Page 52 of Bound By Earth (The Nature Hunters Academy 1)

Doesit matter at all that I want to be the one taking you ondates?

Maybe it would… but you can’t date me, according to you. Even though you can’t date me, I’m supposed to not date anyoneelse?

Exactly.Okay, now they were gettingsomewhere.

Didyou really read that text before you texted back? Please tell me youdidn’t.

Elias re-readher text and then put himself in her shoes. What if she were the one telling him she couldn’t be with him and that he also couldn’t be with anyone else? Maybe guys and girls saw it differently because if he couldn’t have her then he wouldn’t want anyoneelse.

If the roleswere reversed and you couldn’t be with me, I still wouldn’t want to be with anyoneelse.

Why?You’d rather be alone?She textedback.

He knew sendingher this next text was taking a huge risk, but he wanted,needed,her to understand how serious he was. He wanted her to be safely away from Tucker until Elias could wrap her in his arms and give her that first kiss, because it would be his to give. So, he typed out the text slowly, knowing she could see the little bubbles letting her know he wasresponding.

The ideaof touching a woman that isn’t you is nauseating to me. Your voice is a melody to my ears, and all others are like little annoying parakeets. Your scent captivates me as if it were a perfume made specifically for me. If we were characters in a book, you would be the woman written to be mine and only mine. You’d fit perfectly with me. So, why the bloody hell would I want an imitation if I can’t haveyou?

He hitsend and then leaned his head back against the headrest of his seat and closed his eyes. He was beginning to realize that Tara was the one being on earth who could utterly destroy him. And that was an incredibly soberingthought.

Chapter 15

Tara stood frozen in her room, staring down at her phone, re-reading the text Elias had just sent. She could hear Carol calling her name and knew she should respond, but her brain had temporarily shut down and was going to need a minute or fifty to come back online. How was she supposed to respond tothat? How was any eighteen-year-old girl who’d met a guy a week ago supposed to respond to a text like that from aforementioned guy? She was pretty sure a restraining order would be the wisest course of action. But though the words were intense, she didn’t feel like she was an obsession to him, well, at least no more than he was an obsession toher.

“Are you all right?” Carol’s concerned voice came from behindher.

Tara turned around and plastered on a smile that she hoped looked like one of her ‘I’m not super happy, but I love you so you get a smile”’ smiles. “I’mgood.”

“How was your date? You said Tucker Adams, right? He’s a good boy. Lost his parents when he was young,too.”

Tara frowned. “Really?” How did she not know that? He seemed so normal, so untouched by such atrauma.

Carol nodded. “When he was younger he went through some tough things, but his foster family, who has since adopted him, got him in counseling and that changed a lot for him.” To Carol’s credit, she didn’t say, “See, counseling really does help,” though Tara knew she’d probably like to. Tara had refused to talk when Carol had taken her to a counselor. Eventually, Carol had just stopped taking her and instead made her sit on the back porch and listen while Carol talked instead. She talked about anything and everything and, in some weird way, itwasa form of counseling. Eventually, Tara began speaking, too. It was a safe place to talk, the refuge that Carol had created forher.

“It was a fun date,” Tara said. “I learned how to throw anaxe.”

Carol’s eyebrows rose so high they disappeared behind her bangs. “Wow. In my day we just went to a picture show. And if you were really scandalous, you would share adrink.”

Tara laughed. “My, my, Mrs. Carol, thatisscandalous. I’m sure you neverpartook.”

“Ooh, girl, you won’t be getting any dishing out of me. Dinner’s ready. Wash up and come to the kitchen.” She left the room chuckling and muttering, “Never partook … ha ha, you don’t know the half ofit.”

Tara smiled and looked back at her phone. The smile faded as she looked at the texts. Elias had sent another since she hadn’t responded to the one that had frozenher.

Scared?

Her eyes narrowedon the obvious challenge. Was she scared? She’d have to think about it because she didn’t really know what she was supposed to be afraid of. Afraid that he felt that strongly for her? Afraid that she could never be with him and she felt just as strongly for him? Afraid that it meant she was destined to be alone? All of those things. Okay, so that wasn’t as hard as she thought. Hell to the yes, she wasscared.

Can’t text right now. Tucker iscalling.

He totally wasn’t calling,but Elias didn’t know that. Now she was the one poking thebear.

Before she set the phone down, Tara checked her text messages from Shelly. There were five ofthem.

If I don’t hearfrom you soon I’m going to report you missing and tell them to check Tucker’sbasement.

WHY. HAVEN’T. YOU.TEXTED???

I’m dying … literally. If you don’t send me a text right now, I will leave this world not knowing how your very first date went. And if that happens, you will be the worst BFFF in the history of BFFF’s, and I will demand you put your necklace in my ashes and then take my ashes to the highest mountain you can climb, which we both know will be that stupid ridge you call a mountain, and scatter them to the wind. And a song. I want you to sing me a song. Like, hmmm, sing”Say Something” because teat-less female dog, I’m giving up onyou.

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