Page 44 of Tamed By Air (The Nature Hunters Academy 4)

Rory pinched the bridge of her nose. “Why are—” she began, but stopped when she felt Aston’s lips graze her neck. Mother of tadpoles,she mentally moaned and tried not to make an audible noise.What on earth had gotten into him?Rory had noticed the bond growing stronger with every touch since they’d been reunited. She’d also noticed Aston couldn’tstoptouching her and that he’d had to physically distance himself from her when they’d been at Cornwall coven. At first, she’d thought it was just because he’d been worried about her and needed to assure himself she was okay. Or maybe he had hated their separation as much as she had, and he was making up for lost time. But Rory suspected there was more going on, something she didn’t understand.

“How about you two come on back to your cave, and then we can discuss why you’re back here and why he’s”—Kimba nodded her head toward Aston—“trying to make offspring with you despite having an audience.”

Rory tried again to put distance between her and Aston but he wasn’t moving. So, she did the only thing she could think of that might snap him out of his strange enchantment. She tilted her head up and pressed her lips to his neck. He made a sound that caused her stomach to flip.Focus,Rory. She mentally kicked herself. Then she opened her mouth and bit down, hard.

“Freaking A!” Aston growled and dropped his hands from her hips. He grabbed Rory’s shoulders and pushed her back, but didn’t release her. “What was that for?”

Rory didn’t want to take a chance that his sudden lucidity would slip away, so she grabbed his hand from her shoulder while shrugging the other one off. “Come on.” She pulled him toward the portal where Kimba sat watching, amusement dancing in her eyes. “We need to convince some dragons to help us, remember?” Rory pulled hard hoping to hurry him along.

The portal snapped close as soon as they stepped through. Kimba lowered herself down, and Rory began to climb up Kimba’s scales, but suddenly a powerful gust of wind lifted her and plopped her down on the dragon’s back. She felt Aston’s arms wrap around her from behind.

“Thank you,” she said, slightly breathless.

“Just one of the many perks of having an air elementalist for a soul bonded.” Aston’s deep voice made his chest rumble against her back.

“What are the others?”

“I was about to show you a few before we were so rudely interrupted.”

“Hold on.” Kimba pushed with her powerful legs and beat her massive wings. The trio rose into the sky, air blowing Rory’s hair back and making her eyes water. She loved it. The feeling of being so far above all the problems in the world. When she flew with Kimba, it was just her, the beautiful sky, and the breeze that caressed her skin. A grin spread across her face. She leaned back into Aston and let herself live in the moment.

The flight was over much too soon. Kimba landed on the ledge of the cave Rory called home, and Aston once again used the surrounding air to float them to the ground. Rory started to explain their situation to Kimba, but the dragon shook her massive head.

“You need to deal with your soul bonded and figure out what’s going on there. You can’t help anyone else if you two are distracted by your own issues.”

Rory huffed and rubbed her palms down her thighs, wiping away the sweat that had gathered. “You’re right. I’ll let you know when we’re ready.”

“Try to keep it down this time.” Kimba dropped from the ledge and then rose with beating wings.

“You’re not funny,” Rory called out, knowing the dragon would hear her. She stood there for at least a minute before she finally got the guts to turn and face Aston. Rory nearly squeaked when her head almost bumped into his chest. How had she not realized he had snuck up behind her?

“Um, Aston… I think… I mean,” she began. His hands landed on her hips, and Rory’s mouth snapped shut. Aston ran his palms up her sides, over her rib cage, working his way inward. She gasped and then grabbed them, giving them a good zap. He jerked back and frowned at her.

“Why do you keep hurting me?” He shook his hands, trying to make the sting dissipate.

“Because you won’t stop touching me,” she said through gritted teeth.

“You used to like it when I touched you.” Aston’s voice dropped, and his eyelids lowered into what every female knew to be bedroom eyes. “In fact, I distinctly remember a time that you begged me to touch you.”

She snorted. “I did not beg.” She totally did, but Rory was not about to admit that out loud.

“It’s okay to admit it.” Aston smiled with a wicked gleam in his eyes.

Rory shook her head, trying to clear the lust that threatened to take over her mind as she felt his emotion through the bond. “I’m serious, Aston. There’s something going on with you.”

The smile slowly left his face, and his brow dropped into a deep V. “Are you scared of me?” He dropped his hands and took a step back.

“No,” she rushed out. She could see the pain in his eyes at such a notion. “I’m just concerned because you’re not acting like yourself.”

Aston gripped the back of his neck and growled deep in his throat. “We lived together for two weeks, Rory. And during that time, I rarely acted like myself. I don’t think you can use that experience to judge what is or isn’t normal for me.”

She considered his words and her own behavior when they’d lived together in the cave.Had she been herself?How much could they really know about one another in the time span of two weeks, especially if they’d spent little time together? And when they were together, they’d constantly tiptoed around one another, unsure of what to say or how to act. “I can concede that.”

His hand dropped. In the blink of an eye, the pained look was gone, and his lips turned up in a crooked smile. “I’ll be honest—”

“You’d better,” she warned.

“There is something inside of me that feels different. Something a little dark, but also desperate. I don’t understand it. I’ve done research on soul-bonded couples, but none of that has prepared me for what is going on between us. Until a person experiences the soul bonding, I don’t think all the research in the world can ready them for the pull that draws them to that person.” Aston started to take a step toward her, but then stopped. His lips drew tight across his face as if it pained him to stay away from her. “Here.” He pulled the phone from his back pocket. “Call Tara. See if she and Elias know if this behavior”—he pointed to himself—“is typical.”

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