Page 5 of Tamed By Air (The Nature Hunters Academy 4)

She bit her bottom lip.Does he expect me to speak first?Hewas the one who had demanded this meeting. Shouldn’t he have to be the one to start it?Damn, I sound petty.Rory wanted to slap herself for her childish thoughts, but her pride was strong. It had been forged in the fire of the coven, a place where showing the slightest bit of weakness was punished severely. Rory wasn’t even sure she was physically capable of backing down. So she mimicked his stance and stared back at him, waiting.

His eyes left hers and roamed slowly down her body. Her skin flushed under his scrutiny, but her jaw remained set.

Finally, he spoke. “You all right?”

She frowned. Okay, so he hadn’t been checking her out. He’d been looking for injuries. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“It took you quite a while to get here. I was about to come looking for you.” He didn’t relax as he spoke. His voice was like a whip against her flesh, hard and sharp. Gone was the tender man who’d treaded so lightly around her for so long.

“I needed time to think.” She dropped her arms and shifted on her feet. A small measure of Rory’s confidence fled. She hoped it didn’t show on her face.

Aston made a derisive snort. “Don’t you think you’ve had enough time to think? We’ve been here for weeks.” His jaw clenched, and his lips drew in a tight line across his handsome face. “You’re rarely here. You don’t tell me your plans. I have no idea what you’re doing when you’re gone or where you’re going. It seems to me you’ve had nothingbuttime to think. So, I’m left wondering what the hell you’ve been thinking about all that time I’ve been sitting here alone?”

Rory’s simmering temper flared before she could stop it. She was being attacked. And she knew from experience—from having been attacked so many times physically, mentally, emotionally, and even magically—how to handle it. Strike first, strike hard. She balled her fists and took a step forward. “How dare you question me?”

Aston’s arms dropped from his chest, and he took his own step toward her. She could practically feel the anger radiating off of him. “How dareI?” His voice rose an octave.

She sped on before he could continue. “I’m a grown woman. I don’t need to explain myself to you. I come and go as I please. I don’t need to ask your permission to leave. I’ve had a parent, Aston. I don’t need another one.”

“A grown woman? A grown woman wouldn’t run away from her responsibilities. A grown woman would understand that sharing your plans with her mate is simply respectful. I’m well aware that I’m not your damn parent. But Iamyour mate. I am your soul bonded. And in case you’ve forgotten,youbrought me here.Youasked me to tie our souls together before we’d even had a chance to get to know one another.” Aston’s breaths came in short pants, his anger building, filling the entire space around them, practically sucking the oxygen from the room. “I told you we could take time, that there was no hurry. I told you if we rushed things, you might regret it. Apparently, I knew what the hell I was talking about.”

“So, this is all my fault?” She narrowed her eyes at him. If looks could slice a man in half, Aston would be lying on the ground in two pieces. “I am solely responsible for this, this…” She motioned between them and struggled to find the word.

“Mess!This is a mess. It’s not a relationship because a relationship takes time and energy from both parties to build. And considering I didn’t choose to come here, I’d say, yes, you are solely responsible. I told you I didn’t want to stay here.”

Rory recoiled as if she’d been slapped. She took a step back. The small amount of peace Aston had brought slipped away. “You also told me I would never be alone again. Or did you forget that part of the discussion?” The small flicker of light that had sparked inside of Rory when she and Aston had completed the soul bond suddenly blew out, leaving her once again in darkness.

ChapterTwo

“Sometimes words hit us harder than any physical blow could. They attack with a ferocity that rips through our confidence, tearing it apart. But the weapon of words doesn’t just hurt the victim. If the person wielding the words has any conscience at all, then their assault leaves them every bit as shredded as their opponent.” ~Aston

The speed at which Rory’s face shifted from anger to indifference shocked Aston.What the hell is wrong with me?The conversation had derailed before it even began. He hadn’t planned on accosting her when he’d told her to come back to the cave. He’d imagined a conversation where he expressed his feelings, and she reciprocated in a calm, reasonable manner. Together, they’d come to a mutually beneficial decision.

But as soon as Rory stepped inside the cave, indignation consumed Aston. Every ounce of pain, resentment, and weariness that had been filling him these past few weeks erupted uncontrollably. And no matter how many times he mentally told himself to shut up, his mouth refused to obey. The accusations wouldn’t stop. And though some of what Aston said was true, his method of delivery left much to be desired. He hadn’t needed to attack her so viciously, and heknewbeing harsh would do nothing but cause more division. So why couldn’t he stop? Why was he letting his rage get the better of him?

“I haven’t forgotten a word of what we said to one another that night,” he said. Aston almost added that he wished hecouldforget that night, but somehow he finally got his mouth to obey, and he bit back the harsh words. “But words are meaningless without actions, Rory.” Aston honestly didn’t know how to get her to see things from his point of view. “You said you were tired of being alone, yet you continually stay away from me. When you return, you sleep as far away from me as you can on the bed we share.”

“You never initiate. You don’t attempt to touch me,” she threw back. “Do you expect me to throw myself at you every time I want to be touched?”

“You certainly had no problem throwing—”

“Donotcomplete that sentence,” she snapped, cutting off his words, “or so help me I will not be responsible for my reaction.” Rory’s hands suddenly filled with dark purple flames that moved like fire.

He took a deep breath and shoved down the words that would have demeaned her. “How could I know my touch was welcome? You’ve given me no indication it was wanted.” For once, he wasn’t attacking her. It was an honest question. What was he supposed to do when she laid down beside him and turned her back to him?

The flames continued to dance in her hands while she glared at him. “Oh, I don’t know,” she said, her voice full of sarcasm. “Maybe ask? Or hell, just be a man and wrap an arm around me and pull me close because you want to. Or because I’m yours.”

Aston gave a humorless laugh. “Because you’re mine?” he scoffed. “Are you, Rory? Are you really? Because I sure as hell don’t see it that way. From my perspective, it looks like you don’t belong to me at all. But I damn well belong to you. Not as a mate, though, but more like a warm body. And unfortunately, I’m apparently not the sort of warm body you use for comfort in your bed. At least if you were using me in that way, then I would feel needed, not to mention having some sort of pleasure while imprisoned here.”

He wasn’t sure what reaction his words would elicit, and Aston half expected Rory to fling her magic at him. So he was a bit surprised when the flames extinguished, and he saw the rage in Rory’s eyes disappear. “Who are you?” she asked him. “The man who bound our souls would never have said something like that to me. That man was caring, tender, and full of goodness. This”—she made a motion with her hand toward him—“is something entirely different, and not different in a good way.”

Aston hated her words because they were true. But he didn’t know how to answer her. Who was he? Before she’d abducted him, Aston had known exactly who he was. Now? He no longer recognized himself. And he didn’t like it. He detested the person he’d become.

But Aston wasn’t the only one who had changed, or at least he didn’t think so. Something told him that Rory had changed as well, yet he couldn’t say for sure because he hadn’t known his mate before that night. Perhaps this was who she’d been all along. Aloof, unaffectionate, and independent to the point of making him feel like she didn’t need him. And, of course, she was also unwilling or unable to admit her own faults. “Did you ever consider that I am no longer that man because you didn’t seem to care about that man? What’s the point, Rory? Why be caring, tender, and full of goodness toward someone if that person is unwilling to reciprocate or even appreciate your efforts?” He shook his head and sat down on one of the large rocks, resting his forearms on his knees. “Soul bonded are meant to complete one another. They’re supposed to need each other so completely that being separated is nearly unbearable. Perhaps we made a mistake in thinking we’re soul bonded.” He heard her suck in a breath, but he didn’t look at her. His eyes stayed focused on the fire. “Maybe it was some sort of spell cast by the witches. You were a part of a witch coven that practiced dark magic. What if Danni did something to draw us together?”

“Oh, I see. You think I couldn’t possibly be your soul bonded because I’m a witch?” He heard disgust in her voice. “I’m not good enough to be your mate. The only way we could be soul bonded is through dark magic? Really, Aston?”

“That’s not what I said, Rory.” Aston was exhausted. He just wanted the conversation to be over. “You’re twisting my words. I never said you weren’t good enough or that we couldn’t be soul bonded because you’re a witch.” He raised his head and finally looked at her. Aston watched as tears filled her eyes. Her jaw tensed and her lips pursed. He could tell she was fighting to keep the tears from falling. He pressed on, hoping to somehow force an end to this conversation, which felt more like a boxing match than a discussion. “Do you actuallyneedme, Rory? Does it feel as if you wouldn’t be able to breathe if I was gone? Would you be fine living without me? Or would you want your heart to stop beating? Because that’s what being soul bonded means.” He waited, but Rory gave no sign she was going to answer him. Instead, the tears welling up finally escaped her eyes and ran down her cheeks. After several moments of silence, he nodded. “I guess that’s my answer.”

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