Lara watched him move to the kitchen to place the dishes in the sink. She could see his perfect backside as he leant over, attempting to wash the dirty dishes before giving up and turning around to show off the V shaped Ken doll muscles of his hips. She wondered what it would be like to follow the line of those hip muscles under the waist band of his-
“Dude! You have an Xbox!” Seb’s loud, excited voice rudely interrupted her daydream as he walked over to the entertainment unit to inspect the numerous devices there. Lara glanced at Archer who rolled his eyes but ignored Seb “I’ll take you guys on a tour and show you the house”.
This place is beautiful she thought to herself, following Archer and the others through the home, it was dated and needed some maintenance, but she could see the pride in Archer’s eyes as he showed them around the many rooms. When they made their way back downstairs to the kitchen area, a wave of nausea and dizziness hit Lara and she felt a sudden need to be outside, to feel the fresh air on her skin as a reminder that she was free. No longer was she trapped in the body of a panther watching each day pass wondering if she would ever be human again, and no longer was she locked behind bars in that shifter prison, waiting for inevitable torture or death. This was her turning point, this was the start of a new journey for her, she knew she needed to put the pieces of her life back together after everything that happened, but she also was faced with the reality that things would never be the same again. She was a shifter now and at some point, she would have to learn to live with it.
“I’m just going to get some fresh air” she said as she excused herself out to the porch outside. Before she could sit on the steps, she heard the door open behind her and turned to see Archer.
“Are you alright?” The concern in his soft voice was obvious as he took a step towards her.
Lara nodded and smiled “I’m okay”. She walked to the porch railing and looked out over the clearing in front of the house “Do you ever feel a sudden urge to be outside? Like the walls are closing in on you and you desperately need to feel the fresh air on your skin?”
Archer walked over to stand beside her and leaned on the rail, looking out to the clearing he replied “Well, considering what you’ve just been through, no one would blame you for wanting to remind yourself that you’re actually free” he smiled at her. Lara was lost in his eyes for a few more moments before he tore his gaze away, looking back out into the clearing he said “But yeah, I guess I do feel like that. More times than I’d like to admit. It usually means I need to shift. It’s that instinct to breathe in the fresh air, to run through the forest, to be in amongst it all out here” he pointed to the woods at the end of the clearing.
“One day, I’ll take your panther through the woods. We’ll run and explore, and you’ll know what it’s truly like to be free”. He caught Lara’s gaze once more and this time, her knees went weak as he smiled before dropping his gaze to her lips. Lara’s heart beat faster as her knees threatened to give out completely. He leaned in closer and she moved slightly forward to meet him and just as she closed her eyes, expecting to feel his lips on hers at any moment, the sound of the front door opening stopped them immediately.
Lara opened her eyes to see Archer scowling as a growl escaped his throat, she couldn’t help but smile to herself at how adorable he was when he was frustrated. Seb and Jen had come to join them on the porch, obviously Lara wasn’t the only one who felt the need for fresh air. As much as Lara longed to kiss Archer, a part of her was glad for the interruption. She had lost her head again and been carried away in the moment. She was insanely attracted to him and thanks to his charm, she could feel herself beginning to fall for him but that was precisely the problem. She shouldn’t be falling for him. Lara was a pro versus cons type of girl, and she didn’t even need to a list to know that the cons outweighed the pros in this scenario. He was a playboy-come-fighter who knew his way around women and a fighting ring and if that wasn’t enough, no solid relationship could come from meeting the way they did. Oh, where did you guys meet? Well…funny story, he was in the jail cell next door to mine, Lara thought to herself. No, they could never be together Lara decided. They were too different, from completely opposite worlds and their relationship would be filled with compromises and sacrifices and ultimately someone would leave. Archer would be the one to leave, Lara knew it. Lara was so used to having people leave her life and the emptiness that followed that she knew when it was inevitable and had learnt to quit while she was ahead. This was one of those times.
Jen sat down on the top of the porch stairs and Lara saw her opportunity to thank her for helping out when she was shot. The wound was now no more than a graze with only a slight aching pain every now and then, thanks to her incredible shifter healing. Jen was shy at first, barely spoke, but as their conversation continued, Lara realised there was much more to Jen than she had first thought. Her icy blue eyes displayed sadness and anguish as she explained to Lara that she didn’t know how long she had been locked up in the prison, but after the fifth meeting with Dr Seville, she could no longer feel the animal inside of her.
Although Jen would refer to her shifter side as her ‘animal’ she never specified what kind of an animal she was or used to be. She was born a shifter and after her animal disappeared, she couldn’t cope with the loss. She couldn’t sleep, she stopped eating for a while, even stopped speaking when the doctor or the guards would ask her questions. Eventually, Dr Seville grew impatient and ended their sessions completely, leaving her alone in the basement prison with no interaction with anyone beside the guard who would bring her food daily.
Lara couldn’t imagine going through something so traumatic. She couldn’t imagine the emptiness or loneliness Jen must be feeling right now. Lara had only been a shifter for a short time, but already she could feel the beginning of a strong bond to her panther. She may not know how to communicate properly with her yet, but she knew there was an animal inside of her that she could call on when she needed to, that she could trust and rely on, and to lose that, even after such a short time would leave Lara feeling hollow. She didn’t know how to respond to Jen, so she just pulled her into a bone cracking hug. Wrapping her arms around her, she felt Jen stiffen immediately at the contact before placing her own arms around Lara.
“I think I might head to bed” Jen said as she released Lara, wiping away tears that had started to well in her eyes.
“I’m pretty tired too” Seb said from where he had been standing beside Archer, leaning against the wall near the front door.
Archer held the door open for them as they walked in and turned back to Lara “I’ll show them to their rooms, feel free to make yourself at home.”
Lara looked back out to the clearing, lit up by the moonlight, it truly was beautiful out here. She took in the sounds of the night around her as exhaustion hit her, she felt like she could sleep for a week. The stress and adrenalin from the last few days was catching up with her and all she wanted to do was have a nice hot shower and lie down in a soft, comfortable bed… but not before food. Lara was starving. She decided to do as Archer said and make herself at home. She made her way into the kitchen and managed to find bread, butter and a few other ingredients that would suffice to make a quick sandwich. As she buttered her bread, she began absentmindedly thinking over the kiss she had almost shared with Archer and how much her body had responded to him. Her mind was telling her No, but it seems her body was not on the same page. She started thinking about how badly she wanted to kiss him, to run her hands through his dark hair before feeling her way down his strong biceps, across the ridges of his chest and down his defined, rippling abs to the waistband on his low hanging jeans –
The butter knife she had been using clattered loudly to the floor, abruptly interrupting her thoughts. She bent down to pick it up quickly before standing up and coming face to face with Archer who was looking concerned from across the kitchen bench “Are you okay?”
“Sorry, just dropped this” She smiled embarrassi
ngly as she held up the butter knife.
Archer smiled and sat down at one of the kitchen stools that lined the bench. Lara went back to buttering her bread. She felt nervous being so close to him, but she couldn’t understand why. She didn’t feel nervous when they were this close on either side of the prison cell, but then again, there was a concrete wall between them and now, there was nothing.
“So… how about that time we were locked in prison together?” Archer said as he folded a napkin that he had pulled from the pile on the bench, fiddling with it as he spoke. He looked up when he finished, and the edges of his mouth curved into a smile. Lara huffed a laugh and smiled back at him, she liked that he was lightening the mood. She could use someone like Archer in her life. No, no. no. Archer can’t be a permanent figure in your life she reminded herself, soberly. There’s no point in loving someone who will just leave anyway. Her biological parents left and even though she never knew who they were, she knew they abandoned her as a one year old. Her adopted parents left when they died, and there was not a doubt in her mind that Archer would leave too. That’s why I need to leave tomorrow morning Lara thought to herself reluctantly.
Archer dropped his smile and continued “Where abouts are you from?” His dark brown eyes holding her gaze for a moment before Lara responded “Brunsville, it’s about an hour’s drive from here actually”. Lara took her sandwich that she had finally finished making and sat down beside Archer on the stool at the kitchen bench.
“Brunsville” Archer repeated as he sat in thought before continuing “I’ve heard of it, but I’ve never been there. Do…do you live with anyone?” Lara couldn’t mistake the hesitation in his words.
“You mean like a boyfriend? No…no, I lived with my parents as I’ve been trying to save up for a place of my own, but now…now that they’re gone, it’s just me. It’s a big place and I love the space, but I think it’s going to be too quiet now. You know?” Lara said
Archer nodded “I know what you mean. There’s so much space out here and my lion loves the freedom, but it can get kind of lonely. I…I hope one day I can share all this with someone special.” He was looking at Lara as he said it and she could see the butterflies start up again. Damn he was good at this. Lara couldn’t remember the last time she’d been made to feel so important, so cared for.
Archer abruptly stood up from the stool and took Lara’s now empty plate and put in the sink. “You must be tired. I can show you to your room…if you like? And in the morning, you can decide if you want me to drive you back to Brunsville” Archer voice was soft and tapered off to almost a whisper as he stood with his back to the sink, as his eyes met Lara’s once again.
“Your room sounds good. My room. I mean, my room. It would be good to see my room. Thank you so much” Smooth. Real smooth, Lara. She wished the floor would suddenly open up and swallow her whole, removing her from the awkward situation she had successfully created. He smiled back at her as he started walking up the stairs, if he had picked up on her faux pas, he didn’t make it obvious.
“This is you” Archer said as he turned the handle on the second door to the end. He pushed the door open and stood aside like a gentleman to let Lara in before continuing “It’s the best room in the house”. Lara could hear a smile in Archer’s voice as she walked into the room. It was massive. There was a giant four post bed against the wall with an intricately designed wooden bedhead, it seemed all the bedroom furniture matched as she looked around at the dresser and bedside tables that lined the wall. There was a large rustic window with white curtains on the wall beside the bed that overlooked the clearing, it was slightly open letting a cool breeze into the room.
“It’s beautiful” she said on a breath as she turned to face Archer who was leaning on the doorframe with his arms folded over his chest. His head was resting against the wall with a boyish smile on his face and seemed lost in thought. He seemed to pull himself back to reality as he stood up straight and dropped the smile before he walked over to a closed door on the far wall that Lara hadn’t noticed. “This is the bathroom, there are some towels on the shelf in there. Seb and Jen are sharing my bathroom, so this one is all yours”.
She turned back to look at him, “Thank you again, it’s so nice of you to let us all in to your house like this considering you don’t even know us” he was standing in the doorway and even from where she was standing, she could have sworn she saw his cheeks flush red for an instant before he shrugged “It feels like I know you.” He took in a deep breath and said, louder this time, “I, uh don’t have any clothes that would fit you, but if you want, I can bring up a t-shirt or something that you might feel a bit more comfortable to sleep in?”
“Oh, that would be great, thank you” The last thing Lara wanted to do was sleep in the same worn out clothes that she had been wearing for the last few days. Archer was not only charming but kind and thoughtful too.
She watched him leave the room. She thought about waiting for him to get back with the t-shirt before she jumped in the shower, but she was too impatient to wash the last few days off her skin to wait any longer. She closed the bathroom door and turned to face the mirror, the girl staring back at her was unrecognisable. Her hair looked like it hadn’t seen a comb in months, she had dark shadows under her eyes that made her face look drawn and sickly and she still had the remnants of dried blood around her mouth from when she had killed that man. Killed that man, she thought. I killed a man. Her stomach felt like someone had poured concrete into it as it sunk to the floor, she felt a rush of panic course through her as the image of the body returned to her mind. She gripped the edge of the sink in front of her as she looked into her own eyes. Eyes that she no longer saw as familiar, they glowed yellow for an instant before returning back to the usual light brown colour. The eyes of a killer she thought to herself before her body started trembling and she broke into a cold sweat. She was on the verge of another panic attack.
As quickly as she could, she took off her clothes, turned on the water in the shower and stepped in before it could warm up. She stood directly under the showerhead and threw her head back, letting the water run over her face and forcing her mind to empty her thoughts. After a few moments, she could feel the panic begin to subside as she stopped trembling and reached for the soap that was on the shelf, she lathered herself up and let the water wash it away. She had underestimated how good a nice hot shower would be. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes and let the water fall over hair, running her fingers through it to try to untangle the knots that had accumulated over the last few days.
After enjoying the warm water and washed away the memories of the last few days, she turned off the tap, wrapped herself in a towel and opened the door that joined the bathroom to the bedroom. Taking a step into the room, she stopped instantly when she looked up to see Archer reaching out to put a folded t-shirt on the end of her bed. He was frozen in place; his mouth gaping and his eyes wide as he met her eyes before lowering them to her towel. Shit!. Lara suddenly remembered she was only wearing a towel and quickly gripped the towel around her chest tightly.
After a moment, Archer closed his mouth “Uhhh……I’m sorry...I didn’t mean to interrupt. I did knock but you must not have heard it” Archer took a step back and dropped his gaze to the floor, lifting his hand to cover his eyes. “I’ll be in the room next door if you need anything, Good…Goodnight” he rushed out the words and closed the door behind him in a hurry. And that, Lara, is why you’re still single. Lara thought to herself as she played out all the different ways, she could have handled that awkward situation better. Instead, she just stood there like a deer in headlights.
Chapter 20
Archer had woken up to the sound of screaming. It was a woman’s scream. Lara. His instinct was urging him to find her. He jumped out of bed as fast as he could, the window by his bed showed it was still dark outside which meant it was probably the middle of the night, but his shifter vision made sure he could find his way to the door without stumbl
ing. He swung the door open and stepped into the hallway to the sound of another ear-piercing scream. It was definitely coming from Lara’s room.
Archer opened the door to Lara’s room and looked around for any kind of threat but stopped when his eyes landed on Lara, lying in bed. The lion inside of him would have sensed if there was a danger and right now, the animal seemed to be contently asleep. Archer took a step closer to Lara, she had kicked off half the covers, the other half were caught at her sides and she rocked back and forth, mumbling with her eyes still closed. He took another step towards her and noticed she was clutching the sheets and as he listened, her mumbles turned to real words “No…No! Stop! You’re killing him!” She yelled out in her sleep. She was having a nightmare. Suddenly, her furrowed brow lifted as if in shock and her whole body tensed. “What have I done?” she said in no more than a whisper “What have I done?”.
Suddenly Lara screamed, the same ear-piercing sound that had woken him up in the first place. She was still asleep, but it was then that Archer realised how much she was suffering because of what had happened. He wished he could take away all her anguish and guilt since the man she killed deserved everything he got. It hurt him to think that she was going through these motions because of what she did for him, what she did to save his life. I should have been the one to kill him, Archer thought to himself but right now, there was nothing he could do to change that.
“Shhhh… Lara, it’s me, Archer. You’re okay. You’re safe” He said as he rushed to her side and ran the back of his knuckles over her cheekbone. He could feel tears on her cheeks, so he turned his hand over and wiped them away with his thumb.
Lara’s eyes shot open and Archer lifted his hands from her as she sat bolt upright and shuffled back, planting her shoulders against the wooden bedhead. She tugged the sheets up towards her chest, covering her bare legs and the oversized black t-shirt Archer had given her.
The Lion's Purpose Page 11