Page 43 of Bound By Earth (The Nature Hunters Academy 1)

“I lost my parents when I was six,” he said quietly. “But I had mygrandparents.”

“My parents were killed in a car accident,” she said after a few silent heartbeats. “I was brought to Carol a couple weekslater.”

“I’m so sorry for your loss, luv,” Elias saidgently.

He truly meant it. Tara could see it in his eyes. The anger that had been there was completely gone and replaced by concern. He hurt for her. She didn’t understand why, but he did. She hadn’t missed that he’d called her ‘love.’ It would be stupid to read anything into it. She knew it was a British term commonly used. Who didn’t? But that didn’t mean her skin didn’t break out in goose bumps and her face didn’t flush. “Thank you,” she saidhonestly.

He stood to his feet suddenly, and Tara found herself scrambling off the bed. She straightened her top and cleared her throat as he watchedher.

“It’s late. I should let you get some rest,” he said, his demeanor much more subdued than when he’darrived.

Tara didn’t want him to leave, but she didn’t want him to know it. Geeze, being attracted to someone was emotionally exhausting. “Yeah, of course,” she said and motioned toward her door. “I’ll walk youout.”

He held out his hand, indicating her to lead the way, and she once again felt his eyes on her back the entire way to the front door. She started to open it, but it was pushed quickly closed. Tara gasped as she looked up and saw Elias’s large hand pressed to the door above her head. She felt his presence right behind her and could feel the heat from his body against her back. Tara closed her eyes and focused on her breathing, specifically that she actually kept breathing because she was finding it very difficult to draw in anyair.

“Breathe, luv.” Elias’s voice interrupted her thoughts. His lips were beside her ear, and his warm breath caressed her neck. “You’re going to pass out if you don’t take a breath,Tara.”

She sucked in a sharp breath and pressed her forehead to the cold surface of the door.What. The. Hell. What was going on with her? He was a guy. She’d been around hundreds of them in her lifetime, and none of them had ever induced loss of ability to breathe. Then again, none of those previous guys had ever made her feel the way Eliasdid.

“Why did you text me today?” She needed to know if it was only her. Was this connection she felt only one sided? Tara wasn’t about to tear down her walls for a guy who was merely curious about her, not when she knew that her feelings for him had the potential to grow into so muchmore.

“I told you,” he said softly, “I wascurious.”

She squeezed her eyes tightly closed and forced herself to shove any feelings she had for Elias Creed into a box in her mind. Then she pictured herself pushing that box off a cliff while giving it the finger. Super healthy stuff,folks.

“Wrong answer,” she said, her voice no longer a breathy whisper. “I need you to leave.” She grasped the doorknob and twisted, then quickly pulled it open as she backed up, forcing him to retreat as well. She refused to look at him and hoped he would just get the message and walk out. He didn’t. Stupid, curious, intense, overbearingman.

“Tara.” He practically growled hername.

“Please, Elias. I’m tired and I find I’m done humoring your curiosity. Find someone else to be curiousabout.”

“Not happening,” he muttered. “I’ll see youtomorrow.”

When the words finally registered, he was gone, leaving her staring at a closed, locked door. Had she closed the door? Had she lockedit?

“Dammit!” And there she was playing twenty questions again, all because of Elias Creed. And she didn’t want to see him tomorrow. Or the next day or the next. “I’m curious?” she yelled at the door, wishing her mind hadn’t shut down at the exact moment he made his declaration. “I’m going to give you something to be curious about when you have to figure out how to get my bloody foot out of your arse!” She mentally added “curious” to the list of words she was going to ban from her vocabulary, right along with hymen andmountains.

She hurried back to her room and snatched up her phone She had at least twenty messages from Shelly. She didn’t bother to read them. Instead, she just sent Shelly a quick text of herown.

I’m fine.He’s gone. We will talk tomorrow. I’mtired.

She turnedoff her bedroom light and climbed into bed. Just as she was getting comfortable, her phone beeped twice. She felt around for it on top of her comforter and snatched it up. She had two messages. One from Shelly and another from a number she didn’t want tosee.

She tapped on Shelly’smessage.

You’re a traitorous,calfless cow for making me wait until tomorrow. Love u.Night.

Tara shookher head at her best friend and then clicked on the message from the number she just decided would now be known in her contacts as CuriousAsshat.

Sleep sweet,luv. -E

Because her pridewouldn’t give him the last word, she texted himback.

Piss off,tosser. -T

She was really loving all the British insults she’d learned on the shows she watched on BBC. Who knew they’d come in sohandy?

The satisfaction of snapping at him quickly wore off as she remembered how it had felt to have him so close to her, his breath on her neck, his voice in her ear. His nearness had scorched her down to the very marrow in her bones. And yet he was onlycuriousabout her. Tara shook her head and tossed the phone aside. “He’s just a guy, Tara. Just an ordinary, human guy. Get overit.”

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