Page 96 of Cleansed By Water (The Nature Hunters Academy 3)

“You live here?” Aston asked after several minutes of silence. “In the dragon realm?”

“I do now,” Rory said. “I lived in the human realm, but I’ve been here long enough that it feels more like home than my place in the coven ever did.”

“Haven’t you been lonely?”

She had. Though she had the dragons, especially Kimba, who’d become a dear friend, she missed human companionship. Not to mention, the pain Aston spoke of. She’d had that for as long as she could remember. “Yes. But I’m not lonely anymore. I have you now.”

“I can’t stay here, Rory,” Aston said gently. “I have a life in the human realm. Family, responsibilities. They will be worried about me.”

This wasn’t a surprise to her. Once Kimba had told her she had a mate and that when they found him, they would bring him to the dragon realm, Rory knew she’d have to find a way to make him stay. She was tired of living in pain. She was tired of being alone. And she was not going to return to the human realm to be a pawn for her mother’s coven.

“You don’t want to be with me?” she asked. “You’d rather live in pain?”

“No,” he answered quickly. “I want to be together. Soul mates need each other. I’ve watched my brothers find their soul bonded, and it's amazing to see the love they have for each other.

“We don’t have to stay here to be together. You’re human, Rory. You belong in the human realm. And yes, you belong with me.”

Rory liked his answer. All except the part about them returning to the human realm. Kimba had told her that unless they bonded completely, then he would be able to leave her. Since he seemed determined not to stay in the dragon realm, she knew what she had to do in order to tie her to him so he couldn’t leave her.

Rory stood and began to undress. Aston’s eyes widened, and he jumped to his feet.

“What are you doing, Rory?” he asked, taking a step back. He almost seemed afraid, which was ridiculous considering up until this point he’d been fine.

“I’m undressing,” she said, though it was unnecessary considering it was quite obvious what she was doing.

“Why?” He held up a hand now as if that could somehow prevent her from removing any more clothing.

“Because we’re going to complete the bond. Kimba explained we would need to mate for us to completely bind our souls together.”

“We don’t have to rush,” Aston said, his eyes looking anywhere but at her. “We’ve got plenty of time to get to know one another before we take that step.”

Rory was completely naked by this point, and she walked around the fire. “Aston,” she said, her voice sharp.

“Yes, Rory?” He looked up at the ceiling of the cave, and he sounded completely exasperated with her.

“Look at me,” she gentled her voice as she added, “please.”

She didn’t know if it was the “please” or the desperation in her voice, but he finally lowered his eyes. Though they didn’t drop below her face.

“The pain you felt…”

He nodded, acknowledging her words.

“I’ve felt it for years.”

Aston’s eyes widened at her confession.

“There’s been a hole, an emptiness so raw inside of me, that sometimes I can barely breathe. And during all of that time, my heart has filled with a darkness that consumes me. I don’t know if there is anything good left inside of me.”

“That’s not true,” Aston interrupted. “I can feel your darkness, but I also feel goodness.”

Rory didn’t believe for a second that it was her goodness he was feeling. Aston was simply feeling the part of his soul that was joined with her own black one. She shook her head at him. “No. Whatever you’re feeling is you. The part of you that is now in me.”

She stepped closer to him, drawn to his goodness, his light, and the concern she saw in his eyes. “For the first time in a very long time, I can breathe. The pain has eased, but the longing is still there. I know we don’t know each other, but I want to. I want to know you. I’ve had you all of an hour, but I know just from that short amount of time, I don’t want to lose you.”

“You won’t,” he said quickly. “We don’t have to sleep together so you can keep me, Rory. You already have me.”

Rory shook her head. “You can leave me. Until the bond is complete, you can leave me, and then the darkness will have me. There will be nothing left of the girl I once was.”

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