Love Spell: Book 2 of The Grimm Laws (12 page)

“How’s it going?” she asked, trying to find something to break the tension. She gave him a slight smile. “I halfway expected you to come by way of the roof.”

He ignored the comment and instead jerked his thumb in the direction of the stairs. “Are we headed up to your room?”

She squelched the irritation that surfaced. “Yep, we are,” she said tersely. Two could play that game.

As they were going up the stairs, Josselyn and Huntsden were coming down. She instinctively leaned into Rush in an attempt to stay as far away from Huntsden as possible. Huntsden made a point of openly gazing over her with those predatory eyes that held a restless hunger in them. A pit formed in her stomach, and she felt Rush’s arm go around her. She welcomed the protectiveness of it and then realized that he was eyeing Huntsden with open hostility. The air around them grew taut enough to snap. She had the impression that Rush was protecting his territory—he was protecting her. Before she could dissect what that meant, they moved past them and out the front door. The air seemed to breathe easier with them gone. Elle and Rush just stood there, and then Rush realized that he had his arm around her waist. When she gave him a questioning look, he quickly removed it. A smile stole across her lips as she remembered something that Rush once told her when she inadvertently snuggled up against him on his bike. “You know, if you want to go out on a date, all you have to do is ask.”

He rocked back, stunned, and then he scowled, but she saw a hint of amusement in his eyes.

When they entered her room, he placed his backpack on the bed and then turned to her. “What was that about?”

“Huntsden?”

He nodded.

She shook her head. “I dunno.”

“I don’t like the way he was looking at you. How long has that been going on?”

“A few weeks,” she admitted.

A furious look swept over his features. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

She let out a half laugh and sat down on the bed. “Because you and I aren’t together.” The accusation of the words settled between them as he sat down in the rose chair.

His jaw tightened. “I see.”

Okay, she’d not meant for that comment to build another wall between them. The goal was to mend things, not make them worse! She gave him a tentative look, her eyelashes lowering against her cheeks. “What I meant is that I figured you were too into Lynessa to pay attention to my problems.” She spoke the words innocently enough and could tell they had the desired effect when he started to squirm.

Conflicting emotions twisted on his face until he finally spoke. “I don’t like that guy!”

Her heart dropped a notch. He’d evaded the topic of Lynessa. Was that because he was really into her? He’d not denied that they were a couple. She forced herself to go back to the topic at hand. “Huntsden?”

“Yeah.”

She scowled. “He’s a thug!” An involuntary shiver ran down her spine. “He gives me the creeps!”

“I’ll keep an eye on him. You let me know if he tries to mess with you.” He caught her eyes. “I mean it.”

She nodded as a thrill ran over her. He cared. That counted for something, didn’t it?

Rush relaxed and pointed. “Would you hand me my backpack? We need to get started on the essay.”

“Sure.” She handed it to him and then grabbed her notebook.

He unzipped his backpack. “What’s he been doing …exactly?”

“Huntsden?”

He nodded. She told him how he tried to give her a ride when she was walking home from cheerleading practice, how he stalked her with his eyes every time he came near her at school, and how he came into The Chocolate Fountain and had words with Adele. She ended by telling him how Huntsden had whispered the threat to her as he came into the house to see Josselyn.

He swore under his breath, and the murderous expression on his face unsettled her. She didn’t want him to do something stupid on her behalf. Without thinking, she touched his arm. “Hey.” His eyes connected with hers, sending a bolt of adrenaline punching through her. “I’ll be okay. I’ve done a pretty good job of avoiding him so far. I can keep doing it.” She could tell from the look on his face that he was unconvinced. “Really,” she assured him. He gave her a curt nod. Then, he looked down at her hand, which was still on his arm. Heat flooded her face as she removed it. It was his turn to be amused as she nervously cleared her throat. “Okay, the essay.”

“Trust,” he murmured, his eyes never leaving hers.

Her throat went dry. “What?” she croaked.

A ghost of a smile went over his lips. “The topic of the essay.”

“Oh … yeah.” She could feel her face, blaring like a neon sign. He knew the effect he was having on her, and he was thoroughly enjoying it. “Which characters do we want to focus on?”

“Let’s do Gatsby and Daisy.”

“Okay … I’m good with that.” As she wrote it down, she could feel his eyes, scrutinizing her. She gave him a questioning look.

“Gatsby trusted Daisy—covered for her, but where did that get him?”

“Um …” She moistened her lips, trying to come up with a response that wouldn’t totally incriminate her.

“Killed,” he said flatly. “It got him killed. Daisy was too weak to stand by him in the end.” There was a condemning expression on his face.

This was getting ridiculous! She gritted her teeth. “You don’t trust me.”

He gave her a hard smile. “We’re talking about Gatsby and Daisy.”

“No, we’re talking about us, and I’m not going to sit here and play these silly games with you.”

“But, I thought games were your specialty,” he countered softly, a taunting edge to his voice.

“I’m not the same person I was before the accident! If you’d open your stupid eyes, you’d see that.” Her eyes narrowed. “I tried to tell you how I feel about you, but you shut me down. And then you started going out with Lynessa!” She made a face. “Of all the people!”

He let out a mirthless laugh. “Not jealous, are you?”

“Not hardly!” she spat. “Can we get back to the essay?”

“Of course.”

“If Gatsby hadn’t been such an elusive jerk then maybe he and Daisy would’ve had a chance. He pops into her life one day and expects her to just drop everything with the snap of his fingers, and when she doesn’t, he drops her flat. Maybe if he’d given her a chance …” She stopped when she saw the smile tugging at the corners of his lips.

“
Drops her flat?
That’s not exactly how the story ended … at least the one I read.”

She rolled her eyes as heat crept up her neck. Oops, she’d taken that analogy a little too far. “Whatever. You get the point.”

“I’m starting to,” he said thoughtfully as his eyes locked with hers. Energy whooshed through her, and she had the distinct memory of a familiarity that was so strong that she could nearly taste it. She’d loved him so completely that it consumed her. Images of another life flooded over her—dancing in his arms in a meadow, holding him tightly as they galloped on a horse. It all seemed so real, but yet like a dream at the same time. She tried to make sense of what was happening. Everything seemed to slow down, and she could feel her blood coursing through her veins, the tantalizing tingling of her skin. When he stood and sat down beside her on the bed, her breath caught, and she was almost hesitant to breathe for fear of ruining the moment. His nearness was so intoxicating that it was electric. There was a mixture of frustration and desire in his eyes. She had the incredible urge to throw her arms around him and demand that he kiss her until her need for him subsided. She could tell from the tortured look on his face that he felt it too—this incredible force pulling them together. Then it was too much, she couldn’t help herself. She leaned in closer. The very scent of him was dizzying. She closed her eyes and allowed herself one moment of being this close to him—one moment of perfection. When she opened her eyes, she realized that he was studying her. He took the tip of his finger and began lightly tracing the curve of her cheek. Then he stroked the hollow of her neck with his thumb back and forth until sweet tingles circled down her spine, making her crazy. She parted her lips expectantly, knowing that he would kiss her. But he didn’t. Instead, his eyes grew troubled. “You are my poison—my kryptonite,” he muttered, almost as if he were talking to himself. His eyes clouded, and she feared he would retreat.

She caught his arm. “As you are mine.”

A slow flame flickered in his eyes, kindling the fire in her. Oh, how she could get lost in those fierce eyes that held all of the confidence in the world. She slipped her arms around his neck and pulled him into her. Then she pressed her mouth against his and parted his lips with her tongue. He went stiff, but she tightened her hold on him and continued the kiss. A few moments later, he pulled back from her and searched her eyes. She waited on bated breath for him to say something, but the last thing she expected him to do was to chuckle. “Is that the best you can do?” Before she could react, he slid his arms around her waist and up her back. She thrilled at the touch of his hands. “My turn,” he said savagely. Her heart started hammering wildly as his lips met hers. The kiss was harsh and demanding at first, but she met it measure for measure, sending them tumbling into a black hole of emotion that was all consuming. A thrill shot through her as his lips grew tender, flooding her with an intoxicating passion that scorched her blood and turned her bones to liquid. His tongue caressed hers, and she couldn’t stop the groan from rising in her throat. There was no escaping him. She was tired of fighting it. Brilliant lights exploded around her like bursting stars, and she clung to him as a feeling of completeness settled over her. When he finally pulled away, she felt the loss of him instantly. They were both breathing hard.

Her heart dropped when she saw the look of regret that washed over his face. He moved to back away, but she clutched his sweater in her fists. “Don’t,” she implored.

He gave her a quizzical look. “Don’t what?”

“Don’t shut me out.” Her eyes caught his, and she tried to keep the desperation out of her voice. “I need you.”

“Really?” There was a haunted look in his eyes.

“Yes.”

His jaw grew hard as he manacled her wrists and held them behind her back. Her breath caught as he leaned down so that his mouth was a fraction away from hers. She couldn’t see or think straight when he was this close. Her lips parted expectantly as a heady dizziness settled over her. He began lightly kissing her neck with soft kisses, causing her to practically melt into his arms. She had the sensation of floating in a clear blue sky where everything was right and perfect in the world. A tantalizing shiver worked its way down her spine as his lips grazed her ear. She felt his warm breath on her skin. “Prove it,” he whispered.

She went stiff. “What?”

He pulled away and looked her in the eye. “You said you need me. Prove it.”

Wariness crept over her. “What do you mean?”

He released her arms and reached for her phone on the dressing table. “Call Edward and tell him it’s over.”

Her throat grew tight. “What?”

He cocked his head, studying her. “If you really want me then you’ll call Edward right now.” He placed the phone in her hand. “You said everyone deserves a second chance. Here’s yours.”

Panic rippled over her. “But that’s not fair to him.”

Rush lifted an eyebrow as a hard look settled into his eyes.

Anger pushed out the panic as Elle glared at him. “This is not fair. You’re bullying me into calling Edward. It’s not Edward’s fault that I …” She stopped, her eyes wild.

“That you what?” he prompted.

She was about to say,
I love you.
Where had that come from? A sense of Déjà vu pelted over her as the layers of time peeled away. For a split second, she caught something—something that had been there before. A love that conquered her soul and divided a kingdom. Then the realization settled over her. She didn’t know when it had happened or how, but she did love him. She loved him so fiercely that she would never have the strength to resist him. No doubt she was attracted to him—so attracted she could hardly form a clear thought when he was near her, but there was more. She’d felt it that first day she saw him standing on the front porch, scrutinizing her. He knew her as she knew him. Their souls had connected in a way that could never be undone.

“What were you going to say?” he repeated.

She made a face. “I was going to say that I care a great deal about you.” She rolled her eyes. “Although at the moment, I’m not sure why,” she quipped. How could she love someone so much and want to pummel him the next moment?

He chuckled. “Call him.” His expression grew serious, and there was an earnest look in his eyes that nearly took her breath away. “Call him,” he said softly.

“I don’t know,” she hedged, looking down at the phone.

He scowled, and she saw the condemnation on his face. The horrid vision from the shadow crawler flashed before her eyes, and she had the sensation of being trapped within the jaws of the monster. She shuddered. He was about to move away from her. Panic raced through her. “Stop.” She couldn’t lose him. She couldn’t botch things up this time! She knew breaking up with Edward was an inevitable thing. She just hadn’t expected it to be this way—with Rush looking on.

“Fine. I’ll call him.” She pushed the button.

“Put it on speaker.”

“What?” Anger seared over her. “You really don’t trust me, do you?” she said bitterly.

A hard smile curved his lips. “Trust is something that has to be earned.”

“Fine.” She glared at him as she put it on speaker. The call went through and began ringing. Her heart felt like it would fall out of her chest at any minute. She wondered what she was going to say. How she was going to phrase it in order to let him down easily. She glanced at Rush, his jaw hard and unyielding. Relief flooded through her when it went to voicemail. When she hesitated, Rush made a motion with his hand, prompting her to continue.

“Um … Edward … it’s me … Elle.” She swallowed hard. “There’s something I need to talk to you about. Something important.” She hesitated.

“Say it,” he commanded through clenched teeth.