Page 56 of Bound By Earth (The Nature Hunters Academy 1)

She nodded and felt her heart begin to pick up its pace as his beautiful eyes stared into hers. They were the color of the sea green ocean, and she wondered if she stared into them long enough if she would fall into them. Tara knew if she wasn’t careful, she could lose herself to Elias Creed and never be able to find herselfagain.

“I wasn’t sure how you felt about me. And because I let my fragile ego get in the way, I made an assumption that I was the only one interested in the possibility of us getting to know one another better. But that’s not the only reason I said we couldn’t be together. It’s also because I will be leaving in a few days. I travel a lot because of my work. It’s not exactly conducive to a budding relationship. But this”—he held up the poem and smiled—“this makes me think that maybe you’d like us to get to know each other, too.Yeah?”

She nearly rolled her eyes because that poem didn’t make it sound like she wanted to get to know him. It sounded like she wanted to bind herself to him for all eternity. But it was cute he was downplaying the poem to lessen the embarrassment. “I think the words on that page answer thatquestion.”

“I’d like to hear it from your lips,” hepushed.

“You realize this is exactly why I wrote that last sentence,right?”

He chuckled. “I’m sorry that I induce such emotions that cause you to want to kick me. I won’t promise that the urge will abate. It might, in fact,increase.”

“You’re not building a very good case for yourself,” Tara said as she sat back down on herbed.

“Little bear,” hegrowled.

“Fine. Yes, I want to get to know you. But what happens if I don’t get offered a place at TGTE, or if I do, and I choose not to takeit?”

Tara saw a momentary look of confusion on his face, but it was gone in an instant. He looked away as he retook his seat at her desk and cleared his throat. “I guess that depends on how we feel about one another. If we begin this”—he paused, tilting his head slightly as if he was looking for the right words and then said—“friendshipand discover that a friendship is all our relationship will be, then I suppose it won’t be a big deal. But if there is more, if we want more, then we will need to figure that out when the timecomes.”

“It’s a risk,” she saidquietly

His lips turned up in a crooked smile. “Most good thingsare.”

Elias set the poem back on her desk then leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. It was the same pose he’d taken the last time he was in her room and giving her his full attention. All that intensity focused on her was overwhelming. It was one of many differences she noticed between him and Tucker. When Tucker focused on her, there was no intensity, at least not for her. There wasn’t an urgency to know everything she could abouthim.

“What were you just thinking about?” Eliasasked.

“I’m not sure that you really want to know,” sheadmitted.

“Tucker?” he guessed. Elias’s face dropped into a frown, his brow drawinglow.

“It’s hard for me not to notice the differences between you two,” she explained. “You’re just so intense and urgent, as if you’re trying to race time even though you know time will always win. It will pass faster than you like, and nothing you can do will changethat.”

“Okay, and how is Tucker different?” He sounded as if it pained him to evenask.

“He’ssafe.”

Elias’s eyes sharpened. “What does thatmean?”

“I’ve known him, or at least known of him, for years. Everyone I know knows him. He’s just a guy who likes to throw axes and play football. I guess I just mean I feel like I know what I would be getting into withhim.”

“People aren’t always what they seem, luv,” Elias said, his features softening abit.

Tara ignored his words. Elias didn’t know Tucker. He was just trying to get her not to like him. She continued on. “What about you? You seem mysterious, dangerous, and unusual. Are you different than what youseem?”

“I’m not sure I want to say no. Those things all make me soundsexy.”

A surprised laugh bubbled up out of Tara, and she quickly smacked a hand over her mouth, hoping Carol hadn’theard.

Elias gazed at her and grinned in return. “Your laugh islovely.”

Tara needed a subject change and for him to stop looking at her like that. At any moment, she was going to bat her eyelashes and sigh. “When you were a kid, what did you want to be? Was it always something that involved working in nature?” sheasked.

He ran a hand over his mouth as if he was trying to cover a smile, like he knew she was purposely changing the subject. “No, actually I wanted to be amime.”

Tara laughed again. She couldn’t help it. Picturing intense Elias as a silly mime… Nope, not happening. “Really?”

He shook his head. “No, not really. I just wanted to hear you laughagain.”

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