Bound by Earth: The Nature Hunters Academy Series, Book 1

by Quinn Loftis

  “Do you miss your grandparents?”

  “I do,” he said softly. “They passed a year ago.”

  Tara’s hand reached out instinctively, wanting and needing to comfort him, but she quickly dropped it. “I’m so sorry.”

  Elias shook his head. “It’s all right. They lived long lives and died within days of each other, which I think was a blessing. They were so in love. I don’t think either of them would have known what to do without the other.”

  “My parents were that way,” Tara said, remembering how her parents had looked at each other. How she had found them many times dancing in the kitchen to only a tune they heard because there was no music playing. She could remember thinking she hoped she would one day have a man look at her the way her dad looked at her mom. It made her wonder why anyone would settle for anything less than that. Her eyes widened as she remembered what Elias had texted her. He had said, Why would he be with a fake imitation if he couldn’t be with her?

  “Tara?” He rolled the chair closer to the bed until he was right in front of her. “What’s wrong?”

  “Your text.”

  He sighed. “It was intense. I know. I didn’t mean to scare you. I was worried I was losing any chance with you. All because I just wasn’t honest with you about why I felt like we couldn’t be together. The thing is…” He took her hand in his, and Tara felt as if tiny volts of electricity were running through her body, starting at the point where he touched her. “I’ve never really been interested in a girl before. I’ve never dated. I thought it was because I didn’t have time. I’ve always been focused on work. But then I met you. It was like I had been seeing life in black and white, and suddenly you splashed color all over my world.”

  “You’re twenty and you’ve never dated?” Tara found that hard to believe. But then, she was eighteen and had gone on her first sort-of-date that very night. And if someone worked a lot, it would make it hard to date, she guessed.

  “I’m not one to waste my emotions on something I know won’t last.”

  Tara stared down at the hand so gently but firmly in his own. It felt so right. As if her hand had been made from a mold to specifically fit his. Her phone chimed with an alert, and Elias’s hand tightened momentarily but then released hers.

  Tara picked up the phone and saw it was a text from Tucker.

  I had a really good time today. I hope you did too.

  She had had a good time. Why did that make her feel like she was somehow betraying Elias?

  His movement took her eyes from the phone. Elias had gotten up and was standing next to the window looking out into the night. “I like being with you,” he said, his voice a little cooler than it had been.

  “I like being with you, too.”

  “But you had a good time with the boy,” he said. His words weren’t a question.

  “Yes, bu—”

  “I know I don’t have the right, yet, to tell you not to see him.”

  “Excuse me?” Tara’s hackles rose. “What do you mean, yet?”

  He turned to look at her, and his lips rose slightly. The glint in his eyes made her shiver. “It means exactly what it sounds like. When you’re mine, I will definitely have a say in whether or not you are around Tucker. Just as you will have a say in who I am around.”

  “When I’m yours?” Her brow rose. “You’ve gone from telling me we couldn’t be together to talking like it’s inevitable.”

  He shrugged and slid his hands into his pockets. “Things are clearer to me tonight.”

  “Why?” she challenged.

  “The poem.”

  Tara crossed her arms in front of her and forced herself not to huff like a petulant child. “It was just a school assignment.”

  “Right.” He chuckled. “And coming here was just a job fair.”

  Tara’s eyes narrowed as she climbed off the bed. “What the hell does that mean?”

  He reached out and grabbed her arm, gently pulling her to him. As soon as she was pressed against him, her mind went blank. There was nothing in her world except him. The heat in his body seeped into hers, and Tara could feel something inside of her reaching for him, needing him, desperate for him. Her breath quickened as she pressed closer to him. She wondered if he could feel her heartbeat as it pounded painfully in her chest. Her eyes held his stare, afraid if she looked away he’d disappear.

  Tara watched as Elias licked his lower lip. She’d love to say that she didn’t close her eyes and moan, but that would be a big, fat lie. “What are you doing?” she asked, hoping to break the tension.

  “I’m showing you why I know this is inevitable,” he said, his voice filled with a possessive growl as he leaned his head toward hers. “Does Tucker make you feel like this? Does he make your heart race or rob you of your breath?” Elias trailed a finger down her spine, and Tara leaned into the touch. “Does he make you crave his touch?”

  Her eyes opened when she felt his forehead against hers. His breath on her face was incredibly intimate as they breathed each other in and out.

  “Does he make you wonder what he would taste like if he pressed his mouth to yours?”

  Tara couldn’t speak. Her senses were so overwhelmed by Elias. He was everywhere, arms around her, hand running up her back while the other trailed a finger down her cheek and across her lips then down her neck. When she licked her lips, he closed his eyes and groaned as if he were in pain.

  “You tempt me, luv. Like no other has, you tempt me to just take you, damn the consequences.” He didn’t pull away, and his lips brushed hers as he spoke. “I’m not going to kiss you tonight.”

  Tara was pretty sure her puppy had just been kicked because everything in her deflated. She hadn’t even realized that she wanted him to kiss her. He must have noticed her face fall because he smiled, clearly happy with her reaction.

  “You wanted me to kiss you, didn’t you?”

  When she didn’t answer, but instead tried to look away, he held her chin so she was forced to keep eye contact.

  “Don’t be embarrassed, little bear. If you knew how much self-control it’s taking me not to ravage you, you’d definitely kick me out and tell me not to return.”

  “I doubt that,” she muttered under her breath.

  Elias pressed his lips to her forehead, giving her a lingering kiss. That touch, though simple and quite innocent, would be a moment she knew she would relive over and over. “You need to get some rest. And when I do finally kiss you, I’d like us to not have to worry about getting caught by your foster mom.”

  He stepped back and his arms dropped, but he grabbed one of her hands and lifted it to his lips, pressing a kiss to her palm and then closing her hand into a fist. “Make it clear to Tucker that he’s out of the running.”

  A brow rose on her face she put a hand on her hip. “What happened to not having the right to tell me to stay away from him?”

  “I changed my mind. You’re mine regardless of the fact that we can’t be together yet. Your poem was spot on, luv. You don’t look at him like you look at me. You don’t react to him the way you react to me, and you sure as hell don’t want him to kiss you, or you wouldn’t have let something like a little miniature earthquake stop you.”

  He headed for the window and pushed it open. Tara bit her lip to keep from blurting out something like “Please come back tomorrow,” or worse, “Can I have your babies?” She had to draw the line somewhere.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said as he climbed out and then turned to face her. “I’ve only got two more days with you before I have to go to another job. I don’t plan to share you with anyone for those two days. Saturday and Sunday, luv, you’re mine.”

  The window slid closed soundlessly and he was gone, leaving her standing there confused, elated, and turned on. Now, he was an ass for a different reason than being rude and evasive. Tara flung herself back on her bed. “Holy crap.” She groaned as she covered her eyes with her arm. She had not seen any of that coming. One second, he
was all, “We can’t be with one another,” and then the next, he was all, “You’re mine, don’t breathe other dudes’ air, grumble, grumble.” She was exhausted from her own emotions, not to mention dealing with Elias’s intensity. Her eyes closed and, before she knew it, she was sound asleep.

  Chapter 16

  Elias stood on Tara’s front porch after having watched over her house all night. Tucker hadn’t been there, but two other acolytes had been. Elias had tried to ask them why they were watching Tara’s house every night, but they wouldn’t speak to him, and Elias couldn’t engage them unless they were actively doing something to threaten Tara. So, he’d simply watched them watching the house. To say he was tired was an understatement. He needed sleep, but he refused to waste any time he had left with her before Jax made him leave. He understood Jax’s reasoning. His mentor was afraid Elias would do something stupid like tell her about what she was and that they were soul mates and that he wanted to take her away, marry her, and have Nat Vent little babies. Bloody hell, he needed sleep.

  Elias shook his head and mentally chastised his magic because he was pretty sure that was the part of him that was conjuring up little magical children as if they weren’t a huge responsibility and energy-sucking little shites. “Pull it together, mate,” he growled to himself as he finally knocked on the door.

  A few minutes later, a beautiful, sleepy Tara opened the door. He smiled as he looked her up and down. She was dressed in jeans hugging her figure and a thin sweater hanging off one shoulder. “Did you get up and then go back to sleep?” he asked her and then glanced at his watch. It was only eight in the morning. How early had she gotten up?

  She yawned and then nodded. “I woke up at five this morning and was just wide awake. So, I got dressed, but then around seven, I just crashed. I wasn’t expecting you this early.” She motioned for him to come in.

  Elias followed her and closed the door behind him. He trailed behind her, watching the sway of her hips. Tara had no idea how attractive she was. She didn’t have to try to be sexy or sensual. She just was. In the kitchen, she pulled eggs, tomatoes, bacon, and bell peppers from the fridge.

  “Are you hungry?” she asked.

  “Are you offering to cook a meal for me?” Elias leaned up against the counter and crossed his arms as he watched her.

  “Only if you eat omelets. That’s what I’m offering.”

  “I’ll take anything you offer,” he said and watched the blush run from her shoulder, up her neck, and up to her cheeks.

  She went about cracking eggs in a bowl and adding the ingredients she’d chosen. Elias hadn’t had a meal cooked for him since the last one he’d eaten with his grandparents. The cafeteria at the academy didn’t count in his book.

  “Anything I can do to help?”

  “There’s orange juice in the fridge. You could pour us each a glass. And there’s silverware in that drawer.” She pointed to the one beside her. “Grab some forks for the table.”

  Elias opened cabinets until he found the glasses and then poured their juice. Then he walked over to where Tara stood at the stove. The drawer was to the right of her. He had plenty of space to get the silverware without crowding her. He crowded her anyway. Elias stood right behind her and leaned down, reaching for the drawer. His face was near her neck, his lips hovering just above her pulse.

  “Elias.” She whispered his name, and he felt his magic flowing down his arms into his hands, one of which was centimeters from resting on her hip.

  “I find it very hard to keep my distance from you,” he murmured as he pulled the drawer out and grabbed two forks. When his left hand gripped her hip, she jumped, but he pulled her back against his chest. By a thin thread, he was holding onto the magic that was attempting to flow into her. He had no idea what would happen if he let the magic go. So, he concentrated on keeping it inside, even as he continued to hold Tara.

  “I’m going to burn the eggs if you don’t let me concentrate,” she warned.

  “Why are you having trouble concentrating?”

  She huffed. “Elias, please.”

  He pressed his lips to her neck and whispered, “I like the sound of my name on your lips.” Then he released her and stepped away, taking the forks to the table as she’d instructed him to do. When he looked back over at her, he smiled. The hand that wasn’t holding the spatula was resting on her neck, where his lips had just been. He was absolutely not doing what he was supposed to be doing, which was keeping distance between them so the bond wouldn’t continue to get stronger. It was impossible. Tara was as essential to his existence as the oxygen he breathed and, yes, he knew that made him sound like a lunatic. It didn’t change the way he felt.

  By the time she brought the plates over to the table, he’d managed to get his emotions under control and was pretty sure he wouldn’t snatch her up and take her to the academy where he could keep her safe and finally tell her about the supernatural world and that she was his.

  “Thank you for this.” He motioned to the plate. “It looks delicious.”

  “You’re welcome,” Tara said simply before she started eating.

  They ate in companionable silence, and Elias found himself just enjoying being in her presence. It was much better than sitting in his car staring at her house, wondering what she was doing. Bloody hell, that sounded creepy even to himself.

  “Are there any plans for today?” Tara asked before taking a drink of her juice.

  Elias tried to force his eyes from watching her throat move as she swallowed. And failed. Why was that so mesmerizing? When his eyes finally looked up at her face, she had a brow raised at him. He’d been caught. He shrugged at her and winked. He wouldn’t apologize for being attracted to her.

  “I thought I’d take you on a hike. Nature is, after all, my area of expertise. Jax and I have explored the area, and we came across a small waterfall farther up in the hills. Do you trust me enough to wander into the forest with me?”

  “Maybe,” she said and then without so much as a smirk added, “Do you trust me enough not to push you off the mountain?”

  His lips turned up in a slow smile. “Then I could literally say I fell for you.”

  Tara let out a snort of laughter. “I think I just threw up in my mouth.”

  An hour after Tara had fixed herself and Elias breakfast, they were climbing up a trail that would lead to the waterfall Elias had spoken of. She knew which one it was. She and Shelly had been to it a couple of times during their camping trips with Shelly’s family. But this was the first time she was experiencing it with Elias, and, for that reason, she was as excited about seeing it as she had been the first time.

  “You doing okay?” he asked as he glanced back at her. He hadn’t even broken out into a sweat.

  She, on the other hand, was panting and sweating like a sow in heat. Regardless of her less-than-attractive state, she was doing awesome because she was out in her element. It didn’t hurt that she had an incredibly sexy guy leading the way. Didn’t hurt one bit. “I’m great,” she said truthfully.

  He stopped and turned to stare at her. His lips turned up in a slow smile. “You’re glowing.”

  “Literally? Because I’m pretty sure that’s not possible.”

  “Then you’ve achieved the impossible,” he said.

  “Wouldn’t be the first time,” she muttered under her breath as she began following him when he started forward. She noticed she wasn’t the only one who seemed to get positive energy from being outside. From the moment they’d stepped onto the trail, something in Elias had shifted. It was almost as if he became one with nature instead of intruding on it. He would occasionally lay his hand on a tree trunk or run his fingers across the leaves of the foliage as if he was greeting them like sentient beings. She’d nearly tripped a couple of times just because she didn’t want to take her eyes off of him. She was mesmerized by his interaction with the forest around them.

  “You must really enjoy being outside,” he said after a few minutes o
f silence.

  “Because it makes me glow?” she asked, sidestepping a small box turtle she had seen him step over.

  “It lights you up from the inside out.”

  “How do you know? You’ve been in front of me the whole time,” she pointed out.

  “There are other eyes and ears in the forest,” he said cryptically. “The wood nymphs are besotted with you.”

  Tara’s mouth dropped open and then snapped shut as she saw a fly buzz by. Had she heard him right? Had he said wood nymphs? Surely not. She inwardly groaned, only it didn’t stay inward as it came flowing right out of her mouth. “Ahh damn. I knew you were too good to be true. Too handsome, too British, too,”

  “Too British?” he asked as he crested the spot across from the waterfall. “I wasn’t aware that one could be too British.”

  She’d continued talking as if he hadn’t said a word. “There were so many red flags. Soooooo. Maaaany.” She moaned and threw her hands up in the air. “How could I be so damn blind?”

  “I’m sorry, luv, but I’m not following. What are you going on about?”

  “You!” She snapped as she walked up to him and poked him in the chest with her finger. “I’m talking about you. You’re off your trolley. Isn’t that what you Brits say when someone is batshit crazy?”

  To her surprise, instead of getting angry at being called a raging lunatic, he laughed. Which only solidified in Tara’s mind that she was right. “Why is that funny?”

  “You thought I was being serious about the wood nymphs?” He spread his arms wide as he grinned at her. Like a crazy person. That’s definitely a crazy person’s grin.

  “You sounded very serious and completely rational.”

  His arms dropped to his sides at the same time his grin fell. “How can I be crazy if I sounded rational?”

  “The truly crazy people, like the ones with seriously misfiring synapses, always sound rational about whatever it is they’re talking about, even if it’s barking mad. Because they truly believe in whatever the barking mad thing is.” She crossed her arms in front of her and shifted her weight to her right leg.