Page 42 of Sealed By Fire (The Nature Hunters Academy 2)

Elias climbed off of the bed and ran his hand through his hair as frustration built inside of him. Yes, it was definitely time for him to go. “That’s cruel.”

“I never claimed to be a nice girl.” She winked at him.

Elias wanted to climb back into the bed with her. But she had said she wasn’t ready for their relationship to go to the next level physically. And it most certainly would if he decided to stick around. He turned on his heel and headed for the door.

As he grasped the knob, Tara said his name. He turned, and his breath caught at how stunning she looked with her hair in disarray from his hands clenching it, her lips swollen from his kiss, and her eyes still a bit glassy from the desire she’d felt from him. He needed to get out of there five minutes ago. “Yes, love.”

“I don't really want you to leave, but it’s for the best right now. I think we both need to cool down.”

Elias held her gaze and focused on the emotions he could feel through the soul bond. He could tell she felt insecure. “Never be afraid to tell me what you need,” he said seriously. “There is no judgment from me, Tara. Whatever you need, I will give it to you.”

“Thank you,” she whispered.

“There’s no need for thanks. You’re mine. And everything I am is yours.” He opened the door and stepped out, quickly closing it behind him. If he’d stayed a moment longer, he would have wrapped her in his arms, but he wasn’t sure if he could have stopped at simply holding her. The fevered moments they’d shared were still too fresh in his mind. He needed a cold shower or a long workout session. Or both. Yes, both would be the best option before seeing his soul bonded again.

Tara staredat the closed door as her heart continued to pound. Her mind couldn’t be still as the last thirty minutes played on repeat in her head. She didn’t know intimacy could be like that with someone, not that she had any experience with being intimate. But she’d honestly hadn’t had a clue that it could feel so … so incredibly indescribable. For those brief minutes where she’d been in Elias’s arms, his lips on hers and his hands gripping her, she’d wanted nothing more than to give him everything she was. She hungered to share in the intimacy of something she would never give anyone else, nor would he. But when they stopped and she had time to get her faculties together, she knew she wasn’t ready. Soul bonded or not, they still didn’t really know each other. According to him, he’d never been in a long-term relationship. Neither of them knew what it took to have a good relationship, at least not from experience.

Tara had seen her parents' marriage, and they’d had a good one. They’d never hidden their arguments from her, and when they did argue, they never resorted to name-calling or yelling. Her mother and father had kept things civil, and they’d apologized when needed. She’d watched them be tender with one another and playful. She’d seen her dad hold her mom and offer comfort when her mother was hurt or sad. She knew their relationship hadn’t been perfect, but then, whose was? But it was the closest thing she knew of.Thatwas what she hoped to have. She wanted to look at a man the way her mom had looked at her dad. And she wanted a man to look at her with the same type of adoration with which her dad had looked at her mom. Tara wanted to give her and Elias a chance at making it.

She let out a sigh, fell back onto the bed, and stared up at the ceiling. So much had happened in the last few months. She missed Shelly so badly, and she was worried about her friend. “And here I was making out with my boyfriend,” Tara muttered under her breath, suddenly ashamed. Though she knew Shelly wouldn’t see it that way. Her best-freaky-friend-forever would have been cheering her on and then begging for details, complaining all the while Tara wasn’t being forthcoming. Tara’s heart ached as she thought about her friend and how powerless she was to help. Tara hadn’t realized just how much vibrance and light Shelly had brought into her life over the years … and to think, Tara had tried continuously to push her away. Now, she would do anything to get her friend back. She wondered if Shelly was still unconscious. Did she know what was going on? Could she feel the heat of the underworld? Were demons trying to hurt her as she lay helpless in her coma-like state?

“UGH,” she ground out as she fisted her hands. Dwelling on it wasn’t going to change anything. But she would anyway. Tara would worry and fret and even rage over the fact that her best friend was in harm's way … and it was because of her. Maybe it would have been better if Tarahadsucceeded in pushing her friend away. Then Shelly wouldn’t have been in a position to get hurt. But then Tara would have been completely alone for all these years. Sure, she’d have had her foster mom, Carol, but that wasn’t the same as having a friend her own age, someone who understood what it was like to live and survive junior high and high school. Tara hoped Shelly wouldn’t have to pay the ultimate price for being her friend.

Tara’s eyes began to feel heavy as her emotions weighed her down. The last time she’d felt this scared had been when her parents died. She’d suddenly been thrown into a great big world all alone with no one to protect her or love her. She’d been terrified, and yet she’d somehow kept it together by the skin of her teeth. Now, as she laid in a bed that wasn’t her own, in a place that wasn’t her home, Tara’s heart broke open, and the tears she rarely let fall came pouring out of her.

She hurt for her parents and the horrible death they had experienced. She hurt for herself and the terror she’d experienced as a young girl. She hurt for the difficult times she’d put Carol through and for how mean she’d been to Shelly. And now she added a new wound because her friend was in hell … literally.

Tears streamed down her face, and her chest shook as she let herself dissolve into a weeping mess. Tara rolled to her side and wrapped her arms around her gathered legs.

“I want them back,” she whispered through her tears. “I want them all back, and I don’t ever want to be alone again.” She knew it was impossible, but that didn’t change the cry of her heart. There were holes inside of her she knew would never be filled. There was pain she didn’t think would ever go away.

“I’m so sorry, Shelly,” she said, wishing her friend could hear her and feel the sincerity in her words. “I would take your place in a heartbeat.” Without thought or worry, Tara would lay down her life for her friend, and she knew Shelly would do the same for her.

Tara didn’t move when she heard the door open. For once, she didn’t care if someone saw her falling apart. She was tired of trying to be strong. Tara didn’t want to have to bear the burdens anymore.

Strong arms came around her, and then a warm body completely enveloped hers. She recognized his scent right away. Elias. He was there, offering her safety and comfort.

“I’m sorry, love.” His deep voice whispered into her ear. “I would take it all away for you if I could.”

This only made her cry harder because she wanted that so badly. She needed him to fix it, to make it better.

“I can feel your pain. It’s like a gaping wound inside of me,” Elias said. He held her tighter, as if his arms could somehow keep her from shattering into a million pieces. She didn’t speak because there were no words. She simply wept, her sobs coming out in a sound she almost couldn’t believe was her own because of how broken it was. She wrapped her hands around his arms and held on tightly, afraid he might let her go.

“I’m not going anywhere,” he said. “I’m yours for as long as you will have me. And you are mine to care for. It is an honor to have you. Never doubt that!”

Tara didn’t know how she was lucky enough to have him, but she didn’t care. She wouldn’t give him up.

Perhaps Tara could find a way to make up for all she’d done, to somehow redeem herself from her past.

“Shelly is going to be all right,” Elias told her.

“How can you say that? How can you promise me something that you have no control over?” she asked, though not unkindly. She just didn’t want to have false hope. Tara would rather prepare herself for the worst, then if the worst didn’t happen, she would be pleasantly surprised.

“I can promise you because Ra promised, and Ra doesn’t break his promises. It has something to do with his heritage.”

She frowned. “What do you mean?”

Elias sat back and pulled her so that she was sitting sideways across his lap. She rested her cheek on his shoulder and watched as he entwined their fingers.

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