Page 47 of Bound By Earth (The Nature Hunters Academy 1)

If there wasa mic in his hand, he totally could have dropped it. She wasn’t going to squeal like a girl. She wasn’t. “This is me not squealing,” she sort of sang and sort of … squealed. Dammit. What was she supposed to do now? She already had a date with a guy who’d made it abundantly clear he was interested in her romantically, and he had had the balls to ask her out. Elias wasn’t asking her out. He wasn’t really doing anything except stalking her and filling her heart with warm gooiness. What could she do with warm gooiness? Not a dangthing.

Giveme a reason to cancel thisdate.

There.The ball was in his court. Whatever happened next was onhim.

He’s not for you.

Back to that.It had been one of the things he’d said to her on the day he met her at the job fair. “He’s not for you.” It sounded so formal and specific. Like there was someone else forher.

But maybe I’mforhim.

Her phone rang and “Ass Cat”came up on the screen. Tara couldn’t help but laugh. Shelly had so thoughtfully programmed his number in for her. Tara slid her finger across the screen and pressed the phone to herear.

“Hello,” sheanswered.

“I have to most ardently disagree with that last text, luv. You are definitely not forhim.”

“Hello to you, too, Elias. Yes, I’m doing fine. Thank you for asking.” Tara put as much cheerfulness into her voice as possible. Anyone who knew her knew she’d never naturally sound that perky, ever, for anyreason.

“Howareyou doing?” he asked, his voice softer,gentler.

“I’m not sure how to answer that,” sheadmitted.

“I’d prefer thetruth.”

“The truth is bizarre and probably not healthy.”So, sounhealthy.

He chuckled. “I’m well acquainted with bizarre. I’ll let you know if I think it’sunhealthy.”

“Are you a doctor?” Taraasked

“No.”

“Then how could you possibly make a decision on whether it’sunhealthy?”

“You’re stalling, little bear.” He sounded amused. She liked that she amused him. Yep, she wasdisturbed.

“Littlebear?”

“I find that I rather like poking you to get a reaction. My grandmother used to tell me that I’d better stop poking bears lest I get bit. I apparently have not learned my lesson,” he said with a grin in hisvoice.

“Ever been bitten?” Tara asked, her head now full of images of Elias with a long stick and a sleeping bear about to getpoked.

“Not yet. But I have a feeling I wouldn’t mind being bitten by you. Now, back to my original question before you took us off on a tangent. How are youdoing?”

She had no idea how to answer his question. She didn’t understand all of the emotions swirling inside of her. She couldn’t grasp how her heart, mind, and soul yearned for Elias’s company. It. Wasn’t. Normal. It had been torture ignoring him for the past two days, hearing him pound on the door and wanting to open it just so she could seehim.

“Tara, you’re breathing sounds a little fast. Are youokay?”

She didn’t answer. Shecouldn’tanswer because suddenly she couldn’t breathe. When she mentally laid it all out there like that—when she really allowed herself to consider just how strongly she felt about this man she barely knew—it made herpanic.

“Tara? Please say something, or bang the phone on something if you can’t breathe so I know if I should call911.”

His words were filled with a command, as if he could force her compliance by being stern. She thought if she didn’t say something quickly, then she was going to have an ambulance outside of her house … all because she couldn’t verbalize herfeelings.

Closing her eyes, she forced herself to think about something else—something that had nothing to do with Elias—like the wind and the smell of the forest and the sound of animals rustling in the woods.Finally, she took a deep breath. “I’m fine. “I’m just a li—” Just then, the doorbell rang, followed by a series ofknocks.

She looked at her clock. It was not time for her date, and Shelly wouldn’t knock. She’d use the key she’d made herself. Tara hurried down the hall to the door and looked through the peephole. It wasTucker.

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