Banished: Book 1 of The Grimm Laws Read Online Free PDF Page B

her thoughts all afternoon, despite her best efforts to shut him out, and now he was in the house with her … alone. That he was even more good-looking up close didn’t help matters.
    He motioned. “You’re not dressed. Rae called and said you needed a ride to the school. She’s all in a panic because, evidently, you’re late for your own party. When a member of the homecoming court goes missing, people start to get a little nervous.” He flashed a lopsided smile, obviously amused by his own comment.
    “Rae called you to pick me up?” She let out an incredulous laugh.
    His eyes narrowed a fraction. “What’s so funny?”
    She rubbed her forehead. “Nothing, I just can’t believe that of all the people, she called you.”
    He rolled his eyes. “I do live next door. And I was headed to the game anyway.” He ran a hand through his hair. “Look, I’m tired of your silly games. First you storm off when I try to talk to you, and now you’re acting so—”
    “What?” she slung back. “How am I acting, Rushton? Why don’t you tell me?”
    “Like a complete lunatic!” He stopped and looked at her funny. “What did you call me?”
    “I called you by your name … idiot,” she said under her breath.
    “No, you called me Rushton.”
    “Yes, because that’s your name.”
    “My name is Rush,” he said firmly. “Rush.”
    She threw her hands in the air. “Okay, Rush, or whoever you are. I appreciate you coming to get me, but as you can see, I’m not ready! In fact, I can’t get ready because my dear stepsister destroyed not one of my dresses, but two!” Her voice rose to a fevered pitch, but she was beyond the point of caring. “I’m supposed to be at the school right now, getting ready to walk out onto the field, and I don’t even have a dress to wear!”
    Her outburst didn’t faze him in the slightest. He raised an eyebrow. “Are you finished?”
    She wanted to claw that smug expression off his face. “Yes, I’m finished! I’m finished with this homecoming crap, my stupid family, and most of all, I’m finished with you!” Tears were burning in her eyes, and it was all she could do to hold them back. She wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of seeing her fall apart. She turned away from him. “You need to leave.”
    He grabbed her arm. “Hey.” She tried to yank her arm out of his grasp, but he held it firm. “Elle.” She turned to look at him. His jaw was hard, but there was something akin to tenderness in his eyes. “Are you really gonna let them win?”
    She shrugged. “What choice do I have?” She hated the tremor in her voice. It was easier to vent her frustration at him than it was to accept his kindness.
    “You need to do this, Elle. You need to show them.”
    “I don’t know,” she said hesitantly. There was a peculiar strength in his stormy-blue eyes, something raw and unconquerable that told her that this guy didn’t back down from anyone or anything. If only she could be that strong. There was something about him that made her feel stronger. Something that could almost make her believe that she could show them … almost. She looked away. “I don’t think so,” she mumbled.
    He lifted his chin. “You’re going.”
    For a moment, she thought her ears were deceiving her. She bristled. “What did you say to me?”
    He leaned forward, close enough that she could feel his warm breath on her face. His eyes sparked in a challenge, and a ghost of a smile flittered on his lips. “You heard me, Elle.”
    He was so absurdly bold and cocky, as if he could come in and order her around. A part of her wanted to sock him in the nose and the other part of her wanted … Her eyes moved to his lips and his strong jaw. She thought about how it would feel to kiss him. How it would feel to have his muscular arms wrapped around her. How it would feel to run her hands through that dark hair that was curling against his neck. Heat crept into her cheeks. Where were these thoughts coming