”

Riven’s smile turned mischievous. “She underestimated how hungry I was.” Something about his words felt feral, a deeper meaning to them that made me look away as my cheeks heated.

I trailed a finger over the silk of the tablecloth. “We spent weeks trying to figure out why you were breaking out in hives every time you stepped foot in my dormitory.”

“Only to find the hex hanging under my chair.”

The same chair he sat in every night to eat dinner.

I’d been furious at the time, and my roommate ended up getting suspended over the entire ordeal.

I swallowed, remembering what came after.

Riven had declared we needed to celebrate being rid of the “wicked” witch.

He brought over wine, and we drank. A lot.

And then... well, then he’d leaned over to kiss me.

I’d wanted to kiss him back. But right before our lips met, a telegram arrived, notifying me that my father had suffered a heart attack.

“I’ve changed, you know,” Riven said, snapping me out of my memories .

I looked up at him. “Oh? You’re telling me a famous bard like yourself doesn’t have others to prepare his meals for him? You’re on the road all the time.”

“I like to cook.” He slipped his hands in his pockets and shrugged. “I make campfire meals. Karl hunts and skins the animals, but I do the cooking. I learned early on that Karl likes his meat raw and bloody, so if I wanted to eat a proper meal, I’d have to make it myself.”

I wrinkle my nose at the description of the orc’s meal preferences.

“Okay.” I took a step forward. “What happens after dinner?”

His eyes gleamed wickedly. “Well, then comes dessert.”

My skin prickled with his words, with heat, with desire. “Oh,” was all I managed to squeak out.

This was a side of Riven I didn’t normally see. The charm, the flirtation, the innuendos... no wonder he had half the women of the Witchlands—and many men—in love with him.

I picked my empty tea cup off the table and held it up. “This is some strong tea.”

“Don’t you want to know what comes after dessert?” Riven asked.

I backed into the table as he prowled toward me. “What?”

He stopped in front of me, my whole body flushing with the heat of his gaze. Before he could speak, a plate flew off one of the shelves, and I ducked.

“Oh, not this again.” I shot a panicked look at Riven.

“Emma!” He grabbed me and slammed my back to his chest as a cup whizzed by our ears.

I gasped as tins upon tins floated from the shelves, ready to hurtle themselves straight at us. This was an all-out attack. The most aggressive one yet.

“Fuck,” Riven muttered.

“We’re going to die,” I said. “My tea shop is actually going to kill me.”

“No,” Riven said roughly. “It’s not.”

The tins began to shake, probably about to launch right at my head.

Before I could even ask what that meant, Riven swiveled me away from his chest to face him and crushed his mouth to mine. I stiffened, but then his mouth prodded mine open, and I melted into him.

He hoisted me up onto the table, the entire world fading to just his lips, his hands gripping my hips tight, my legs spreading apart as he pushed between them. A moan escaped my mouth, and I reveled under the way his lips tasted, hints of chocolate and cherry still lingering.

He teased my mouth open further, his tongue slipping inside, mingling with mine.

I didn’t know where I began and he ended.

We were one, and it felt perfect. It felt right.

Our kiss deepened, and he pushed me down into the table, the pressure of his hard body feeling so good.

Plates and cups clattered to the floor in the distance, and I barely heard it, only able to focus on the sound of his breath, his heady groans as he dug his hips into mine.

I clutched his shirt, balling it up into my fists as he continued to devour me with his mouth, and I responded eagerly. Witch Superior, kissing him was like its own kind of magic.

A crash sounded, and I jolted.

We both shot up at the same time, him standing and me still sitting on the table. His shirt was wrinkled and parted open, his lips red and swollen. I looked down at the shattered glass, and realized we’d knocked the entire tray over, tea leaves spread across the floor, the glass tea kettle broken.

Then I realized everything else had settled back down. The tins of tea sat back on the shelves, exactly where they’d been before. The plates, cups, and cutlery all sat neatly organized like they’d never floated up into the air and threatened to attack.

I cleared my throat. “I guess it worked.” I slide off the table, bustling past Riven while avoiding eye contact and putting distance between us.

The broom and dustpan floated past me toward the glass.

Riven scratched the back of his neck. “Yeah, that was the whole point. Sorry if I took you by surprise.”

“No,” I said quickly, hoping this didn’t affect our friendship. “No, it was good. Not the kiss,” I amended, then squeezed my eyes shut. “The kiss was good. Great.”

Witch’s tits, I wished I could stop rambling.

“What I mean is, that was a good idea. And look.” I did an awkward twirl. “I’m still alive.”

“Okay, then.” He jabbed a thumb toward the door. “I guess I’ll get back to the inn. Unless you need me to stay? ”

“No.” I made a shooing motion, almost jabbing him in the eye with my hand. “Go. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

He moved toward the door, paused, opened his mouth like he wanted to say something, then shut it, and left. I watched out the window until he disappeared from sight, wondering what in the witch superior had just happened.