Page 24 of Bound By Earth (The Nature Hunters Academy 1)

“Was that an earthquake?”Someone from behind her asked, which seemed to be the cue for the rest of the room to begin speakingagain.

The guy who had Tara’s complete attention had stopped and was staring. Ishe staring at me?She couldn’t be sure, but the chatter of voices around them seemed to snap him out of his own trance. Tara tried not to drool as he walkedover.

The man—Elias, Jax had called him—stood next to Jax, and the difference in their appearance was striking. The older Jax was big and bulky, like a bodybuilder, whereas the new guy was trim and muscular like a swimmer. His shoulders were broad and large, and his chest was obviously sculpted based on how his shirt clung to him. Jax’s face was warm and inviting, ready to smile at a moment’s notice. Elias was dark and brooding, and he caused shivers to race up and down Tara’sspine.

His hair was dark, almost black. His eyes were a beautiful shade of aquamarine and practically glowed. He had a heavy brow, straight, aristocratic nose, strong cheekbones, and lips that were so full they looked ripe for biting … which she totally didn’t want to do.Yeah,right.

“I didn’t think it was humanly possible to look that flawless,” Shelly saidquietly.

“Maybe he’s not human,” Tara mutteredback.

“Oh, right, right, right,” Shelly said quickly and nodded. “Definitely not human. Oh, snap, what if he’s likey—”

Tara slammed her foot down onShelly’s.

“Bloody Mary on a magpie, that was not necessary,” Shellygrowled.

Tara shot her friend aglare.

Shelly raised her hands apologetically. “Okay, maybe a little necessary. But it’s not my fault my brain is short circuiting. No one that hot is supposed to exist. It’s a rule. Somewhere. I’m sure ofit.”

“Ladies,” Jax interjected. “Let me introduce you to Elias Creed. He’s new in the extraction department atTGTE.”

“The pleasure is all mine,” Elias crooned as he glanced at Shelly and then turned those lethal eyes on Tara. “All. Mine.” He repeated holding her gaze, almost daring her to say something or lookaway.

Tara wanted to growl, gnash her teeth, or do something else animalistic. He had a British accent. Of course he did. It was deep and rich, and it washed over her like warm honey. Not that she’d ever poured warm honey on herself, because, who does that? But she imagined if a voice could feel like something, that is whathiswould feel like. To her anyway. She hoped it didn’t feel like that way to Shelly because for some reason that made Tara want to throat punch her friend.Because that washealthy.

“Elias Creed?”asked Shelly. “Wait, hold the hell up.” She placed her hands on her waist and eyed the guy like he’d seriously done something wrong. “You’re not only a walking orgasm, but you have an accentanda sexy, mysterious name as well?” She turned to Jax. “Does anyone else in theextractiondepartment look like him? If so, I want in. Forget I said rocks are boring. I love rocks. Rocks are the best. Yay, rocks! I want to be a part of … whatever you called this place … now. Give me the personality test, too. No, skip it. Whatever personality you’re looking for, I’ve got it. If I don’t, I’ll change it. Just sign meup.”

“Does she have an off switch?” Elias asked. His forehead was pinched into a sharp V as he frowned at Shelly. Even his frown was hot. How can a frown be hot? And when did the word “hot” suddenly become the only adjective she was capable ofusing?

“Nope,” Tara said. And she suddenly had the urge to explain. She wasn’t a talker, especially not to someone she’d never met, but, for some reason, she just kept right on going. Maybe it was because it annoyed her that he thought Shelly needed an off switch. “She tends to just say what she thinks. It’s actually quite refreshing. Most people give lip service and just say what they think others want to hear. But not with Shelly. She just tells it like it is. You never have to worry about wondering if she’s telling you the truth. She’s loyal to a fault and the least judgmental person I know. She doesn’t need an offswitch.”

“Wow, T,” Shelly said, her face lit up as if it were Christmas morning. “I never knew you thought all that about me. Pretty sure this just upgraded us to some other level of friendship. Now, we need to make a blood pact orsomething.”

“Or we could forego the blood pact,” Tarasuggested.

Through this entire exchange, Elias’s eyes stayed on Tara. He didn’t seem offended by her rebuttal. In fact, he looked pleased.His right brow rose, and his full lips turned up slightly. “And what about you,luv?”

Tara loved his accent. He dropped the t’s off the ends of his words, making the lilt of it even stronger. Adding ‘love’ to the end of his sentence … well, that was the icing on the proverbial British hotness cake, wasn’t it? Yes, she’d just referred to the guy standing in front of her as a cake. Forshame.

“Are you asking me if I need an offswitch?”

Elias shook his head as he licked his bottom lip. “No. I’m asking if you give lip service? Or are youtruthful?”

Tara tried not to shiver. She really did. But he said “lip service” as if he were physically tasting the words and enjoyed theirflavor.

“I’m truthful. But I prefer to keep my thoughts tomyself.”

“We can’t both be verbal vomiters,” Shelly said. “One of us has to be the logical, level-headed one. Otherwise, we’d end up in jail for molesting mysterious guys who show up at soccer games for no reason.” She cast a sideways glance at Jax. “Tara keeps us legal. I keep us weird. Everyone else can put their lips on it and inhalesharply.”

Yep, that was Shelly in a sentence, and it would probably be on her gravestone—not too far in the future because she was going to piss off the wrong person and Tara might not be there to keep the whole situationlegal.

Elias narrowed his eyes. “I’m not sure Ifollow.”

“She means she is who she is and everyone else can suck it,” offeredTara.

“Charming,” Elias quipped, never taking his eyes from Tara. “Glad to hear you are an honest woman. They seem few and far between thesedays.”

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