Page 51 of Bound By Earth (The Nature Hunters Academy 1)

Tara felt her face heat up as shenodded.

He stepped closer and took her face gently, but with a confidence that showed he’d done this before, and tilted it up to him. His eyes stared into hers. “You have beautiful eyes,Tara.”

“You’ve already won the kiss fair and square. You don’t have to try and woome.”

His thumb brushed against her cheek, and his warm breath fanned across her face. “Wooing is the best part. But I’m not going to lie. I’ve wanted to kiss you for a long time. I don’t want to wait anylonger.”

Tara took a deep breath and forced herself to be calm, relax, and let Tucker lead. She knew the mechanics of a kiss but still wondered how people got around the noses and how they knew when to use their tongue and how much tongue was too much tongue. It all seemed incrediblycomplicated.

Tucker leaned down. He was moving slowly as if he was savoring every second. In those passing seconds, Tara was able to admit her sadness that Tucker was going to be her first kiss. No matter the text that Shelly had sent, Tara didn’t want to just imagine kissing Elias while kissing someone else. It didn’t feel right. In fact, it felt so wrong she was beginning to get sick to her stomach. Tucker closed in. His lips were a hair’s breadth from hers. She was about to tell him to stop when, all of a sudden, the ground rumbled so hard that it threw them both off balance. Tara fell back and hit her head on the porch railing. Of course, it didn’t hurt, but she had to play the part. She grunted and then placed her hand on top of her head as if she were inpain.

Tucker had been thrown farther back, which was strange. He was much heavier than she was. She couldn’t imagine the earthquake somehow being stronger for him when they were standing mere inchesapart.

“Are you all right?” he asked as he hurried to his feet and came over to help herup.

Tara brushed herself off and then touched her head again. “Yeah, I’m good. I think it will just be a small knot, nothing serious.” There would be no knot, but she couldn’t very well saythat.

“I wish I could say it was my kiss that made the ground shake.” Tucker chuckled. “But apparently there’s been another earthquake. Perhaps I can take a raincheck on thekiss?”

“Yeah, that’sfine.”

“I’m sure that bump you took is probably going to give you a headache. You might want to ice it and don’t go to bed right away,” he warned her. “The football trainers always tell us that when we take hardhits.”

“Okay,” she said and unlocked the front door. “Thank you, Tucker. I had a really goodtime.”

He nodded and grinned that trademark smile. “That was the plan. Sleep tight, T. I’ll text you thisweekend.”

She didn’t know how to respond to that, so she took the old trusty smile and nod routine and then stepped into the house, shutting the door quickly behind her. Tara leaned back against the door and closed her eyes. She’d almost let Tucker Adams kiss her. She’d almost given away a first that she could never get back, something she shouldn’t waste on just anyone. And Tara knew without a doubt he was the wrong guy to give itto.

“Why couldn’t he be an ass, like some other guy I know?” She sighed and headed to her room to take a shower and wash off the axe-throwing funk. She didn’t bother to look at her phone. She had no doubt there would be at least five from Shelly. And quite possibly one fromElias.

* * *

Elias tookseveral deep breaths to regain control of the magic he’d released. It hadn’t been a conscious decision. One second, he was watching Tucker lean down to kiss Tara and the next, they’d been pushed apart because of a minor earthquake that may or may not have only happened in the ground beneath Tara’s home. Everything inside of him had shouted, “Hell no,” and his magic had taken action to make sure the acolyte didn’t claim anything of Tara’s, let alone her first kiss. He’d used a spell to make sure Tara didn’t hit the ground nearly as hard as Tucker had. Thankfully, it had worked. The little romantic interlude that had been created was broken, and they were going their separateways.

Elias would give Tara a little while to spend time with Carol, who was pulling in the driveway. Then he’d pay Tara a visit. It was going against Jax’s order to keep his distance, but Elias was pretty sure nothing would keep him from seeing Tara tonight. He didn’t know how to get her to understand that Tucker wasn’t who he appeared to be. He really did seem like a genuine guy, so much so that he was almost fooling Elias. But then, when Tucker turned away from Tara, Elias would see the wicked gleam in his eyes and the self-satisfied smile. It was like his face transformed into someone else. Elias supposed in some ways, the boy was someone else. The dark magic within himmadehim someoneelse.

Elias knew he needed to trust the fact that if Tara was indeed his soul match, and he was to be bonded to her, then she ultimately wouldn’t pick Tucker. Elias was destined to be with her. But how much would she give to Tucker before Elias was able to claim her and show her who shewasactually for? He knew there was no way he was going to be able to stand idly by and let what nearly happened tonight happen again. “No bloody way,” he muttered through clenchedteeth.

Unable to wait any longer, he decided to send her atext.

How was yourdate?

Elias hadto hand it to Tucker. The axe throwing was impressive. It was original and something that he must have known would have been right up Tara’s alley. And didn’t that just irritate Elias even more? The fact that he knew more about Tara than Elias, her freaking soul mate. Nope, that didn’t sting atall.

His phone chimed and he glanceddown.

Surprisingly fun.

Elias clenched his jaw.He sat there staring at her response and tried to tell himself he was glad she was happy and that she’d had fun. That’s what mattered, right? And maybe when he grew into a mature man of a hundred and twelve he would definitely go that route. Since he was not that man yet, he was going to go a different route and probably want to kick his own arse later. Another text came through before he couldrespond.

Elias?

You hung up on me.Deflect and blame.Definitely mature, yatosser.

You weren’t sayinganything worth listeningto.

Ouch.And she slaps me back with the sting of the truth. He would just have to respond inkind.

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