Lara opened her eyes as Archer kissed her once more between her legs, sending another tremor through her body. He sat up and smiled, he had taken care of her, he had put his own wants and needs aside to pleasure her and now he was sitting here, a beaming smile on his face as he looked at her like she was everything. No one had ever made her feel so unashamedly sexy and beautiful before. If she wasn’t careful, she was going to fall completely in love with Archer.
“What about you?” Lara said as Archer shuffled off the bed, the remnants of her orgasm still pulsing through her. She sat up and pushed the hem of her dress to her knees as she watched Archer adjust himself and zip up his jeans. Lara couldn’t help but feel disappointed that she didn’t get to watch him lose control in throws of ecstasy, she wanted to hear him yell out her name as he found his release.
Archer looked up to her and smiled, that sexy smouldering smile “It can be my turn next time, besides, seeing you like that is enough for me right now” he leaned over the bed and placed his lips gently on her forehead for a moment before releasing her.
Lara hadn’t had too many chances to admire him but lying here on the bed while he made himself presentable again, seemed like a good time. She watched as he walked around the room collecting his shoes. The way his hair looked ruffled yet still styled and the way his short scruffy beard made him look all the more manly, it suited the rest of his perfectly toned body, which Lara already wanted to run her hands over again.
Playfully, Lara said “What makes you think there will be a next time? That this wasn’t just a one-night thing?” she moved to sit on the edge of the bed before putting her underwear and shoes back on.
Archer looked genuinely hurt and she immediately wished she could take back what she’d said but when she opened her mouth to say something, Archer said “I…I just assumed after” he motioned between them “after what we did, that we were on the same page”.
“On the same page about what?” Lara assumed she knew what he was talking about, but she wanted to be sure. She liked Archer, really liked him and tonight was amazing but deep down she knew that this wasn’t a long-term thing. Archer had been the perfect gentleman, but she’d met men like him before, play the game until they get what they wanted and right now, Lara didn’t need anymore drama in her life. The thought of not being with him made her heart ache and her panther let out a hiss in her mind at the idea, but it was for the best.
She had lost her foster parents, found out she was a shifter, been kidnapped and imprisoned, not to mention shot as well, she needed to get her head together. Letting herself fall completely for a playboy like Archer would only make her life more complicated than it already was. It was inevitable that she’d end up hurt. She was scared to admit how deeply she already felt for Archer, she was falling for him, caring for him and trusting him. A dangerous combination when she was trying to protect her heart. Eventually, he would leave just like everyone else in her life, and where would she be then?
Chapter 25
Archer suddenly felt disappointment well in the pit of his stomach. Why was Lara saying this would only be a one-time thing? He assumed she too had felt the strong bond between them, the connection that had been building rapidly since they first met. He was already beginning to think that Seb was right, and they truly were fated mates but now, after what she had just said, he had his doubts again.
What was it about this woman that made him so unsure of everything? Maybe she doesn’t recognise the connection as the mating bond though. After all, she hasn’t been a shifter for very long and there was no one to teach her about being one, let alone explain the concept of fated mates. The thoughts circled Archer’s mind as disappointment made way to an inkling of hope.
“The same page about the mating bond” Archer said softly, anticipation and nervousness seeping into his chest as he waited for her reaction.
“The what?” Lara furrowed her brows and looked confused before standing up to face him. Well that explains it, she really doesn’t know anything about fated mates and the mating bond that we share, Archer thought to himself, relief washing over him.
“Ah, well, it’s actually pretty cool… it’s like a soul mate, your life partner, the other half, the ying to your yang” Archer smirked and lifted an eyebrow at Lara hoping to lighten the seriousness of the conversation, but the concerned look on her face made him continue. “So anyway, unlike humans, us shifters can recognise our mate by the strong bond that is formed. From what I know, it’s an unbreakable connection that pulls fated mates together. Not every shifter is lucky enough to find their mates but when they do, it’s forever”. Archer was watching Lara who was still had her eyebrows lowered, she looked more concerned than confused now. He waited for her to say something but was only met with silence.
When the silence stretched on, he continued, pacing beside the bed as he spoke, “I’ve felt connected to you from the first time I touched your hand through the bars of the cell, from the first time I heard your voice and the first time I saw you. It must be why I’ve felt so protective of you, why I’m so drawn to you. We’re fated mates, Lara.” Archer couldn’t hold back his excitement as he turned to face her, he felt like the luckiest man alive to be her mate. That was, until he saw her reaction.
“I think you should leave” Lara’s face was utterly impassive. It was as if she had abruptly shut down all emotion as she slowly stood up and busied herself by fixing her dress, making sure the hem hung to the floor again.
“What…what do you mean? Lara, this is fantastic news! People spend their whole lives looking for their other half and yet here we’ve found each other”. He huffed a laugh and threw his hands in the air. “In a shifter prison, no less!” He turned to her and smiled, despite the serious expression on her face, he wanted to lighten to mood “This will be one to tell the grandkids, don’t you think?” he said as he walked over to her and placed both hands on her waist, hoping to break through the wall that she had quite obviously built during this conversation.
When she placed her hands over his and lifted them off her body, Archer felt like she might as well have ripped out his chest. His stomach fell to the floor at the clear rejection and he took a step back, removing his hands from hers. After what they had just shared, he couldn’t understand where this was coming from.
“Lara…what’s wrong? I thought you felt the same way?” He couldn’t hide the tremble in his voice.
“Archer, I can’t deny that I’ve felt inexplicably drawn to you as well and what we just shared…it was incredible. I haven’t been able to stop thinking about you but that’s just it, I have to stop thinking about you. I need to get back to my life, hell, I don’t even know if I can go back to my life now that I’m a shifter! There are so many things I have to work out, the last thing I need right now is to fall for someone like you!”
Archer swallowed hard “Someone like me?”
Lara closed her eyes and sighed “A playboy. You’re a fighter, a hot fighter. I can only imagine the number of women that must throw themselves at you constantly. I mean, how many women have you called beautiful in the throes of pleasure? Don’t you get it? You don’t need to feed me with this whole fantasy of mates…or whatever it is that usually gets women into your bed. I get it, you want a good time, but I don’t need the promise of forever and I don’t want it either.”
Archer shook his head, she had the wrong idea about him. “No, Lara, it’s not like that at all. I’m not like that at all. I know it sounds crazy but the idea of fated mates isn’t just a fantasy. It’s real.”
Lara flung her hands up in the air “it’s not real, Archer. People don’t just meet and live ‘happily ever after’” Lara lifted up her fingers as inverted commas before taking a step closer to him.
“You want to know what’s real? Real life is being abandoned by your biological parents, being bitten by some rampaging animal on the same night the only people who had ever loved you died. It’s being turned into a monster and staying that way for t
wo months because yet again, you’d been abandoned by anyone who might be able to help you” Archer noticed the tears welling in Lara’s eyes, he started to reach out to comfort her but the determination in her eyes stopped him.
“It’s being kidnapped and tortured before turning into a killer. That’s what real life is. It’s not some stupid fairy tale. You might think of yourself as a knight in shining armour, Archer, but there’s no princess here, and life isn’t meant to have a happy ending. It’s meant to be a hard struggle to the end, alone, because everyone you know and love, leaves you and if you and I continued down this path, you’d end up leaving too. It’s inevitable Archer, everyone leaves, and the only way to stop myself from getting hurt, is to make sure I don’t get too close to anyone. I’m sorry Archer, but I’m not your mate.” Lara closed her eyes and Archer could finally see the weight that she carried on her shoulders.
Archer stood motionless as Lara’s words circled his mind, each one like a dagger straight through his chest. I’m not your mate. Those words hurt more than any pain he’d ever experienced. He opened his mouth to say something, but his mind was blank, and his lion had faded into the darkness of his mind at the rejection. A ball of hollow emptiness was expanding in the pit of his stomach as he swallowed down the nausea that hit him. He looked up to meet Lara’s eyes, they held a different expression now that could only be described as remorseful. She had tears rolling down her cheeks, but her eyebrows were no longer lowered in anger.
“I’m sorry” Truth. She was telling the truth. Archer wanted to tell her she was wrong about everything she said about life. Sure, a week ago he would have agreed with her and added a few dark and depressing sentiments of his own, but now, after knowing her for only a few days, he could see that life could be so much more. Escaping that shifter prison and seeing what his father had become changed something inside of him. It woke up the desire to look at things differently, the desire to choose a different path to his dad, to choose happiness. Archer was coming to the realisation that life was what you make of it. If you looked at life through dark shades that limited your view of the world and made you believe that nothing good could come of it, then nothing good ever will. Archer could see it now, clear as day, he had underestimated how much she had suffered recently and how much she had tried to hide it.
After everything Lara had been through, she made the choice to wear those dark shades over her eyes and as much as he wanted to help pull them off, to show her what she’s missing out on, he knew this was something that she needed to do, if she ever chose to.
With that thought, Archer’s heart broke a little bit more. He wanted to fix Lara, to put the pieces of her life back together for her, to help her see the world for what it was and not just some dark and cruel place to live out your days alone. If there was one thing he learnt from his father, it was that you can’t help someone who doesn’t want to be helped.
“I’m sorry too” he lowered his gaze for a moment before looking back up at Lara “I need you to know that you’re wrong about one thing and I couldn’t live with myself if I walked out of here and let you continue to believe it. I wouldn’t leave Lara. I would never leave.” He turned and walked to the door of the bedroom but stopped and turned again to face her.
“You asked how many women I’ve called beautiful. One. The answer is one.” He said softly before he turned and made his way out of the bedroom, out of the house, and out of Lara’s life.
Chapter 26
Lara laid awake in bed, staring at the ceiling. If she had her phone, she’d check what time it was but judging by the sound of the birds and the first streaks of sunrays that were creeping into her room, she’d say it was early morning.
Yesterday, she had been too exhausted to do anything after Archer left, and that included looking for her phone. She had left it in the house the night she had run into the woods, the night she was turned into a shifter. She’d been away from home for two whole months so not only would her phone be dead, but when she eventually did find it and charge it, it’s likely she’d have plenty of missed calls and texts to respond to. Right now, she just didn’t want to deal with that.
The truth was, she didn’t want to deal with anything right now. She wanted to hide herself away until the guilt and remorse that she felt evaporated, after the way she had treated Archer yesterday. She would never forget the look on his face when she told him she couldn’t be his mate. She could almost pinpoint the moment his heart broke. No, the moment she had broken his heart. All of her assumptions about Archer were wrong and as she watched him walk away, she started to question her decision to come back to her parent’s place and try to get her life back together. After all, she was a shifter now, maybe she should surround herself with other like-minded people… like Archer, Seb and Jen.
In her mind, she replayed the moment he had claimed they were fated mates. The excitement in his eyes was almost palpable, at least it was until she crushed it. She couldn’t admit this to him but a part of her, a big part, was willing to believe in the fantasy of it all, was ready to ask him to take her back to his place so they could live out their happily ever after.
Lara tried to clear her head. She rolled over and closed her eyes in an attempt to go back to sleep but the birds seemed to sing even louder now, and she couldn’t be bothered to walk over to the window and close the blinds where the sun was beginning to stream in. If she ignored the light that was shining against her eyelids, she might be able to fall back – Nope. There her mind went again, replaying the moment she broke Archer’s heart and his parting words. “The answer is one.” One. There was a deep instinct inside of her that said he was telling the truth. He’d only ever called one woman beautiful, and that woman was her.
Lara gave up and rolled off the bed, put on her robe and walked down the hall to the bathroom. The house felt quiet, empty. She wasn’t used to it yet. After all, she had just spent her first night back at home after her parents had died in the car accident two months ago. She pictured her mum walking out of the bathroom with her hair wrapped in a towel, giving Lara a good morning hug, like she did most mornings. She imagined her dad giving her mum a kiss in the kitchen before grabbing his keys and heading off to work, “See ya later kiddo” he’d yell from the doorway before disappearing to his car. She could almost hear the sound of his car engine now as it drove away.
Lara shook her head, she was imagining things. She took a step into the bathroom, but she could still hear the sound of a car engine. Stepping back out into the hallway, she softly padded to the front door. She looked out the peephole but saw nothing. Curiosity got the better of her and she quickly unlocked the front door before pulling it open. Still no one. She took a step outside, but the bottom of her foot hit something hard and she quickly pulled her leg back before she could step on whatever was on the floor.
Lara dropped her gaze and saw a large brown cardboard box. She quickly stepped over it and looked down her driveway but there was no one there. She looked back down at the box where a note sat on top of it.
Lara, I’m sorry how things ended yesterday. I hope this puts a smile on your face.
Friends only,
A
Lara sat back on her legs as she read over the note two more times. Friends only. Those two words felt like bullets into her chest. Yesterday she had been adamant that being friends was as far as their relationship could go, yet here she was, regretting ever saying those words. She shook her head and pulled herself out of the thought before looking down at the mysterious brown box and opening it. She smiled immediately at what she saw inside. Archer had sent her a box of her favourite Krispy Kreme donuts. Suddenly, the guilt at how she treated Archer, came back tenfold. He wasn’t just some playboy that she assumed he was, he was gentle, kind and thoughtful. Now here he was, sending her a box of her favourite donuts to cheer her up after she had verbally attacked him yesterday.
What have I done? Lara thought to herself, she was beginning to think that she had made a terrible
mistake. She had pushed away the only person who cared about her, the only one she could trust and yet he was offering her friendship regardless of the harsh things she said to him yesterday.
Lara didn’t know how or if she could ever get her life back together again, but she knew one thing, she could use a friend right now. She picked up the box and rushed inside. Placing them on the kitchen bench she made her way over to the lounge where she had been sitting before the policeman knocked on the door the night of the accident. My phone must be here somewhere….Yes! Fallen down the side of the lounge as she had expected, was her mobile phone, out of battery of course. Quickly walking over to the charger, she plugged her phone in and began to make her breakfast but after a few minutes, she grew impatient and even with minimal battery, she turned on her phone and ignored the constant beeping of notifications. She’d look at those later, but right now, she wanted to contact Archer. She punched in his number from the paper he left on the bench and wrote out a text message.
You were right, it put a smile on my face. I love it. Thank you. Send.
After a few minutes, her phone dinged…
I’m glad you like it.
Before Lara could write a reply, her phone dinged again.
I’ve been thinking about how things were left yesterday. I’m sorry Lara, I shouldn’t have pushed you into something like that, especially not after what you’ve been through. I’ll say sorry a thousand times over if it means you’ll forgive me, I know we can’t take back what was said but I promise you, I’ll never cross the friendship line ever again, not unless you ever want me to.
The Lion's Purpose Page 15
