Page 58 of Sealed By Fire (The Nature Hunters Academy 2)

“I know you don’t know me well enough to trust me. But I went through the seven levels of hell to get to you. I made a deal with the devil to keep you and get you out of the underworld. I promised your best friend I would get you back, no matter the cost. Can you trust those things?”

She was quiet for a moment and then nodded her head.

“If I’m willing to make those decisions and see them through, isn’t it logical that if I make the decision that you are my soul mate, then I will see that through as well?”

This time she shook her head no.

He couldn’t help but laugh a little.

She started to speak, but Ra stopped her with a little squeeze. “I will ignore you if you do not look at me when you speak to me.”

Shelly moved slowly as she lifted her head and glared up at him. The fear was gone, replaced by irritation and indignation. He liked it.

“And if I call you an ass while I’m looking at you?”

Ra used one hand to brush her hair from her face. “I would have to be honest with you and tell you the fire in your eyes when you’re angry is … how did you put it? Ah, yes, hella hot.”

She snorted. “Did breathing the sulfurous fumes of hell do something to your brain?”

He shook his head. “I’ve always been this way.”

“A bossy dictator?”

“I like to be in control. If I am in control, then I know things will get done the right way, the first time. And if they don’t, I only have myself to blame.”

“They have therapy for that,” she said with a small smirk.

He narrowed his eyes on her and then released her so he could cup her face with both hands. He watched as her breathing quickened, and her face suddenly flushed. “Are you all right now?”

She licked her lips, and Ra had to force himself to look away from her glistening mouth.

“I think so,” she said. “Sometimes, I just need a good freak-out. It cleanses the soul.”

“I’ve never heard that before.”

“Probably because you never have to freak out, Mr. Always-In-Control.”

It was his turn to smirk. “Probably.” He dropped his hands and stepped back because he knew if he stood that close to her much longer, he was going to kiss her. He didn’t want her to have another freak-out moment so close to the previous one.

She blew out a breath that caused her cheeks to puff and then shuffled her feet side-to-side. “So, sex is off the table, and I’m not sure where we go from the whole declaration of soul mates thing. What do we do now?” She looked around as if an answer was just going to suddenly appear.

“We could explore this place,” Ra suggested as he noticed a hallway and some doors.

“What do you think it is? Are there motels in hell? It doesn’t seem like a place anyone would come for a vacation, and those who do come here aren’t exactly here for the scenery. Right?”

Ra began to follow her as she wandered toward the hallway. He didn’t know if she expected an answer. He hoped not because the sway of her hips distracted him so much he wasn’t sure he could put enough words together to make a coherent sentence.

“Do you think this is Ol’ Devil dude’s house?” she continued. “Would he have a house? Or does he just sit on that creepy throne and listen to the wailing and moans?” She shrugged as if the answers didn’t really matter and then marched further down the hall. “Let’s just start at the end and work our way back.”

Ra continued to follow, completely content to watch her walk ahead of him. He hoped it was a long hallway.

11

Tara paced Elias’s room while Liam lounged in a chair like a huge, languid cat. Aston typed away on a laptop, probably hacking into some dark elemental database of villains or something. Elias was propped up on his bed staring at Tara. She knew he was likely hoping to will her to come closer to him so he could snatch her and force her to be still.Fat chance. She made sure not to look at him because all he had to do to cause her wayward feet to move his direction was give her those bedroom eyes and crook his finger at her. Damn soul-bonded hormones.

“Okay, I need to know stuff,” she said suddenly as she stopped pacing and faced the three guys. She kept her eyes on Liam and Aston and bit her lip to keep from grinning when she heard Elias growl like a freaking animal.

“Finally,” Liam said as he rubbed his palms together. “I tried to have this talk with Elias, but he wouldn’t listen. I’m glad you’ve realized you guys need help. Now”—he breathed out and then swung his legs around, put both feet on the floor, and leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees—“I think the first thing that went wrong was Elias’s understanding of the female form. If the male doesn’t adequately understand his way around the female anatomy, then there’s no freaking way he’s going to get it right. And judging by your questions the other day, the dude definitely did not get it right.”

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